a little encouragement for your monday

Today begins another week. A fresh start. A new beginning. Grocery Shopping Day at my house. This is definitely NOT my favorite activity, especially when I motivate myself to brave the Walmart crowds. What can I say? Their prices are better than HEB. It's true. I'm cheating on HEB, but can you blame me? These are tough economic times we live in and I can't afford to have budget meetings about my spending habits at the grocery store.

But I digress.

The real reason for my blog appearance today is to give you a little encouragement just in case you're suffering from a case of the Mondays.

First, I would like you to read this. It will make your day. I promise!

Second, I thought I would share a verse, or verses rather, that have been on my heart lately. I'll give a little background first, though. There's a specific prayer request that I've brought to the Lord alot in the last few months. Now I'm a pretty verbal person so it should come as no surprise that when I say "alot" what I really mean is "ad nauseum." I think I spelled that right and used it correctly. The thing is God already knows everything I'm thinking. The good. The bad. And yes, the ugly. That said, there is nothing I bring to His throne that He isn't familiar with. Still, I know He likes to hear it "straight from the horse's mouth" so to speak. I'm happy to oblige because, like I said before, I'm a very verbal person.

Well. A couple of months ago when my mom and dad were teaching our young marrieds Sunday school class, my dad spoke briefly about Hannah. You know. The one whose name is spelled the same forwards and backwards. And oh yeah, she was Samuel's mom. He was kind of a big deal in many ways. One of the verses that he shared really spoke to my heart. I hope it will do the same to yours.

I Samuel 1:13-15

As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.

Ok, I just need to get something out of the way before we move forward. I love how she tells Eli "Not so, my Lord." It's almost as if she's saying "Am not!" And I love it.

But more importantly, I LOVE that it says she was "pouring out her soul to the Lord." For some reason, I picture Hannah knealing in complete reverence before the Lord completely unaware of anything going on around her. I can just see her lips moving rapidly as she literally lays it all out there for the Lord to see. I imagine it was good, bad, and a little ugly. This was her SOUL, y'all! Not just her heart, but the sacred desires that were more than heartfelt. They were soulfelt. So much so that she couldn't keep the emotions off of her face. {1 Samuel 1:18}

I've heard a few people who were experiencing some serious tragedy say that the Lord told them to just "give it to Him" because "He could handle it." These are people that I greatly admire and have strong relationships with Jesus. It is so comforting to know that He CAN handle my deepest desires, fears, and frustrations. I can feel free to pour out my soul to Him because He desires that kind of close relationship with me. And you know what, I want it too.

So that's what I've been doing. Pouring out my soul to the Lord. And even if He says no to my request, I know that the feelings in my soul are safe with Him. Plus, He knows best so whatever His plan it will be even better than I could hope for or imagine.

I also love the ending to this story.

I Samuel 1:20

So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

God granted her "soul desire."

I feel a little like Sarah and Hannah these days. Notice I said a little. I'm blessed to be able to say that I haven't been struggling with infertility, but what I ask of the Lord is a specific request related to having a baby. I can't say for sure if He will say yes to this desire but I know that if He does, the verse above will belong to that child.

Because I asked the Lord for that child by way of pouring out my soul.

No matter what, though, we will be blessed. Because that's just the way Jesus rolls. Hallelujah and Amen.

And finally, the last piece of encouragement today comes in the form of an Austin-sized package. He is the very picture of joy.

You're welcome.