Prayer and Pizza....

Does the title of this blog post pique your interest? Marc would say that prayer and pizza probably go together :) He would probably love nothing more than to have a men's night of prayer with pizza!

Anyways....

I've recently borrowed a book from my friend, Andrea. It's a book that she and Collin went through with their Community Life Group -- led by none other than Jon and Lori. The book is called "Respectable Sins," written by Jerry Bridges. For a quick synopsis, it basically addresses the subtle sins that we all have probably committed -- ungodliness, anxiety/frustration, discontentment, etc. I've only just begun reading it, but already, I really have enjoyed (and been challenged) reading it. I think I'm into it because I know that I have been a bit guilty -- guilty of ignoring these subtle sins and acting more righteous than those who commit more blatant sins.

Here's what touched me last night during my reading.

We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Colossians 1:9b-10

This was written in Paul's letter to the Colossians. The author of this book (Jerry Bridges) talks about how God-Centered this prayer was. Often times, my prayers are much more of a "to do list," asking God to intervene in my everyday problems. Bridges suggests that, "while it's not bad to ask God to intervene in problems (that shows our dependence on Him), our prayers often don't reflect a concern for God's will and God's glory to be shown in our lives."

I've been thinking a lot about that today. What is my ultimate purpose here on earth? I know my ultimate purpose is to grow God's kingdom by spreading the fantastic news of Jesus Christ's life on earth and ultimate death for our sins and resurrection (see Matthew 28:19-20). Also, my purpose is to let God be glorified through me. Do I pray for that? Admittedly, I don't pray that everyday. My daily prayers are often ONLY lists of what I need intervention from God.

What are your prayers like? Does Paul's letter to the Colossians challenge you as much as it does me?

On to another subject...

Last night, Marc was holding Luke before bed. Luke had his hand inside Marc's. It just looked so awesome -- a son's hand in his father's. I ran to get the camera, and then, Luke refused to open up his hand like he had it. Oh well! Child photos are not always how you want them. I just like this photo of Marc's and Luke's hands, and I wanted to share it with all of you.



AND, one more thing -- definitely light-hearted....

For a Valentine's Day gift, Marc wanted a pizza night. This pizza night was not to be our Valentine's Day meal. It was the gift he wanted. He decided last night that he wanted tonight (Friday) to be his pizza night, the redeeming of the Valentine's Day gift. I figured he'd want Pizza Hut with A LOT of meat and cheese on the pizza. Nope, he chose Papa Murphy's -- the kind you bake yourself. We also have recently learned of the cinnamon wheel from there. So, we got one of those as well.

Here's our freshly baked, yummy, yet simple pizza. PEPPERONI -- Marc's favorite.



For those of you who know Marc, this will not surprise you. Marc always has not one, but TWO Pepsis when we have pizza. Tonight was no exception. So, on our messy table (remember, keeping it real), here is Marc's pizza and two Pepsis. And no, he did not just have two pizzas. More pizza eating came after these two pieces were gone.