H E L L O blogging world! It has been literally forever since my last post, but life has been crazy [awesome] and I couldn't contain my thoughts any longer...

If you were to ask me to sum up the last year and a half of my life, I would respond with the word WILD. I moved to a new city, started a new job, and then some... ;) Life has been incredibly exciting and I feel as though I have been terribly blessed over the past several months in the midst of all of these "new"seasons. However, you and I live in the real world and know that life is not always rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns 24/7.

There are times when life is trying, when your sanity is put to the test, and when your emotions are straight up raw. It's these moments that sometimes stop us in our tracks and leave us feeling as though we have had the wind completely knocked out of us. And then [when we least expect it] after some time, the storm breaks and we find ourselves surrounded by unfathomable goodness once again.

To spare you every detail of my life these past few months, let me start by saying the storm has finally broken.

I am naturally a very hard-headed person--ask anyone close to me and they will respond with a resounding "AMEN!" While I would like to say I am a very detailed person, the truth of the matter is that I'm incredibly slow at picking up what God is putting down. However, in the midst of this wild and crazy ride called life, here is what I have learned to be true: Prayer changes everything. I know, I know. It sounds like such a cliche thing to say, but that doesn't change the fact that it is 100% true.

A while back, I began to feel the Lord stirring in me a desire that would require a great deal of faith on my part. In the beginning, I think I knew in my heart that I should really begin to pray and seek the Lord's wisdom and discernment about this, and I did for a while. The truth is, I allowed the fear of the unknown to rob my confidence in God's will. It was not long after that realization was made that I came across Proverbs 16:3 which says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your steps."

From that moment on I began to PRAY WITH PURPOSE that God would make known to me whether the desire in my heart was really from my head, or was something He was genuinely leading me to pursue. Praying with purpose is not something you do once and walk away from--purpose requires being intentional. Months went by with no clear answer. In the past, it's at this point that I typically throw my hands up in defeat and walk away, but something inside of me knew I needed to continue to pray this through.

Psalm 24:14 says, "The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them." If we are to pray [confide] in the Lord with a humble spirit and an intentional heart, He will reveal to us our next steps. Sometimes though, God is slow to speak--real slow. What I have come to learn in own life, is that sometimes the Lord is slow to answer because He is waiting to see if I will remain faithfully obedient.

One of my most favorite quotes is by Pastor Louie Giglio who said, "Waiting is not wasting, when we are waiting on the Lord." Believe me when I say, that during these months of waiting, I felt like I was doing nothing more than wasting my time. It seemed as though I was praying the same prayers and reading the same verses and seeing little to no effect.

Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him..." Praying with purpose takes lots of patience, and then comes persistence.

While browsing Pinterest one night, I came across a humorous picture of a snail. The caption that went with the picture read, "By persistence the snail reached the ark." That was me in a snail shell. After being inspired by a picture of the snail, I figured if the snail could do it, so could I.  PRAYER REQUIRES PERSISTENCE.

So while I continued praying for God to grant me wisdom and discernment, and continued to pray over many of the same verses, I started doing them more often. When I got to the office, when I took my lunch break, in the shower, you get the idea. I figured, the more I let God know I was serious about following His lead, surely He couldn't stay silent much longer.

Half a year later, God spoke. You would think I would be doing a happy dance. Guess again. My reaction [at first] was similar to that of a deer in the headlights, and all I could think was, "Oh crap, this just got real."

Psalm 94:19 "When my anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." When the shock of God's answer had finally worn off, I was instantly filled with excitement and joy for the plans that He was setting in motion. PRAYER LEADS TO PREPARATION.

We are all a work in progress. I would love to sit here and tell you that this prayer experience has made me an expert on all things prayer--NOT TRUE! I am still learning how to trust and patiently rely on what it is the Lord is asking of me. However, I will tell you that it was during those months of serious prayer that I can now see how the Lord was working. Prayer changes everything.

I'm not blogging about prayer to boast about my own prayer life. That was not my hope or desire. I do however hope that in some small way, I might be able to encourage you to do what Psalm 105:4 says and "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."  I hope that you would pray with purpose for God to grant you the opportunity to be used in an unbelievable way. In seeking what that opportunity might look like, I hope that you will remain persistent in your pursuit of the Lord's will for your life. Finally, when you know in your heart where God is leading you or what He is asking of you, I pray that you are totally aware of how the Lord has prepared your heart for what it is He has called you to.

Praying for you,

L