Image credit: Chatgpt, Lynn Donovan

Greetings SUM Nation. Lynn Donovan with you. I’ll be with you every Friday now as I’ve settled back into a routine and the Lord is encouraging me to write on the blog regularly again.

Easter Sunday is April 20th. So, for the next few Fridays, let's consider the weeks leading up to Easter and how we can look to this season as prayer prompts for our families and for us as well.

Today I want to teach you about "Launch Prayers."

I'll give you an example because it happened today. Last July my son lost his job when his company went through a round of layoffs. Ugh. Hard, I know. He took some time off but began to earnestly look for work in January. He started applying with gusto, yet no responses, until there was one. After a great interview, they hired him but then suggested a better position which would also be competitive to obtain. He threw his hat in the ring and then he waited.

He waited.... and waited... And waited.

Well while on the phone with him this morning (March 6, 2025), I asked him about the employment situation. And you have to know that my son believes in Jesus but isn't a regular church goer. Also, I have come to realize my adult children aren't keen to hear from their mother about some kind of faith topic either. Ho Hum.... In other words,... "Mom, don't preach." Okay, okay.

My son responds to my questions, "Mom, this is really becoming stressful. I haven't heard from them about this new position. And they haven't responded about the initial job that they said I had."

And this is where a launch prayer happens.

Without warning launch into prayer and I say, "In the name of Jesus I declare there is no more delay. This job belongs to my son. And he will hear about it now. In Jesus name. AMEN"

"Okay, son, well I'm praying about it. I know you want to be working, and can I send you some money?"

He says, "Thanks mom. I love you." We hang up.

And now, I kid you not, within an hour he sends me a text message: It's a photo of a text he received: You are the top applicant. Expect communication in your inbox. Congratulations.

I called him back immediately. I shouted, "Prayer works."

SUMites. Launch prayer is so cool. It must be spontaneous. It must be quick and to the point. Finally, after saying amen, move on with the conversation and/or change the subject. This beats the devil, as you prayed over someone and they didn't have time to go into unbelief or doubt. 

I love launch prayers. I pray them often and over many people in different situations and circumstances. Even complete strangers. I launch into prayer.

Okay, what do you think? Want to practice. Just take one courageous step and open your mouth. And then move along. 

Please, (((anyone....))) Share with me in the comments. What do you think about launch prayers? Also, I have a challenge for you leading up to Easter. Start to practice launch prayers. Come back here and share with me when you try this out. I read every. single. comment.

Blessings and hugs, Lynn

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 NIV

Praying for your family or praying while they listen in an unequally yoked home is challenging. But I've found a prayer model that works. 

So tune in tomorrow and I'll explain Launch Prayers. 

Are you curious?

Today, I bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus with hope. Great BIG and life-changing hope. In Jesus name. Amen

Love you, Lynn

$20. registration. 

Direct Link to Payment Portal Square for Three Keys Ministries:

Lynn here.

Today I want to share a freedom that came to me as a young wife when I was trying to figure out this unequally yoked thing.

I remember hearing a tiny piece of wisdom that really set me free and it was this.

The man's voice on the radio said this: If a man refuses or abdicates his spiritual leadership position in the family, then God expects the wife to step in and lead the family in faith.

I was immediately released from the "religious" expectations that my husband should lead us. I knew he wasn't capable at the time because he didn't know Jesus. And I was then immediately empowered by Jesus to pray with authority over our home, my children, our finances, and especially my husband. 

I began to pray for God to reveal Himself to Mike. I prayed for my kids and that I would grow in my faith. 

And you know what, Jesus showed up. And He's shown up every day since. So today I bless all of you newly married who are living spiritual mismatched. Step up. And the moment your spouse is willing to take the lead, then let them.

I adore you. Lynn Donovan

Oh Happy Day,

Anniversaries are weird things. I know I struggled so much with this day in the early years. I had a lot of expectations, and my husband had a lot of "no idea" what to do for a wife on an anniversary. Of course this led to hurt feelings, crying, and then in later years some simple coaching about how to make sure wifey was smiling on March 14th. *Grin*

But today I must SHOUT OUT praises because on this day, 33 years ago, two very different, young adults tied the knot. 

Who knew that our messed up and struggling marriage would become a ministry??? God is so interesting in how he takes the broken, heals, then sets them on a mission to help others. 

BUT do you know what today really is? It's a birthday. If you remember in my book, Marching Around Jericho, today, on our wedding anniversary, Mike walked into a church and the pastor baptized him into the Christian faith!!!

I still marvel at this astonishing set up. I've written about marriage for almost two decades. And God set it up to honor our marriage with Mike's step into the Kingdom on our anniversary.

I love you my SUMites, so I ask you this day, what divine set up has the Lord done in your life? How about your marriage? Your kids? Your faith walk?

Today, March 14th, I officially call it a day of celebration for the SUMite Nation. Post in the comments. Share how Jesus touched you. How He saved you. How He saved your marriage, your spouse or your kids. 

https://amzn.to/43vEElnJesus, today we honor You. You are relentless to touch our lives. Today, we give you thanks and publicly recognize how you have helped us, loved on us, healed us and walk every day with us. Amen

See you in the comments. Love and blessings, Lynn

$20. registration. 

Direct Link to Payment Portal Square for Three Keys Ministries:

Hello SUMites,

Check out this power song, below. When you play it, it will fill your home with good words.

In the mighty name of Jesus.

Enjoy!

Hi, SUM Nation.

Lynn Donovan here with an update on Mike:

Mike’s six-month, bone marrow biopsy, came back clean. No recurring disease. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, our healer. Also, the blood work continues to reflect positive results. They will continue to monitor Mike for at least three years. His next biopsy will be at one year, in August. Thank you to all that prayed and checked in on us.

For all of you who are going through hell right now, I will be the voice to encourage you to stay in faith. Don't back down, don't stop and cling to the hem of His garment. In due time He will lift you up. This verse is proving absolutely true.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

How do I know this? Because that is where Mike and I are living today. We are home and God took care of our finances, our home during our absence, he cared for Mike and walked every second with me. He will do the same. And I will admit, I look back and see where I still held on to idols, such as my home. 

Today, I love my Promised Land home, but it is not an idol. I could move out tomorrow and I will be okay. And I have such a thankful heart now for my home and for being able to live in my home, that I thank Father for it every. single. day.

Today, I bless each of you who reads this to encounter the love of our Savior in a deeper connection and through His manifest goodness in your life. In Jesus name. AMEN

Hello, dear, SUMite friends. I trust this post finds you in a good place.

Two post ago, my New Year’s post, I shared my ‘Word for the year. ‘Adventure’! I’ve held onto that ever since and wondered what adventure lay ahead. I had a hunch it would be something specifically with the Lord and would involve me stepping out of my comfort zone in some way. I shared Joan Chittister’s quote that specifically mentions that: “Adventures happen when we take the time to do what we have not done before.” (Joan Chittister)

I recently finished a book by John Eldredge and the late Brent Curtis called ‘Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God’ and I came across this quote from Christian author and philosopher G. K. Chesterton. It read:

“An adventure is, by its very nature, a thing that comes to us. It is a thing that chooses us, not a thing we choose.”

The authors sighted the two examples to emphasise Chesterton’s words. Lucy, stumbling into Narnia through the back of the wardrobe. She wasn’t looking for it, in fact, she was hiding and fell into a new world. Similarly, Abraham wasn’t looking for an adventure, God called him to one.

The choice before us is to NOT to make it happen. Lucy, could have NOT told her siblings and Abraham could have said No to God, just like Jonah, initially did.

“The choice before us is a choice to enter in.”

Lent – a wilderness adventure of the heart.

Today marks Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent. Lent marks the 40 days before Easter, culminating in Jesus’ death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. The 40 days mirror the number of days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and resisting the Devil prior to the commencement of his ministry.

It's useful to remember that immediately before Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness, Jesus had been baptised by John the Baptist. When Jesus rose from the water, the Gospel of Matthew says this:

“At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16b-17 NIV)

Jesus goes into the desert knowing he is beloved of the Father.

We too can enter the Lenten season with the same assurance: we are Beloved of God.

Lent is a favourite season of mine. I typically read the church liturgy each day and work through a couple of specific books during the season. And yes, I will generally ‘fast’ something but only do this out of desire to draw closer to God, not out of a sense of obligation. This year, I plan to detach myself from buying anything other than essentials like food and the like. No clothes, no books, no things.

I believe I found my adventure; well, it found me. I hope to dive deeper into God’s love for me, for us, for His beloved. To abide (John 15) in Jesus and to call on grace to help resist temptation including buying things. (I find it very easy to buy books – a great love of mine).

You may not observe Lent, which is all good. But I believe Father invites all of us into an adventure of love. A story, a great romance, where Father is both the author and the hero. And we’re His beloved.

May I invite us all to contemplate such themes during these next 40 days and step into this extraordinary story of love.

Much love, dear friends

Dear SUMites

A prayer for all the children in our SUM community:

Dear Jesus,

Bless and keep each one of our children.

I thank you that an open heaven broods above them.

I thank you that they are surrounded by such an army of believers that our shields of faith mean nothing can get to them of any consequence, spiritually.

I pray they will come to know you intimately.

I pray they will know how loved they are by you, and will be able to receive your love.

I thank you that each one of these children is so fearfully and wonderfully made.

Their faces come to memory, some of them; some of them I know by name.

May each of them become a mighty man or woman of valor.

May each of them be freed, in Your name, from deception.

May the walls of Jericho (unbelief) fall in their lives.

And may they become hungry for you.

In your name, Jesus, we pray.

Amen.  

Catch you next time SUMites! And in the meantime, let's lift up our prayers for these kids together.

Ann