Psalms: Problem and Answers

Today while I was doing my bible study out of the corner of my eyes I noticed the explanation summary for Psalm 142.  The summary said, and I quote,:

"A prayer when overwhelmed and desperate.  When you feel cornered by our enemies, only God can keep us safe." (Life Application Bible; NIV; Zondervan)

This book was written by David while he was in the cave.  Feeling stressed out and desperate he prayed:

"When my spirit grows faint within me it is you who watch over my way,  In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.  Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me.  I have no refuge; no one cares for my life." (NIV) (Psalm 142:3-4)

Have you ever felt like that?  As if you are suffocating from the problems in your life and that there is no one there to help you? What do you do when you feel this way?

David says: "I cry out to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy,  I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble."

Jesus left us the gift of prayer so that we could speak to God on a one on one basis any time of day or night.  So, when there is no else who is there for  us we can always, like David said, we can pour out our complaints before God.

So, when you feel distraught with no one else to talk to take it to God in prayer.

S. O. A. P

During my daily quiet time with God I am always looking for a way to better understand his word in order to grow closer to Him.  So, I prayed to God to give me a better understanding of his way.

The answer came to me one day while I was watching a video and a woman was explaining how to use the acronym S.O .A,P. 

Letter by letter the acronym means Scripture, Observation, Observation, and Prayer.

Scripture: Write down the scripture that you are trying to understand,

Observation: Where, when, why, and under what circumstances was the verse said or written.

Assessment: How does the verse affect you in your life or any given situation that you are in.

Prayer:  Ask God to give you understanding of the verse or praise him for giving you understanding,

This occurred a few days ago.  Since then I have adjusted it to fit me and my daily Bible study,  I do not always use the O (Observation) part of the acronym.  So instead of the acronym spelling SOAP it now spells SAP: Scripture, Assessment, Prayer.

I hope that this helps you in understanding God's words.  Please feel free to adjust it according to your needs.

God did not allow this to happen!

Today, January 30, 2016, I clicked on my Social Media to find, in my Suggestion to Watch list, the breaking news of the shooting and killing of six at a Mosque in Quebec, Canada.

How am I sure that God did not let this happen?

One of God commandments, that he instructs us to follow, says; "Thy shall not kill." (Exodus 20:13)  Ask yourself, why would God instruct us to follow this commandment when he would allow others to be killed.

God's words are not contradictory!

In fact God's word instructs us on how we are suppose to treat foreigners. 

In Leviticus 19:33-34 God instructs Moses on how he wanted him and the Israelites how to worship him and gave them a guidebook on holy living.  During these instructions he says: "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.  The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native=born.  Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.  I am the Lord your God."
 

If God did not allow this to happen then who did?

Satan knows that he has limited amount of time left before the second coming of Jesus Christ.  So, he is feeding off of people's spiritual weakness and deep rooted hatred for others.

This is why we must dress in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17) everyday.  Praying as we take each and every step.

An Update

Hey Guys!

     Just wanted to give you an update on what I have been up to. 

• I am currently proofing the revised version of Prayers of Motherhood.  A task I hope to have completed in the next couple of weeks.
• Accumulating some drafts for this blog.
• Writing down, and organizing, ideas for not only this blog but also for upcoming books, short stories, and developing other projects.
• But mainly I have been living life, praying, and raising my son.

So, look for notifications in the near future for new blogs and maybe a few surprises!

Changes are coming

Hey Everyone,

In the next couple of weeks there will be some extra posts and pages added to my blog.  I will be starting Book Blog Pages.  These pages will consist of three elements.  The first page will be a picture of the book with a small summary of what the book is about.  The second page will consist of my bio.  And the third page will consist of excerpts from the book.

I hope that you will enjoy these changes.  But do not worry A Sarcastic Question and Prose and Paragraph will remain the same. 

I hope that you will enjoy these changes.  Feel free to leave me a comment, because your feedback helps me to better my blog.  Also, feel free to share any post that you have enjoyed and that you feel will help someone else out.

See you in the next couple of weeks.

Why did I self publish?

Those close to me know that ever since I leaned to compose my first complete sentence, writing has been a passion of mine. At that time, and experience level in my life, most of mine stories was about whatever stray dog was dumped at our house that day or that week or to aggravate my older, teenage, sisters by writing stories about them getting a pimple.

As writing, and reading, became a very important part of every day of my waking hours, the goal of having my words in print, either formatted in a hard cove or paperback format was a dream of mine.  I began to submit my unedited, manuscripts and query letters to any and every publishing house that I could think of.  To which, the only type if replies that I would receive were rejection letters. 

Decades later, I received my first acceptance letter for the Prayers of Motherhood manuscript.  To say that I was excited would be an understatement.  Having been taught to read the small print before you sign on the dotted line, I began reading the contract; I had studied to be a Paralegal.  I found the, smoking, small print of the very last page where it stated that in order for them to start the publishing process on my book, they will need close to $4,000 for the PR and Marketing cost.  At the time I was an unemployed, single mother.  I did not have $4,000 and was not willing to put my self or allow my family go in debt, so that I could have my first book published.

Homeward Bound

The following days after giving birth felt like, literally, riding an emotional roller coaster.  As the Estrogen and Endorphins began to battle against each other to see which one would reach its normal level first. Leaving me feeling confused, emotional, and exhausted.  Needing some sort of clarity, I said a silent prayer:

"Lord, I am feeling some kind of way right now.  A way that I have never felt before.  Are these normal post system of child birth?  Oh Lord, I cannot stand feeling this way."

Because I began running a fever, and my son was having trouble breathing, we stayed in the hospital for a week before we were released.  As a hospital orderly pushed me to my sister's waiting car, I said a silent prayer:

"Lord,"
"Yes, Rachel."
"What are they thinking releasing this innocent infant into my care?"
"You will be fine Rachel."
"But, I do not know anything about taking care of an infant."
"Recall how you have helped your sisters raise their children."
"But, they went home in thirty minutes to an hour later."
"You learned more than you think."
"I understand Lord but I will be responsible for him 24/7 365 day a year."
"I will be there each second to help you."
"Thank you, Lord."

     As I cautiously maneuvered myself into the back seat of my sister's car I unknowingly placed my arm around my son for the short ride home.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

You can now purchase the entire Prayers of Motherhood series on Amazon or Kindle.