Morning Grace

God give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed; courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. ~ Reinhold Niebuhr Be Still and know that I am God. ~ Psalm 46:10 For the Spirit of God does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, as God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. ~ James 1:5 The Serenity prayer perhaps is almost as well-known as The Lord's Prayer, and while it has been used mostly by 12-step groups, it was originally from a sermon by the 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and is longer than the prayer we are most accustomed to. It is a prayer that is life-giving for anyone, no matter where you find yourself in life, whether you are in AA, or whether the addiction you face is one less definable. For most of us have something we need...

More on prayer this week. Pray then in this way: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.  ~ Matthew 6:9-13 (NRSV) With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best—      as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You’re in charge! You can do anything you want! You’re ablaze in beauty!      Yes. Yes. Yes. ~ Matthew 6:9-13 (The Message) O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere! Release a space to plant your Presence here. Imagine your possibilities now. Embody your desire in...

Then King David went in and sat before the  Lord , and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?  And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people,  O Lord God! ~ 2 Samuel 7:18-19 And Mary  said: "I am bursting with God-news! I'm dancing the song of my  savior  God! God took one look at me and look what happened - I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! ~ Luke 1:46-49 (The Message) “When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere… when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is ‘Wow,’ that’s a prayer.” ~ Anne Lamott O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one  tongue w...

But as for me, when they were sick,      I wore sackcloth;      I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed  on my bosom,      as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother,      bowed down and in mourning. But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,      they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know      tore at me without ceasing; ~  Psalm 35:13-15 Nothing heals us like letting people know our scariest parts. When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it's like they are holding the baby of you. ~ Anne Lamott  What's so powerful about the Psalms are, as well as their being gospel and songs of praise, they are also the blues. ~ Bono (U2) Anger and deep grief can be debilitating. And while through confession and repentanc...

If we confess our sins, (God) who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ~ I John 1:9 Come let us return to the Lord... ~ Hosea 6:1a One way to pray in a fear-filled world is to choose love over anxiety. ~   Henri Nouwen  Life without repentance is spiritual agony. ~ Rumi I've talked to more than a few people recently who are feeling the very real effects of fear in our polarized world. I'd be lying if I said I didn't share some of those fears. People are anxious, whether because of violence, divided politics, economic disparity, climate change, unhealthy relationships, racism, sexism or any of the many other isms in the world.  And when we are anxious or fearful, often times we play out that fear in anger.  I'm not going to say that anxiety equals sinfulness. Clinical anxiety is a very real thing. But there is also something wonderfully healing about confessing our anxiety: confessing our fear...

Re-posting this since it did not get mailed out and is the first of the Prayer series. Apologies to those who read this already online.  He called a child, whom he put among them,  and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 18:2-4 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? ~ Isaiah 43:19a Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~ Soren Kierkegaard "We each have the voice of Sadducees and Pharisees that roil and breed ceaselessly within us like a nest of “brooding vipers.” Speaking, they often seem to be in a superior, or elevated position, yet their true faces are our wounds, anxieties, and even fear of change. When we are held in their grip, we are inflexible, and not capable of renewal. We know only one answer, and are unable to entertain a n...

Immediately (Jesus) made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.  When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.  ~ Mark 6:45-47 When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.  ~ Matthew 6:7 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ~ Romans 8:25-26 Lift up your heart to God  with a  gentle  stirring  of love...Don't let anything else run through your mind and will...Forget what you know. Forget everything God made and everybody who exists and everything that's going on in the world, until your though...