(image by StockSnap via Pixabay.com)
For Seeds I Have Sown
let the seeds I have sown over the years,
no matter where they landed
or how long they have waited
find receptive soil at last
and bear fruit,
yield blessing,
and lead to eternal life
for all I have known,
in Jesus' name,
amen.
Make Them Prayerful
Today's prayer from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad...and my prayer today for my kids and my grandkids.
Farmer Thanks
Those caissons which go rolling along up and down the corn rows are panoplied with plows and not with powder.
We put up hay, make grass silage, seed sweet Sudan, that every one in thy image may have milk and meat enough.
So for those heavy lambs, healthful heifers, pink-combed pullets, and pigs well weaned we would give thee our farmer thanks.
Make us just as glad to share our blessings as to glory in our work.
Amen.
(excerpt from the book, The Farmer Gives Thanks; photo by klimkin via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #148
I praise you under the night sky,
I praise you while driving into the sun.
I praise you for the faculty to praise you.
I praise you that my brain works (mostly),
that my tongue moves,
that my heart resounds with your praise.
I praise you for the sun you created,
and for the moon and stars you hung in place.
I praise you for the unfathomable expanse of the universe,
and for the mysteries of deep space.
I praise you for signing your work,
and making it reasonable for us to praise it.
I praise you for this clockwork solar system
and the ancient and future splendor of the skies.
I praise you for this earth,
its resiliency,
beauty,
majesty,
mystery,
efficiency,
and energy.
I praise you for the sheer numbers in your Creation:
20,000 species of fish,
6,000 species of reptiles,
9,000 birds,
1,000 amphibians,
15,000 species of mammals
and over a million insect species...that we know of!
I praise you for lightning and hail,
snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do your bidding,
for Kilimanjaro and the Piedmont,
for almond trees and pomegranate,
for wild horses and curious marmots,
tiny hummingbirds and great egrets,
for fall plumage and winter blankets,
for the strength of young men,
the beauty of young maids,
the wisdom of the old
and the patience of the aged.
I praise you, Lord,
for the joy of praising your name,
for the grace of beholding your splendor
in earth and sky.
I praise you, Champion of your people,
the praise of all your saints,
the joy of people close to your heart.
I praise you.
(photo via Pixabay.com)
Baseball is Back
Thank you for outfields of green
and the crack of the ball on a wooden bat.
For pitchers with eccentric windups,
for stolen bases
and diving catches.
For double plays
and double steals,
bunts and brushbacks,
squeeze plays and home runs.
For "cold beer here!" and ballpark franks.
For the seventh inning stretch.
For day games and night games.
For OBPs and ERAs,
pickoff plays and headfirst slides,
for opening days (even really late ones) and hope springing eternal.
Amen.
An Invocation Before Writing
O for a muse of fire
that would ascend
the brightest heaven of invention
(Henry V, Prologue, 1).
Come, King of Grace
Enlighten my heart, rule my life, and sanctify my thoughts so that they all may be reverent and pleasing to you. Surround me with your grace, that I may never be removed from it.
Come to me, Holy Trinity! Make me your dwelling and your temple. Spark in me the light of your knowledge, faith, hope, humility, patience, prayer, perseverance, and reverence. Amen.
(from Amish Prayers, compiled by Beverly Lewis)
Praise Belongs to You
Mighty God,
Transcendent,
Righteous,
Merciful,
and Just.
I praise you for being a mighty fortress,
a kind, forgiving Father,
a gentle, nursing mother,
a friend,
a king,
a warrior,
a shepherd,
a rose of Sharon,
a morning star,
a sun, and shield, a shelter,
all that I need, and all I aspire to be.
(image by Emmie_Norfolk via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #147
How I love to sing praises to you, my God,
how pleasant and fitting it is to praise you!
Build up your people, Lord;
gather them from exile and exclusion.
Heal the brokenhearted
and bind up their wounds.
You know the number of the stars,
you call each one by name.
You are so great, Lord, and mighty in power;
your understanding is infinite.
You sustain the humble,
but cast the wicked to the ground.
I sing to you, LORD, with thanksgiving;
I love to worship you in song,
especially among your gathered saints,
and especially in four-part harmony!
You cover the sky with clouds;
supply the earth with rain
and make grass grow on the hills.
You provide food for cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
Your greatest pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor in human ingenuity...
you delight in those who fear you,
who put their hope in your unfailing love.
Extol the LORD, O people of God;
praise your God, you saints,
for he is your protector
and your reward.
He gives peace
and nourishment.
He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like cake icing
and scatters the frost like glitter.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
But then He sends his word and melts them all;
he stirs up his breezes, and the spring waters flow.
When he can do all that,
do you doubt that he can speak his word to your heart?
Can you seriously worry
that he will not be faithful to you--
you whom he has chosen,
you whom he has favored?
Praise the LORD.
(photo by AlexasFotos via pixabay.com)
Like a Shepherd
In your pleasant pastures feed me, for my use your folds prepare.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! You have bought me, I am yours.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! You have bought me, I am yours.
I am yours, my Friend and Helper, be the Guardian of my way;
Keep me safely in your favor, seek me when I go astray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear me when we pray.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! Hear, O hear me when we pray.
You have been so gracious, Gentle Shepherd, saved my soul and set me free;
You have led me into spacious pasture, daily shown your face to me.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! I will serve you all my days.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! I will serve you all my days.
(from the hymn, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, revised and updated)
Through Weakness
Your power works best in my weakness.
Let the power of Christ work in me
through weakness
by your gracious favor.
Amen.
(based on 2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT; photo by Veri997 via pixabay.com)
You Turn Tables
have long spoken of you.
And we have their spokenness in our hands,
in these old texts.
We propose now to study you,
to weigh and test,
to examine and assess,
to make you our "object"
and so to get a grade.
In your strangeness,
you are studied only temporarily
object only penultimately,
weighed and tested only at the outset.
But then - as always -
You turn tables,
You become subject who addresses,
sovereign who commands,
mother who loves,
warrior who defends,
And we find ourselves turned in our study to praise and adoration.
So we ask for freedom to love you with our minds,
that we may know a little as we are known,
and in knowing may love and adore,
and in loving and adoring, may obey...
to your praise,
and our joy, Amen.
(from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: The Prayers of Walter Brueggemann, by way of the Daily Prayer blog. The background of the photo is explained here, on the Hither & Yon blog)
On Her Birthday
the loveliest bride,
the perfect woman for me,
and I am grateful.
Thank you
for hearing my heart's cry 46 years ago
and thank you
for giving her in marriage to me 43 years ago.
And thank you
for every day with her since then,
in Jesus' name, amen.
To Joyfully Set Out
creator of a good and beautiful world,
may we joyfully set out on this day
in your name,
and fill it with acts of love
for you and our brethren.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
(illustration by jplenio via pixabay.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)