Cross My Heart Ministry

“…give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:18 [NIV]

When our oldest was only one year old, after prompting by our pastor, I began to pray for a thankful heart in my child. I continued this prayer as we added each additional child. Four kids – and four grandkids! – later, I’m still praying for thankful Macfarlan hearts.

“Why thankfulness?” you may ask.

The first (or most obvious) response might be the blessing released to others. That is true. And that is important. Others are blessed when we express gratitude.

But I’m also convinced that thankfulness is a blessing to the one releasing it. Thankfulness protects against entitlement, materialism, and selfishness … all dangerous to the character of children. The 21^st-century culture of our western world makes them vulnerable to “me-ism” – I’m convinced entitlement, materialism, and selfishness are the default, but our prayers can combat these society norms. We are up against entrenched attitudes, human nature, and even commercials and advertisements. The world will corrupt and entice all of us to make it all about us.

It’s natural (and easy) to make it all about self in this world. But never underestimate the power of a praying mom – or grandmother, or aunt, Sunday School teacher, youth leader, coach, godparent, or anyone else who has influence in a young life! We can best fight the culture on our knees. And we can train up the young people we love to live selfless in a “selfie” world.

As we consider praying for thankful children, consider these prayer prompts:

• Lord, give my child a thankful heart. (I Thessalonians 5:18)
• Jesus, let my child see that every good gift comes down from above. (James 1:17)
• God, I pray my child would intentionally release thankfulness to others.
• Holy Spirit, I pray our family would be thankful in “all circumstances” – by faith, believing that You can and will work all things out for our good and for Your glory. (Romans 8:28)

As we pray, we can also put feet to our prayers by taking these practical steps to teach thankfulness to our children, grandchildren, and the other young people in our lives:

1. Do not overindulge in “stuff” but show love in creative ways. Whenever possible, give experiences and time, instead of things.
2. Choose at least one night per week to pray “Thank you” prayers. Rather than asking God for something, take turns thanking Him for what He has already done for the blessings of the day. Teach them to pray thank-you prayers for big and small things:
   “God, thank you for the tulips popping through in the flower bed and reminding us that spring is coming.”
   “Jesus, thank you for the baby growing in Aunt Denise’s tummy.”
   “Holy Spirit, thank you for our fun afternoon in the park.”
3. Train a child to respond with thankfulness:
   1. Write thank you notes together with preschoolers—allowing them to add their names to the note with your help.
   2. For elementary-aged kids, encourage them to be conscientious about writing thank you notes to their teacher, coach, and/or sponsor for their soccer team.
   3. Train teenagers to write thank you notes before cashing the check from grandma and grandpa.
4. Model thankfulness. Most character traits are more “caught than taught,” as I heard the late Dr. James Dobson say on many occasions.
   • Sit down together to write thank you notes after Christmas.
   • Let them hear you intentionally thank your pastor for his teaching on Sunday morning.
   • Thank them for big and small things when you see and hear them get it right:
     “Thank you for helping your brother.”
     “Thank you for carrying in the groceries for your grandmother.”
     “Thank you for making your bed without being asked.”
5. When dining out, ask to speak to the manager and enjoy seeing his/her face transform from dread to delight when you say, “Our family had such a great meal this evening. Thank you for the good food and excellent service.” (On the way home, explain that people always complain when someone gets it wrong, but it’s important to express our thanks when they get it right!)

The importance of thankfulness was a thread woven through the teaching of Dr. Jonathan Burnham, my wise and godly pastor in the early 1990s. Over and over again, his preaching emphasized the theme of thankfulness. Even after moving out of state, that emphasis continued to resonate in my heart and be a priority in my prayers.

All these years later, I give glory to God as I see thankfulness demonstrated in the lives of my children. The thank you notes I have received from them are treasures to keep. They are tangible reminders that, while I did many things wrong, perhaps consistent training in gratitude was one thing I did right.

Whether you are praying thankfulness into your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, students, or the kids who live across the street or sit in the pew behind you – I hope you will pray. And I hope that we can all see our society truly transformed by an “attitude of gratitude.”

This week’s devotional video features Laura’s introduction to the fall ladies’ Bible study in Esther. In the video, Laura shares a few distinctives about this Old Testament book that may prove helpful as we study through the events and circumstances in the book of Esther.

One distinctive is that all the events about God’s people take place OUTSIDE the land of Israel and in Persia (modern-day Iran). To answer the “How did that happen?’ question, the Intro teaching lecture looks at the highlights of the history of Israel, beginning with Abram, the father of the Jewish nation.

As we begin the new fall Bible study, the following verse is our prayer:

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
Psalm 119:18

Then Jesus declared,
“I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never go hungry,
and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35 

This statement from Jesus was the first of seven “I am” declarations clearly claiming deity before a first-century Jewish crowd.  

Over 2000 years later, they still bring a powerful message to those who will listen.  

First-century folks lived on the edge of starvation. Hunger was a part of daily life. Things you or I may say casually — “I’m stuffed,” “I’ve got to cut out the carbs,” or “I’ve got to lose some weight” — were unknown phrases in first-century languages. Much of the average person’s daily existence was consumed with finding literal “daily bread” to keep living another day.  

For many of us, the challenges of our first-century counterparts are difficult to truly comprehend. Some of us may have heard stories of our country’s Great Depression, or of other nations where famine is an everyday reality. Most Americans still have never known a day with true hunger, and have only heard about this type of hardship. We’ve (thankfully!) never experienced it in our lifetimes.  

When Jesus described Himself as the “Bread of Life,” He was offering eternal life. That’s a timeless message. It is still true today. Jesus alone brings sinful humans hope for eternity. In the midst of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, Jesus brings peace, calm, and assurance.  

Food sustains us physically, but only the “Bread of Life” sustains us eternally. We know that without our daily bread, we become weak, lack energy, and are prone to sickness. The same is true spiritually. Our Savior’s bread-of-life metaphor rings true. We come to Him for satisfaction. Our yielding to Him – calling to Him for salvation – brings peace in the midst of panic, calm in the midst of chaos.  

Do you know Him, my friend? Have you yielded to Him? Are you sure? Have you prayed with a believing heart words similar to these: 

God Almighty, if you are there, if you are listening, if you are care,
I am finally ready to cry “uncle.”
I am ready to yield my life to You.
I am a mess. I have made a mess.
All my striving has come to nothing.
My motivations are rooted in pride.
I have rebelled against You.
But today is my line in the sand.
Enough.
I’m tired of trying and weary of running.
I believe you exist.
I believe the unbelievable – that you love me and actually died for me.
You paid my bill, the debt I owe for my sin and rebellion.
Because you died for me, I want to begin now to live for you.
Help me live for you.
I’m sliding over to the passenger seat now and letting you take the wheel of my life.
Please drive.
It’s simultaneously frightening and freeing to take this step of faith and let you be in charge.
I love you, Jesus.
Today is the day.
Thank you for keeping me alive to reach this day.
Thank you for every hard thing that you have allowed into my life.
Looking back, I see now that nothing was wasted.
You used every bit of it to bring me down so I could look up to You.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for giving me hope and a future.
Amen.  

Whether you prayed those exact words or something similar to them, whether you prayed them moments ago or years ago, you are a woman of God. You belong to Jesus and He is your Bread of Life!

Let the reality for your future on that day change how you live and respond to this day.

Let those of us who know Him as our Bread of Life continue to come to Him daily for our daily bread, our daily manna.  

Sister friends, I pray we all keep praying and stay in the Word when times are challenging. When the storm rages around us, we can know peace in the midst of it because we know Jesus.

Every September, we choose to focus on “30 Prayers & Verses for our Children” our Write the WORD topic for the upcoming month. In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura shared thoughts on this annual tradition and also revisited Cross My Heart Ministry’s 2nd Annual Prayer Walk for our local schools. We invite you to watch now!

We hope you will download the September bookmark and not only study these prayers with us during the coming month, but use the bookmark as a guide all year long as you pray for the kids in your life!

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered,
“You are the Messiah.”
Mark 8:29

Do you agree with Peter? Do the meditations of your heart, the ruminations in your mind, and the declarations of your mouth all proclaim, “You are the Messiah!”?

Whether your translation says “Messiah” or “Christ” (the former is Hebrew and the latter, Greek), both words mean the same: “anointed one.”  

The key point is that Peter finally gets it. He declares his belief — his knowing — that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the anointed one of God.  

To be “anointed” is to have a call on your life, a purpose. Jesus was anointed to face death — to accept responsibility for the debt owed by every human being. Sin runs up a big tab. A huge debt is due. We are, individually and collectively, spiritually bankrupt. In stepping up to pay the bill, Jesus halted the penalty of death.  

He took our sin. He became our sin. He took the verdict that should be ours.

It was horrifically painful.

It demonstrated a love with no limits.

It changed everything.  

We tidy it up, in a sense, by throwing it all in one box and labeling it “sin.” But take off the lid to peek inside … and you will see the ugly, hideous, dreadful, sickening, toxic truth. 

When Jesus became sin, He became gossip, lying, and stealing. He became adultery, extortion, and gluttony. He became murder, sex-trafficking, and pornography. He became greed, selfishness, pride, and rebellion.

He took the guilt, shame, and penalty for every bit of that. No wonder the Father looked away.  

We may sanitize sin. We may rationalize and justify sin. We may think some are “biggies” and others, “not a big deal.” Did you read the list above and think some are worse than others? I don’t think God classifies sin as “felony” and “misdemeanor.” Sin is sin.  

Perhaps having a one-size-fits-all label — “sin” — makes it more palatable for polite conversation. But it’s horrific. And the price our Messiah paid to wipe each of our slates clean was His life.  

Stopping to ponder who we are, what we have done, and what we deserve should stir up profound gratitude. During these current times of conflict, upheaval, and uncertainty, this is a good time to be reminded to hold fast to what we know to be true.  

Slave-traded-turned-preacher John Newton said it well:  “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great savior.” 

That’s Christianity 101. That’s the gospel in one sentence.  

We are all sinners and only Christ can save us. Hard times reveal our hearts. If you are a follower of Jesus, He has cleansed your heart from sin. Your bill has been paid. Your destiny for eternity is secure.  

Because of our identity in Christ, you and I have nothing to fear. Because we can declare with Peter, “You are the Messiah,” we can also gratefully proclaim, “He is MY MESSIAH.”  

Let that truth never grow stale. Let it bring peace to your heart that trumps panic, and faith that eclipses fear. 

Laura is joined by her friend, Vicki Gill, for this week’s Friday devotional video. We invite you to watch as they discuss one of the Names of God from this month’s bookmark: Comforter. We think you’ll enjoy hearing their thoughts on how God is always with us to comfort us when we have hard things happen.

It’s not too late to join us for the rest of this month’s study of the Names of God. A copy of our bookmark, as well as the optional S.O.A.P. Bible study pages to accompany it, can be found on the Downloads page of our website.

“Moses built an altar and called it,
‘The LORD is my banner.’”
Exodus 17:15 

Because his heart was filled with gratitude, Moses built this altar to praise God for His provision.  

We often ask God for help in the midst of the battle. These prayers are often both short and passionate—like Peter crying out, “Jesus, save me!” as he was sinking. 

We often seek His help before going into the battle, our insufficiency and uncertainty prompting us to intercede for His help. 

But the mature believer also remembers to cycle back after the battle, to acknowledge God’s provision and express gratitude for His abiding and sustaining presence.  

The battle that prompted this altar was with the Amalekites. (For all the action, back up and read Exodus 17 in its entirety). As Joshua led the Israelites in fighting the physical battle, Moses fought spiritually by lifting up his arms. Surely, this outward raising of arms reflected an inward calling out in prayer. As long as Moses hands were raised, the Israelites were victorious. When his arms were lowered, the Amalekites pulled ahead.  

When Moses grew weary, Aaron and Hur held up his arms. What a beautiful picture of community in the body of Christ! 

Who is my Aaron and my Hur? Who is yours? 

Perhaps there were other personal occasions (unrecorded in scripture) when Moses and Aaron held up Hur, and when Hur and Moses held up Aaron. 

We need each other. God designed us for relationship. We were not meant to live alone. We need Aarons and Hurs in our lives to spur us on and hold us up when we grow weary. These trusted friends help sustain us when we are tired. They keep our compass pointed in a God-ward direction. They encourage us to keep seeking God even when — especially when — the battle rages.  

When I served as a hospital chaplain I often would ask as I entered a patient’s room, “Are you a woman of faith? May I pray with you?” Even as they welcomed my prayers, often the patient would sigh and respond to my first question, “I used to be in church, but it’s been a long time since I lived that life.” 

Those responses simultaneously confused and saddened me. How could one know the love of God and the fellowship of Christian community and walk away from it? I could only conclude that while God is perfect, humans are not. We hurt and wound one another … and the fallout is often sheep leaving the safety of the fold.  

When we are tempted to walk away, a Hur and an Aaron should draw us back. When Hur and Aaron have our back, our feet stay planted on holy ground and our arms stay outstretched to God.  

But here’s the thing: you can’t wait for the battle to find Aaron and Hur. We need to cultivate those relationships now, so that we are ready when the hard things come.  

Aaron and Hur serve a powerful role in our lives. But Aaron and Hur make lousy gods. They are not God. In fact, Aaron and Hur might even let us down. Moses did not put the names of Aaron and Hur on his altar. His altar read, “The LORD is my banner.” 

Long after Moses moved on, that altar would be there — standing as a monument to His great God. Acknowledging God, bragging on God, making much of God. Perhaps as others passed by, they would be reminded to thank God for His provision in their lives or to consider calling on Him for help in the battle they faced.  

Aaron and Hur could look on that altar and rejoice with Moses. They could praise God for allowing them to be used by God, knowing their obedience and their faithfulness had helped Moses stand firm, seeking God all the way to the end of the battle.  

We need each other.

We need an Aaron and a Hur.

We need to BE an Aaron or a Hur.  

Sometimes we are Moses, fighting the battle. Sometimes we are Aaron or Hur helping Moses stay standing. That’s what Christian community is all about.

Perhaps part of what made Moses a good leader was the humility to know he needed Hur and Aaron. But most of all, he needed who we all need: God.  

Do you have a Hur and an Aaron in your life? 

Are you keeping your arms raised to God in the battle? 

Have you built an “altar” to declare, “the Lord is my banner?”

Our 21-st century altars might not be made of brick, stone, or wood. They might be prayers written in our journals or words of praise shared with those in our hearts. But the heart and mindset will be the same as they were for Moses: God gets the glory for this victory!  

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura is joined by her friend, Elizabeth Luethje. We invite you to listen as they discuss that God is our Shepherd. He is our provider, protector, and the One who gives us peace.

Visit our Downloads page today to find you own copy of the August Write the WORD bookmark, and join us for the rest of the month as we read, write, and study the Names of God.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

The Hebrew word for God in this passage is Elohim. This word is plural, suggesting the presence and active involvement of the Trinity during creation. 

It’s easy to think of God the Father as the Creator and Jesus showing up in the New Testament. But the presence of Jesus at creation is confirmed by Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created…”  

And John 1:1 intentionally mirrors Genesis 1:1 language, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  

Genesis 1:2 confirms the presence of the Holy Spirit:  “…the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”  

The use of the plural Elohim confirms the presence and active involvement of all three members of the Godhead in creation. Our great God is three-in-one. 

The Bible begins from the get-go with foundational truth that God always existed. He was the creator — not the created. He existed before time and is outside of time. He is eternal. He did not evolve or begin; He always was. 

The Hebrew word translated “create” in Genesis 1:1 is the word, bara. It carries the meaning of creating something from nothing. This is more than shaping, arranging, or combining. When you and I bake a cake, we begin with ingredients. While the combination of those ingredients results in a cake, we really cannot use the word “create” in the Biblical sense!

Only God can come up with His own ingredients. When a tag reads “man-made materials,” we should chuckle and remind ourselves that man-arranged is a better description.

While scientists and engineers may have figured out how to split atoms, synthesize chemicals, melt and combine metal to fabricate new alloys, and a myriad of other achievements, human beings cannot bara anything.

Creation testifies to the power and creativity of our amazing God — almighty, all-powerful, majestic, brilliant. He had the creativity to think it all up and the power to speak it into existence.  

As we behold creation, it should prompt us to worship the Creator, the great Elohim, who existed before the beginning and will still be on His throne after the end.  

Let’s praise, thank, and worship Elohim as the one and only God … powerful enough to create (bara) everything from nothing! 

In this week’s devotional video, Laura is joined by her friend Sharon Kilcrease. We invite you to listen in on their discussion of one of the names of God: Adonai. Watch now to hear their thoughts on God’s majesty and Sovereignty expressed in Psalm 8:1. 

You can get your own copy of the August Write the WORD: Names of God bookmark from our Downloads page.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End,”
says the Lord,
“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8

God is the beginning and the end of all. He is the One who was, and is, and is to come. He is God Almighty and our only hope is in Him.  

As followers of Jesus, our hope for eternity is completely dependent on a righteous God with a standard of perfection, but at the same time a God who is full of grace. 

Placing our faith in Him changes our course for eternity and launches a lifelong pursuit of growing in our knowledge of Him and in our relationship with Him. That’s the reason we study the Bible! 

Consider these charges brought against the Israelites by God, using Hosea as His mouthpiece: 

Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.”
Hosea 4:1 (NJKV) 

Could the same be said of our land? We who claim to know God – is there truth and mercy and knowledge of God in our land? In our churches? In our homes? In our individual lives?  

I think it’s time for us to woman up and take our faith seriously! Are we women of God … or little girls?

No matter where we find ourselves in our knowing of Him, there is still more to know. 

As the long days of summer grow shorter and fall approaches, I want to invite you to join me in endeavoring to know God better before the season changes than you do today. One of the best ways (if not the best) to do that is to study His Word.  

As we choose to get to know God better, we can examine His many names in Scripture. Biblical names are more than just “name tags” – they provide insight into character and nature.  

Come join me in writing the WORD and simultaneously getting to know God more deeply. Try using these new names to address Him in prayer, to acknowledge both who He is and what He has done.  

Here’s a little experiment before you begin: open your journal (or get a piece of paper) and write out as many names for God as you can think of. Set it aside. Then, at the end of August, complete this same exercise again. See how much you have grown through learning more names to use as you address – and praise – our amazing God! 

Let’s wrap up by examining and marveling over this prayer, offered by Jesus the Son in earthly flesh to God the Father in heaven: 

Now this is eternal life:
that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:3

Jesus defines eternal life as knowing Him! 

Are you ready to commit to knowing Him more and more each day? 

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura goes deep into Isaiah 50:4-6 and shares some thoughts from her time with the Lord. We hope you are challenged to consider yet another benefit of being a woman of the Word!

We invite you to visit our Downloads page for your own copy of this month’s Write the WORD bookmark, and join us as we read, write, and dwell on verses that introduce the names of God.

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,
forbearance and patience, not realizing that
God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 2:4

Kindness, forbearance, and patience: all traits we want from those who love us – our spouse, children, parents, and friends. And those same traits are ones we try our best to reciprocate.  

If we all demonstrated kindness, forbearance, and patience, our homes, marriages, relationships, churches, neighborhoods, and communities would be marked by peace and harmony.  

If we want to be kind today to our spouse, we might make his favorite dinner. To our child, it might mean setting aside the phone and playing with LEGOs or reading a book. Staying up past our own bedtime when he or she wants to talk might be kind to our teenager. The kindness desired by every mother of adult children is a phone call, and your pastor most likely would appreciate the kind affirmation of sharing his sermon on social media. To a friend with a new baby, it translates to a home-cooked meal delivered to her home. It might take the form of picking up groceries so your elderly neighbor can avoid crowds during a flu outbreak.

We even refer to good deeds to strangers as “random acts of kindness.” 

Kindness is a fruit of the spirit, but it’s often viewed as something thoughtful and sweet if we do it, but not really a bad thing if we don’t.

Kindness is considered optional.  

It’s almost thought of as horizontal. If we think about it at all, we think about it in terms of our human relationships: spouse, children, parents, friends, neighbors, and even strangers.  

When we think of kindness, we think of ways we demonstrate it to others and certainly appreciate the ways others show it to us.  

When we think about the character traits God demonstrates to us, many come to mind: love, compassion, and mercy. We may think of God’s power and strength, as we think about Him being our provider, protector, rock, and refuge. We may recount many of these in our prayers of praise to Him.  

But do we thank Him for His kindness? Is that a trait that comes to mind when we think of God? 

And if we do contemplate God’s kindness, do we rattle of a list of physical blessings: home, food, job, medical insurance … even a warning instead of speeding ticket or your misplaced favorite jeans found? 

But in God’s Kingdom, it means way more when viewed through a spiritual lens. To spin a famous phrase from a beloved movie, “That word means more than you think it means.” 

God’s kindness to us has an intended purpose: repentance. That means it is more than meeting physical needs – it brings on spiritual change. It brings conviction. The first time we respond to this conviction brings salvation. It was kind for Him to convict us of our sin! But His kindness continues as we are sanctified. As we respond with repentance, the result in us is refinement.  

The initial response to His kindness brought repentance and salvation. And every response since brings sanctification. As we process God’s divine kindness, our hearts and minds are challenged. We are forced to re-think our definition of what it means to be kind. As I re-examine my understanding of God’s kindness, I am also prompted to reconsider how I am expected to release Holy-Spirit-inspired kindness to others.  

What if I had the same intention as God? What if my purpose for releasing kindness was to change the recipient? What if God wanted to use me to bring the recipient of my kindness to know Jesus or to grow closer to Jesus?

Wow.  

This could mean, then, that the greatest opportunity to be kind and loving is when the recipient has hurt me, neglected me, or been unkind to me. Because my kind response to harshness may bring conviction. In those hard situations, the release of Christ-like kindness marks us as His disciples. It demonstrates unconditional love – rather than quid pro quo love.  

Has God given you a KINDNESS opportunity?  More than just a do-a-good-deed assignment, but an opportunity to truly be like Jesus. It will feel awkward. It will be walking in the opposite direction of where our flesh prompts us to go. It will require the power of the Holy Spirit – that’s why it is a fruit of the Spirit. It cannot be accomplished on our own.  

To walk this out, we must: 

⇒ Pray. 
⇒ Check our motives.
⇒ Pray some more. 
⇒ Act.  

When God provides the privilege of releasing divine kindness that could lead to repentance, we must walk it out in His strength, without judgment to the recipient, with no self-righteousness, and with no expectation of praise or gratitude. We release it with the joyful hope of repentance in the undeserving recipient – knowing that we, too, are wholly undeserving of the kindness we have received.  

Are you ready to take kindness to a whole new level? Let’s do it! 

As we wrap up our month of July focusing on the Attributes of God, we pivot in August to a study of the various Names of God. You may be surprised there are so many! Each one gives us an opportunity to expand our understanding of who He is and, therefore, each name equips us to worship Him more intentionally.

As Laura recorded last Friday’s devotional video months ago, her family was walking through a challenging season as the newest granddaughter was born five weeks early. The passage from day two was particularly comforting and reassuring during those hard days, and Laura found herself able to declare with Hagar, “You are the great El Roi — the God who sees me.” What peace it brought to remember that He is never too busy to see, to hear, and to respond to our pleas. He sees. He knows. He cares, He loves.

Laura gets a little personal this week, as she introduces our new August bookmark. We hope you will listen … and pray that it might encourage you if you are walking through a challenge now, or that it will prepare you for the next challenge that will surely come as we live life in this fallen world.

Visit our Downloads page today for your copy of the August Write the WORD bookmark, and prepare to join us in the coming month as we read, write, and focus on the Names of God.