Pray for Families (Share the joy)

Dearest Prayer Angels,

Have you ever played the “what if” game, either in your head or with your family? Wondering how your life would be different if…… you’d made different choices; had more/less kids; stayed single /gotten married; taken a different professional path?

Now consider how our life and our world would be different if the Blessed Virgin Mary had said, “No!” when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. For she certainly had some idea of what a “yes” would entail. Instead, she responded with complete surrender to the will of God. In consenting to give our Savior life, she was also saying yes to giving all of us new life through Him. In becoming His mother, she became ours. Her yes, changed everything. By cooperating completely with the will of God, she brought to us a Savior that would be the sacrificial lamb gaining for us eternal life.

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Luke 1:38

In these last couple days of Advent as you gather with family and those you have adopted as family, prepare your heart to be open to a new life in Him. Contemplate the joy of Mary and Joseph at the birth of Christ, and share in it. Surrender to Him, whatever you have been reluctant to let go of. Say "yes". Give lovingly of yourself to family and friends, making this a precious gift to the Newborn King. Say/sing a prayer of praise, and thank the Lord for the gift of family. May he continue to bring new life to all families.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Share the joy. Share the Gift. Pass it on.

P.S. There is special news that I will be sharing with you on Christmas Day. Check your email or this blog if you have time!

Pray for Marriages (Share the gift)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

Christmas is almost here and I feel the excitement building. I love the feeling of anticipation. I ponder what the anticipation of that first Christmas was like. What a holy night, that a Savior would be born to redeem us all!

Since there are twelve days of Christmas, with Christmas Day being the first, make sure you celebrate each day and contemplate what Mary and Joseph as a couple must have been experiencing. These twelve days will lead you to the feast of the Epiphany, when the 3 Magi arrived bearing gifts for the Newborn King. Again, contemplate what Mary and Joseph must have been thinking and experiencing!

As you journey through the twelve days of Christmas, consider a way to gift your marriage or that of a special couple in your life. Each day, give a non-material gift of love. Say a prayer for your spouse or a special couple. Make a personal sacrifice that will benefit your spouse or a special couple. Do the unexpected for your spouse or that special couple. The possibilities are endless. As you consider what to do, contemplate the amazing gift we were given in the birth of Christ.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:10

Keep the season holy. Pray for marriages, especially for those in most need. May their marriages be infused with new life, new hope, and enduring peace.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Share the gift. Pass it on.

Pray for Families (Sharing His presence)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

Christmas is a little over a week away and perhaps there are still a few presents that you have to buy. Perhaps you are wondering if you picked the right gifts for the right people. Maybe you are wondering if you bought enough presents to give. Ask yourself, “Will more gifts make someone think more about Jesus, the reason we give gifts? Will your gift help them see Jesus in you?” Perhaps someone in your life would be happier with your time versus a gift. Do you have a special talent? Perhaps that is the gift you should share.

Whatever you do, be sure to give the gift of His presence. Likewise, make sure you are open to receiving the gift of His Presence.

You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, shown to be a letter of Christ administered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh. 2 Cor. 3:2-3

Pray for families that they don’t get caught up in the gluttony of excessive gifts. Pray that they are able to be wholly present with each other when gathered so that His presence may be shared. Finally, pray for an abundance of grace to be poured out upon your family and every family during this beautiful Advent season.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Help share His presence. Pass it on.

Pray for Marriages (Removing Obstacles)

Dear Prayer Angels,

While reflecting on how to move closer to unity with God, it suddenly hit me that marriage is probably our best earthly training ground for achieving that. Whereas true unity in a marriage is impeded by various obstacles such a as selfishness, pride, stubbornness, and various vices, aren’t these the same characteristics that hamper our unity with the Lord? If we can’t display positive virtues in our marital relationship, will we be any more successful in our relationship with the Lord?

Seems like Advent is the perfect time to work on purging the old habits and behaviors that hamper unity, and work on replacing then with ones that can be given as true gifts: love, patience, kindness, helpfulness, understanding, and so on. A renewed countenance can make you a living expression of the Gospel. What a beautiful gift that would be to your marriage, not to mention the newborn King. Perhaps this is what gift-giving at Christmas is all about.

God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:8, 11

Pray for all marriages, that each spouse can toss what obstructs and replace it with the fruits of His grace.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Encourage a couple to make room for better gifts. Pass it on.

Pray for Families (Seeing with new eyes)

Greetings Prayer Warriors!

The Christmas Season is upon us and that conjures up images of people scurrying around, trying to find just the right present and methodically checking items off of their to-do list. Tree? Check. Decorations? Check. Cards completed and mailed? Check. Presents? Check. Prepare our hearts and mind for the birth of Christ? Oops.

Help yourself and your family by creating visual reminders. Since you will see Christmas trees everywhere, note how the needles point heavenward, pointing us to what the direction of our focus should be. The everlasting green should remind us that mankind should never lose hope in His promise. Look to the stars in the night sky as a symbol of His promise of a Savior. When you shop and see decorative gifts all over, remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son as the ultimate eternal gift to us. Remind yourself to give in that same spirit of generosity. Consider gifts of not just treasure but time.

Prepare our hearts and mind for the birth of Christ? Check!

Look, the heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Deuteronomy 10:14

Pray that your family may be blessed with the joy of the anticipation.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Help share the reason for the season. Pass it on.

Pray for Marriages (An Advent Prayer)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

I found this wonderful Advent prayer for couples and wanted to share it with you.

O, Lord, you know the stirrings in our souls this Advent season. You are the source of the longing you have placed in each of our hearts. Help us to respond to that grace and open our hearts to each other with the light of your love. Share your patient love with us so that we may bring that gift to each other and cherish each other in a special way this night. Please keep our hearts open to those in our lives and in this world who need, as we do, to be healed by your loving light. Send us to carry that light into the world and open our eyes to those in our midst who need your healing touch this night. Amen. (Taken from Creightons’s online ministry)

Lord, you will open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim your praise. Psalm 51:17

Carve out some couple time this Advent. Take time to pray together. Then pray for all marriages, that the light of Christ shines warmly upon them this Advent.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Share a prayer. Pass it on.

Pray for Families (Tenderness)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

Today I heard children sweetly singing Silent Night. It made me think of how we are to be like children before the Lord. So if we are to be child-like and Christ-like, what does that look like, I thought? Then came the line, “Holy infant so tender and mild”.

Wow, what an impact that would have on our families, not to mention all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, if we were to become tender and mild.

I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. Psalm 131:2

During Advent, pray for the grace to become tender and mild, especially with your family.

Peace, Love, and Joy,
Janet

Encourage tenderness in this world. Pass it on.