4 hours ago
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The Prayer That Turns The World Upside Down by R. Albert Mohler Jr. is a book that focuses on the Lord's prayer, and specifically why this prayer was so radical in Jesus's time (and now as well!). Mohler takes each line of Jesus's prayer in Matthew, and explains it in detail, including the theological truths that Jesus was communicating through each line. I honestly never thought about the actual theology communicated through the Lord's prayer, even though I've had it memorized since I was a child.
I found this book not only fascinating, but also very practical when it comes to figuring out WHAT to pray. So often I get stuck in praying about things that feel trivial, and then not really knowing what else to say. The Lord's prayer is a wonderful basis for directing us to the things we truly should be praying for, and this book really inspires you to actually spend time praying about the things that Jesus told the disciples to pray. After each chapter I found myself closing my eyes and taking a minute to apply what I was learning.
This is a book that I'll refer back to again and again - I already have so many passages highlighted that I want to go back to now that I've read the whole thing! Highly, highly recommend if you find yourself stagnating in your prayer life. I think it will inspire you to focus your prayers on things that will last, obeying Jesus's example and honoring God in the process.
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
(Quick note - Post inspired by Amanda's beautiful 12-Minute memoir yesterday. I forgot how much I like doing these, and it's so much easier to fit in before the kids wake up. I'm getting my prompts here. Thanks Amanda! Also, picture is from somewhere else where they actually have those magical flowering trees.)
6:46 AM
When I think of spring I think of one thing: mud.
I've lived in the mountains my whole life, and in the mountains spring is an endless cycle of snow which turns to mud, which is covered by more snow. Even the springs that break form (like this one) are brown and grey in the mountains, with very little color. We wait and wait, until suddenly, all in a flurry at the end of May, it goes from spring to summer in one week.
When I was a child I never understood why people liked spring. When I became a young adult I started to realize that other places had flowers, flowering trees even. And well, if you have a spring like that, it makes sense why you would like it. But in my mountain world, spring is the ugliest season.
Mountain springs haven't changed that much since I was a kid, but while I used to hate the season, I don't anymore. It's still brown and yucky, but I notice the green grass poking through the ground, hidden behind the yellowed leftovers from last year. As my kids' feet pound the floor above me way too early in the morning, I realize I also hear birds singing an endless song outside the window. I walk over to let our big hound mix outside, because he won't leave me alone until I do, and I hear squirrels chattering and I breathe in the cold, wet smell of melting snow.
Spring will always smell like that to me. Not like flowers, or green grass. Like mud and melting snow.
There is life out there, new life stretching up, peeking around the corner, sitting in the tree branches. I never noticed that as a kid, but I do now. Now that I've felt new life in my womb, held it in my arms, and had a few more Resurrection Days under my belt, spring holds a bit more significance.
So even these muddy, ugly springs are beautiful after all. I look out my window and can see the echoes of God's words in Genesis - even here, in the mud.
"It is good."
6:54 AM
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