Microwave Prayers and TV Dinner Faith: A Guide to a Properly Focused Life of Prayer and Faith.

God spoke by means of dreams and visions all through the Bible. Men such as Samuel, the Pharaoh, Daniel, Abraham, Joseph, Paul and John all had God speak to them as such. Some were greater, you could say, of a dream or vision than others but nonetheless, they were all from the Lord.

In Acts 2:17 it is written "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, you old men will dream dreams."

The Lord will sometimes give me messages through dreams and visions. A couple months ago as I was laying in bed, God gave me a message for my life I will never forget. It was about 5am when I woke up and I was laying in bed trying to decide if I wanted to get up before my son did and clean (pssshhhh...ya right) or lay in bed and hopefully fall back asleep. So naturally, I chose to stay in bed. I ended up falling back asleep because God needed to show me something. And here it is:

I was standing in my kitchen. It was dark outside, either very late or very early. Either one, it meant that whatever I was doing I was at it for a long time. My outfit was a long sleeve night gown almost touching the ground. My countenance was tired, filled with anxiety and disappointment with dark circles under my eyes. To my right was a card table filled with microwave meals, or TV dinners. When I say filled I mean FILLED. Probably a couple hundred covered the table. On the floor was about 100 partially opened TV dinners. My posture was limp and hunched; it was obvious I was growing weary from standing there. I would grab a meal off of the table and throw in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and take it out, open it partially, just enough to stick my fork in it to taste the contents, and throw it on the floor because it was either not cooked or it was not what my pallet was desiring.

That was it. When I woke up I was confused. I did not think it was from God, just that I had a strange dream. As I was getting ready it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was from God and it is exactly how I was living my life. At the time there was a huge wave of the Holy Spirit happening with my church group, the high emotion, Holy Spirit manifestations, and miracles wave. I had such a huge amount of faith in God. In his healing, his love, his promises. You name it and I had the faith in it. I felt like I had the faith to move mountains. But what did my personal relationship with God look like?  A prayer here and there, reading a few verses or if I felt really spiritual at the time maybe even a whole chapter, and singing some worship songs during the day? Yup. I was your typical 'Christian.' I thought I was doing my Christian duties but I was not living a life fully dedicated to the Lord. At the time I was expecting huge things from God and for my prayers to be answered, for all of the emotional things that come with a huge wave of the Spirit.

Now let me connect my life to the dream. Much like those meals, I was spending little time prepping my spiritual life, not sacrificing anything. Was I doing any prepping for the spectacular meal I was hoping to get with each TV dinner? No! I was throwing it in the microwave for 10 seconds letting the microwave do all of the work for me. Meal after meal, prayer after prayer, expectation after expectation, it was not what I wanted it to be. I had done that so many times. God was showing me if I want miraculous things to happen I need to sacrifice my life and pick up my cross daily and follow Him. He was calling more from me. He knew I had more to give and He wanted it.

If you are wanting more from God or you have been asking for something for a long time, take a look at your life. Focus on what you can give to God instead of what you want or need from Him. Flip it around and see if He does not answer your prayers and more then.

Since then let me tell you...I have changed the way I live my life and God has acknowledged it! God is so great! Yes, God has the power to answer prayers even without you sacrificing much but sometimes he wants more from you. Romans 12:1 says, "So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship."

Do you have a time where you sacrificed your self and the Lord acknowledged it? Please share the love of God and let me know!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..."

Romans 12:1-2

Is there an age limit for having child-like faith?

Matthew 18:3 "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Now, this does not say 'unless you have child-like faith.' And to be honest, I am not sure where that phrase even came from. However, that is what I grew up being taught about that verse. Since the verse does not specify what component of a child we are to become like, it is safe to include having their faith in it.

What is child-like faith? My son is currently into the TV show Dinosaur Train and while watching it he believes that he is a dinosaur. Thanks to the show he knows that some dinosaurs eat meat; he believes so much that he is a dinosaur that he will try to bite the dog. Weird...I know. He will run around the house stomping and roaring with his arms up like a T-Rex. He believes he is a dinosaur and nothing I tell him will change his mind. He thinks, talks, and walks like a dinosaur. He is focused on the task of being a dinosaur and the best dinosaur there ever was. That is child-like faith. Not letting the impossible get in the way of what you believe or what you want to true.

A boy is dreaming of one day being a player in the NBA. What does he ask for Christmas or his birthday? A jersey, basketball shoes, a basketball. He will bounce that ball around all day. Jump and try to reach the door frame to see how high he can get. He watches the games and dreams big. He practices everyday and does not let anyone tell him he is not good enough. That is child-like faith. Knowing what you want and knowing you have to play the part to reach it. Knowing you can't just sit back and wait for the NBA to call you one day. You have to get up and work at it. Have proactive faith...Faith in action. If he didn't really think he would make the NBA, would he waste his childhood training for it?         "Faith without works is dead."James 2:17

Have you ever wanted to fly when you were a child? What did you do? If you were like me and my brother you tied a towel around your neck and jumped off of the couch. When it was unsuccessful you tried it again but this time had your brother help push you for an extra boost. When that didn't work maybe you went to higher ground or changed your method all together...hold onto a shopping bag or blanket, find some glitter that maybe, just maybe could be fairy dust, thought happy thoughts, taped cardboard to your arms. That is child-like faith. Even when what you are trying to accomplish is failing one method after another you keep trying and you have the same enthusiasm each time.

So how does this apply to your Christian walk? It's simple...you know those tasks that God assigns you to? Or maybe you have dreams that seem impossible? You are getting tired of praying for a family to come to know Christ year after year, you are going through a situation at work...the possibilities are endless. God wants you to have faith in Him, child-like faith that will never cease or grow weary, believe big in God and He will show you how big He is! We cannot wait for a trial or situation (good or bad) to prove to God we have faith in Him. Children don't! We need to live our lives walking in complete faith everyday!

The bible is full of stories showing such great measures of faith, and the lack of. My favorite story is Abraham and his son Isaac. Even as he was about to kill his son, he told him to now worry because God will provide. Abraham had proactive faith. He did not bring Isaac to the mountain and wait for God to provide. He knew what he had to do and that God would somehow provide. At the last minute God came through for him and provided a lamb. Jehovah Jirah!!!!! I cannot imagine the emotion going through Abraham's mind. God may not show up at the time that we would like. I am sure that Abraham would have liked God to provide before he bound up his son and was seconds away from sacrificing him... But God know exactly when to show up. Abraham had faith in God the whole time.

So is there an age limit to child-like faith? Anyone can have child-like faith. Will it be difficult? At times, yes.  But remember this....Living a life of faith in God is not always a comfortable lifestyle, but I can guarantee you it is a comforting lifestyle!

What are you going through in your life right now? Do you have faith in God to bring you through it? Let me know about your trials and we can pray together!


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..."
Romans 12:1-2

With focused eyes...

With Focused Eyes I am living my life as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and a member of the body of Christ. What are my eyes focused on? The author and finisher of my faith...Jesus Christ! There is a misconception with Christians today that in order to run the race with endurance or to really work for Him you need to be in a 3rd world country preaching the gospel, sponsoring and adopting children, and feeding and clothing the homeless. Yes, these are all GREAT things to do to better His kingdom but...what about the other 95% (Yes, I made this statistic up) of Christians who are not called to do this? Are we not running our race properly? Will God look at us on Judgement Day and tell us, "Well, everything here looks pretty good...Oh but wait, you never left your family and went to Uganda for 3 years. I am sorry, you are not welcome." I DON'T THINK SO!

I am in no way bashing those who have this call on their life. Those people are strong and amazing. But, sometimes it takes just as much strength and courage to stay behind in your own country, in your own home. After all...every country needs the Gospel and God's love right?

This blog will take you on my journey my race. Everyone's race is different. Sometimes it is a smooth jog on a track and other times it can turn into an all out Tough Mudder! Out of no where I may add! I wouldn't say I have any special skills to write about and share with you. My house is normally in a lived-in messy state, my child hardly every wears pants, my socks never match, I go on spurts of workouts and eating healthy, and before I had my son I used to be pretty crafty, but nothing Pinterest/Blog worthy on its own. So this is a diary of my life in the race. Come and join me through my tears, laughter, hard times, and times of provision from the Lord.

Keep Running!
-Amanda

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..."
Romans 12:1-2