Good Morning, Lord! 🌞
While I struggle to be an earlybird kinda person, for some reason, I keep writing things with “good morning” in their titles. So, just because this begins with that, please enjoy it as a prayer to start your new day at whatever time your morning might be. I wrote it years ago, so it’s a good time to present it with a new, pretty background and frame. This is my real prayer to The Almighty Creator who loves me, my Abba Yahveh, and I hope it’s one my readers can pray to Him as well.
Here it is in plain text in case the image makes it difficult to read….
GOOD MORNING LORD!
HERE I AM.
I KNOW YOU HAVE PLANS…
FOR THIS DAY;
FOR ME;
FOR ME IN THIS DAY.
FOR MY LIFE,
FOR ME IN THIS LIFE.
YOU ARE MY CREATOR.
AND I AM YOUR CHILD.
I AM NOT JUST AN EXPERIMENT.
YOU MADE MANKIND
(AND ME)
IN YOUR IMAGE.
YOU HAVE PERFECT PLANS.
NOTHING SURPRISES YOU.
I TRUST YOU.
I RECEIVE YOUR WISDOM
ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU
HAVE CHOSEN TO SHARE WITH ME
IN THIS LIFE.
I RECEIVE HEALING
FROM YOUR HAND
AND THROUGH
YOUR HOLY AND PRECIOUS BLOOD THAT WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER!
MAY I LISTEN TO, AND HEAR,
YOUR VOICE.
MAY I SEE, AND KNOW,
YOUR WILL FOR ME.
MAY I FOLLOW, AND OBEY, YOU.
MAY I SHOW YOU MY LOVE
BY OFFERING YOU PRAISE,
FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE,
AND FOR ALL THAT YOU DO–
THIS DAY AND FOREVER!
IN YOUR HOLY, MEMORIAL NAME, YAHVEH, AND IN THE NAME AND BLOOD OF MY MESSIAH YAHSHUA,
AMEN AND HALLELUYAH!
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When You Pray
I got a text from a friend tonight. She told me that all over the country (USA), people were going to pray together. At 9 PM, I was to stop what I was doing and spend 1 minute praying for our country. I’m guessing the organizers told people in different time zones what time to pray, so we could all pray together.
Apparently, during World War II, Britain did the same thing and had great success. And it can never be a bad idea to bring any facet of life to The Creator of life and then trust The Master to work well with His creations. So, hubby and I joined hands and bowed our heads, and we prayed. We were in a restaurant, so you know that’s exactly when our server brought the first part of our meal. But she was respectful and waited. I pray it lifted up The Lord in her thoughts.
The day brought a lot of activity, and the night brought temperatures cut in half from the day, but all in all, it felt like a good day. I don’t want to bore folks with all my daily doings, so I looked in my photo history with my Amazon Photos and found this image from Jan 22 of 2024. It reminded me of the 9 PM prayer and thus became tonight’s blog image.
Now, I invite you readers to join believers all over who are taking that minute to lift up our land, our people, and our leadership to The Lord.
Most of us have no idea what our leadership faces from enemies, both foreign and domestic. We live our lives, go to our jobs, have meals with friends and family, and take care of business while remaining blissfully unaware of the threats our leaders must watch for and prepare defenses against. We form our opinions and make our judgments on the little we think we know from what gets shared over the airwaves. But Yahveh Almighty sees what we cannot. He knows the threats, the credible plans, and the steps needed to protect us. So, our leaders need us to pray. And our Creator wants us to pray and wants to listen. Let’s gratefully step up to just one minute each night to raise a collective voice of prayer and praise toward Heaven and know that God is listening. In YahShua’s name.
🙏✨🤲✨🛐✨🛐✨🤲✨🙏
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Teach Me to Wait
I’m sitting here waiting, having stayed up all night, because my heater started acting up. The HVAC place will be open soon, and I will request immediate assistance to warm my house back up before shower time. I’m cold and a bit frustrated, but even more, I’ve been praying for a friend whose waiting is far more harsh.
Just after Christmas, M’s daddy was sent from the nursing home to the hospital. The cancer was back, and he needed doctors and nurses to help him fight for his life. Eventually, he needed a ventilator as well.
Last night, in the middle of the night, I got the text that they were removing him from the vent and placing him in palliative care. Later today, hubby showed me a Facebook post of her sitting in a visitor’s chair and just waiting for the inevitable. She looked tired. I’m certain she’s still grieving the loss of her mom just last year, and now this.
So, I’m praying for her, and I’m praying with her. I haven’t looked at an update yet because my heart breaks for her. I’ve experienced the losses of both parents, but each person feels it differently, so I take her before the throne of her/our Creator who knows exactly how to give her strength and comfort as she walks through this. And as the “World’s Best Daughter” waits for her daddy to take his first steps into Heaven, I’m thankful I had this night to keep a vigil for her heart’s needs. Even though it’s cold in my house, my own heart is warm with love for this friend and sister in Christ. May she feel His touch in greater ways than she ever thought possible. I pray in YahShua’s holy name, amen.
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Strong Enough to Grieve
Temporary! That word carries both comfort and terror. Knowing that suffering will come to an end is comforting. Knowing the pain of loss when the end comes is terrifying.
Today marks 11 years since I said goodbye to my mom for the last time. It was bittersweet because of the healing that took place between us in her final days and hours. I wanted to let her go because I didn’t want her to suffer, but I didn’t want to let her go because I finally felt like I had a mom. Both the healing and the loss changed my life in more ways than I can count.
Anyone who was reading my blog knows that I pretty much stopped writing regularly after her passing. And then more losses and pain followed in the years after that made it hard to come back. But now that I’m here, and on this death anniversary, I want to focus on the good that God provides to comfort us in a life we have little control over. One bit of comfort is in that unseen eternity that carries more hope than anything in this world could ever provide. It’s a hope that my mom is there, in the Presence of our Creator and Lord, and enjoying every pain-free moment with Him. It’s a hope that I will see her again one day. And, it’s a hope that my own eternity will be filled with all the Love and Light that is God Almighty Himself. Those unseen hopes can carry a person through many troubles in this temporary life.
So, as I’ve been waxing poetic lately, I think it’s finally time to share the poem I feel God gave me shortly after my mom’s passing. I had been saving it to submit to a publisher, but maybe someone will stop by here who really needs to read it. Many have been brought to tears by the words in these verses, and I pray it blesses at least one someone out there.
STRONG ENOUGH TO GRIEVE
By Crystal A Murray (C) 2015 All Rights Reserved
No, you weren't the kind of mom that...
Fixed my lunches,
Made my bed,
Came to school functions,
Helped me study,
Or pushed me to graduate.
You didn't help me to...
Get ready for a prom,
Plan a perfect wedding,
Or prepare for a family.
See, we didn't have a storybook life.
Not even a sitcom, really.
Alcohol and mental illness,
Along with some bad "dads" in our home,
They stole hours and days.
They stole my childhood.
And yet, I loved you.
We finally became friends.
There were still many battles,
But I was old enough to stand.
And then we both got stronger.
The love of God changed our hearts.
And His grace changed our lives.
Old things went away... mostly.
But some damage was done.
Some scars would stay,
And even hurt at times.
You were better, but not always.
I was stronger yet often weak.
Oh, but I still loved you.
When the cancer came,
I was ready to fight in prayer,
But you said you were ready to go.
And so, I came to your side.
And that's when I learned...
You were still tormented.
You battled something oppressive that neither of us could see.
Much of what I took personally and hurt from
Wasn't about me.
But I had never known that.
It was all personal to me.
My hurts were so deep,
Healing seemed impossible,
And all my memories felt painful.
But then, a new friend prayed.
God sent her to both of us.
I had been strong enough...
To do what you needed,
To prepare for your death,
And to take care of business;
But I had not been strong enough to grieve.
After our friend prayed,
she taught us how to pray.
She showed us God's words that promised victory.
And then the peace came in.
You were delivered from your torment.
And I was set free to grieve.
I found memories of good times.
I sang you heaven songs--
Many I recalled from childhood.
And you rested.
I held your hand and felt new love for you;
Love not restricted and bound...
By years of pain,
By bad memories,
Or by guilt for my imperfections as a daughter.
Real, heartfelt love.
So, finally...
I grieved freely.
As your breath slowed,
As comfort took over pain,
And as God let me get some sleep, too.
You slipped away.
And I cried.
Now I remember the good.
And though it brings me sadness,
It also sets me free
because now...
I am strong enough to grieve.
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Making God…
Fireworks from Patoka Lake, Indiana, July 2015 by Crystal A Murray. In camera and post editing for sparkle and framing. (C) All Rights Reserved
It’s August 1st, and I have decided to force myself back into daily blogging. My goal is to have a different topic for each day of the week, and since the first fell on a Monday, I’ll start with what I’m calling Musably Monday. On Mondays, I will share my thoughts on any variety of topics, sometimes fresh ideas and sometimes the old stuff I keep in various files and rarely share. For my first post back, here’s a little something I thought about upon waking up one morning last week.
I woke thinking about gifts I’d like to have in my spiritual life; gifts like others have and like I think I should have since I’m a dedicated believer. I mean, if prophecy and healing and faith and visions are so necessary for these end times, surely anyone truly serving Almighty God can have them just for the asking, right? And if one does not have them, that person must be lacking in something they need to be doing to receive such gifts. Maybe we have not just because we ask not, or maybe something else is required to earn and deserve a taste of the abundance God has to offer. After all, so many Christians talk about the gifts and anointings they have received from God as if those gifts are badges of honor, it gives the unspoken message there must be something special about the people and/or behaviors of those who walk in spiritual gifts.
My mind immediately went to the following thought: I wonder what I can do to make God give me…. And there, I stopped. The words make God stuck in my thoughts as not fitting for my relationship with the Great Creator I serve. He is the one on the throne. He is the one who set the universe in order. He is the source of all. Who am I to think I can make God be or do anything? Almost immediately, before climbing out of bed, I got my phone out and began typing more on the subject.
MAKING GOD…
I see many people these days who are pushing to make God this or that. They think by their prayers and certain behaviors, they can change God instead of changing themselves to become better vessels more yielding to Him and His perfect will. Too many want to make Him…
- A God who does what we want.
- A God who does whatever we claim in Jesus’ name.
- A God who gives us dreams.
- A God who fulfills our dreams.
- A God who tells us everything in advance.
- A God who will give us a perfect life if only we have enough faith.
- A God who only talks to certain people doing certain behaviors in certain ways.
Because of these modern teachings, I sometimes find myself asking God what I need to do in order to get Him to: heal me, bless me, fix me, fix others, etc. But, in all truth, I don’t want to “make God” anything He is not. I have no desire to control Him. If I could manipulate Him, He would no longer be God.
Instead of trying to control Him by asking the right questions or perfecting my earthly works, I just want to walk in His presence and get to know Him better and better. I desire to do what pleases Him. I want to come boldly before His throne of grace, not to get Him to do anything for me or give anything to me, but to cleanse and perfect myself in His mercy that I may learn more about how to uplift Him to a lost a dying world.
As I heard stated recently, it’s not the abundance of darkness and sin that cause us problems; it’s the lack of light. We have no shortage of things set against God and His holy word, but it only takes a little light to drive out darkness. We have a promise in John 12:32 that if our Savior is lifted up above the earth (and I believe that would include the works of earthen vessels–good and bad), He WILL draw all men unto Himself. We don’t have to try and make God do anything for us or others. We ask, we trust, and He answers. It is always His will to give us whatever gifts and tools we need to lift Him up because it is never His will that any should perish. (2 Peter 3:9)
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2014 in review
2014 is almost over, and I’ve slowed down a bit as the year winds down. I guess we all need to take a bit of a break now and then, and mine came in with some physical issues that wore me out for a few weeks. Now, I wonder if my body was preparing for the emotional hit I received just two days ago when I found out my mother has inoperable late-stage pancreatic cancer. Prayer gives me amazing comfort, and I can’t imagine walking through a time like this without the grace of God and the strength of praying friends. When we’re out of control, there’s so much comfort in knowing that God is on His throne and that He cares.
With planning and upcoming travel, I don’t know how often I’ll be posting, but I promise I won’t forget about the blog or about my precious and valued readers. Thank you for every day, and every lesson, you have walked (and will walk) with me in this wisp of life here on earth. Now, here’s a 2014 review prepared for me by WordPress…
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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,900 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 32 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
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Arrogance in Authority
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference in confidence and arrogance. I worry sometimes when people claim dominion or authority over things in this life and world because God gave it to Adam. That’s just it; God gave it to Adam. To blatantly claim then that we have that same dominion and authority may be based on Scripture, but is it based on context?
More contextual issues arise when I think about the authority Yeshua gave to His disciples. For example, He told them that whatever they bound on earth would be bound in Heaven. Does this give those of us who live today the authority to bind or loose things on earth and claim they are bound or loosed in Heaven? I’m not certain it does, though I still think we have authority but to act as The Lord commands. The latter part is what I feel carries the most weight; as The Lord commands. If God tells an individual that what He binds on earth is bound in Heaven, that person has the authority because God gave it to him.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter gives the proper foundation for a life of authority in Christ.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-First by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 21
Better Than “Willpower”
“I die daily.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:31
Paul might have buckled under the pressure. He certainly grew weary. He certainly was misunderstood, rejected, and persecuted. He suffered so much. What kept him going? Verse 29 of Colossians 1 says, “To this end I labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” He labors, and he strives. That’s the way Paul was. Laboring and striving, even when he was laboring and striving for the wrong things, he was absolutely dedicated to the mission. But there is something more extraordinary at work in Paul, something more than sheer willpower or determination.
I tell you willpower will only take you so far. Willpower is overrated. We need something else, something supernatural, something that does not rely upon my limited willpower. What was it? “I strive according to HIS WORKING which works in me mightily.” It was not the strength of Paul, but the strength of Christ in Paul, and through this Christ, Paul said, “I can do all things” (Philippians 4:13). All things!
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
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Context in all things is important. In Scripture, it’s especially important. Without context, we could be thinking that Paul literally lost his life on a daily basis. If we automatically take the words of Yeshua to His disciples as if they are for all of us, then to be in context, we should take all His words to them. For example, if we claim we can bind and loose because they could, then we should never take up a collection for our ministries because the disciples were told not to. Instead, they were to go without script in their purses and trust their hosts to provide their needs. And whatever gospel message we spread, we should begin at Jerusalem.
I know the above paragraph sounds a bit extreme, but considering how extremely to the letter we hold other things, we should consider context in all we claim from Scripture. We should be humble enough to seek the context and foundation behind all our behaviors and rituals, so we can make sure we’re doing them to please God and not men or ourselves. Like Paul, we should die daily to self and ask God for His direction in our lives. It’s better to learn what He would have us do and say and pray rather than to arrogantly claim we have authority just because the Lord gave it to those He sent out.
I don’t find in Scripture where God gave authority to every follower and believer. Those He did give it to were also given instruction to not rejoice in authority but to rejoice that their names were written in The Lamb’s Book of Life. In that, I can see confidence in humility. We realize we only have authority because we have Him. The two cannot be separated, and we should not want them to be. The minute we begin to act just because we think we are something, or have something in and of ourselves, we risk a loss of humility and a gain of arrogance.
Here’s a perfect Scripture to sum this up from 1 Peter 4:11 (NKJV)…
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Let us be confident and sure in what He gives us as individuals rather than arrogant in what we think we can proclaim just because we read it in the Bible.
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A Simple Prayer for a God-Led Day
Moth by My Sister and Flickr User Candiece N, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
I was all set for what I planned to share tonight, so I went to YouTube to look for the video I wanted to attach. When I got there, I found some videos claiming that the teaching I planned to bring to you was incorrect. Yikes! Now, I’m not saying it is incorrect, but I am saying I will do more research before I present it here as any kind of fact. I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong (though I don’t like it, of course), but I do try to research all I can before I pass information on to others. And, while I know there will always be dissenters about any kinds of doctrine or teaching, especially when it comes to Bible teaching, I am driven to examine both sides before making a decision.
After a couple hours of study, I didn’t come to a conclusion. So, I am going to read more by and about both authors, and I am going to pray, and then I will present my findings here. Whether I come to a conclusion or not, I will share both sides, but I want to give myself some time to examine all possibilities before I just jump into believing one thing or another. Too many these days believe in things right off because they sound good, and unfortunately, that even includes me sometimes. I try to be like the biblical Bereans in Acts 17:10-12 who searched the Scriptures daily to verify the words being taught by Paul and Silas. Now I find that even teachings I hear from what I consider to be a trusted source can be a misconception, so I will keep studying until I can be confident in what I share.
Therefore, in addition to encouraging you, my readers and friends, to do the same–study to show yourself approved to God, let me share something I wrote sometime ago. I typed it as a note in my phone that I can look at first thing in the morning to set my day on a right path. I hope to put it on some Zazzle products soon, so others can get it before themselves on a daily basis too. Enjoy!
GOOD MORNING LORD!!!
HERE I AM.
I KNOW YOU HAVE PLANS…
FOR THIS DAY;
FOR MY LIFE;
FOR ME;
FOR ME IN THIS DAY.MAY I LISTEN TO–AND HEAR–YOUR VOICE.
MAY I SEE, AND KNOW, YOUR WILL.
MAY I FOLLOW YOU, AND
MAY I PRAISE YOU
FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE…
THIS DAY AND FOREVERIN YOUR HOLY, MEMORIAL NAME, YAHVEH,
AMEN AND HALLELUYAH!
Blessings and God’s Shalom to each and every one of you as you seek more of Yeshua and His Word every day.
~Crystal
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