Living Our September Days

God's not looking for prayer experts—he's looking for people who DO it!

We love to read books about prayer. We attend conferences where prayer is the speaker’s topic, and we talk about prayer at great lengths. But praying is hard work!

I’m no expert on the subject of prayer, but I keep reminding myself that God’s not looking for experts.
He’s looking for people who do it!

I wonder… in the Pie Chart that is your life, how big is the slice devoted to prayer?
I don’t ask to induce guilt or to point the finger of condemnation.
It’s a question I’m asking myself, too.

Maybe we struggle in prayer because the time spent praying is hard to quantify. I can spend fifteen minutes praying or fifteen minutes cleaning the bathroom. The results of one are far more obvious than the other—at least in the moment.

But what about the long-term “results?”
And exactly what do we mean when we talk about “results” in our prayer life?

In our “have it your way” culture, we need new eyes and a new heart to receive the wisdom of praying with open hands and leaving the “results” to God. And that’s exactly what God has given to us with the new birth:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Questions to Ponder About Prayer:

Do you pray with open hands and a “Your Will Be Done” mindset or has prayer become your Do-List for God?

In North America, we are preoccupied with success on every front. Is it possible to measure “success” in one’s prayer life?

What other questions come to mind? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

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Update on the Christmas Mittens

Four down and two to go! I think I’m gonna be ready! (The goal is one pair for each grandchild in time for Thanksgiving dinner…😅)

September Book Briefs

Here on the Hill…

The garden is beginning to sputter out. The beans are all in jars and the last of the red tomatoes are in the freezer. As we finish harvesting each section, we’re tilling the ground and sowing oats as green manure.

My attention is turning to fall, to getting serious about Christmas shopping and sewing a stocking for little Margaret (grandchild #6). It’s time to return to my “day job” as a substitute teacher. I want to develop a new conference series—a process that will stretch over the fall and winter months.

My speaking calendar is filling up for the fall. I’m really looking forward to spending November 2 at Blueberry Mountain Bible Camp in Weld, Maine for their Fall Ladies Retreat.

Then, on November 9 I’ll be joining the women of South Waterboro Bible Chapel for Bible teaching and lunch. I’m looking forward to gathering with them again—a group of welcoming women who have come to feel like friends!

If you’re planning an event for Christmas or looking ahead to 2025 and know that you’ll be needing a speaker, let’s talk about it.

Summer flowers will soon yield to fall colors, giving way to the promissory slumber of winter. So many pleasures and so much beauty is attached to life on this planet. Of course, all of this is nothing compared to "pleasures forever.”

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11)

Holding you in the Light,

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P.S. I know.
You didn’t think any picture could be as cute as the one I shared at the end of last month’s newsletter, but the cousins have been together a fair amount this summer, and…

Well, I think this one is cuter:

And, as always, I’m available to discuss whatever thoughts or questions this letter may have stimulated. I love hearing from readers!