Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 61 . . . prayer

Happy Sunday stampers! Time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is Lisa, a person I am happy to call friend. She has some great thoughts to share about her chosen verse from Matthew 6: 9-13 "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
Her challenge is to make a card/project that features prayer; either someone praying, or a verse about prayer, or a greeting that lets someone know you are praying for them.
Our sponsor this week is Layers of Color. You can visit them here: http://www.layersofcolor.com/blog/ or see on our home page the stamp set that one lucky winner from this week's participants will receive.
Before we get any further in this post I have to apologize for not doing any blog visiting, really, for almost a month. We are selling our home and trying to move to another state. Technically we were supposed to close last Friday but the date keeps floating . . .our buyer is doing an FHA loan and I'm told that's how it goes. It is a fortunate thing, because we in turn had a contract on a home which fell through when the appraisal came in too low. So we had to start the hunt all over again and nothing is finalized. We've been running back and forth between states on weekends, mid-week, and taking care of older relatives between times. I WILL get back to visiting other blogs and seeing all the lovely creations everyone else is making, but right now it just cannot happen between packing and house hunting and the rest of life.

Anyway, I know that I wouldn't be hanging onto my sanity if it were not for the prayers of those around me . . . my grown children, my husband and my Christian friends. I appreciate it, I covet it and I try to return the prayer favor as often as my mind turns to my friends and their needs. I believe God answers prayer. I have seen issues that melt away or problems resolve that never would have untangled on their own without divine intervention.

To me, when I think about prayer, it strikes me as the opposite of the poem Invictus. Basically its a very narcissistic piece written from the perspective of being in complete control of your own life. It ends with the lines "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

Raise your hand if you've ever been in a situation that was completely out of your control.

Ever been in a hospital room with a dying relative and the doctors themselves gently shake their heads . . . there is nothing they can do?

Ever been caught in the grocery store with a cart full of groceries and a toddler who decides to cut loose at that moment with a tantrum? Can you control a screaming toddler . . . can you really?

Ever have someone break up with you and walk away . . .nothing you do or say will change their minds?

Then there are the thousand and one little things that occur daily that are completely out of our control . . . the weather . . . the traffic . . . the economy . . . you very next breath.

So what does prayer do? It taps you into the source that does have the ultimate power, the authority as creator over all things. God is in control and when we pray we are handing over all of these concerns big and small, over which we have no control, and saying, Lord, you handle it. I know that your plan is so much bigger than anything I can conceive and I trust you. It doesn't necessarily give you the answer you think will work out best, but it means you place your trust in the Lord and bow your head to His will. Then you can take that next breath and sit back and relax. As it says in Isaiah 3o:15 "This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,"

You will find through prayer the rest that will quiet your soul.

There is so much more in the Lord's prayer, the verse that Lisa selected and I'm sure the rest of the design team have their own unique thoughts to share, but those are some of mine, just barely scratching the surface of the power and benefit of prayer. Hope to see your creations this week if you have a chance to play along. We hope you do!!!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Autumn Abundance, Clear Dollar Stamps sentiment
Ink: black and chocolate
Paper: PTI DP and . . . terra cotta I think
Other: copics and buttons {Hawaiian Shores and Orange Zest} and twine