A Mother's Meditation on Ephesians 2

For it is by God's delight in me 

that I have been made a mother.

Motherhood is a gift from God to me, 

not by my own hard work,

so that I cannot boast about being a perfect mom.

For I am God's work in progress, 

created in Christ Jesus to be a grace-filled mother to my children,

the children God has prepared in advance

for me to enjoy, love, and train.

The Secret Place

God, may You be my First.

First love.

First stop.

First thought.

First cry.

First song.

I don’t want to learn about You,

Dissect You,

Talk about You like You are history.

I want to know You,

Feel You,

Learn with You,

Talk with You,

Be with You…today,

Tomorrow,

For a hundred years,

And a forever.

You and me, God,

Here in the secret place.

Copyright 4/2/12 Kendra Lane Barrow

Psalm 118

This free devotional combines conversational prayer - talking to God and listening to Him - with simple prayers and Scripture meditations that build intimacy with God.

We recommend starting your devotional time with worshiping to a praise song, such as "Forever" by Chris Tomlin. You can extend your worship time with "Open for Me", by Heather Clark, which is based on some sections of Psalm 118.


Praise You, God, for Your... Thank You, God, for...

Search my heart, God. Show me what is not right so that You can forgive and restore me.

Act on my behalf, God. I ask You to...

Listen to me, God, as I tell You my thoughts and share with You my feelings.

Move in me, God, as I meditate on Psalm 118.

• 15 minutes - Read Psalm 118. Here is a way to make this psalm a conversational prayer: Re-write verses 1-6 to be a prayer from you to God. For example, "God, I will say thank You for You are good to me." Re-write verses 6-9 to be from God to you. For example, "I'm with you." Re-write verses 10-12 from you to God, replacing the word nations with the word "enemies". Re-write verse 13-16 and 19-21 from God to you. Re-write verse 24-25 from you to God, and in verse 25, list the things in which you are asking God to give you success. Re-write verse 27 from God to you. Re-write verse 28 from you to God. Re-write verse 29 as God's final response to you.
  

Selah. God, as I pause and reflect on Psalm 118, what do You want me to see?