Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

  • Home
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Policies
  • Contact

First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month

September 1, 2023 by Lauren 14 Comments

You may have deduced by the title of this post that September is Pain Awareness Month.  Pain has been my companion for many years now and if statistics hold up, many of you struggle with pain too.  We live in a broken world; and sickness, injury and pain touch us all, whether it’s short and temporary or a long battle with no end in sight.

 

But we have a Savior who walked on this imperfect earth and sympathizes with our suffering.  And we know that He can and will heal in His perfect timing.  And He doesn’t waste our hardships.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB says:

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

Today I want to pray for myself, and those of you who are physically hurting.  My heart especially goes out to those who are longsuffering and those who seemingly have no hope for an earthly cure.  Our God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

 

I’m praying for you in this. If you are in pain – physical or otherwise, please comment below or send me a personal message by clicking on the Contact link above.  It would be an honor to offer prayers on your behalf.  Don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a First Friday Prayers post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Boy could I learn a thing or two about not taking offense from Lisa Blair!  Anyone else need a lesson?

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

First Friday Prayers: Psalm 107:2

August 4, 2023 by Lauren 6 Comments

Yesterday was National Big Forehead Day.  God bless you if you fall into this category, but I don’t feel His call to pray in this direction.  However, tomorrow is Blogger Day.  And when I saw this day on the calendar, I immediately thought of my fellow bloggers in Christ who are putting out amazing content for the glory of the Lord.  I knew I wanted to pray for all of you.

 

“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,”  Psalm 107:2 NIV

 

God has done great things for us, and whether we have a website or not, we are each called to tell others about the love of God.  Jesus often used parables and stories to teach His followers.  Story is a wonderful medium to engage another while also getting a message across.  And I happen to believe that true stories are the best stories.  What better way to share what God has done than by sharing what God has done for you!  (More on this next week.)

 

So today I want to pray Psalm 107:2 – for God to grant wisdom, guidance and the right words to all believers to tell their story– in a coffee shop, on a website, over a meal, or from a pulpit.  Join with me.

I’m praying for you in this. Don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a First Friday Prayers post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.  And if I can pray for you in more specific ways as you minister with your story, drop me a message.  It would be an honor.

Lauren

And now for this week’s post from the link up!

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Next Page »

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
Read More

Subscribe for Updates

Enter your information below to receive the latest updates from the blog!

Recent Posts

  • Sad, Sassy and Surprised in September
  • Joy as an Active Pursuit: My Word of the Year
  • Speaking the Truth in Love
  • What Does it Mean that the Word of God is “Living and Active”?
  • First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month

Find Devotionals By Me in These Books and Click on Image for Order Information!

A 25-Week Bible Study with Topics from Abide to Zeal
A 26 week journey to a better prayer life.
30 devotionals for faith that moves mountains

For Sharing

Lauren Sparks

Like Podcasts? I’m on This One

…and This One! click to listen.

Click below to get a free trial of my favorite technology monitoring platform

Need More Than Just Monitoring? Find Filters and Accountability Here

Search This Site

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Lauren Sparks | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM

Stop!  Don't Miss Out!

I have a brand new e-book.  This was Not On My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Related Surprises is available to you FREE by simply subscribing to my blog!  

Invalid email address
I promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!