The Response Promo from The Response USA on Vimeo.

The Response is a call to prayer for a nation in crisis today, August 6 2011. I would encourage all of you to tune into the live stream. We need to take a stand for our nation.

Click here to tune-in.

What was your response?

Hello everyone, I am now adding a new category to L4J for my favorite quotes…or for quotes that I find that really impact me.

So today I will post my first favorite quote. It is one that has stuck to me for the past couple days by CS Lewis:

I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me. -CS Lewis

Wow…what a heart. What an awesome realization about prayer. I tell you the truth, I often pray with the intent of changing God’s mind. I believe during those times, I am completely off. I think CS Lewis put it perfectly here. Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes me.

Lets all try to apply this principle to our prayer lives. We should pray because we need to, just like we need to eat, and sleep, Knowing it is to change us, not God.

What do you think? Do you have anything you have learned about prayer you would like to share? Do you have a favorite quote that you would like to share with us? If so, please indulge us by leaving it in the comment form below!

I hope you all enjoyed this quote. If you did, be sure to check back for more and to share this with your friends as well by clicking the share or tweet buttons at the top of this page. I really appreciate it!

In God’s Love and Grace,

Communication; it plays  such a vital role in any successful relationship. Whether it be between a husband and a wife,  a parent and a child,  a friend and a friend, or even between us and God, communication is the piece that keeps the relationship healthy.

People have often been surprised at how close I am with my parents and siblings, but I promise you, we are no where near perfect, or the “ideal” family. We have had many struggles, obstacles, and bumps along the journey of our life together. But one of the key things that has kept us together and close-knit is the commitment we have made to communication.

Dictionary.com defines the word communicate as:

If a relationship were a plant, communication would be the water. You can nourish a plant into the most beautiful, and strong state it can be in, but if you stop watering it, it will die. The same goes for any relationship. You can get into the strongest, most intimate state in a relationship, but if you cut off communication, it will begin to die. You can never get to a place in a relationship where communication is no longer needed.

That is why we need to make a commitment to communicate in our relationships. In a marriage, set aside time to TALK to one another, see how your spouse is doing, get to KNOW one another better. For parents and children: Parents, take the initiative. Ask your kids questions about their day, ask how they are doing, tell them you love them, etc…just open the door for communication.  Kids, do the same. Tell your parents you love them, thank them for something they have done for you, tell them how much you appreciate them, if you have a question, ask it.

Just like communication is key to any successful relationship with a spouse, child, parent or friend, it is also key to a successful relationship with our heavenly Father. How can we expect to know God if we don’t allow him to speak to us. The two means we have for communicating with God our through reading the bible, and through prayer. Though God knows us inside and out, we still need to talk to (pray) God about our needs as well. I can think of no other person who showed us a better example of this need than Jesus Christ. He was the Son of God, God in the flesh; why then did he spend so much time praying to God? He stayed in constant communion with Him. If Jesus needed to pray to God so much, then you better believe we need to as well.

I strongly encourage all of you to take a long look at all of your relationships. Make sure there is a healthy amount of communication between them. If there isn’t, it’s not too late. Open the door by getting to know the person better. Look at your relationship with God, set aside time to read the bible yourself, and to pray to God. Make a commitment to communicate.

So…How do you feel about this? Has this inspired you to make any shifts or changes in your life?  I’d love to hear from you!  And don’t forget to take a quick moment to share this post on Facebook or Twitter if you got a lot of value out of it!

Thank you so much!

In God’s Love and Grace,

God has called us to love one another. This is such an important part of our relationship with God that He says loving one another will be the mark of His disciples. The Following are just a few of the scriptures prompting us to love one another:

• John 13:34
  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
• John 13:35
  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
• Romans 12:10
  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
• Romans 13:8
  Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
• Galatians 5:13
  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
• Ephesians 4:2
  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
• Hebrews 10:24
  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
• 1 Peter 1:22
  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
• 1 Peter 3:8
  Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

As you can see, loving and caring for one another is so important to God! He loves us, and we are His hands and feet, so it is our job to show His love to one another.

So many of us are hurting. So many of us need love. So many of us need prayer; It is our job as a body of Christ to be there for each other, and to pray for one another. So my hope for this post is to create a place for us as a body, to help each other through prayer (James 5:16):

1. If you are in need, let us all know. Leave your name (or leave anonymous) and your prayer request in the comment form at the bottom of the page. And we will be sure to start praying for you.
2. Scroll down and see who has left prayer requests, and pray for them. You could also reply to their prayer request(s) and leave them an encouraging message.

I strongly encourage anyone who is in need, to please ask for prayer. It doesn’t have to be huge, it can be anything! (maybe you have trouble devoting time to God, maybe someone close to you is in the hospital, maybe you stubbed your toe and it REALLY hurts!…Anything!). Let us deliberately be the hands and feet of Jesus in our daily lives. Let us strive to love one another.

Thank you, and God bless.

(see Pray For_____ to see more prayer requests)