Little Tent

Photo by  Rodion Kutsaev  on  Unsplash I was thinking of 7 kinds of things I want to do with my life and with this blog. They are posted on my book shelf as a reminder. I was sitting here thinking about goals and things I would like to do accomplish or be in the months ahead. I have post it note to do lists every day stuck to my computer but this is a deeper kind of goals. They have more to do with a kind of lifestyle that I want to have. Here are my 7 things. I believe all are born out of a life of prayer and being in a intimate love relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Learn - I want to be a lifetime learner. I want to always keep a sense of curiosity and wonder. John 21:25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. I have not yet scratched the surface of all there is to know and experience of God. Create - I am made in the image

Photo by  Ben White  on  Unsplash I awoke to a Charley horse in my left leg this morning at about 5:30am. My first thought was STOP!!!!! my second was I must need Calcium and Magnesium. My third thought while my leg was still cramping was Lord I need your help here forgive me that you were not my first thought. In the past alarm clocks and Charley horses were a recipe for a get out of bed on the wrong side kind of day. Today I thought well, I'm up so I'm going to spend it with the Lord. So I proceeded to take a hot bath and listen to the The Healing Refuge one of 8 online Christian radio stations started by a long time friends Mark and Lori Kenney. I put the links at the bottom of this post. The station was playing a instrumental and spoken word piece that was something about joy. I just kept listening and thinking over the verses and something in me clicked and it was like Holy Spirit connected the dots for me and I suddenly had a key regarding joy that I had previously mi

Glory Prayer Tent Scarf by  LittleTent Im so excited to be able to create my designs and have them printed as prayer shaws or what I like to call Little Prayer Tents.  If you want one you can click on the picture and place your order. This first one is inspired by Psalm 16:9 and the idea of being surrounded by God's glory. It’s also possible if you like this background but want different words to customize it with names or verses of your own choosing. If you want you can add Tizt tzit (tassels) to the four corners. I plan to do a video to show you how I make them and what the wraps and knots represent. Dimensions: 16" x 72" Material: Lightweight chiffon fabric Clean rolled hem; scarves will be printed, hand-cut, and sewn by skilled seamstresses using top-of-the-line finishing machines Print is visible on both sides Hem available in 4 different finishing thread colors Hand wash cold, lay flat to dry Print may fade 5-10% after first wash, but su

Photo by  Ben White  on  Unsplash As I was praying about what to share in the 2nd Experience Prayer class I flipped through the various things that were ready to present. I felt the Lord kept saying nope - not this week. This morning I awoke from a dream in which I was hearing a pastor talking with another person about how discouraged he was. His life had become so dry and his church or ministry was in the same kind of condition. In the dream I had 6 things that I jotted down on a paper for him. I don't know who the people were. Just that I had the solution. Anyway I could not remember what I had written in the paper only that there were 6 things. As I sat thinking about what I would share for my class it occurred to me that there might be 6 things to transform your prayer life that I could share.  So here's my list of Six Things to Transform Your Prayer Life Jesus lives in you - Heaven is not far away the kingdom of God is at hand. He lives in your brothers and s

Photo by  Mat Reding  on  Unsplash We often find ourselves at crossroads during our life. Which way should we go? What is the way to happiness?   Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible and it has funny words starting each paragraph. This is because it is an acrostic poem where each of the stanza starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Granted those of us who are not fluent in Hebrew miss the structural impact of the flawless beauty of this Psalm.   My goal in exploring Psalm 119 is to write very short pieces in which we make this Psalm and the Hebrew Alphabet a tool for praying and connecting with the Father.   I thought this was interesting "The Hebrew word for "letter" is   ot  ( אוֹת ), which can also mean "sign" or "wonder." Each letter of the Aleph-Bet, then, may contain signs that point to wonderful truths about life. According to midrash, the LORD God Himself taught the alphabet (along with the numerical valu

Photo by  Andrea Tummons  on  Unsplash “If your brother or sister sins,  go and point out their fault,  just between the two of you.  If they listen to you,  you have won them over. Matthew 18:15   NIV This morning, I thought to myself. "I need to write a blog post. Ok I'll get the verse of the day and write about what ever it happens to be." So I get to Bible Gateway and find Matthew 18:15 Of course it is a verse about an issue I have recently had to walk through with some friends. I have to say that as hard and painful as working through to reconciliation was it was worth it. I think we all learned from the process. Photo by  Javardh  on  Unsplash When we get concerned, offended or hurt or even frightened by another brother or sister's words, actions, or behavior it is easy to think that we need to go get the opinions or council of others.  Love's answer is that we don't go to others but directly to the person. We may have totally m

When I was in ministry school I was inspired to make hand painted Tallit's or prayer shaws as gifts for various individuals. In Biblical times Jewish men wore their prayer shawl all the time, not just at prayer. The apostle Paul was a Pharisee, but also a “tentmaker”. The Hebrew word for tent and tallit is the same, some believe that he made Prayer Shawls, not tent structures as we know them.There was no way that every Jew could fit into the tent of meeting.  So the Tallit became an extension of the tent of meeting, giving each individual their own private sanctuary where they could pray and meet with God. The Tallit became their own private prayer closet. A Little Tent of prayer and worship before the Lord.  I started with white chiffon and stretched it on a big frame. This allowed me to be able to use dies and paints on the fabric.  The idea of creating your own portable space to to meet with God was appealing to me. I love anything that helps people to connect with God in

Photo by  Jordan Whitt  on  Unsplash Psalm 91:1  NIV.  He who dwells  in the shelter  of the Most High  will rest  in the shadow  of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD,  "He is my refuge  and my fortress,  my God,  in whom I trust." This morning I was working though a study that I am doing with a friend. I struggle to find the time to do that study. I often find my self on the day we are planning to meet trying to catch up. I got to the end of one of those studies this morning and the last question read "Spend some time quieting and calming your soul, resting in silent communion with the One who love you and who is committed to your well being.  My first response is but Lord... I still have 3-4 more studies to get through. But then I stop and think why am I doing this anyway. Am I trying to impress my friend with my dedication? Am I trying to impress God with my faithfulness? I walked down stairs to get a cup of coffee. On the way back up the stai

“I’d rather fight you   for something I don’t really want   than take what you give  that I need.   I beat my head  against so many walls   I’m falling down,  I’m falling on my knees.”   From Hold Me Jesus by Rich Mullins John 12:24    I tell you the truth,   unless a kernel of wheat falls  to the ground and dies,   it remains only a single seed.   But if it dies, it produces many seeds. There are so many thing we could do each day. A lot of those things are good things, but are they the best things? Are they the things that we have been created and called to do? As I begin this Little Tent site I know there are other projects that will go on the back burner and may not get done as a result of the time that will be needed to grow this site.  My hope is that you will find posts and resources to inspire your life to be one that is rooted and grounded in prayer. Not prayer that is a religious duty but prayer that is a relationship with the lover of

Photo by  Vlad Bagacian  on  Unsplash The Journey Begins  by Margot Cioccio I think journeys actually begin long before you board an airplane or take the first step out the door. Stories begin long before you put the first word to the page. Ones life calling or ministry started in the heart of God long before we were even born and may in fact be generations in the making. I was Ordained through the Spokane International Healing Rooms last year. In the past year I have explored some of the possibilities of where my calling to ministry might take me. I thought for a while that it was heading towards pastoring a local church. The more I sought the Lord about that option the more I began to see that it was not the right fit for me. The weight of having to come up with weekly sermons or even the thought that I was being asked to commit the next 15 or more years to one place and one people caused me to question if I was really the right person. Finally as I cried out to God for conf