Spontaneous praise

Oh no! Isaac found something. 

Oh no! Isaac got into something he should not have. 

I cannot adequately share the mental shift my mind and heart go when Isaac is “triggered.”

Autism and all the elements of Isaac’s needs (and how disability affects him and us as a family) is incredibly complex. Yet, in some areas Isaac is very simple.

He likes his pool.

His loves Chick Fil A. 

He’s never met a cupcake he didn’t enjoy.

I long for connection with Isaac.

When I meditate on heaven, the first thing I desire is to hug Jesus. Not a side hug, or awkward hug. I desire a long embrace where I bury my face in His chest and I can hear Him breathing. I want to smell Him and be intoxicated by His aroma of grace and love.

After this long awaited hug filled with praise and tears of joy, I want to have a conversation with Isaac. 

(I’ll save the details of this for another blog!) 

Yesterday (July 8, 3023) Isaac had a breakthrough. I wanted desperately to write about this because I know many of you pray for him.

He found four Veggie Tales books at a friend’s house recently and this caused severe anxiety and obsession for Isaac. (A triggered moment) He was blessed with them as a “gift” (there was no turning back- if he finds veggie tales at your home, consider it a gift to Isaac… you ain’t getting it back!!)

Isaac then proceeded to stare at the books for hours, this turned into days and eventually he ripped the pages.

He then began to cry.

To see your 15 year old son (who looks like a man) crying real giant tears just breaks me.

That is the thing with trials…. You feel like you’ve surrendered something to the LORD only to be challenged and broken and shattered all over again. 

I tried to soothe him. I prayed for him.

For a day and a half it was still upsetting him…

In a turn of events, he found a ripped page from of one of the books…

He was staring at it… fixated and totally engrossed.

It was a picture that said “November” and was Bob and Larry and the gang seated around a table with a turkey and yummy food for Thanksgiving. 

Isaac looked at the ripped book page and said to me as clear as I have ever heard “Thank you Jesus for this food, AMEN.”

I was stunned. My sweet special disabled son understood the photo meant we should pray and give thanks.

I am trying my best to express the moment here in words… but I cannot. It was a breakthrough moment. A moment of spontaneous praise.

I give God all the glory!   

Why was this a breakthrough Laura? 

This moment was a breakthrough because the prayer was not written in the book. The words were written on his heart. The words on the page said something entirely different. But Isaac understood-during Thanksgiving (and every day) we thank Jesus for our food. 

This is also a Breakthrough because Isaac loves to eat. 

She really enjoys eating whether it’s a full meal a snack or delicious treats. Even our daughter Olivia has said that she loves to see Isaac smiling & even humming softly when he eats because he’s really enjoying the moment & the food! 

Oh GOD, I praise you for this breakthrough! You inspire us to pray and you have taught Isaac to pray. Oh JESUS we adore you! 

Chosen This Place

 Right now I am in Colorado. What a wild ride! We visited here 6 years ago and now by God’s grace we are back to see friends and enjoy the RMNP.

Reading through 1 and 2 Chronicles can be a chore. My advice- DO IT. (As part of the One Year Bible reading plan, this is where I landed today- July 6- 2 Chronicles chapter 7)  

Today my mind was blown by 2 Chronicles 7:12

“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.”

‭‭II Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God said “No way Jose” (just kidding,  that’s some 4th grade humor for you)

God blessed Solomon & indeed granted him wisdom to lead God’s people. Solomon built the temple and chapter 7 is a beautiful ceremony where Solomon dedicates the temple. God appears a second time and says “I have heard your prayer”

The LORD constantly reminds me what a privilege it is, that we get to pray to our mighty God. We cry out to the God of the heavens and the Earth. We get to breathe prayers, pray silently or outloud, we can write in our prayer journals, we get to call out desperately to our big God we can scream our prayers, we can say them in a whisper or wimper or call out the 3-word prayer I say often “Jesus help me!” 

Solomon is clearly and unequivocally dedicated the temple and saying publicly- this is a place of prayer!

Many of us are familiar with 2 Chronicles 7:14 

 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

‭‭This is a verse many of us have memorized. It appears to be almost a “template” for a prayer for our nation. 

God used the modifier if…

God is directing us to prayer.

God is inviting us to pray to Him and with Him. The Holy Spirit lives to make intercession so in many ways, we are calling God and saying “Would you pray with me?” 

God says, “I always pray. And Yes it would be lovely to pray with you”

2 Chronicles 7:12 should be a holy verse to us and reminder that God is a “choosing” God. God chose Abraham. God chose Isaac. God chose Jacob. God chose and selected David the son of Jesse. God sent Jesus who then chose “the 12” to be His disciples. 

God chose Saul and pre-ordained him to he melted and transformed into Paul. 

And here, way back in 2 Chronicles 7:12 God speaks and says “(I) have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice”

The LORD continues on and says

“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”

‭‭II Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

My eyes and heart will be there perpetually

See, in the Old Testament, the people needed a “spot” to meet with God.

They needed a place to direct their gaze. They needed a location to offer sacrifices of lambs and rams and incense, etc.

… Jesus changed all of this!!! 

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, you no longer need to search for certain places to worship God. God is not locational or seasonal. God is the only LORD over everything and everyone.

You you no longer needed to sacrifice a lamb to momentarily cover your sin. Jesus became the Lamb to permanently take away our sins! 

We no longer need to go to a temple to pray…

We now can pray DIRECTLY to God our Father in the Name of Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

God’s Holy Temple (like the One Solomon dedicated) is now within us.

 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Let’s praise God for making a new temple. You are the temple, I am the temple, we God’s people can pray and praise and lament and repent.

We are the temple of the living God! Let’s make this temple clean and welcoming for Him to dwell!