"Where Do I Begin?"

As I hit my knees yesterday morning that was my thought; "Lord, where do I start???"

So much grief around, so much sadness keeps continuing....in the past two weeks we have had 2 wakes, the funeral of a close friend and another death Saturday of very close friends family member.

If we go back to January...since then; ranging from as dear to me as my sister to friends or family of people close to us,....the count is almost 20!  It is overwhelming 💔😥 (and that isn't mentioning the illness, injury and heartbreak going on around us as well)

📖    Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn   Romans 12:15

I took a breath and it just flowed over me "Start with the heart"  MY heart...humbling my heart before my God.

📖  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus;

Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross! Phillipians 2:5-8

📖  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:4

Asking Him to remove all things that get in my way of serving Him, properly worshiping, interceding;

📖 Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

📖 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31

📖 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22

Once my heart is where it needs to be, then the petitions can flow.

📖 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

📖 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

📖 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:2

📖 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ....

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  Colossians 1:3, 9-12

Letting the Holy spirit intercede when I haven't the words.

📖 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

And then not to forget once I get up and move through my day...

📖 pray continually, 1 thessalonians 5:17

📖 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:16

AMEN

And I pray for you too!❤🙏