Why We Pray

Christ went away to pray in the garden before the crucifixion. That night Jesus said "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mark 14:34). Lets stop there. 

Some of us have been in that very place. Some of us know all too well about that gut wrenching desperation. When life delivers unbearable heartbreak, unprecedented dispair, extreme anxiety: Jesus knows how we feel. He felt it too. 

"He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

Even in the face of the most gruesome death imaginable, Jesus prayed for God's will. 

This chapter of the bible absolutely breaks my heart. 

How many times have we prayed for God to change something in our lives? How many hours have we spent praying for OUR will to be done? And how many times have we given up because our prayers aren't answered? 

Maybe we are praying the wrong prayer. Maybe we should instead be praying for God's Will. God listens to our prayers and God answers prayers. But lots of times, God's answer to our prayers is either "no" or "wait". 

Then we ask: 

Why pray if my prayers cannot change the outcome? 

But have we ever considered the internal transformations that occur that in us when we pray? Have you ever noticed the peace that comes over us in the impossible situations? 

Maybe prayer changes our hearts more often than it changes the circumstances.

What if God uses prayer to meet us right where we are and change our perspective on something? The situation may not change, but prayer has the power to change us and our attitude towards a situation. 

 "But those who trust (and wait) for the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31

When I was pregnant with Baby Bear, I prayed a lot. 

For the first 2-3 months of my pregnancy, I prayed that God would find the perfect family to adopt Baby Bear. I prayed for MY will: not HIS will. 

One night, my prayer changed. I realized that I had not surrendered the situation to God. It was that night that I prayed the prayer for God's Will to be done in my life. 

From then on, my prayers were different. 

God worked in me day after day and through my prayers, He changed my heart. The situation never changed. At times it actually got worse. But despite the situation, God changed me. He gave me strength. He gave me peace. I knew He was in control. 

I do not believe in luck or coincidences anymore. God's hand is always guiding a situation. I believe in blessings, faith, surrender, and love.  

We have to let go of our will so God's plans can take flight.  

Maybe prayer changes our hearts more often than it changes the circumstances.

The Perfect Musician

By Your Side

Late night designing for the shop and Pandora can sometimes make a very interesting and emotional combination. I have always loved music. I love the poetry, the melodies, the rhythm  I grew up in a house where the sound of a guitar always accompanied me. My father is an amazing musician. Every night when he would come home from work, he would play until his fingers physically would not let him hold another chord. That guitar rang throughout the house, bounced off the walls at night and made its presence well known in every room. Reflecting on my childhood, that guitar remained through every circumstance. I remember it as a little girl. It was there through middle school instant messaging on the shared kitchen computer. It remained on the night after my first day of high school. It was there the night my family learned the news of Baby Bear's unexpected arrival, and it rang even louder. Through life's ups and downs, the music remained. It never left. It never stopped.

My father does not always have the words to say, but when he picks up a guitar there are no need for words. His emotions become melodies. His words become notes. He becomes what he is playing. Through the harder parts of life, his guitar remained. It is a part of him and as a direct result of musical osmosis, it has leaked into and become a  part of me.  

What an immaculate companionship: a musician and his music. Such pride is taken in his work. 

The same can be said for another Musician: The Perfect Musician. This musician does not always have words that we can hear, but He makes Himself known through the melodies and notes he orchestrates in His people. His music always remains. It never leaves. It never stops. As a direct result of musical osmosis, our Creator's melodies should leak into and become a part of the unreached places of this world. 

What an immaculate companionship: the Creator and his Creations. Such pride is taken in His work.

The image posted at above is from a song by Tenth Avenue North: By Your Side. It is so easy to forget that He is by our side. When I was younger, my father's guitar would sometimes drown away while I focused on more important issues. It was not always the center of my attention, but it was there. When we let God fade into the background noise,we forget that He is there. But when we take the time to  stop to listen, His melodies can easily be heard. And as we reflect on our lives, we start to appreciate the constant song of our God. 

In this busy life we need to stop and listen. Maybe then we will hear His melodies and start to harmonize with Him through our lives.

-Katie  

My Way vs. His Way

The Battle Between Planning and Faith

This morning God reminded me of His all consuming love and power over my life. Last week I made the decision to stay at home full with little Baby Bear time and dive head first into "The Art of Being You". This week alone has brought in multiple sales and for that I am so thankful. Praise God for the gifts He gave me and for the privilege of being able to get to know so many wonderful people on a daily basis! Please continue to support small business owners!! It means the world to us :) 

Speaking of Small Business Owners, I am overjoyed to share my Etsy Shop with you! First, lets talk about the "why" behind creating my own business! In October of 2012, I was in school full-time, working a part time job 11 hours a week, as well as being a mom & wife. I left the house at 7:00am and had classes until 2:00pm. I immediately left class and went straight to work from 3:00-7:00pm. I would then come home, eat a wonderful dinner that my family so graciously prepared for me, work on any homework for the next day, tuck Baby Bear into bed and then crash around 11:00pm. Though outwardly I seemed to have it together, my soul was screaming for God. I literally was too busy for Him. I would find myself searching for Him all day long but would never carve out enough space in my day for Him to find me. Something had to give. I knew that in order to hear what my Father was telling me, I had to SLOW DOWN and downsize my obligations in a major way. In November of 2012, I decided to take an entire semester off from college. In my head these words rang as constant background noise: "Woah woah woah, are you sure? You've worked your fanny off to get ahead in school so you can graduate early. What about all the hours of class planning and class transfer equivalency searching? What about all those e-mails you wrote to deans and professors asking what more you could do to assure deadlines were met, letters where appropriately written? What about ALL OF THAT STUDYING? Are you just going to throw it away?".

It was a Sunday afternoon after a church service when I realized that I had been trying so hard to make plans for my life that I had forgotten to ask God what His plans were. I had Baby Bear when I was 17 years old. He was very unplanned and since then, I had become obsessed with planning every detail of our lives to make sure that nothing unexpected caught us off gaurd. Guys, I not only had Plan A, I had Plan B, Plan C, and in some instances, Plan D. Do you know what all those plans push out the door? Faith. Trust. Surrender. Peace. I was pushing God's way out so I could make my way work. And you know what? It was EXHAUSTING. 

After the trip to Australia to visit my husband's family (more on that later), I started my first month as a stay at home mom and an online business owner. It hasn't even been a week and my soul already feels lighter. Cleaner. Less scattered. More focused. I cannot wait to see what God will do with the time I have carved out for Him.  I hope that you'll follow me through this journey. Share some laughs, a few tears, and maybe even a few ideas! I look so forward to writing again! 

To View my Etsy Shop, click here!

What has God been doing in your life recently?