Cathy's Heart

Learning To Contend in Prayer - Part 2 Sometimes, I wonder if others knew the real me would they be shocked or disappointed or dismayed? My biggest worry is how others perceive my prayer life. You see, nearly every day, I receive requests and have the privilege of lifting up the prayers of others to the Lord. Last month, when I began my study on contending in prayer, a beloved and familiar passage of scripture took on new life for me when I read Romans 8:26-27 NLT,  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. As I looked at these passages through the lenses of contending in prayer, I learned: I am weak in prayer What a revelation, and a sweet relief, to read with fresh eyes how God knows I am weak in my ...

Learning To Contend in Prayer - Part 2 Sometimes, I wonder if others knew the real me would they be shocked or disappointed or dismayed? My biggest worry is how others perceive my prayer life. You see, nearly every day, I receive requests and have the privilege of lifting up the prayers of others to the Lord. Last month, when I began my study on contending in prayer, a beloved and familiar passage of scripture took on new life for me when I read Romans 8:26-27 NLT,  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. As I looked at these passages through the lenses of contending in prayer, I learned: I am weak in prayer What a revelation, and a sweet relief, to read with fresh eyes how God knows I am weak in my ...

Part 1 - Lessons from Good Friday Preparation If you were to flip through the pages of the Bibles on my bookshelves you would notice the letter P, over and over again, in the margins and columns. It seems I have always been aware of and searching for God’s instructions about prayer. So, recently, I was surprised to wake up with the strong impression that I needed to study about prayer. At once, I understood this was not just to be about prayer in general, but a study with an emphasis on contending in prayer. This, I had never done. And, as I had just experienced several sleepless nights of praying for those in hard and hurting places, I trusted this was from the Lord. I planned to find a study notebook and begin my assignment as soon as life settled down, but God had other ideas. My study began that day when I stopped at the coffee shop to have my daily devotions.That morning’s reading happened to be Luke 22. As I came to verses 39-47, I saw my first lesson on contending in prayer as I...

Part 1 - Lessons from Good Friday Preparation If you were to flip through the pages of the Bibles on my bookshelves you would notice the letter P, over and over again, in the margins and columns. It seems I have always been aware of and searching for God’s instructions about prayer. So, recently, I was surprised to wake up with the strong impression that I needed to study about prayer. At once, I understood this was not just to be about prayer in general, but a study with an emphasis on contending in prayer. This, I had never done. And, as I had just experienced several sleepless nights of praying for those in hard and hurting places, I trusted this was from the Lord. I planned to find a study notebook and begin my assignment as soon as life settled down, but God had other ideas. My study began that day when I stopped at the coffee shop to have my daily devotions.That morning’s reading happened to be Luke 22. As I came to verses 39-47, I saw my first lesson on contending in prayer as I...

When There Is Only One Way This is my birthday week. I turn 59, and my blog will turn 9. As I have prayed about my annual blog-iversary post, I felt compelled to write one message: There are Circumstances and Seasons When We Simply Must Go Through It! There is no way around IT! No way over IT! No way under IT! And, as much as we want to, we cannot, nor should we, rush IT or reroute IT or run away from IT! Yesterday, on my neighborhood walk, it struck me; there is only one way in and one way out. Although, I can see our house from the surrounding main roads, there is only one path home. At the World Famous San Diego Zoo, last week, I found out that elephants have one way to have a baby elephant, which is 22 months of carrying the “tiny” new life in the mama’s large body. When my grandson heard this, he quickly remarked, “mommy only needs to have our new baby in her tummy for 9 months. Unless, it comes early, like me.” In our lifetimes, there are so many wonderful and amaz...

When There Is Only One Way This is my birthday week. I turn 59, and my blog will turn 9. As I have prayed about my annual blog-iversary post, I felt compelled to write one message: There are Circumstances and Seasons When We Simply Must Go Through It! There is no way around IT! No way over IT! No way under IT! And, as much as we want to, we cannot, nor should we, rush IT or reroute IT or run away from IT! Yesterday, on my neighborhood walk, it struck me; there is only one way in and one way out. Although, I can see our house from the surrounding main roads, there is only one path home. At the World Famous San Diego Zoo, last week, I found out that elephants have one way to have a baby elephant, which is 22 months of carrying the “tiny” new life in the mama’s large body. When my grandson heard this, he quickly remarked, “mommy only needs to have our new baby in her tummy for 9 months. Unless, it comes early, like me.” In our lifetimes, there are so many wonderful and amazi...

"A Book Is Never A Book" "I WROTE A BOOK!"  Shouts the little girl inside of me, twirling around and around in my heart!   I want to show everyone! (Even though, the book I carry with me is just a proof copy). Plus, I find I need to cry. So, I do. Tears, and more tears, spill out of me!  I am an author! A real, live author!   Yes, I blog. Yes, I have a few pieces in the books of special friends. And yes, last year, I was honored to  co-author a book , with two dozen other amazing writers. Still, as I hold in my hands a copy of the book with my name on the cover, and my words filling the pages, it is like welcoming a new born babe. OMGoodness!   Now comes the most difficult part. Marketing and promoting my new book-baby, that will be hard for me.   I confess, writing this post is, partially, for spreading the news. But, more importantly, I am writing because I want you, dear reader, to know that there is a bigger story! A much, much bigger God story! ...