Tag: prayer life

Posted in Moments and Musings

My Word for 2026: Content

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

At the end of each year, God gives me a word to carry into the new one.
It’s not a goal or a resolution—it’s an invitation.
Something to focus on. Something to press into. Something to grow in.

For 2026, that word is content.

And no, I don’t mean content like social media posts or blog writing.
I mean content as a state of mind and heart.
Being at peace. Resting. Fully appreciating all God has done and living in the moment He’s placed me in.

This has been a lifelong struggle for me.

I’ve often lived with one foot in my current season and one foot in the next—always wanting more, better, different, or extraordinary. Always looking ahead. Always imagining what could be instead of fully receiving what is.

Scripture speaks directly to this tension:

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
— Philippians 4:12–13

The peak of this struggle came when my granddaughter was born. Suddenly, I found myself deeply unhappy with some of my choices. All I could think about was her. All I wanted was to be near her. My heart ached with longing, and instead of bringing that ache to God, I let it settle into discontent.

I won’t sugarcoat it—I spent the better part of this year living in that headspace.

Until recently, when God very clearly told me to stop.
Not gently.
Not subtly.
But firmly—like only a loving Father can.

In that moment, I realized something painful but necessary: I wasn’t just making myself miserable. I was affecting the people around me. My restlessness was spilling over. My discontent was contagious.

So I cried out to God and asked for forgiveness.
And then I humbled myself and did the same with those closest to me.

That’s when God gave me my word.

He reminded me that everything I have, I once prayed for.
I asked Him to move mountains—and He did.
I begged Him for provision, stability, healing, and direction—and He answered.

So who was I to suddenly find fault with the very life I had laid at His feet?

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
— 1 Timothy 6:6

Is my life perfect? No.
But perfection was never promised here.

True perfection waits for us in Heaven.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:11

My life is relatively easy, and I am deeply grateful for that. I am blessed beyond measure, and I know—without a doubt—that God is not finished with me yet.

So while 2026 will be a big and busy year, it will also be a restful one—at least where my heart and emotional health are concerned.

I am choosing not to miss the moments God gives me because I’m too busy living five steps ahead. I want to be present. I want to notice the small things. I want to fully inhabit the season I’m standing in.

That doesn’t mean I won’t look ahead.

I will—wisely and prayerfully.

I’ll look ahead to seek God’s direction.
I’ll look ahead to plan.
I’ll look ahead knowing that every plan I make is ultimately placed back in His hands.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
— Proverbs 16:9

But more than anything, I want to be here.
Right now.
Right where God has me.

Right in the center of His will.

A Gentle Reflection for You

As you look toward a new year, I invite you to ask yourself:

  • Where have I been restless instead of grateful?
  • What prayers has God already answered that I may be overlooking?
  • What would it look like to rest—not in circumstances—but in God’s faithfulness?

Maybe God has a word for you too.
Maybe it’s content.
Maybe it’s something else entirely.

Whatever it is, I pray you’ll listen—and lean in.

Because there is deep peace found when we stop striving for the next thing and start trusting God with this one.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
— Hebrews 13:5

If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear—what word are you carrying into the new year? 💛

Photo by fotografu on Unsplash
Posted in Moments and Musings

5 Steps to a Prayer Life

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Have you ever struggled with praying? Have you ever thought to yourself, “am I doing this right?”

Trying to pray “the right way” is something I’ve struggled with all my life. I would sit in a room, timer on the table and list in front of me of things I felt obligated to pray for. 

I prayed more for results than relationship. Insert a coin, get a prize. I approached prayer in the same fashion. Insert a prayer, get an answer (maybe). 

Joining a church meant praying in a group. I would break out in hives at the idea of being called upon to pray aloud. I wasn’t good enough, didn’t have the right words to pray and always felt like I didn’t know enough of the Word to pray. I would spend prayer time comparing myself to Sister Sally Sue who got at least 5 rounds of solid “amens” when she prayed. I would pray more to hear a “yes, Jesus” just to prove I wasn’t a bad pray-er. 

And of course, Satan used this over and over, repeatedly telling me, “See, you’re not as good as they are. God loves them more than He loves you.” 

Friends, can I tell you a secret? That’s not a relationship with God. That’s religion. 

Imagine my joy at finding a small group of women at my last church who humanized the idea of prayer for me. They were intimate with God and it made me desire that for my own life. And guess what? When they prayed, it wasn’t perfect. They stumbled over their words, they stopped to gather their thoughts, they laughed and cried and even said the word, “um” once or twice. It dawned on me that their “imperfections” were actually conversations. 

They were having a conversation with God. 

So, I stopped trying to be perfect. I stopped treating God like a gumball machine and I stopped trying to get “likes” when I prayed out loud in a group. Here’s 5 simple steps to get you on the road to a prayer life that produces relationship. 

  1. Read the Word. If prayer is a conversation, then we must know the One we are conversing with. Knowing who God is and what He’s about helps us to understand more of what the conversation will be like. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 
  2. Ask God to help you pray. God’s Word is all we need to get help in every situation, including prayer. John 14:13 encourages us to ask for help. It states, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do…” So if you need help knowing how to pray, just speak that verse and relate it to prayer. 
  3. Be yourself. This is probably the most important one. I fell into the comparison trap and lost precious time with God. I tried to copy the prayer style of others. God knows all about you. He wants a relationship with you on a one-on-one level. There’s nothing we can hide from Him. So stop trying to be like others and you do you in your prayer time with God. 
  4. Start simple. You do not need to thee and thou your conversation with God. He knows you! He wants to hear from YOU! If you’re stuck on where to start, just thank Him for who He is and all He’s done for you. The rest will follow, I promise! 
  5. Be honest and real. When my mom died, I went to God and let Him know I didn’t understand Him or His plan in this. I was so upset and in so much pain. I cried out to Him out of complete fear and anger. God was a total gentleman and He said, “Vikki, I hear you. I love you. I won’t leave you. You can either move forward with me, or without me. With me will be so much better but the choice is yours.” (Yes, God is that real with me!)

There are days when I start out in prayer. There are days when I end in prayer. There are also days when I say little prayers all day. Sometimes, I talk to Him as a wife would to a husband and sometimes, I talk with Him as a daughter would to her father. Most often, I talk with Him like the best friend I know Him to be. 

Through all this, I’ve learned this is what it means in the Bible when it says “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, The Message)

So without fear, I encourage you. Find your spot. Get your cup of coffee. Grab your blanket. And talk with Jesus. I guarantee you, friend – Jesus cannot wait to hear from you! 

Let me know in the comments how it goes. I’m praying for you!

Posted in Moments and Musings

Welcome, 2024!

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Happy 2024!

I don’t know about you but 2024 sure looks different than what I thought it would look like when I was a kid. I remember sitting in my classroom, drawing pictures of flying cars and robots doing laundry. We may not be there just yet but we are in this primitive form of Star Trek era with watches that make calls for us and phones that connect us globally. But one thing hasn’t changed – New Year’s resolutions.

Personally, I don’t like making resolutions. They’re nothing more than broken promises made to myself. So I don’t do that. Change, however, is a different matter. And this year, I’m going to try to be a woman of change. (insert diabolical laugh here)

So, 2024, let’s get after it! Here’s my list. Let’s see if anything sounds familiar to you (or maybe inspirational?)

  • Eat better – I mean, who doesn’t have this as a goal. In fact, this is a lifelong goal of mine. The quest to change my eating habits – eat more veggies, less carbs, less sweets, lather, rinse, repeat. But still, I have to put it on the list since I’m sincerely wanting to make better choices. And I’d like to do more research to be more intentional about my food choices.
  • Move more – Another goal that’s sure to make everyone’s list. However, I’m going to leave this open-ended. The idea is to move more but not necessarily set time limits, number of days, etc…just get up and move. Walk. Dance. Run. Stretch.
  • Pray/Bible study – I’ve never been consist with either, to be honest. I mean, I talk with God a lot so that part is ok (could be better, though). The Bible study is a hit or miss and I have plenty devotionals. Hopefully, this year is the year I make it through at least one. (I’ll let you know.)
  • Spend less – So, let’s talk about this one. I don’t live an expensive life. I live in a small apartment. Utilities are pared down as much as I can. I don’t work outside of the home so I don’t need work clothes and I have stuff for church. But I do like to buy yarn for crochet projects and embroidery stuff. I have whole roomful! So I’m making the decision not buy anything more until I use up what I already have. I also need to spend less on eating out. I have budgeted a healthy amount for groceries but sometimes, laziness and boredom drive me out of the house for food unnecessarily. I plan on changing that and being more intentional with my money and be more intentional about saving.
  • Create more – I don’t know how creative I’ll be with crochet. Not sure I know how. But I do want to learn to draw and create my own embroidery designs. I want to be fearless. I want to create and see where it takes me.
  • Call people – I’m so bad at this but I want to get better. I’m more comfortable with texting or using apps to connect with people but it’s not always best. I need to pick up the phone and call more. Bottom line.

Now for some real talk – change takes time. I plan on giving myself some grace when I fail, and there will be times of failures, set-backs, etc. But I think it’s time I finally let myself off the hook for being one of the most imperfect people on the planet. (I know that comes as a shock to those of you who know me personally.)

What changes are you looking to make in 2024? Drop a line in the comments and let me know!

Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash

Posted in Moments and Musings

When I Lift My Hands

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

“So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands”

Psalm 63:4 ESV

Years ago, I was going through a really bad time. I was dealing with depression and anxiety without any professional help. My marriage was falling apart. I felt like I was in a hole so deep no one could find me, not even God. I had two toddlers running around. Life was just not working at all. 

I remember one night after a fight with my husband (now ex-husband), I sat down on the couch after putting my babies to bed and just started to cry. It seemed like there was no way out for me. I knew I needed to be strong for my girls and learn how to be a better wife to my husband but I had no clue how I would achieve that. God felt very far away and I felt like a huge failure. 

For some reason, the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 came to my heart: 

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 

Praise and worship have always been my favorite part of any church service. I’ve always loved to sing. At the time, I was part of a praise and worship team at my local church. I was well acquainted with the power of praise and knew how to raise my hands. However, in my depression, I was sure I had the strength. I remember being honest with God and telling Him I wasn’t sure if I could even lift my hands to him. I wasn’t sure why anymore. 

God very gently spoke to my heart. He said, “When your babies come to you and they lift their hands to you, what does that mean?” 

I replied, “It means they want me. They want me to pick them up and hold them.” 

God said, “And what happens when you hold them?” 

I said, “They’re comforted. They’re loved. It’s an act of security for them to be in my arms.” 

God answered, “Then lift your hands to me, daughter. I will lift you up and hold you. You will be comforted and you will know how much I love you. You’ll be secure in me.” 

Lifting my hands in praise and worship has been easy for me ever since that day because I always remember these words. I always remember how I felt that night as I lifted my hands to Jesus. Depression and anxiety melted away in those precious moments I was held by my Heavenly Father. Was my life perfect after that? No. The abuse in my marriage turned into adultery which then resulted in divorce and a whole new way of life for my girls. Yet, none of that really matters because whenever I felt waves overtake me, I just lifted my hands and let God lift me up. 

My daughters are grown young women. They haven’t received this revelation yet and are far too shy to experience total freedom in worshipping God. I don’t worry. I know deep in my heart that their own conversation with God is just on their horizon. One day, they will need to lift their hands and when they do, God will hold them, comfort them, provide for them and show Himself to be their Daddy and not just their Heavenly Father. 

Maybe you’re like I was and you’re in a well of darkness or depression. Maybe you need to be lifted up in some way. Can I pray for you? 

“Heavenly Father, we love you so much. We thank you for your Word that gives us everything we need in every season. Father, your word says to praise you in every circumstance. We know how important this is and how important it is to lift our hands to you in prayer as well as in praise. Sometimes, Lord, we admit we don’t always feel like it. Sometimes, we just don’t have the strength. But we know, Father, that you desire us to be free and to walk in freedom. We know you desire to be not just Abba Father but Daddy to us your kids. So we take a step of faith and we lift our hands to you, Daddy. And we lift our hands, we ask for you to lift us up. We ask to be seated on your lap, with your arms wrapped around us. We thank you for your love and comfort. We thank you for security and we thank you for not leaving us in the pit but placing our feet on solid ground. We thank you and we praise you for this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Posted in Moments and Musings

God’s Plans Are Better

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. 

There are two key words in this verse. To ‘commit’ means to “to carry into action deliberately” while to ‘establish’ means “to institute permanently by enactment or agreement” 

Commit is an action word. It means we should do something. In this verse, it means we should be intentional about including God in our plans. When our plans line up with God’s word, he will establish them – or he will honor our agreement with him to make our plans permanent and secure. 

A few years ago, I was in a relationship with a man who himself admitted to having an adverse relationship with God. He’d suffered much and that suffering caused him to lose faith in the love God has for him. On the outside, the relationship was solid. We made our plans to get married. He loved my kids as I loved his. He was even willing to have my mom live with us after we were married. 

Then, one day, I heard God say to me, “Are you ever going to include me in this?” I knew right away what my answer was. I said, “No, because I know what you’re going to say. I know I’m unequally matched in this relationship. I know the compromises I have already made in my heart to be with this man.” 

Ever the gentleman, God waited. While he waited, he gently kept reminded me “My plans are higher and my ways are better.” My relationship with this man started to fray and unravel. I finally went to God and said, “I yield, Father. I commit this relationship to you and ask you to direct me. I want to please you more than I want to please myself.” I prayed for myself and for this man, for our hearts, for our healing and for healing in our children (he had 3 kids from a previous marriage). I broke off the relationship and in that moment, I felt shackles falling. The enemy lost. God saved me what was sure to be another divorce and more heartache. 

Friends, when we align ourselves and our plans with the Word of God, we really don’t need to do much else. The hard part is over. God honors his word and gets to work in our lives. He creates paths where there are none. He gives us ideas and wisdom. He provides for those plans because ultimately, they’re his plans too! 

If you want to know what plans God has for you, you need only to look to the Word. The Bible is more than just a love story; it’s a blueprint for how we should live our lives and it never fails. 

What plans are you making for your life? Have you included God in those plans? Can I pray with you? 

“Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the plans you have made for me. Jeremiah 29 verse 11 tells me your plans are good and full of hope and not for my destruction. You have planned well for me, Father, and I’m so grateful. As I continue to align my plans with your word, I thank you that you are causing those plans to be established and to succeed. I pray for continued wisdom and for your Word to be a constant light to my path. I thank you for all this, in Jesus’ name. AMEN!”