When Life Laps You

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest.

Matthew 11:28-29

"It feeled like 3 laps, Mommy."


Monday our six year old, Clara, decided she would join the ranks of runner. Filled with determination and energy, she wanted to stride right into a three mile run. With thousands of miles under my soles, I started her with a 1/3 mile lap around our neighborhood. Day one she outpaced me and never had to stop. Day two she struggled a bit and wanted to come home after 1/3 mile.


Have you ever had a day that clocked 1/3 mile but "feeled" like 3 laps? Have you ever wondered how to breathe rest on trying days? Prayer is the fuel for life's run.


Last fall we joined in prayer to get PrePrayed. We learned how to energize our ordinary days so we would be prepared for life's big events not just logistically but spiritually. Specifically, we prayed rest in four areas:


Rest for your heart


Rest for your soul


Rest for your mind


Rest for you body

Do you need to re-fuel? Why not take the next 30 days to recharge your heart and refresh your soul? You can download the complete free prayer guide, PrePrayed, here: http://www.shannonmilholland.com/free-resources.html

Please allow me the privilege of praying for you on your journey. Tell me in a comment specifically how I pray for you today.

Day 5 of Prayer Guide - Rest for Your Body

Day Five

Rest for Your Body

Proverbs 3:24b When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

How can one wake and feel as if the night vanished without the benefit of sleep?  You’re living on afternoon coffee, power naps and vitamins. A cold threatens. Your stomach feels unsettled.  Your joints and your brain ache. Exhausted one, come find rest for your body.

Today I Pray for You:

·         To have deep, uninterrupted sleep–sweet, reenergizing, restoring sleep

·         That God would guard your body and keep it running strong

Today You Pray:

Creator of my being, flow into every space. I breathe you in like a breath of heaven itself. You are my energy. You are my rest. 

I come to Your shelter, rest my head on Your lap and trust You to shield my body. I seek You with a longing heart. You know best how to care for me. Help me make wise choices in food, activity and sleep. Rest my body as I rest in You.

Rest for Your Mind - Day Four of Prayer Guide

Day Four

Rest for Your Mind

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Your usually organized thoughts jump one to the other like a pinball machine.  At moments you can’t distinguish where one thought ends and another begins.  Life seems like an endless train never reaching the station.  Frazzled one, come receive rest for your mind.

Today I Pray for You:

·         To focus your mind on the most important tasks and lay unnecessary things aside

·         To declutter your schedule and find spots of sweet serenity and hear from the One who loves you.

Today You Pray:

Prince of Peace, I slide my mind into Your hand. Reign there and eradicate the strain. Invade my brain with Your serenity.  Gather my scattered thoughts to Your heart.

Help me free my calendar and my mind to enjoy these days of preparation. I focus my mind on You, Prince of Peace. I trust You with every detail. My mind is set free by Your perfect peace.

Rest for Your Soul - Day 3 of Prayer Guide

Day Three

Rest for Your Soul

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Your relationship with God feels distant and strained.  Activity crowds the Savior out of your days.  Worry and stress mark the hours.  Anxious one, come flood rest into your soul.

Today I Pray for You:

·         To draw close to Christ and seek Him first and most

·         To roll your cares onto Christ so peace will roll into you.

Today You Pray:

God of Refreshment, my soul is weary.  I come dragging to Your feet to find rest.  As I pause in the blizzard of activity, I sense Your presence and remember You walk beside me on this journey.

You gave me this opportunity.  You worked in my life to bring it to pass. The what of my day seems insignificant here with the Whom. This realization allows me to make the great exchange – my cares for Your care for me.

Rest for Your Heart - Day 2 of Prayer Guide

So many of you communicated how this prayer guide met your need right where you are, so I decided to spend the next month and invite you on this prayer journey with me. When we've completed the 30 days together, I'll get the ebook ready and post it to my website (shannonmilholland.com). Thank you all so much for walking with me. It is my privilege to pray for you as we journey together!

Day Two

Rest for Your Heart

Psalm 4:7-8 You have filled my heart with greater joy...I will lie down and sleep in peace.

 Your heart twinges with a strange concoction of excitement and dread.  Questions bounce in your heart like a pinball machine.  What if I don’t succeed?  What if things don’t go as planned? What if I’m making the wrong choice?  What if…?  Worried one, come drink rest for your heart.

Today I Pray for You:

·         To seek His heart, so you can trust yours

·         To desire His approval, so you will need no other

Today You Pray:

God of Peace, questions circle my brain like fowl hunting a meal.  But I seek you first and most.  In the midst of my worry and hurry, I pause.  In the pause, You give life-giving peace.

Your joy floods my heart like rushing waters.  You know the outcome.  You walk with me on this path.  I trust You to be the Answer for my every question.

Preparing for Life's Big Events...Through Prayer

A note to my regular readers: I am taking a little side trip today to introduce a free resource I am working on for my website (shannonmilholland.com). I have noticed through the years that life's major events come with much planning but little prayer. I am writing a 30 day prayer guide to prepare for life's big events through prayer. I invite you to read the introduction and day one entry and would love your feedback. Does this prayer guide strike a chord with you? Does this meet a felt need in your life? Is there something you would change?

Introduction

The dress transforms the bride from ordinary girl to princess.  The flowers mark the air with the scent of love.  The band spills a melody that sweetens the heart.  Every detail is meticulously planned, coordinated and executed.  The day of the wedding is upon you. 

A disciplined regiment of diet and exercise leads to peak physical condition.  Early morning runs build in speed and duration.  Your iPod is packed with motivational melodies.  You stand at the starting line of your first marathon.

Study sessions flicker long past midnight.  Countless example problems are solved.  Thousands of facts are digested.  You sit pencil in hand to take your professional certification.

A big event never goes unplanned.  The graduation gown is ironed.  The baby is showered.  We even purchase new cleats for our son’s trip to the prestigious baseball tournament.  Every bit of the exterior of the event is well thought out.  But do we prepare our hearts? 

I want to invite you to take a 30 day journey with me to prepare for your next big event not just logistically but spiritually.  Together we will pray as we plan.  Come and find peace among the plans.

 

Day One

A Place of Rest

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Details swirl in your brain interrupting sleep.  You make lists at stop lights on the back of envelopes.  Ideas come to you at all hours of the day.  Your heart and your body are running on empty.  Weary one, come and find rest.

Today I Pray for You:

·         To unleash your burden.  Roll your cares onto the shoulders of the One who’s able to bear the load.

·         To find peace as you exchange your worries for His peace.

Today You Pray:

God of Rest, I come to You.  I pause here in Your arms.  I breathe in serenity.  You know there are more things to think about than my brain can hold.  I can’t sleep for thinking. 

I sit with my burdens in my arms.  I offer them to You.  Take them from me and give me Your rest.  Invade my frazzled brain with Your peace. 

Thank you for being my place of rest.