About Me
Fun Facts about Van Walton
My favorite smell: The way the earth smells after it rains.
My favorite sound: The first notes of a grand symphony.
My favorite way to relax: Sitting anywhere outside - on my front porch, on my deck, or by the lake, early in the morning with my first cup of coffee.
My favorite birthday dessert: a Peach cobbler baked by my husband. He’s my fave chef!
I will not eat: Avocado. They turn my stomach into a volcano that never erupts.
Technology I couldn't live without and why: My laptop - it takes me anywhere I want to go.
One thing that makes me smile: My sons' faces!
Friend Van on FacebookMy Resources
My book, From the Pound to the Palace, is available for $10
from Proverbs 31 Ministries.
My book, Little Halos, is available for $5.99 from Proverbs
31 Ministries.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Links
Friday, July 27, 2012
Prayer for the long trail
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please be encouraged as you read this prayer and then visit me at wordpress where I am now bloging: vanwalton.com
Sometimes I find myself without words! It's true- I have nothing to say.
Speachless.
Not because I am amazed, but because I've prayed, and begged, and cried, and prayed some more.I have nothing left to say. I'm spent.
That's when I pray God's Word.
Psalm 57: 1- 3 & 6-11
Fill in the blank with your name or the name of a loved one~
1 Have mercy on (me)___________________________, O God, have mercy!
I look to you for protection.
Hide (me) _______________beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for (me) __________________________.
3 Send help from heaven to rescue (me) __________________.
My God, (I trust that you) will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.
Because I know (my life) _________'s life is in your hands today, I can sing your praises.
.Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth.
Shine!
Sometimes I find myself without words! It's true- I have nothing to say.
Speachless.
Not because I am amazed, but because I've prayed, and begged, and cried, and prayed some more.I have nothing left to say. I'm spent.
That's when I pray God's Word.
Psalm 57: 1- 3 & 6-11
Fill in the blank with your name or the name of a loved one~
1 Have mercy on (me)___________________________, O God, have mercy!
I look to you for protection.
Hide (me) _______________beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for (me) __________________________.
3 Send help from heaven to rescue (me) __________________.
My God, (I trust that you) will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.
Because I know (my life) _________'s life is in your hands today, I can sing your praises.
.Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth.
7 My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!
8 Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.
9 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.
10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
8 Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.
9 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.
10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.May your glory shine over all the earth.
Father, watch over me and ________________ today. filling us with strength to accomplish your will and peace for the journey. In Jesus' Name, Amen
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19 comments:
Love this, Van.....thanks! I'll print it out and keep near computer....am battling painful sciatica and need your post.
Blessings~~
Jackie S.
Thank you for your thoughts regarding the "empty nest".. we just sent our oldest son off to the Marines. His choice.. it's right and good for him.. just hard. It's time.. it's just hard. I miss my little boys.. their innocence, their joy, their fun, their smiles.. It's a season, I know. I appreciate your honesty.
Thank you for you posting today on the empty nest. I have two children in their 20s, it is hard to see them spread their wings and go on about their lives. But they need to in for them to grow and also for my husband and I to grow into a new stage of our marriage. We look back and where did that time go with our children. The memories, are now stories to be told to be shared when we are together as a family. It is a scary and yet a wonderful time in our life right now. Mary Anne
Doing what God created us for...My 31 year old is expecting her third child, after losing two early in her pregnancy.My 20 yr.old son is in the Air Force. My 22 old daughter, not living at home,trying to figure out her life. Now my dad of 84 yrs. with Parkinson and dementia is living with me. I am praying for clarity. Should my nest remain empty or should I fill my nest back up. Pray for me..
Dear Van,
It was so good to read a devotion about how to deal with your life after the children have gone. I have read many devotions for women, but they all seem to dwell on younger kids. While those devotions speak to me in other ways, I don't really relate to them now. I usually forward them to my 2 grown daughters who have daughters of their own now. I struggle with them being gone even though the older one has been out for over 10 years now. At the same time I rejoice at the beautiful God loving women they have become. I tell myself that this is normal and I will get over it, but there are days that are harder than others. I am going to take your advice and get involved in something else. I am currently working on my degree and am excited about finishing up in June, but I know that I need to get involved in something where I can be of help. Thank you for your insight and for letting me know that I am not the only one out there that is dealing with an empty nest.
Your sister in Christ,
Patty
Thank you for posting about the empty nest today. I have a son who will soon be leaving for the Navy and my daughter is a senior this year and will soon be leaving for college. Just yesterday I sat and cried and wondered what I will do now that my kids will soon be leaving. I know God sent your blog today to comfort me. God bless you!
Good morning Van,
I was very grateful for your post this morning. I have been VERY challenged trying to adapt to my empty nest since our daughter left for university and then got married three years go. The sadness of missing not only her, but our sons and the busy happy family life that we all had together still hits me sometimes with so much force that I can hardly bear it. But I know, like you, that the answer is to forge ahead with God's leading. It was just nice to hear that I'm not the only one who is going through this. Thanks for the encouragement. ~Paula
what do you do when they leave home and fall into homosexuality? They were raised in a loving Christian home and never gave us any problems at home?
ni21ermoneswhat do you do when they leave home and fall into homosexuality? They were raised in a loving Christian home and never gave us any problems at home?
BihoDear Van,
I cannot tell you how much your article regarding the proverbial "empty nest" meant to me! I was coming to those conclusions myself but your article was that extra little "nudge" to move on. Thank you so much!
Marcia in Tallahassee
I want to Thank you too for your posting on "Empty Nest" which is 1 of the many things happening right now
Your thoughts about the empty nest were a wonderful encouragement to me this week. Earlier this week, I "celebrated" by birthday with anything but feelings of celebration. I have been a stay at home mom for 25 years and now need to find full-time work in addition to homemaking to help with financial needs. Two of my adult children have recently been critical of their "growing up" years, so I felt very heavy this week with a lack of significance. I am so grateful that God never leaves us in a "pit of despair." He is faithful to give us encouragement through His word and others. Thank you for being a vessel for Him to bless others. May I be faithful to pray for other mothers who may be feeling a lack of purpose or significance because we all have significant value as His children. Michele
So comforting to know I am not the only one struggling, and can totally relate to the posting about a child leaving home and becoming actively homosexual......this is what I am grieving right now....thanks for the post.....God has used you to speak to our pain
Van, what a wonderful devo you shared with us today. And I especially love the prayer...no better post than to teach us how to pray the Word. You are such a blessing!!
Love,
Wendy
My daughters have been married for quite awhile. I miss them being home still after all these years. It had always been the four of us, both my parents and husbands parents have been gone for a while.
Thank you for your blog and from reading posts I am glad to see I am not the only one missing my girls!
Hello my friend, it's so good to see you use your gifts of writing and encouragement! Great article... I'm sitting in a very quiet house and actually, I quite like it!
i found out that my lovely Christian husband was gay about the same time that the last child left home. Such profound loneliness. Holding onto God with all my might and resting in his promises and imagining him speaking to me in the garden as he spoke to Mary.
It's amazing how God answers prayer. Every morning, I pray for others and for myself. Then I open my computer to Encouragement For the Day on KKLA and one of the commentators has posted prayers exactly answering my concerns. Van, It happened this morning when your post spoke about the empty nest. I so miss the past when I was raising six children. I agree, Van, that moving on includes helping others. That is the key. Instead of constantly looking back, reaching our hands out to the future and to others is a healing balm for our hearts. God bless all of you who have entered comments today. Your thoughts have been a blessing for me. I'm including all of you in my prayers.
Van- Looks like a lot of us need a book on the "Empty Nest"! It is a difficult time, one that can be depressing and paralyzing not knowing what God's plan now is for us. Some good advise I got was to just get out there and start serving others in some new way- Luckily the choice isn't quite as permanent as motherhood! :)