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Speaker 1: Life Audio. You're listening to every Day Prayers with Million

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Speaker 1: Praying Moms, where we're dedicated to helping moms pray God's

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Speaker 1: word for their families in the areas they need it most.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. Over the last decade, we've

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Speaker 1: helped thousands of moms make prayer a priority for their families.

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Speaker 1: Our mission is to help you do the same. Prayer

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Speaker 1: is not a last resort. It's our first and best

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Speaker 1: response to the challenges of parenting, a partnership for the

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Speaker 1: hearts of our children that God invites us into. Today's

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Speaker 1: devotion is written and read by Rachel Adams, author of

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Speaker 1: Everyday Prayers for Love, a part of our Million Praying

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Speaker 1: Moms every Day Prayers devotional series. I recently reread this

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Speaker 1: devotional and it blessed me tremendously. Rachel provides beautiful reminders

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Speaker 1: of how God loves us just because we are His,

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Speaker 1: not because of anything we can do to earn it

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Speaker 1: or deserve it, and we are invited to love others

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Speaker 1: from a place of knowing that we are beloved. If

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Speaker 1: you don't have a copy of this book, you're going

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Speaker 1: to want to grab one for yourself and maybe even

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Speaker 1: for a friend. Every Day Prays for Love is available

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Speaker 1: wherever books are sold. This month, I've invited Rachel to

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Speaker 1: share excerpts from her book that help us break down

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Speaker 1: the famous love passage one Corinthians thirteen, specifically focusing on

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Speaker 1: verses four through eight that read, love is patient, Love

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Speaker 1: is kind. It does not envy, It does not boast.

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Speaker 1: It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It

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Speaker 1: is not self seeking. It is not easily angered. It

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Speaker 1: keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil,

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Speaker 1: but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust,

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Speaker 1: always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. We've heard this

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Speaker 1: verse at weddings, we've heard it in the church. But

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Speaker 1: this is one of those passages that is beautiful and

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Speaker 1: easy to read but hard to put into practice, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I know that I

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Speaker 1: need more patience and kindness in my parenting. Rachel weaves

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Speaker 1: in scripture from throughout the Bible to help us truly

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Speaker 1: understand the type of love that Paul is describing here

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Speaker 1: in his letter to the Corinthians. Our prayer and hope

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Speaker 1: is that this month. As we pray this together, our

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Speaker 1: understanding of God's love would grow deeper. To learn more

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Speaker 1: about Rachel, or to learn more about how you can

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Speaker 1: get involved in the ministry of Million Praying Moms, visit

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Speaker 1: Today's show Notes or Millionprayingmoms dot Com. After a quick

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Speaker 1: word from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our children.

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Speaker 2: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and

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Speaker 2: abounding in steadfast love, Psalm chapter one, forty five, verse eight.

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Speaker 2: One of my absolute favorite pastimes is cheering for my

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Speaker 2: kids at their extracurricular activities. Whether on a field and

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Speaker 2: a gym, in the pool, or on a stage, I

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Speaker 2: cannot wait to support them. You will just find me

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Speaker 2: in a different kind of seed each time. I typically

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Speaker 2: show up at the events and head to toe team apparel.

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Speaker 2: I even bring my cow bell since my voice gets

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Speaker 2: hoarse from hollering. I should note here that I'm typically

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Speaker 2: a very low key person everywhere except at my children's

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Speaker 2: extracurricular activities. I'm not sure what it is about these

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Speaker 2: occasions that brings out my alter ego. I think it's

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Speaker 2: because I want so badly for my children to be

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Speaker 2: happy and watching them do what they love brings me

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Speaker 2: such joy. In one such instance, I sat beside my

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Speaker 2: husband at a semi state football championship game watching my son.

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Speaker 2: It was the fourth quarter and the game was close.

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Speaker 2: Tensions were high, to say the least. Will was playing quarterback,

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Speaker 2: and he threw an incomplete pass. The entire crowd led

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Speaker 2: out a disgusted sighn and my heart sank. Then a

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Speaker 2: man behind me screamed, that was a terrible throw. This

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Speaker 2: time my heart skipped a beat. That was my son

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Speaker 2: he was talking about. I turned around and raged to

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Speaker 2: see who had made that comment, and to my surprise,

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Speaker 2: it was a father from our own team. I stared

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Speaker 2: at him until he noticed and that I had heard

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Speaker 2: his comment about Will. I heard what you said, I

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Speaker 2: yelled back at him and turned around, filled with loathing.

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Speaker 2: Oh my blood was boiling. Was it a bad throw? Yes?

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Speaker 2: But would I let anyone talk about my son like that?

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 2: Luckily, Will completed many of the other passes and we

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Speaker 2: won the game. I was thrilled for his team, but

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Speaker 2: I was frustrated that I'd let my negative emotions get

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Speaker 2: the better of me. Even though our team was victorious,

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Speaker 2: I experienced a personal loss. It wasn't the first time

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Speaker 2: I'd let someone's comments about my kids cause my temper

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Speaker 2: to flare. And may claim it's a mother's protective instinct

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Speaker 2: to defend her children, but I also must guard my

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Speaker 2: Christian witness carefully. Everyone around me saw the interaction during

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Speaker 2: that game and observed how I behaved, but they didn't

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Speaker 2: see my apology to the man afterwards. I asked for

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Speaker 2: his forgiveness for allowing my raw emotions to try and

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Speaker 2: while I only needed to make amends with God and

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Speaker 2: that man, I would not have been in that situation

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Speaker 2: in the first place had I kept my character in check.

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Speaker 2: It's just a game, after all. God has given us

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Speaker 2: our feelings for a reason. Scripture clearly states anger in

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Speaker 2: itself is not wrong. We simply must not sin when

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Speaker 2: we are infuriated, as I did. When you read the Gospels, Jesus'

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Speaker 2: ministry is characterized by turning the other cheek. However, there

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Speaker 2: are a few recorded occasions when even Jesus felt indignation

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Speaker 2: of the actions and behavior of those around him. We

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Speaker 2: read about his frustration leading him to curse the fruitful

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Speaker 2: fig tree and overturn the money changer's tables in the temple.

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Speaker 2: But since Jesus was without sin, we know there was

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Speaker 2: no wrongdoing when we see the examples of his anger.

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Speaker 2: In another instance, Jesus was angry and deeply distressed about

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Speaker 2: the pharisees uncaring response to a man with a shriveled

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Speaker 2: hand on the Sabbath. Instead of directing his irritation toward them,

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Speaker 2: he corrected the problem by healing the man's hand. The

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Speaker 2: Bible doesn't tell us that we shouldn't have ill feelings,

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Speaker 2: but rather that we should handle our exasperations properly. If

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Speaker 2: vented thoughtlessly, outrage can hurt others and destroy relationships. If

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Speaker 2: bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter

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Speaker 2: and destroy us from within. Too often we express our

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Speaker 2: fury in selfish and harmful ways. In contrast, Jesus expressed

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Speaker 2: his displeasure by correcting the problem. Following the Lord's example,

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Speaker 2: we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and

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Speaker 2: slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce

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Speaker 2: the righteousness that God desires. The next time you feel

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Speaker 2: your temperature rise, consider how you can pour water on

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Speaker 2: the flame rather than gas. As Proverbs fifteen one says,

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Speaker 2: a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word

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Speaker 2: stirs up anger. I pray we confront our fury in

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Speaker 2: a way that builds relationships rather than destroys them. And

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Speaker 2: like Jesus, may we only use our righteous rage to

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Speaker 2: uncover constructive solutions rather than destructive separations. Now that would

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Speaker 2: be something to holler about. Let's pray, Father, thank you

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Speaker 2: for being slow to anger when you have every reason

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Speaker 2: to be irritated and aggravated with me. Forgive me for

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Speaker 2: losing my temper so easily. If I get upset, May

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Speaker 2: it be over an injustice, where through your Holy Spirit

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Speaker 2: I can find a loving solution. May my emotions not

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Speaker 2: destroy relationships, but help all of us who aim to

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Speaker 2: follow in your footsteps to pursue righteousness at all times.

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Speaker 2: In Jesus's name, Amen.

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Speaker 1: Friend, we are so glad that you are a part

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Speaker 1: of our community here on the podcast. If you love

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Speaker 1: everyday prayers in the ministry of Million Praying Moms, I

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Speaker 1: invite you to join our Praying Mom community on Patreon

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Speaker 1: for just ten dollars a month. You can connect deeper

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Speaker 1: through a monthly scripture inspired prayer calendar, each day's devotion

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Speaker 1: in written form, and bonus content only available to our

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Speaker 1: Patreon family. Learn more in today's show notes or at

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Speaker 1: Million Prayingmoms dot com. Until next time, friends, the Lord

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Speaker 1: bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you,

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Speaker 1: and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with

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Speaker 1: favor on you and give you peace.