“And Peter had followed Him at a distance…”

~

A few weeks ago Joel shared about discipleship, that often we call ourselves “Christians” even though the much more common biblical term would be a Follower. Those who identify with Christ and have believed in Him are actually Christ-followers. He is who we follow. And Joel asked the question, “Can you really be a Christ-follower, a Christian, and not actually follow Christ?”

That very morning I’d read a story that put the question in an interesting light.

Peter, having followed Christ during his three years here on earth, is with Christ when Judas betrays Christ with a kiss. After cutting off Malchus’ ear, what does Peter do? (Mark 14:50)

He fled.

Well, not exactly.

He didn’t flee very far. 

Verses 53-54 tells us that “as they led Jesus to the high priest” that “Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.”

Peter did follow Jesus. He followed Him right smack dab into the courtyard of the high priest.

He couldn’t stand to let Jesus out of his sight, but he didn’t want his affiliation with Christ to cause him harm, so he stayed close enough to see Jesus but far enough way to be safe.

And warm his hands by the fire.

Can I humbly suggest that this is exactly the kind of following that characterizes the lives of many followers?

Followers who genuinely experienced new birth, and yet prefer to follow Christ to the outer courts, a place of comfort where they can still keep an eye on Jesus and yet still warm their hands by the fire. Still keep far enough away that an affiliation with Him will not cause them harm, discomfort, hardship.

Friends, we’re all tempted by the fire in the outer court. 

We’re all tempted, who love and know and follow Christ, to drop back just a few steps so that the distance between Christ and us is enough to keep us from hardship. No way would we deny Him outright, but we’ll follow Him just as far as our comfort will allow.

No big deal, right? Wrong. Why is it a big deal?

Because of what Peter did next.

You all know the story: After hangin’ in the outer court, warming his hands, someone calls him out:

Hey, you’re one of those Jesus-guys!

The words slipped so easily from Peter’s mouth:

“I do not know this man of whom you speak.” (Mark  14:71)

Crushed. Crushed. Can you imagine the agony in Peter’s heart as he stared in horror at those words, spoken into existance and staring him in the face. How could he do it? He had denied his Lord! 

I can only imagine his anguish: How on earth did I get to this place?

All it took was the warm fire in the outer court. Had he been there, right there, next to Jesus, there was no way on earth he could have denied him. Jesus’ face, His voice, His touch, His smell, His presence would have given Peter the courage to remain. But at a distance, by the fire, it was easy to do.

It was easy to deny. 

Oh friends, I know people who are sitting by the fire.  I’ve cried out to God in prayer for friends I know who are sitting by the fire right now. The natural ending of that spot scares me to death. And I know that often I am tempted to hold back just a few steps and sit right down by that fire as well. Warm my hands a bit. We’re all tempted by the fire in the outer court.

We can’t go there. Must not go there. Must not let each other go there.

To follow Christ at a distance isn’t to follow Him at all. And I’m not judging distances, heaven forbid, I don’t know your distance and you don’t know mine, but I just know that we do well to stick right as tight as we possibly can, to ask Jesus to take our hand and keep us near. So that Jesus’ face, His voice, His touch, His smell, His presence, would give us the courage to stand fast right at His side.

{Oh for grace! We need it, amen? Thank you for following along this journey with me. Let’s pray for one another, as Willamette Women, to stay close to Jesus. Thank you.}

He’d told me not to look … but I just had to take a peek. How bad could it be?

He’d warned me before the story went live: “Babe, commenters are ruthless on those news sites. Don’t even go there; it’s just a firestorm of angry opinions.” So I didn’t go.

But then a week later I had to send someone the link, so I searched for the two KATU stories featuring our family. They popped up. My eyes widened: 81 comments? 45 comments? I scrolled down, just had to peek, how bad could it be?

Bad. But good.

Good for me. Eye-opening. I live in a pretty sheltered little world. Little stay-at-home mama, pastor’s wife, livin’ in West Linn of all places. A mean look is rare around here let alone a mean comment. But it was like God pulled back a little corner of the bandaid and let me see the hurting, wounded, festering part of the world where people sling sarcasm at each other like mud. Sling insults, tear-downs, angry words that come from somewhere deep down that’s terribly, terribly broken.

People are just so broken.

There were some great, thoughtful comments. People actually interacting with the content. But many are just angry hurting people who probably feel unheard,  threatened by the world around them, thrashing through life because something hurts so bad they can’t stand it any more.

I finished reading and was, I’ll admit, a little shaken. Was my whole life, as one person had written, merely “incoherent Jesus babble”?

I opened my Bible, shook my head in amazement at God’s timing. I had forgotten about my morning’s scripture reading. Until then. I had written across the page, tucked into Numbers 23-24:

No weapon formed against you shall prosper. 

That’s what had come to mind as I read of Balaam and Balak. Seeing that God had prospered Israel, given them His blessing, giving them the land, and defeated Og and the Amorites, the king of Moab was afraid.

So he called for Balaam the prophet.

Now, Balak didn’t want truth from Balaam, he didn’t want to actually inquire of the Lord at all. He just wanted Balak to “curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me.”

He just wanted to preserve his life by cursing someone else’s.

But, as you know, every time Balaam tries to prophecy he is simply filled by the Lord with blessings for Israel. Check this out:

First oracle: ”How can I curse who God has not cursed?” (Numb. 23:8)

::Israel is NOT cursed.

Second oracle: ”I received a command to bless: He has blessed and I cannot revoke it! … for there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel.” (Num. 23:20)

::Israel is not only not cursed, they are BLESSED and cannot be cursed!

Third oracle: ”Blessed are those who bless you (Israel), and cursed are those who curse you.”(Num. 24:9)

::Israel is blessed and those who curse them will be themselves cursed instead. 

Wow. Talk about turning that on its head. God makes it so clear here that the people He has blessed cannot be cursed. I looked back down at the note on my page:

No weapon formed against you shall prosper.

I scribbled out weap, wrote opini–

No opinion formed against you shall prosper. 

Is that fitting with the context? I flipped back to Isaiah 54:17 and re-read it:

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

It is exactly the context. The New Living reads like this:

But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!

I do not mean to say that no one can speak against you. Certainly some of what is spoken against us is true and should be taken to heart! But, as a child of God, living in the Kingdom, every accusing voice will be silenced by the one true God. 

You may feel that every voice is against you. When you choose to live in the upside-down kingdom you may hear friends, relatives (and strangers) mocking you or criticizing.

There is only One who can bless.

There is only One who can curse. 

The message of the cross is foolishness ["incoherent Jesus babble"] to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18).

So  we do well to pray that Jesus would

‘open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts. 26:18)

I wonder if sometimes we get so distracted by a tiny scratch of our own that we forget that the world is bleeding to death?

It does hurt when our friends or family or strangers criticize our choices or mock our faith. But remember: It’s a scratch inflicting by someone who’s bleeding to death.

As we settle down secure in His blessing, convinced that no opinion formed against us shall prosper, we can respond in in complete confidence, offering grace:

“Bless those who persecute you.” (Romans 12:14)

{Thanks for reading.}

I tiptoe in the dark, kneel down by Heidi’s bed, gather her up into my arms, then ease into the rocking chair. Her coughing eases into sleep as I remember these words …

—-

Mary tiptoed into the room, quietly knelt, and broke her alabaster flask, anointing Jesus’ feet.

The cost of that flask was almost a year’s wages–equivalent to 40-50 Thousand, dollars–all contained in her flask. It was probably her dowry, her worth as a marriageable woman.

All she owned.

Broken, poured out, wasted on Jesus’ feet of all things.  The disciples, very logically and wisely, insisted there would certainly be a better use of those resources than dumping $50,000 on Jesus’ feet!

I would have thought the same thing.

Or, wouldn’t it have been so much smarter, to pour the oil into three containers, use 1/3 of the money for the poor, 1/3 of the money for her dowry, and a 1/3 of the oil use to offer to Jesus? That seems wise.  Or, she could have worshiped him with words, she could have hugged Him, kissed Him, praised Him.  Come on, I mean, really?! You have to waste all that good money by dumping it on the floor?

But Jesus thought it was a beautiful waste.  He commends her, and then amazingly chooses to record it in Scripture, so that this woman’s story would be told around the world for the rest of history to know.  

He thought her waste was beautiful.

Before she died at 95 my dear Aunt Lois shared these timeless words of truth:

“Nothing’s wasted.”

But the important qualification for that truth is that nothing’s wasted that is given to God.  Lots is wasted.  People waste their lives all the time.  The woman in the story could have dumped her alabaster flask into the trash and it would have truly been wasted. Utterly wasted.

But “wasted” on the feet of Jesus meant that not a drop was wasted, it was invested with the highest return–the glory of God, the worship of Jesus, the love and praise of the Savior.

That is beautiful waste.

And the beauty of the anointing wasn’t in the value of the flask’s contents–it was in the value of the sacrifice.  We know throughout Scripture, from Abraham to David to the widow with the two mites to Mary and her flask, that the value of our offering is not in what we give, but in what we give up.  Yes, there is a double meaning there.  What we give up is what we sacrifice, which is the true measure of our worship. And, what we give up is given upwards to God, with His glory as the intended aim.

The value of our worship is what we give up, what we waste for His sake in response to His extravagant love for us.

What is my sacrifice?  What is your sacrifice? What is our alabaster flask, what it is we can waste on his feet?

I had asked this. Waited. Asked God to show me.

The one thing He mentioned made tears slip silently down my cheek. 

Giving up my time, my ambitions, my dreams, my preferences, to lay down my life for my kids, to giving every ounce of my being to investing in them to be Christ followers, Kingdom advancers, lovers of God.  That seems so natural, but for me it’s not. Often it’s hard.  Giving time and energy to writing and teaching God’s Word is not a sacrifice for me. It’s fun. Thrilling. Rewarding.  Studying, reading, learning, teaching—all of those things are good and I’ll keep doing them, but they are not really a sacrifice. 

Mommying.

A silent tear slipped down my cheek as I realized that was my alabaster flask.  How appropriate that as I prayed those words I was holding my sick daughter upright to keep her from coughing, bouncing her softly and letting her pat my face with her soft, doughy hands, kissing her feverish, sweaty head.

Right there in my arms was the answer to my question.

Where is yours?

What is yours?

I’m praying for God to show me how to live this beautiful waste, how to fight the gnawing hunger for productivity, turn the clock to the wall, and wastefully invest in the two precious souls He’s entrusted to my care.  One of them is coughing, so I must go.  Let my life be a beautiful waste, O God.

{Thanks for reading.}

In one hour I’ll get up and turn on the rice-cooker. The chicken stock made itself in the crockpot last night as we slept, and the shredded chicken from last night’s bird is ready to toss into tonight’s Chicken Rice Bake. I’ll double the recipe, add a simple green salad, and take half to our friends who just had a baby.

I love meal-planning.

There are plenty of things I don’t do well. Like buy baby gifts. Just now as I write this I’m realizing I don’t have a gift to give this family. But I have food to give, thanks to a simple system of meal-planning.

Serving simple, nourishing meals is a great place to start, but the real blessing of family mealtime is nourishing their souls.

How would you describe your family dinner table?  How do you see your role? Richard Foster, in his book on prayer, says this:

“Today the family table can be a significant altar where meals are celebrated and all the great and small events of our personal histories can be recounted. Here mothers and fathers fulfill the priestly role.”

Consider that the family table can be a significant place of ritual, instruction, fellowship, communion, blessing. What family-dinner activities does your family engage in to create a place of worship?

Ann Voskamp writes that they read Scripture after each meal.

Perhaps you pray together, holding hands?

We all recite the Lord’s Prayer together before we eat.

The new Common Prayer book has readings and meditations for each night of the week.

You might each share “God-sightings” — ways you’ve seen God’s hand throughout the day.

Growing up my mom read a verse from Our Daily Bread, a little plastic bread loaf that sat in the middle of the table.

How can you transform an ordinary meal into a significant altar by inviting Christ into your midst and being intentional with your time around the table? I’d love to hear from you … and thanks for reading.

Hello beautiful Willamette Women!  We hope you have been blessed by 31 Days to a Beautiful Prayer Life. It’s a joy to grow together with you in this life of faith.

For most families, dinner is the most common time to gather together and pray.  Meal-time is a great opportunity to step away from the busy world, turn our eyes to God, and fellowship by enjoying food together. So this week we’re going to look a few ways to nourish our family’s bodies and souls as we gather around the dinner table. I’m coming to the table not as an expert but as someone along the journey with you. I hope you’ll share your thoughts and ideas as well!

First things first: We can’t have a blessed family dinner without actually putting something on the table. We want something tasty, healthy, simple, that won’t cost an arm and leg to prepare.

As some of you know, I’m a bit of a frugal-living enthusiast, not as a goal in and of itself, but as one way to faithfully steward the resources God has given to us. 

One of our greatest privileges, as Christ-followers, is getting to give our earthly resources to join in God’s Kingdom work. Making small, frugal choices in our everyday lives is one way we can free up finances to give more for the glory of God. This is why being faithfully frugal is different from just deal-hunting. We’re not striving to get more we’re striving to give more. We’re not just looking to score the greatest deal, we’re looking to live simply and freely, giving generously, sacrificially, and joyfully.

Lots of our budget line-items are fixed. But household/groceries is one area where we most likely have wiggle room. About a year and a half ago our family did a fun little Food Stamp Challenge. We wanted to see if it was possible for our family of 4 to eat fresh,  mostly local and organic food on a food stamp budget ($275.53 was average household food-stamp benefit for 2009). And it was! It was a fun adventure and we’ve stuck with it, so I’d love to share a few things we discovered along the way.

Now, please hear my heart: I am no master chef and I’m no dietitian. I’m a wife, mom and follower of Jesus Christ seeking to feed my family well and faithfully steward the finances and bodies God has given us. Nor am I telling you what your grocery budget should be. There are lots of ways to honor God, so I’m not prescribing a lifestyle for you but describing what we’ve found on our little family’s journey these past few years.

1. A few principles to remember: 

• The real cost is convenience. Healthy food is not that expensive, convenience health-food is. If beans are in a can, we’re paying for the work they did to put them there. If they’re in a bag or in bulk, we’ll save lots. This is most clear with veggies. Whole organic carrots are $.60/lb at Costco. But baby peeled organic carrots can be $3-$4/lb. You do the peeling, you save the money. Cutting packaged convenience foods is the easiest way to build health and reduce cost.

• Be choosy with organics. You don’t have to buy everything organic. See the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.The key is this: It doesn’t make sense to buy organic processed food. If a food is processed (think goldfish crackers), then none of the original pesticides (or nutrition!) are left so it really doesn’t matter.  If you can only buy a few organic items, choose the non-peelable fresh fruits and veggies.

• Part of the challenge is going without. Sometimes we just have to tell ourselves no. And here in America, in the land of plenty, that is not a popular thing to do. But it’s so good for us! Remember when Joel had us do the Rice & Beans Challenge? Those three days were SOO hard, but so good. It showed us how accustomed we are to so many things we don’t need, and how we can really train our bodies to get used to less.

2. Five Simple Suggestions for a Healthy Frugal Diet

• Simple Step 1: Eat oatmeal.
• Simple Step 2: Simplify snacks.
• Simple Step 3: Think whole.
• Simple Step 4: Simple Lunch.
• Simple Step 5: Make Dinner Happen.

3. Meal Planning and Recipes

*On Friday we’ll talk more about developing a menu plan that’s custom-made for your family.

Here is one idea for a week’s dinner menu, with price/serving. All these recipes are printable in Frugal Family Recipes.

Monday: Whole Roast Chicken ($6 total), Draper Valley whole chicken, Organic green beans ($5 for 5 lbs. at Costco), homemade bread (pennies). After dinner shred and save 4 cups of chicken. Make stock overnight or the next day.

Tuesday: Hobo Dinner ($6 total). One pound local, grass-fed beef ($4.50 at Afton Field Farms), one pound organic potatoes, one pound organic carrots ($5.99 for 10 lbs. at Costco). Brown and season beef, slice potatoes and carrots, layer in Dutch oven and bake until potatoes are soft. Serve with ketchup.

Wednesday: Chicken Rice Bake ($4 total), Organic peas ($5 for 5 lbs. at Costco)

Thursday: Tortilla Soup ($4 total)

Friday: Quick and Easy Pansit ($4 total)

Week’s dinner cost: $24 total. $6/person. Less than $1/day per person.

——

5-Day Dinner Plan Shopping List 

(Assuming basic cooking staples are already in your pantry. Please check recipes to be sure you have these on hand. Also, I rely on FrugalLivingNW for the latest updates on deals around the Portland area. Below are the locations that carry these items at the lowest cost I’ve found.)

:: Thriftway, Azure Standard, online, or other grocery source:

• 1 Whole chicken (Draper Valley & Zaycon are quality, affordable choices)
• 1 lb. local grass-fed beef (Afton Field Farm $4.50/lb.)
• 1 lb. Organic potatoes (Azure)
• Organic Fuji apples (Azure)

:: Costco:

There was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all for the beautiful white horse he owned. Even the king coveted his treasure. People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them. “It is a person. HOw could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?” The man was poor and the temptation was great, but he never sold the horse.

One morning the horse was missing from the stable. All the village came to see the old man. “You old fool,” the scoffed. “We told you that someone would steal your horse. You are so poor, how could you ever hope to porotect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could havew gotten watever price you wanted. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know, the rest is judgment. How can you know if I’ve been cursed or not? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed to know what’s happened here. The fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again, “All I know is that the stable is empty and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?”

The people of the village laughed. They had always thought the man to be a fool; if he wasn’t, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. Instead, he was a poor woodcutter, living hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen, he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, He had brought a dozen wild hroses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke, “old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.”

The man responded, “Again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don’t judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? If you read only one page, how can you judge the whole book? All you have is a fragment! No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t know.”

“Maybe the old man is right,” they said. But down deep they believed he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. ONlce again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

“You were right,” they said. “The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever.”

The old man spoke again, “Don’t go so far in your judgements. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment of the whole.”

A few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young ment of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded because he was injured. The enemy was strong and the people feared they would never see their sons again. Once again, they gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. “You were right, old man,” they wept. “God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son’s accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever.”

The old man spoke again, “why do you always draw conclusions? No one knows. Say only this: You sons went to war, and mine did not. No one is wise enought to know if it is a blessing or a curse. Only God knows.”

The old woodcutter was content with what he knew and not disturbed by what he couldn’t understand. Epictetus said, “I am always content with that which happens, for I think that which God chooses is better than what I choose.”

Linda Dillow, Calm My Anxious Heart 163-164

{Praying Epictetus’ heart for us today … thanks for reading.}

Willamette Christian Church is excited to announce the launch of a new ministry purposed to bless our women. Hosted by the Marriage and Family Ministries, Grace Moments is a special time of fellowship, learning, and encouragement for mothers of young children.

The first few years of a child’s life help to shape their character and identity, setting the tone for family dynamics for years to come. Thankfully, there is grace and wisdom from God’s Word that can give us peace, joy, and encouragement along the way.

We want to invite you to join us on the third Thursday of every month to meet other moms, receive a time of refreshment, and grow in parenting as you seek Christ. The first session will be held on February 16th from 9:30-11:15, and the topic of the morning will be “Foundations of Motherhood”.

Please sign up here, today. We would be honored to have you.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Heather Holland  Heather Holland (haholland@frontier.com) or Joy Dombrow (jnjdombrow@gmail.com).

With this first (beautiful) day of February, I am quite aware that I have written nearly every day for the past two months, the important topics of Christ’s advent and prayer.

Nearly 25,000 words.

It’s been difficult, but gratifying. Some posts have poured out with ease, others not so much. I have looked back with fondness on some of the writings, and others have left me scratching my head in wonder. What was exactly was I trying to say? Nonetheless, the discipline has been beneficial.

I’m not done yet. Almost, but not quite.

I know, I know. I said it would be 31 days to a beautiful prayer life, but I did miss a few days and I have a little more to share. So, if you will indulge me, the topic of prayer is going to spill over into February just a bit.

But, I will continue the conversation over on my personal blog Living Loved, to make room for the many wonderful things that will be shared here on the women’s ministry blog in February. Come on over for a visit if you would like.

Thank you for joining me in the journey. I have appreciated your company.

Expectancy can be a matter of looking forward with hope and anticipation. Yet I believe that expectancy can also be a matter of looking back with eyes that see.

Forward expectancy strains to see what might be.

Backward expectancy strains to see what has been.

When we pray, I believe that God calls us to exercise both. We are called to look forward, believing in faith that we will receive that for which we have asked. And we are called to look back, stopping time for a moment to rest our mind’s eye on the answers to those prayers. We must anticipate that the voice of God will speak in our lives, and also that the voice of God has spoken.

The Israelites knew this practice. They took time to set up memorials in honor of God-answered prayers. They marked locations with stones, time with festivals, people and places with names. They purposed in their hearts to recognize and remember.

Yet we, this time panicked culture, move too quickly to stop and expect that an answer has come.

Hurrying on from activity to activity, reflection ceases to be a priority. We sail right over God’s working with myopic and distracted eyes. We run too far ahead to hear Him say,

“I’ve done it. I’ve answered you.”

We leap to conclusions about God and His character, about our ability to hear, when all the while we just need to slow down, looking for and claiming answers.

It’s why writings on gratitude resonate with our soul. Gratitude conditions the heart to look back with expectancy that He is at work. Writing down our thanks is a memorial. May I humbly suggest some additional memorials?

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Whether as an iPhone app, a simple diary, or a running list of blessings, carving thankful thoughts into created space helps us to expect, remember, and expect again. Daily reflection is a discipline that widens our vision to see God at work.

2. Keep a memorial jar. As you begin to see answered prayer, on small pieces of paper, record the gift and place it in a large, clear jar, watching the answers mount. At the end of the year, read through the writings and reflect on the faithfulness of God.

3. Pile up memorial stones. When God does something miraculous in your life, when He answers specific prayers, write a simple representative word or phrase on a clean rock or stone and pile them up in a prominent place in your home. As the years go by, it will be a constant reminder that God has answered prayers in the past, and He will continue to do so in the future.

4. At the very least, keep record of answered prayer on your prayer cards or prayer journal. Just a simple date of fulfillment beside the request will trigger expectancy in prayer, both forward and backward.

Instead of marking time with passing minutes, let’s move through life from answered prayer to answered prayer, continually expecting His accomplished work in our lives.