One Body – Many Parts – How Hard Could It Be? | by Linda Brendle

From: Zeology The Art + Science of Sleep

I missed my Friday post, partly for the same reasons I’m writing instead of sleeping at 12:30 in the morning and partly for other reasons. First, we were out of data on our WiFi card and our new month didn’t start until Saturday, and even though I have unlimited data on my new iPhone, I wasn’t sure I was up to blogging on a three-inch keyboard. Second, we spent the morning winding up our New Year’s visit with David’s mom and the afternoon driving home. I intended to write on Saturday, but then the real reason kicked in – I was preoccupied. Several months ago our pastor asked if I would consider coordinating a one-day ladies’ conference our church was planning to host. If I had said no right then, I might have posted a blog on Friday, and I might be asleep right now. Instead I said I would think about it and pray about it and let him know.

I Miss Mom When I Pray | by Linda Brendle

Unless you’re a brand new visitor to my blog (and if you are, welcome!), you know that I cared for my parents for many years and that they both went home to be with the Lord in the last couple of years. Dad passed away on May 13, 2011, and Mom followed him on May 20 of this year. I was close to both of them, but especially to Mom, and on May 30 I wrote a post about how much I miss her. It’s become my most popular post, getting almost 1,800 views to date, almost three times as many as my previous favorite about why old people smell bad. 

Enlarging My Territory | by Linda Brendle

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)

Even the most devoted Biblical scholar might miss this obscure verse, surrounded as it is on both sides with chapter after chapter of genealogical lists. But in 2000, Bruce Wilkinson wrote his best-selling book The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life and the prayer of Jabez experienced its 15 minutes of fame. Our pastor preached a four-week sermon series on the prayer, and our church offered copies of the book at a bargain price and gave each of us a half-dollar-sized medallion with the prayer etched on it. In the book, Wilkinson encouraged readers to prayer this prayer of blessing for themselves on a daily basis for the next thirty days and see what happened. I took the challenge and, in fact, prayed the prayer regularly for at least a year.

Mother-In-Law Penance | by Linda Brendle

The Piatts – Easter, 2011

I forgot my daughter-in-law’s birthday. Bad mother-in-law! And what makes it doubly unforgiveable is that she was an answer to prayer.

Mom’s Shrinking Life \ by Linda Brendle

I visited with Mom earlier this week. There is less of her each time I see her. I’m not talking about physical size, although she is losing weight now that she can’t feed herself and can’t graze off the plates of her tablemates, but her life is getting smaller and smaller.

Pray Hard | by Linda Brendle

One day last week I was reading one of the blogs I follow and saw a word cloud based on Romans 12. One particular phrase jumped out at me: “Pray hard.” This is a phrase that I’ve seen and heard quite a bit, especially over the last few years, and it’s always raised questions in my mind. What exactly does it mean to pray hard? Being the deep theologian that I am, it evokes images of a 5 year old in the toy department, his tiny fists clinched, his face red with tense emotion as he implores his father.