ASK BIG......THANK BIG

 Now to Him who is able to do far

more abundantly than all that we

ask or think according to the power at 

work within us, to Him be glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations

forever and ever. Amen ~ Ephesians 3:20-21

I love Thanksgiving!  It is a season to reflect and truly give thanks.  It kicks off the holidays and ushers us into the Christmas season. For the last several years, I have reflected on the unexpected phone call that came just days before Thanksgiving in 2011 and the journey that followed.  I am reminded that if it had not been for my relationship with Jesus this season could be so different.  I am thankful for every single step of this journey.  I am thankful that Jesus and I walked hand and hand through the mess and came out on the other side better, stronger, happier and blessed beyond anything I could have imagined!

Baked Bliss is buzzing this week with Thanksgiving orders.  I absolutely love working the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at the bakery.  There is much to do and on any other day this might seem overwhelming. but for some reason on this day the extra orders and chaos are just different.  This day more than any other day of the year is full of joy, laughter, gratitude and a lot of hard work.  I am thankful for this little bakery and I am thankful for all the blessings I have received this year.

In late September of this year, our Executive Pastor challenged our staff to make October a month of big asking!  Asking God for things that may seem impossible, that might seem too big or too out of reach.  He gave us several scriptures that teach us about asking: He suggested we make a list of our asks and consistently with thanksgiving and humility petition God for these things.

• John 4:10 "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you 'Give me a drink', you would have asked him, and he would have given you the water."
• James 4:2-3  "You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly. to spend it on your passions."
• Mark 11:24 "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
• Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though wou are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!'
• John 14:12-14 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may  be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
• Philippians 4:6-8  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcend all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about those things.

The verse that stuck out to me and that I have clung to over these last several weeks is

• Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  

This challenge was so exciting to me.  I have asked big and crazy things of God in the past and He has definitely done abundantly more than I could have ever imagined.  Challenge accepted.

 That night when I got home and into my comfy clothes I didn't turn on my TV or have any dinner.  I read all of the verses about asking and thought about what I wanted to ask for.  Not to be selfish or to ask for the sake of asking, but to ask because my Heavenly Father loves me so much that He wants me to bring my asks to Him.  I was surprised at how quickly I came up with my list.  They were all things that I have prayed about previously, but this time it just felt different.

The next evening, Tuesday, I had bible study with some of the most amazing women in my life.  I love this group.  We call ourselves the LEAP girls, Laugh Eat And Pray girls.This group started long before I became a member, but I have been a part of this group for almost 4 years now and treasure every single time we meet.  We have done countless bible studies together, celebrated together, cried together and most importantly prayed together.  I pray each of you reading this has a group of friends that will stand with you in prayer.  I mean honestly, sincerely, earnestly, persistently PRAY with and for you.  I told the LEAP girls about the challenge my boss had presented to the staff and they jumped on board.  We have a prayer book that we pass around each time we meet.  We all agreed that we would come up with a list of 3-5 big asks and by the next week we would all be brave and put these asks in the book, no matter how big or personal they were.

One of the girls in LEAP is the manager at Baked Bliss and the next day she took this challenge to our staff at the bakery.

The first Wednesday of each month our church has a Deeper service.  It is a night of worship, baptism and communion.  It is one of my favorite nights of each month.  Our worship is alive and truly ushers all in attendance into the presence of God,.  Baptism is always an exciting thing and I absolutely love watching people come up out of the water and rejoice!  Makes my soul sing!  Communion is just so personal and I weep every time I take communion.  Before service our Ministering Elders meet for prayer.  During this session the leader said that he had this overwhelming sense that we should be asking for BIG things during this season.  What a confirmation!

I absolutely love the ripple effects this thought of asking has had!  I love that so many of us are not only asking for ourselves, but standing firmly in agreement with our friends, co-worker and loved ones in their asks as well.

My asks were as follows:

• Have the courage to write the book God has been nudging me to do for the last couple of years.
• I asked for the bakery to bring in a certain dollar amount each day.
• For complete and total supernatural healing of my mother's seizures.
• To lose weight.
• And one more that is just too personal to put on this little blog.  

I set my alarm for 3:20 (standing on Ephesians 3:20) each afternoon to remind me to stop and ask. I pray off and on all throughout the day.  When I need help finding something, I pray.  When I am reminded of someone that I have promised to pray for, I pray.  When I am thankful and joyful, I pray.  When I need anything at all, I pray.  When I see any kind of emergency vehicle, I pray.  Sometimes these prayers are short and take only a few seconds and sometimes they take several minutes.  When my alarm goes off at 3:20 my prayers start with thanks and then I ask.  I ask for my requests and for all the requests that I have been made aware of others.  My list currently has about 47 asks from myself and others.  I ask each day at 3:20 for all 47.  I don't only ask, but I thank God for the answers and miracles He is going to bring.

I can't wait to share with you in my next post of all the answers that have come.  They are big and they are mighty!

Ask
Believe
Wait
Recieve
Rejoice
Shout of His goodness!