Gleanings

PrayerFAQ: God's Sovereignty and Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:25:00 +0000

Heart's Cry Promo

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Enjoy this 2- minute promo of Heart's Cry.

60-second message on a praying life

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:31:00 +0000

Listen here to The Praying Life Minute.

Order Don Mathis' Book

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Next week, Don Mathis will be my guest on Praying Life Live. I will be offering his newest book, and update of a classic, through the blog. I'll keep this special active through November. Order Surviving & Thriving in Today's Ministry: Prescription for Effective Leadership (updated & expanded) by clicking here.

New Bible Study--Music Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:42:00 +0000

In a few weeks my new Bible study, Set Apart, will be released. It is a 6 week study of the Beatitudes. It delves into the kind of holy heart that will produce holy behavior. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is describing His own hear, which He promises to reproduce in His followers. This theme song is based on a poem I wrote over 20 years ago, but that keeps being the content of the message. Roxanne Lingle and I wrote the lyrics. Roxanne wrote the music and it is Roxanne who is singing it. Let me know what you think!

click here to view

An Easter Message

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:13:00 +0000

From He Restores My Soul.

sexual purity before marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Watch this excerpt from FaceTime with Jennifer Kennedy Dean. My son and daughter-in-law talk about the commitment they had to purity before marriage and how they were able to keep that commitment. Maybe their testimony will give encouragement to other young people.

Watch This

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:42:00 +0000

This is a music video of Roxanne Lingle singing a song to which she and I wrote the lyrics. If you like this, watch for our new music video that will be released with upcoming Bible study, Set Aside: A Call to Holiness.

Homemade Granola from Laura Petherbridge

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Homemade Granola

½ cup oil
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 ½ cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
6 cups quick-cooking or old fashioned oats (not instant )
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup wheat germ (cereal aisle)
1 cup sweet shredded coconut
1 cup raisins (I use white or golden)
1 cup dried cranberries, craisins, or dried cherries, etc.

Place oven racks in 2 center positions. Preheat oven 350.

Spray 2- 11x17 jellyroll pans with nonstick cooking spray. In 1 qt microwave safe bowl combine oil, maple syrup and brown sugar. Micro, uncovered for about 3 minutes, or until the sugar starts to melt. Remove from micro and whisk until any lumps dissolve.

In 3 qt or larger bowl combine oats, walnuts, wheat germ and coconut. Toss and mix well. Pour the syrup mixture over the oats mixture and stir until well mixed. Spread evenly on jellyroll pans.

Place pan on each oven rack and bake for 10 min. Take note of which pan was on top rack, remove pans from over stir granola and place back in oven, rotating to opposite rack. (unless your oven will allow the pans to fit side-by-side) Bake for another 8-10 minutes and remove from oven, do not over brown. Cool granola in pans for 1 hour or until room temp. Sprinkle half raisins and cranberries over each pan. Stir to mix well. Store in airtight container, preferably glass jars or tins until ready to serve. Lasts up to 2 weeks. (I’ve gone longer)

Christmas after loss

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:22:00 +0000

By Laura Petherbridge
See a live interview with Laura on Celebrating Christ at Christmas. Register at www.prayinglife.org

Excerpt from “When Your Marriage Dies—Answers to Questions About Separation and Divorce”

PRACTICAL STEPS:

PREPARE. The ambush of emotions can attack at any time, prepare beforehand. Review the calendar and pinpoint the days or events that could trigger melancholy.

ACCEPT the difficulty of this time of year and your loss. Remind yourself that it’s a season and it will pass. Next year will be easier.

DISCERN when the loss of the spouse will be most evident. For example: their vacant spot at the dinner table, a traditional Christmas morning breakfast, or a favorite song. Don’t wait or deny the feelings.

SOCIALIZE Don’t hibernate. For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have a plan. Do not wait until the day before to decide. Insecure feelings may attack and tempt you to isolate yourself, force yourself to go anyway even if it’s only for a short time.
LOWER your expectations. Movies and songs paint a very unrealistic picture of the family at Christmas. Your family probably doesn’t resemble a Norman Rockwell painting but then neither does mine.

UNDERSTAND that those who have not experienced loss yet will not comprehend your grief. Friends and family may push a “just get over it” attitude thinking it’s helpful. They do not realize that you are mourning the death of your dreams and marriage.

DELEGATE Do not over commit. A frenzied mood will increase your stress. It’s all right to say no! Repeat after me, “I’m sorry but I’m not able to do that this year.”

DON’T ANESTHETIZE the pain with drugs or alcohol. Numbing emotional distress with chemicals creates more depression and leads to a greater sense of isolation. Divorce can formulate a vulnerable atmosphere and these chemicals make it worse.

MONEY. Put a holiday budget on paper. Evaluate how much money is available for gifts and then do not emotionally overspend. If this is an area of weakness for you or guilt is motivating your purchases then use cash instead of credit cards. Therefore when the dough is gone, it’s over!!

GUILT can induce overspending. Your kids don’t need presents they need a stable parent.

MEMORIES Let go of the memories and traditions you shared together. Don’t pull out old pictures. Dwelling on past holidays can fuel despair.

TRIMMING If old ornaments or trimmings cause too much pain don’t hang them this year. Put them aside for another time.

ASK friends to help with the tree and other items if you need it. They might not think of it on their own.

GET UP AND MOVE Take care of your physical well-being. During a divorce many people either stop eating or they over indulge. Healthy foods will give you strength; fattening and sugar filled foods can worsen your depression. In addition exercise produces natural stress reducers.

FANCY OCCASIONS can cause tremendous stress from what to wear to attending alone when others are in couples. Ask if you can bring a friend if that helps. And plan your outfit ahead of time. Borrow a dress if you have to or visit a consignment store.

SHOP online if going to the mall is too stressful.

TELL family members of the practical items that you really need this year. Don’t assume they will automatically know.

DEPRESSION is normal. If you are in a deep depression, and thoughts of suicide are intense seek help immediately. Do not minimize the effect holidays can have on your mental state.

COPING STRATEGY Have the phone number of your counselor, pastor, church, close friend or hotline already taped to your phone. Make the commitment to call someone when those thoughts get fierce. Have a coping strategy prepared. Review who to call, or a place to go if the stress or pain gets too severe. Ask for help!

LIGHT. Get some sunshine. Winter can take its toll on our emotions by the loss of sun we experience. If you work in an atmosphere with few windows make sure to take a walk on your lunch or break.

POSITIVE STEPS:

WRITE an “I’m Thankful” list. Right now it may seem difficult to find anything to be thankful for, but begin with things that we take for granted such as health, family, job, car, friends, etc.

INVITE a new same sex friend to see a movie, have dinner, or help decorate the house.

CREATE new traditions. Investigate unique ways to make the season meaningful. This could include a slumber party, hand made decorations or gifts, a musical or theatrical event, visiting a nursing home, or any act of charity. Videotape grandma or grandpa telling stories of their youth.

REVIEW the visitation schedule with your ex-spouse and the children at least one week in advance. This will alleviate any surprises and helps relieve any fears the children may be experiencing.

ALLOW your children to grieve. Their whole world has changed and the holidays are heartbreaking for them too. Don’t ignore their pain or buy gifts to ease the anguish. Kids translate love into one word T-I-M-E. They need you to listen.

RELIEVE TENSION by communicating with your family members who may be grieving the loss of the kids or traditions. Divorce has rocked their world too.

SET BOUNDARIES. Clearly and precisely explain to your family and friends what you are capable of doing this year, and what you aren’t. Don’t let others guilt you into taking on more than you can handle. Say NO!!

HELP the children buy a small, inexpensive gift for your ex spouse and ex in-laws. This communicates your permission for them to love the other family and eases the tension in their minds. I know… it’s a hard one.

REACH OTHERS by discovering people that might be alone during the holidays. Suggestions: an exchange student, someone who’s estranged from family, those who live away from family, a elderly person, a single parent, homeless shelters.

CONNECT with a support group. Many times they have fun activities planned for the holidays. www.divorcecare.org

BE CREATIVE. Do something completely different this year. Visit a friend, take a cruise, go to the mountains or the beach, go skiing or hiking. The list is endless.

TREAT YOURSELF to cozy bed linens in a magnificent color or a luxurious bath. A new pillow can work wonders for neck tension.
CALL an old same sex friend. Sometimes it helps to rekindle the relationships that faded during our marriage.

Stress Fighting Tips: a walk on a still winter night, stroll through a greenhouse or flower shop, a massage, brush your hair, a soothing vanilla candle, a cozy cotton nightgown (Karen Neuburger is my personal favorite), neck exercises, a manicure or pedicure, a warm drink such as herb tea, a funny book, show or movie (ex: the Johnny Carson collection), stretching, draw or sculpture, get out the hammer and build something, finish the basement, faux paint, pull out an old train set, read words of hope.

Sit near a nativity scene and ponder the life of each figure. Put yourself into the sandals of a person present that night. Can you hear Mary’s cry of labor as she delivers? Do you observe the sweat on Joseph’s brow as he helps her? Might you squint in beholding the brilliance of the star? Then lift the Holy Child out of the manger and recognize the Lover of Your Soul. Look at him really look at him. He alone teaches how to embrace the truth of Christmas. He was born to earth for one reason…to die. He came to sacrifice himself for one reason…YOU. He left heaven because YOU were worth it. His love for YOU is that intense, that passionate, and that perfect. Drink it in my friend; this is where peace for your weary soul is found.

Gold represents that He is a King, the Frankincense represents He is God. But the Myrrh tells His purpose. He left heaven for me…and you. That’s how much he loves us. One Reason. You are worth saving. You are the Beloved. You are worth the price He had to pay to adopt you. You have value.

Chas Spurgeon he writes in Morning and Evening,”If I can bring Him nothing but my tears, He will put them with His own tears in His own bottle for He once wept; if I can bring Him nothing but my groans and sighs, He will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for He once was broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit. I myself, standing in Him am accepted in the Beloved...He is content and I am blessed.”

Tears and sighs, if surrendered to Him, are precious gifts at the foot of the cross. And they are as magnificent and majestic as the Magi’s gifts 2,000 years ago. Oh! What a Beautiful Baby!
His adorable toes. Can you imagine being Mary and kissing those chubby pink feet? And then 33 years later seeing them bruised, battered and bleeding with a spike through them.

The blood is because you were worth it...Because that’s how far love reaches when it’s pure and undefiled. Because God’s arm and feet are never too far away from those who call to Him.

Share and pour this Love…this unique, relentless, zealous love of Jesus…over their wounded hearts and they will find peace. Heavenly peace.

Lpether@bellsouth.net www.Laurapetherbridge.com

Christmas Widow

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:21:00 +0000

My husband died two weeks before Christmas in 2005. He was always our Christmas guy! The annual trip to pick out the Christmas tree was a father-son event from the time our three sons, now grown, and was the kick-off to Christmas season. He loved buying the gifts (although he left the wrapping to me!). He loved Christmas carols and Christmas foods and Christmas cards. He is the one who made Christmas, Christmas. So it seemed right that he would “go home” just in time for Christmas and celebrate his favorite holiday in the grandest style.

But we were left dumbfounded. A Christmas without him was the first event of our grief. His illness had taken up the time usually spent Christmas shopping, so no tree was in place and no gifts bought. I tried to go out and make up the deficit by buying gifts, but I would have a meltdown in the middle of the mall and have to leave quickly before someone called for a straight-jacket. So I gave up.

My youngest son and his then girlfriend, now wife—Stinson and Stephanie—went to the Dollar Store and bought loads of gag gifts and wrapped every single one. That Christmas morning, though tree-less and decoration-less, we did have gifts and laughter. Mostly, we were numb.
The first year of my widowhood was excruciating. I couldn’t leave my house because I never knew what memory might ambush me and send me into a tailspin right in public. I started explaining to my friends and my sons, “A widow lives in my body and I don’t know her. I don’t know how she’ll act. I don’t know what to expect from her. I can’t let her out in public.” The end of the first year, Christmas came again. All my sons came home. We prepared to attend Christmas Eve services, one of my husband’s favorite things, and I had to gather myself up emotionally and prepare myself. My sons—who were not used to having a mom who cried all the time—hovered around me and kept asking me, “Are you OK, Mom?” And it hit me. Oh my goodness! I’m fragile! I had never been fragile before.

I am halfway through my third year of widowhood. I feel like myself again. The widow and I have integrated. But Christmas is coming.

I have written a new book, out this season, called Pursuing the Christ. It is a daily devotional for the Advent season. Daily morning and evening prayers for the month of December. It has made me think about Christmas all year. Christmas has become precious to me again. I want to invite you to a free webcast called Celebrating Christ at Christmas . All you need is a computer and you can watch it from the archives. It will be a girlfriend gathering with several of your favorite authors giving hints for new traditions you can start in your family. Laura Pretherbridge will talk about Christmas after loss and Denise Glenn will give tips for single moms. Register for this free web event at www.prayinglife.org. See you there!

Celebrating Christ at Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:16:00 +0000

If you have watched Celebrating Christ at Christmas, then join the conversation.

The Two Adams (Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ)

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:46:00 +0000

If you are doing the study The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ... new thought.

I'm reading The Climax of the Covenant by NT Wright. I came across a thought that enhanced Week 3 in the study, the week entitled The Overcoming Life. In the section showing the contrasts between the two Adams, beginning on page 56. Taking off on my own direction, sparked by a thought from NT Wright on a completely different topic ...

The first adam grasped for equality with God and created the need for a Savior. The Last Adam relinquished equality with God willingly to accomplish the task of salvation. (Phil 2:6-8) If you are not familiar with the study, please do not take this statement out of context. I am NOT saying that Jesus was not fully God when He was also fully man.

Phil 2:6-8
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himselfand became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (NIV)

jkd

The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:46:00 +0000

If you are doing The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ study...

I keep seeing new things in the Scripture about the blood of Christ, so I add them to special collection documents, which you can find at www.prayinglife.org. Look on the front page, on left hand side, just under the One Year Prayer Challenge icon. You need the book to log in because the username and password are the ISBN. Here is how you get access: These special collection documents for The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ can be accessed by using the ISBN number on the book. NO SPACES OR DASHES. The ISBN number is in the lower right hand corner of the back cover just above the bar code. Your user name is the first 5 digits of the ISBN and the password is the last 5 digits.

The reason I password protect these documents is that they will not make sense to a person who is not familiar with the study and they will be misunderstood out of context.

Covered in the Blood

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:46:00 +0000

This will be especially meaningful if you are doing or have done the study The Life Changing Power in the Blood of Christ. This is from my friend, Beth Misner. I have provided the link to her blog.

Ezekiel 16 is a tragic love story of epic proportions; here is how it starts: “On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth. No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.

“But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’…you grew up and became a beautiful jewel…but you were still naked…so I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine. Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.”

This love story goes on to tell how the Lord God lavished his bride with expensive jewelry, the most exquisite clothes and shoes as well as the choicest foods. “You looked like a queen, and so you were!” continues the Lord. All our hearts resonate with the theme of this story–the knight in shining armor rescued the lonely, abandoned girl, made her His queen and took her to the castle to live.

But then our senses receive a shock as the story takes a sharp turn…Israel became self-absorbed and “thought [her] fame and beauty were [her] own.” She began to turn her heart away from her husband, the Lord, and turned to idolatry. “You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute.” God uses the strongest language to describe this betrayal and unfaithfulness to Him. “Unbelievable! How could such a thing happen?”

And then the greatest shock of all comes: “Then you took your sons and daughters—the children you had borne to me—and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough? Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?”

God’s reaction to this horrifying turn of events is to return Israel to her former condition: “I will strip you naked in front of [your lovers] so they can stare at you…I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.”

But our God isn’t satisfied to let the story end there. He truly LOVES this abandoned child-turned-woman. He audaciously enters into humanity, into space and time, into mortality, to be stripped naked Himself and covered in blood, exchanging places with the abandoned child who laid in the field, left to die.

And now, once again, we are His, wrapped in His cloak, bathed and washed clean of our blood, rubbed with salt and fragrant oils. We are the Bride of Christ, in a holy covenant of marriage to God Himself.

How carefully do we live our lives so that we remain faithful to this Groom? Do we even recognize the things that pull our attention and our focus away from Him and become idols in our lives? I pray that each one of you reading this will prayerfully examine your own life to see what altars you might have constructed out of the lovely things He has given you.

We experience two different responses when the depth of meaning of this love story recounted in Ezekiel 16 stirs our hearts, and I believe both responses will lead us into a time of focused prayer.

We experience remorse and a conviction about those things that have become idols in our lives, coming between and before our Great God. This remorse will lead us into prayer of deep, deep repentance as we not only confess these things to God, but also commit to changing that and tearing down those altars upon which we have been worshiping.

We also experience overwhelming gratitude and thanksgiving that he was willing to be stripped naked and covered in our blood. We experience elation and great joy that God, in His infinite patience, mercy and love, is still willing to wash our blood off us, purifying us so that we can be his bride! Our prayers of rejoicing and praise are our honorable sacrifice and worship to our God.

By Beth Misner (c) Beth Misner. Used by permission.

Prayer Group Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:46:00 +0000

Tell us about your prayer group experience. What have you learned by being in a prayer group? How do you conduct your group time? What works and doesn’t work for you? Give advice and share experiences and encouragement. You Moms In Touch gals out there—let’s hear from you!

Check out the paper on the power of agreement.

Praying Out Loud

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:23:00 +0000

Thank you, Karen, for letting us use your honesty for a launching pad to discuss this fear and for those of you who took the time to leave a comment. May I suggest that when you are leading a prayer group, do not set things up so that any person is going to be forced to pray out loud. Don’t go “in order.’ Let people pray conversationally—short prayers, entering into the ongoing conversation as they want to.

Here is a passage from Heart’s Cry, Chapter 9, which is about praying in groups. Audrey is my mother, Audrey Kennedy.

Before this small prayer group started, Audrey’s experiences in group praying had not been encouraging. “In my experience, you went around the room and prayed in order. There were so many ways to be intimidated. If the person right before you said what you were going to say, then what? Or if someone prayed so eloquently and beautifully, how could you follow that? I was always busy listening to people’s words, not to their prayers. I felt put on the spot. I felt it my Christian responsibility to come up with a good, heart‑felt prayer.”

When Audrey’s first prayer group began, she didn’t define it as a prayer group. They were a group of women who wanted to know more about prayer. They began to learn that they didn’t have to use anyone’s church or denominational language. They used conversational prayer. The women from this prayer group helped each other become aware of God in every situation. They helped each other tear down barriers to intimacy. When they were together, their attention was focused on realizing the power of God among them. Even when they were addressing each other in conversation, they knew that God was communicating through and among them. This group met weekly for years and still retain a deep bond today, even though the members live in different cities. They are still actively involved in prayer for one another.

Since then, Audrey has started three other prayer groups. Each one started when people felt a need to learn more about prayer and asked Audrey if she would help them. The second prayer group started when three women from three denominational backgrounds expressed to Audrey their hunger to know how to pray. Eight women attended their first meeting. In a month attendance had grown to 32. They met weekly and soon expanded the time allotted from one hour to two. From this prayer group, a couples’ prayer group and another women’s prayer group began. Audrey met weekly with the original group for five years, until she moved away. When she left, the groups were still going. (Heart’s Cry, Chapter 9)

the freedom of obedience

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Here is something I wrote during my late husband's illness. Today's events in my life have reminded me that when I think I am being restricted, I am really being protected. Blessings, friends.

The Freedom of Obedience
Today as I sat beside Wayne's hospital bed, I watched a parable in action.Wayne is being fed and medicated by IV right now. Lots of tubes acting as the conduit through which life and healing flow. Wayne is very restless. He keeps moving his arm in such a way that the IV lines get tangled and the healing flow can't get to him. When he starts moving his arm too much, we have to take his hand and gently hold it down so he won't get the lines tangled. It frustrates him. He feels we are restricting his freedom. He is missing the context. All he knows is he wants his hand to move and we want it to be still. He can't see that what he thinks is restriction is really freedom-- freedom to receive the flow that sustains his life.

Like Wayne, we often chafe at God's call to obedience, thinking it restricts us. Our view is narrow. We can't see that His loving hand on ours is freedom. It keeps us in the place where His power and provision flow. It keeps us from moving out of the flow of His Life.

This morning when I got to Wayne's room, they had tied that restless hand to the bed with just enough give that he had freedom, but not license. In other words, he could move his hand, but only within the confines of that which was safe for him. It was a comfortable, soft little cuff around his wrist, but it surprised me and hurt me when I saw it. I thought, how much better when the discipline comes from a loving hand. How much better when that "restriction" is accompanied with a loving touch and gentle words instead of in a impersonal "law" that has no heart.

See how much God loves us? His guidance comes to us from His loving hand, accompanied by His gentle voice, until we learn by experience that His commands set us free."I will run in the path of your commands,for you have set my heart free" (Ps 119:32).

Challenge for Today

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will. (A.W. Tozer)

Afraid to pray out loud?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Many, many people have a great fear of praying out loud. You, too? Common, common issue. Let's talk about it. Here is an email I recieved recently, and with permission, I am sharing it with you. If you are struggling with the same fear, let's walk this out together. Have you conquered that fear? Share some insight. Have some encouragement? Share it. Are you a leader who needs to understand that many in your group have this fear? In fact, there are many people who will not attend events for fear they may be called on to pray aloud. Here is Karen's email:

I have been a Christian all my life. My family attends a Lutheran church and I attend a weekly Bible study class at a very large church which is an Evang.-Free. (In fact they are doing your "Live A Praying Life" study this fall). I have what I perceive as a BIG stumbling block. Even though I am a strong believer and Jesus is an integral part of who I am, I cannot pray outloud (and have a really hard time even putting my thoughts in words to pray it silently). When the Bible study ends they do open prayer or go around the circle and everyone (except me) adds on to it. I panic. The other attenders are very supportive and say it will come with practice. They encourage me to just say what is in my heart. I have even asked God to help me but nothing comes--is like a break in the connection between my heart and my spoken word. I am almost afraid to do your study this fall but I am signing up for it anyway. (I imagine since the subject is prayer, the group will do alot of praying outloud). (What is really ironic is my son is in Sheila Walsh's new book "Get Off Your Knees and Pray."). He is 24 and has Down syndrome and even though he doesn't pray in formal prayers, he talks to God all the time (and angels). He has extremely severe sleep apnea and 2 years ago the drs. told me that medically speaking, he should be dead but that God must have a special mission for him that has not been completed yet. I feel a oneness with God in my soul and inner self but can't seem to get it out to pray in words. What is wrong with me? It seems everyone can pray outloud but me. Do you think I should take your course or will I stick out? Thank you so much for reading this.

OK. What do you have to say to Karen? Use the comments link. In a few days, I will post some of my responses. You're smarter than I am! What do you have to say?

Starting Again

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:46:00 +0000

You can see that it has been a long, long time since I have blogged. Many of you will know that my darling husband, Wayne, was diagnosed in October 2005 with brain cancer and he passed away on December 13, 2005. During that time I kept a blog to keep everyone updated on our situation. If you want to visit that blog, it is at www.waynedean.blogspot.com. I would love for you to visit the blog and read our sons' tributes to him.

Anyway, I have been recovering for two and a half years now. I think I'm almost back. I explained to my friends, "A widow now lives in my body. I don't know her. She falls apart and cries and does all kinds of things I can't control. I never know what to expect of her." I think in this third year of widowhood, the widow and I have integrated. I recognize myself now. Tears still come unexpectedly, even after the passage of time, but not as often and not as freely.

I am taking up blogging again. I'll try really hard to blog weekly. Visit again soon.

Wandering Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 02:27:00 +0000

“The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases” (Prov. 21:1).

If your thoughts wander during your prayer time, instead of trying to force them back into your pre-set agenda, try following them. Perhaps the Lord has another agenda.

(Jennifer Kennedy Dean)

For Me

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 02:21:00 +0000

For Me

It was for me
He took on the time and space constraints of earth
Let a veil of flesh conceal His worth
Set redemption’s plan in motion with His birth
It was for me

It was for me
He gave up His flesh, an offering for my sin
Let God’s wrath toward me be spent on Him
Poured out His Life so my life could begin
It was for me

It was for me
He threw off the time and space constraints of earth
Shed His veil of flesh, revealed His worth
Opened up for me the way to Spirit-birth
It was for me

Jennifer Kennedy Dean
© 2001

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 13:44:00 +0000

Prayer is an art or a skill. It has to be learned and practiced. It has to be honed and polished. Does that surprise you? Look around you. Whom do you know who seems to have power in prayer? Does your own experience in prayer seem weak and ineffectual in contrast? It is not because that person is more loved by God than you are. It is because that person has, with patience and perseverance, become skilled in the art of prayer.

When a person is born with an innate talent for music, that talent must be cultivated if it is to reach its fullness. A person may be born with a gift for music, but that doesn’t give the person the ability to read notes or play an instrument. The skilled musician is one who has taken lessons, watched and imitated the masters, studied, and above all, practiced. Practiced, and practiced, and practiced. The mature musician has mastered the basics. The fundamental laws of music have been drilled into him through diligence and discipline. Finally, the basics have become part of him. As automatic as the blinking of his eye. Then he begins to find his own, unique style. The music becomes his focus rather than the fundamentals. He is able to use the fundamentals to compose his own music. He has honed his skill and has moved from diligence and discipline to delight.

You, my dear friend, when you were born into the kingdom of God, were born with the innate talent for prayer. It is encoded into your spiritual DNA structure. It is written into your spiritual genetic blueprint. No one, living or dead, has more prayer potential than you do. The fact that you have picked up this book and have read this far tells me that you are beginning to awaken to that innate talent. There is a stirring, a restlessness that pushes you to look for answers. It is the Spirit Himself, calling you to develop the art of prayer.

When we learn how prayer operates, we discover that prayer is simply responding to God’s love, saying ‘yes’ to what He offers, receiving from Him all that He desires to put into our lives. “Prayer... is the opening of a channel from your emptiness to Gods fullness.” (E. Stanley Jones, Abundant Living)

Prayer is more than the words that come sandwiched between “Dear God” and “amen.” Through prayer you can live in a continual intimacy with Him that satisfies all of your eternal longings.

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

More than anything, I want to be a skilled and trained intercessor. I want my life to have optimum effect for eternity. I want continually to progress in the art of prayer.

There is only one Prayer Teacher. Jesus Himself will teach you to pray as you yield yourself to Him. Look to Him. Be alert to His leading. He delights in teaching you to pray. Right now, enroll in His school of prayer.
(Jennifer Kennedy Dean. All rights reserved.)

Count the Cost Then Count the Reward

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kennedy Dean) — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 13:25:00 +0000

Teri Horton bought an abstract painting from a junk store in California for $5.00. Ten years later, she discovered that the “junk” she purchased was likely an original Jackson Pollock painting and could be worth more than $10 million. Let’s project our imaginations into the future and suppose that Ms. Horton has been paid $10 million for the painting that cost her $5.00. Let’s imagine that she is sitting in the palatial mansion the money has afforded her and that she is dripping in jewels and draped in fine designer clothing, none of which she could have afforded previously. Imagine that I ask her, “What did that Jackson Pollock painting cost you?” How do you think she would answer that question? I think she would say, “Cost me? It cost me nothing. It gained me $10 million and afforded me everything I own.” When the profit far outweighs the investment, we call it gain. The initial cost is swallowed up in the benefit it obtains, and it shows up on the “profit” side of the balance sheet.

Jesus challenged those who would be His disciples first to count the cost. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14:28-30). He made it clear that to be His disciple would cost a person everything. But Jesus also challenged those who sought to be His disciples to count the reward. After you count the cost, then count the reward. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). When the benefit far outweighs the cost, we call it gain.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Phil. 3:7-10).

Do you see what Paul is saying? He said that he gave up everything he valued because when he compared it to “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,” everything he valued was rubbish. It was nothing. It was less than nothing. The worth of everything he valued was swallowed up in the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. If we could ask Paul, “What did radical discipleship cost you?” I think Paul would answer, “Cost me? It cost me nothing and gained me everything.” (Jennifer Kennedy Dean. All rights reserved.)