starting a new series on prayer!

i am starting a series on prayer.  i find in the normal christian life prayer seems to be a bit mysterious and intimidating to a lot of people.  though i am by no means an expert on prayer, i have devoted the past 3 years to being a full time intercessory missionary (that means someone who in devoted to growing in prayer and growing a community in prayer as a full time vocation and lives off missionary support) and the past 14 years purposefully learning and challenging myself to grow in a life of prayer.

i asked on our facebook page what areas of your prayer life you would like to be encouraged in and there were great responses.  i also already had a few areas on my heart i wanted to share with you.  hopefully this will be a very encouraging series for you and all this talking about prayer will encourage all of us to really pray!

i have written a couple posts devoted to growing in prayer in the past and i encourage you to check them out if you haven't read them yet.

why do we pray? 
a heart that is alive
more than just a good ole "Lord, bless them."
it counts big time
how to grow in a life of prayer
even them?  you have got to be kidding me.

i also would love you to share in the comments below some questions or hurdles you have faced in your own prayer life.  hopefully we can dig into an area that will encourage you as we take this journey together in learning how to pray.

charis

want to know what i have been reading?

so, if you are anything like me you probably wonder what other people are reading that they are really enjoying.  there is no reason to keep it a secret when we read something worthwhile.  so, though it is long overdue, i am once again posting my own...

reading recommendations:

look up: lessons i learned from kyle - this is written by a friend who is on staff at our house of prayer here in redding.  i personally was struggling with major freak out mode yesterday and then read this post this morning and felt the thoughts, "charis, what are you doing freaking out?" this is worth the read and the reminder.

how to love God with all your mind - this is written by my uncle who is the director of convergence house of prayer in fremont, ca.  i have been thinking about this since i read it and the tozer quote he includes is really shifting my perspective... i am already thinking of ways i can use the quote in something i write!

memorize - this is written by a college friend who i got back in contact with through beloved facebook (isn't that how we all find our old college friends?)  her blog is very inspiring, so i would encourage you to take a look through her archives after you read this post about the importance of memorizing the Word.  we have had it as a goal to memorize the book of psalms as a family (we have finished the first two chapters - woohoo!) and just when i was not super motivated to tackle the next chapter i read her post.  anyways, she has a lot of valuable insight in parenting, loving God, and living an authentic walk so check her out.

rising above food wars: eat for God's glory - this is a blog that i like to read about all kinds of stuff from natural food to being a mom to walking with the Lord.  this particular post was so good i wished i had written it myself (i even thought about printing it out and whiting out "food" and writing in all the hot issues i see dividing believers and handing it out! haha!)  really really godly and healthy (no pun intended) perspective on how we live in our convictions but keep them in eternal perspective and keep the main thing the main thing.

the crisis of the revelation of God's heart - this is written by my favorite guy on the planet... my husband.  he has a "secret blog." okay, it isn't really a secret but he doesn't promote it like lots of bloggers do (um, his wife for one).  his perspective on pursuing the Lord is one i respect tremendously as i watch him not only talk it but actually walk it day in and day out.  i will preface this post by saying it is a bit offensive to even me to realize the way i perceive God's and my heart being more alike than they really are, but sometimes our tweeked thinking being offended is the little nudge we need to correct and find so much more intimacy.  read at your own risk.

i know i could include more, but those are fresh in my mind so check them out.  come back here and let me know what you think and if you were encouraged like i have been.  now, go read!

charis

what i have been reading

since being without a computer for two weeks, i got very behind in reading the blogs i am subscribed to in my google reader.  i have been slowly catching up and wanted to share some great stuff i have read so you too can take a look if you are interested.  

don't believe the "lots myth" : dave ramsey

loosen the grip of "more stuff" : small notebook

the thoughtful parent's guide to thinking through vaccinations : keeper of the home

life doesn't wait for you : a story unfolding

the wonders of coconut oil : simple organic

enjoy!  let me know what you thought! 

 charis

what i have been reading

here are links to some of the sites that i have been reading lately.  i want to try to make this a semi-regular type of post on my blog.  enjoy!  let me know which you found helpful and interesting!

laughing when it's not funny : randy bohlender

8 handmade and homemade gift ideas : simple organic

m1p - a new blog for a growing movement : my one pursuit 

why social media is a better investment than seo : problogger

 

 charis

weekend links

weekend links

i want to share with you links to some blog posts i have read lately that i have really enjoyed so you can take a look and enjoy them as well.  here is a sneak peak of the kind of stuff i read throughout my week.  enjoy!  be welcome to share a link to a post you have read this week that you like as well in the comment section and i will check it out!

the love with which we perform - (in)courage

seasons in parenting: the newborn baby months - simple mom

big girl shoes - jones design company

chicken cacciatore - the pioneer woman


enjoy!

charis

life captured

                                   

                                          used with permisson by myriah grubbs photography

used with permission by myriah grubbs photography

for your weekend enjoyment - take a look at my amazing family/maternity pictures and my sweet simeon's newborn pictures, both by my talented sister (in law) myriah.  (did i ever mention that my sister and i schemed and picked her out for my brother to marry without him knowing?  yes, we take full credit for her entry into our family.)  

what better gift than to have these memories to keep forever and in such an artistic way.  i am so in love with the piano shot, i don't know what to do with myself.  as i look at simeon's huge chubby 2 month self, it is hard to believe he was really that small once or that he ever fit into my belly!  thank you myriah!  i cannot begin to express how priceless these are and how much they capture my life and love and boys.  

enjoy friends and leave comments.  you know i love to hear from you.  

have a great weekend!  happy october!

charis

my sister maternity photo shoot

i have mentioned my sister-in-law in several of the pictures i have put in recent posts.  she even is the one who took the picture of me in my small avatar picture.

she just recently posted a bunch of maternity pictures on her photography blog of a photo shoot she did with my sister and me while we were both pregnant. 

used with permission by myriah grubbs photography

our due dates were on 10 days apart and our babies ended up being born 13 days and 13 hours apart.  we call them the twinsie cousins because my brother and sister really are boy/girl fraternal twins and we had a boy and a girl who had the potential of being born on the same day.  (my mom gave us some of the matching outfits she had for my brother and sister when they were babies and we had them wear them and took pictures.  so fun!)

though i didn't get my wish of having our babies on the exact same day, i did get to enjoy literally my entire pregnancy with my closest friend.  we have overlapped for some amount of time with all of her 3 pregnancies, but this was by far the closest and it was so awesome to go through the whole journey together and now each milestone of our babies together. 

here is the link to the sister maternity photoshoot.  if you are in the northern california area, myriah is an amazing photographer.  you can see in this shoot that she has such a creative eye and makes it tons of fun. 

have a great weekend.  i know i am planning on it.

charis

links to favorite past posts

i was looking at all the people who now read my blog and i realized many of you have started reading in the past couple months and may or may not have had the opportunity to go through my archives and read some of my past posts.  i wanted to put links here to some of my favorite posts of the past that may encourage you where you are at right now. enjoy!  bookmark this one so you can come back and click through the links at your leisure, and feel free to email and share with friends who may be encouraged!  i write so i can share my journey and give what i have been given to others. 

note on commenting:  i went back and copied and pasted all my past comments from before i installed the intense debate commenting program that apparently hid them all.  (yes, this took me a couple hours.) unfortunately, that means the dates on those comments are all wrong, but they were posted right around when the blog was written.  i didn't know how to edit the dates when re-entering them in.    for those who want to comment and are still having a hard time with intense debate (which i am kinda regretting adding), you can comment as a guest by just typing in your comment and not worrying about where it has ways to log in.  Then, below, you can post the url of your blog or website and it should make your name (even a guest name that doesn't have an avatar by it) a hotlink to your site.  try it out and let me know if it works better for you.  so sorry that intense debate messed up some of my commenters.  i love the interaction with readers, so don't give up on trying to comment here.  hopefully i can get all these bugs smoothed out.  if only i was more techie!  then i would know better what to do.


master gardener - my second post on this blog.  i am always amazed how God speaks to me deep life lessons through nature again and again and again.  

life of faith - written a year ago about this crazy journey the Lord has had us on the past year... God has been so good to us though it has been the adventure of a lifetime!

His eye is on the sparrow - a follow up to life of faith six months later.

i have a couple posts on fasting:  fasting 1  and fasting 2

humility is a post i wrote on the character of Jesus that just fascinates me - He referred to His humility more than any other character trait when talking about Himself.  there is gold for us to get when we study what He said was important about Himself.

a vision for fullness of joy - more on humility, but moreso on how it relates to our personal lives and how it can open up doors of joy we would never know apart from it.

psalms 27 is one of my favorite chapters of the whole bible and i have a couple posts on it:  psalm 27, i believe, fearless trust, unless

if - a post about revival and what it takes to see it really happen.

a post about abortion:  open your mouth for the mute

words, words, words - challenging thoughts about how we use our mouths.

a couple posts on a common theme of mine these days: hope!  - hope,  therefore i have hope, unless

this i know - confidence that God cares for us.

a heart that is alive - simple steps to contemplative prayer - demystifying the mystical.

don't give up - a reminder i need often.

it's all a part of the journey - the raw emotions and turning to the Lord


an apologetic of sorts - why i believe what i believe

charis