Another Pentecost

We need another Pentecost, 

Send the fire!

(from a song written by William Booth, founder (with his wife) of The Salvation Army; photo by music4life via pixabay.com)

My Great Strides Effort

Gracious God, thank you for all those who gave--and so generously--to my Great Strides effort this year, to fund a cure for cystic fibrosis! Thank you for your favor in meeting and exceeding my goal! Please let these funds be used well and speed the day when CF stands for "Cure Found!" 

Less, More

Gracious God, 

grant that I may 

eat less, and move more, 

buy less, and save more, 

stress less, and trust more, 

hurry less, and relax more, 

take less, and give more, 

do less, and be more. 

Amen.

(photo via everystockphoto.com)

All Yours, All Yours

 

Honor and Praise

 

Nothing Too Hard

 

At Rest

 

Your Consolation

 

On Mother's Day

Abba, Father,

how blessed I am

by the wife you've given to me,

and the kind of mother she has been--

and is--

to our children.

She walks in beauty, like the night

of cloudless climes and starry skies

(to quote Byron).

She showers blessing, like August rain,

on every dry and needy place.

She denies herself, like the pelican of myth,

feeding her loved ones with her own lifeblood.

She fights with passion, like a badger,

to defend and protect her home and family.

What a gift she is to me and to this family.

Lift her up in our love,

encourage her with our gratitude,

and let her feel your favor

flowing through ours,

in Jesus' name, amen.

Whole Heart

Praise and Petition

Adonai, I praise you with my lips
and with my mind,
and ask that you bring my heart along,
so that I can praise you with my whole self.

I praise you for your majesty,
evident in the skies;
your artistry
evident in the clouds;
your power
evident in the storm;
your gentleness
evident in the breeze;
your beauty
evident in the trees;
your grace
evident in the fawn that feeds by the tree;
your strength
evident in the firmness of the earth beneath it all.

I praise you Lord, Adonai,
for your greatness and your goodness,
for all splendor and majesty,
glory and power belongs to you,
and you are the sum
and the source
of all that is good, amen.

Nepsis

Lord, teach me nepsis:

to be watchfull, alert, vigilant,

to control my thoughts

instead of being controlled,

in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo by elmaurer via unsplash.com)

Ever Sounding

Make my life to be like a melody,

Ever sounding out the message of the Cross.

(from a hymn by John Wells; photo detail by Gift Habeshaw via unsplash.com)

All Ague

Lord, how I am all ague, when I seek

What I have treasur'd in my memory!

Since, if my soul make even with the week,

Each seventh note by right is due to thee.

I find there quarries of pil'd vanities,

But shreds of holiness, that dare not venture

To show their face, since cross to thy decrees:

There the circumference earth is, heav'n the centre.

In so much dregs the quintessence is small:

The spirit and good extract of my heart

Comes to about the many hundredth part.

Yet Lord restore thine image, hear my call:

And though my hard heart scarce to thee can groan,

Remember that thou once didst write in stone.

(by George Herbert; photo by kentro via unsplash.com)

To Your Holy Mountain

Lord, bring me today to your holy mountain, 
to Mount Zion, 

to the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, 
to God himself, to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives.

(based on Isaiah 66:20, Hebrews 12:22-24; painting: Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, by David Roberts in 1842, Library of Congress)

Be Thou My Vision

Tumult

Take me often from the tumult of things
into your presence.
There show me what I am,
and what you have purposed me to be.
Than hide me from your tears.
O King and Savior,
what is your gift to me?
And do I use it to your pleasing?

(a prayer of Hild of Whitby)

I Bow

At Thy feet I bow, adoring,

Bending lower, lower still;

Giving up my all to follow,

Just to do my Master's will.

(photo by Jeremy Yap via unsplash.com)

A Prayer in Sadness

O God, come to my assistance;

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Look on me, Lord,

look on my sad heart,

look on my low spirit.

Come to me where I am,

and carry me out of here.

You are the Lifter of my head.

You are my Shield and Strength.

You give me songs in the night.

Gracious God, please turn my mourning into dancing,

and replace this shroud of sadness

with the garment of gladness,

with a crown of joy.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your Holy Spirit,

in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo by Lasse Møller via unsplash.com) 

Evil Man