The Psalms is the Old Testament book that is most quoted by New Testament authors and in many cases these passages are revealing, reflecting, and finding their ultimate fulfillment in the person of Jesus. We’re going to step inside the Psalms in this series and meet Jesus there.

Personal Update:

Ever have “one fo those days?” Well, last week I had 7 of them! It seemed as if nothing went right. And I started to let my circumstances influence how I felt about myself. But our circumstances don’t define us, God does. 

About Prayer

The fact that God wants us to talk to him, that he listens and responds…that should spark awe in us and bring forth worship.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  1 John 4:10 & Romans 8:35, 38-39

Prayer:  Psalm 132:11-12 & Matthew 22:41-46

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

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“Indeed, the practices of Christian spirituality, which we often treat as mini accomplishments, are meant to undo our fixation on accomplishment. They are meant to remind us how to live by grace rather than performance.” - Justin Ariel Bailey

Today we’re praying about what we pursue and how we pursue it.

Personal Update:

Last week, we spent a day sorting through the belongings of my ex-husband after his death.It was a difficult, sweaty job and it really got me thinking about the “stuff” I have accumulated over the years. About the story my possessions would tell if a stranger were going through them.

About Prayer

Our lives and our relationships all experience “seasons.” Let’s talk about what that means for our prayer lives.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Psalm 90:1-4

Prayer:  Ephesians 2:8-10 and Philippians 3:10-14

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

In a 2013 blog post, Seth Godin, marketing and thinker extraordinaire, has said this, “Measurement is fabulous. Unless you're busy measuring what's easy to measure as opposed to what's important.” He wasn’t talking about spiritual things. But he was talking about the results of measuring the wrong things and the importance of measuring the important things. Exactly what we’re going to pray about today.

Personal Update:

We have a new family member in the house, my mom got a dog! And, oh boy, had we forgotten what it’s like to have a toddler, I mean, puppy, around!

About Prayer

We’ve been talking about our postures in prayer, how we use our body to communicate. Today we’re going to look at a related topic: how we use our voice. How can we bring our full selves to prayer in an emotionally authentic way?

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Zephaniah 3:17

Prayer:  John 12:42-43 and Mark 12:28-33

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

I was looking at quotes about success and it was really interesting how different they are, how many mention failure, and how many list different requirements to succeed. But I thought this was interesting: Kevin Spacey said, “Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get.”

Success is something that isolates us, he says. It separates us from all the things that really matter - community. Not a common perspective but interesting as we’re talking today about the kind of success we chase after.

Personal Update:

A late-night rescue of my teenage son reminds me of the importance of gratitude in all circumstances.

About Prayer

You were probably familiar with the other prayer postures we’ve talked about in previous episodes, but this week we’re going to talk about one less familiar–lying prostrate before God.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  1 Peter 1:18-19

Prayer:  Luke 12:13-21

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

Many of us have canisters on our kitchen counters that hold utensils. Right now I have too many utensils and I have two canisters near my oven. One of them is simply a bronze metal one. The other I ran across about 5 years ago and it screamed at me from the shelf, “Take me home with you.” So, I did.

It’s white ceramic with text on it that says, “Measure your life in love.” And that’s what we’re going to explore in this new series. How do we measure our lives? What is success?

Personal Update:

A month or two ago, I promised a periodic studio update, so today I let you know what’s been happening with my creative practice.

About Prayer

Are you someone who “talks with your hands”? Hands are an expressive part of all conversations and we talk about what to do with them in prayer.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Isaiah 45:5-7

Prayer:  Jeremiah 33:1-3, Psalm 139:1-5, 23-24, and Psalm 5:12

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

What are a few things that you know exist…but you cannot see? You might answer the wind. Love. Or anger. We know these things exist because we see their effects in the world. That's a bit like one of the themes we’ll be praying through today. God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, but he is very present.

Personal Update:

A month or two ago, I promised a periodic studio update, so today I let you know what’s been happening with my creative practice.

About Prayer

Sitting or standing during prayer is common in our churches, but many potestant churches do not practice kneeling during prayer. Today we talk about the origins of kneeling and what it means in prayer.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Nehemiah 9:6

Prayer:  Romans 8:28 and Matthew 28:20b

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has said, “It's hard for young players to see the big picture. They just see three or four years down the road.” Now, if I asked you to think about where you’ll be in 5 years, you most likely consider that to be big picture thinking. But that quote shifts our perspective.

We need to draw back from the immediacy of the every day and think longer term at times. And as we look at scripture, we need to keep in mind the big picture too, not only thinking verse by verse. So that’s what we’re doing today, looking at a few big picture themes from the book of Esther.

Personal Update:

After a few weeks of personal issues interrupting the podcast, I’m back today and catch you up on what’s been happening.

About Prayer

We open a small series talking about prayer postures today with the question, “Do we need to close our eyes during prayer?”

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Psalm 145:9

Prayer: Esther 1:3-4, 4:16, and 9:1

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

Charles Ketttering said, “It is the ‘follow thought’ that makes the difference between ultimate success and failure, because it is so easy to stop.” We have a few examples of follow through today, both human and holy as well as the conclusion of Esther’s story.

Personal Update:

I spent part of my Saturday working on a quilt project for a friend. I finished a handful of blocks, but it was a struggle. I spent much of the work time unpicking and re-making. It was a reminder about why process is as or more important than product.

About Prayer

The way we teach and talk about prayer often puts it squarely in the “obligation” category. It becomes a to do list item to check off, something we develop elaborate systems or routines to maintain, or something to feel guilty about. Is prayer an obligation? Speaking to the ones we love happens naturally and so should talking to God. Sometimes we schedule important conversations, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. How does this apply to your prayer life.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Psalm 147:5

Prayer: Esther 8:1-3, 8:15-17, 9:1-2, and 10:1-3

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

We often think that last week’s verses –Esther’s decision–are the highlight of the action in this book–the main event. It’s certainly the part that we remember and talk about most often. But, this week’s chapters have as much drama as any Hollywood movie and a big dose of poetic justice.

Personal Update

A conversation over a congratulatory dinner out reminded me just how important our words are.

About Prayer

Boredom and a lack of focus are often listed as common struggles in our modern-day prayer lives. While it’s true that culturally, we’re losing the ability to focus, maybe if we don’t treat our prayer life as a laundry list of requests, we can bypass some of those issues. We talk about another way to think about our prayer life today.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Psalm 150:2

Prayer: Esther 5:1-2, 5:9-13, 6:6, and 7:3-9

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com

Are you an overpacker? The kind who has to sit on their suitcase to get it to close? Or get help to zip the zipper on their bag shut? Well, I’m not usually an over packer, but I think I’ve done that with this episode! We get into the part of Esther today that everyone knows and loves!

Personal Update

There are times in our lives when we need to reevaluate our won mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual capacities. In those times, pay close attention to what your body, mind, and spirit need and do what you need to do to be healthy.

About Prayer

The words we use in prayer should be respectful and reverent, but also authentic and honest. God is more concerned with the state of our heart than the formality or form of our speech.

Weekly Prayer Focus & Today’s Verses

Worship:  Psalm 34:1-9

Prayer: Esther 2:15-17, 3:5-6, and 4:10-16

My evening Facebook posts focus on praying scripture. I’d love you to join the conversation there:  www.facebook.com/graceandthegravelroad

Or, connect with Grace & the Gravel Road out on Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceandthegravelroad

If you’re interested in how to meditate on scripture, check out this link: https://graceandthegravelroad.link/meditate

www.graceandthegravelroad.com