joy and celebration, day 5

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Our Father, giver of all gifts, You love and choose us, your least ones.  Increase our humility so that we might rejoice in the generosity of Your love and be mindful that the good in us comes from You, Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life, now and forever.  Amen.
                                                                ~Macrina Wiederkehr

 
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 66

Scripture for the Day: Exodus 15:1-21

Reading for Reflection:

The joy that Jesus offers His disciples is His own joy, which flows from His intimate communion with the One who sent Him.  It is a joy that does not separate happy days from sad days, successful moments from moments of failure, experiences of honor from experiences of dishonor, passion from resurrection.  This joy is a divine gift that does not leave us during times of illness, poverty, oppression, or persecution. (Lifesigns by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

 

 Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.  Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

 

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!  Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

 

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

 
Closing Prayer:
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold of eternal things.  Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good.  Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

joy and celebration, day 4

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Our Father, giver of all gifts, You love and choose us, your least ones.  Increase our humility so that we might rejoice in the generosity of Your love and be mindful that the good in us comes from You, Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life, now and forever.  Amen.
                                                                ~Macrina Wiederkehr

 
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 66

Scripture for the Day: Psalm 118

Reading for Reflection:

Joy is essential to spiritual life.  Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit.  Jesus reveals to us God's love so that His joy may become ours and that our joy might become complete.  Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing—sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death—can take that love away. (Here and Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

 

 Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.  Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

 

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!  Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

 

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

 
Closing Prayer:
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold of eternal things.  Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good.  Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

joy and celebration, day 3

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Our Father, giver of all gifts, You love and choose us, your least ones.  Increase our humility so that we might rejoice in the generosity of Your love and be mindful that the good in us comes from You, Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life, now and forever.  Amen.
                                                                ~Macrina Wiederkehr

 
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 66

Scripture for the Day: Philippians 4:4-9

Reading for Reflection:

The difference between shallow happiness and deep, sustaining joy is sorrow.  Happiness lives where sorrow is not.  When sorrow arrives, happiness dies.  It can't stand pain.  Joy, on the other hand, rises from sorrow and therefore can withstand all grief.  Joy, by the grace of God, is the transfiguration of suffering into endurance, and of endurance into character, and of character into hope—and the hope that has become our joy does not (as happiness must for those who depend upon it) disappoint us.
     In the sorrows of the Christ—as we ourselves experience them—we prepare for Easter, for joy.  There can be no resurrection from the dead except first there is death!  But then, because we love him above all things, his rising is our joy.  And then the certain hope of our own resurrection warrants the joy both now and forever. (Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin Jr.)

 

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.  Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

 

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!  Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

 

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

 
Closing Prayer:
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold of eternal things.  Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good.  Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

joy and celebration, day 2

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Our Father, giver of all gifts, You love and choose us, your least ones.  Increase our humility so that we might rejoice in the generosity of Your love and be mindful that the good in us comes from You, Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life, now and forever.  Amen.
                                                                ~Macrina Wiederkehr

 
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 66

Scripture for the Day: Nehemiah 8:1-10

Reading for Reflection:

     One aspect of choosing life is choosing joy.  Joy is life-giving, but sadness brings death.  A sad heart is a heart in which something is dying.  A joyful heart is a heart in which something new is being born.
     I think that joy is much more than a mood.  A mood invades us.  We do not choose a mood.  We often find ourselves in a happy or depressed mood without knowing where it comes from.  The spiritual life is a life beyond moods.  It is a life in which we choose joy and do not allow ourselves to become victims of passing feelings of joy or depression.
     I am convinced that we can choose joy.  Every moment we can decide to respond to an event or a person with joy instead of sadness.  When we truly believe that God is life and only life, then nothing need have the power to draw us into the sad realm of death.  To choose joy does not mean to choose happy feelings or an artificial atmosphere of hilarity.  But it does mean the determination to let whatever takes place bring us one step closer to the God of life. (The Road to Daybreak by Henri J. M. Nouwen)

 

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.  Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

 

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!  Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

 

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

 
Closing Prayer:
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold of eternal things.  Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good.  Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

joy and celebration, day 1

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Our Father, giver of all gifts, You love and choose us, your least ones.  Increase our humility so that we might rejoice in the generosity of Your love and be mindful that the good in us comes from You, Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life, now and forever.  Amen.
                                                                ~Macrina Wiederkehr

 
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 66

Scripture for the Day: John 15:9-17

Reading for Reflection:

Only the one who has experienced it can know what the love of Jesus Christ is.  Once you have experienced it, nothing else in the world will seem more beautiful or desirable.  (The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning)

 

Celebration gives us the strength to live in all the other Disciplines.  The other Disciplines faithfully pursued bring us deliverance from those things that have made our lives miserable for years, which in turn evokes increased celebration.  Thus is formed and unbroken circle of life and power.  (Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)

 

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

 

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.  Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

 

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!  Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

 

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

 
Closing Prayer:
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold of eternal things.  Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good.  Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

direction, day 7

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Proverbs 4:20-27

Reading for Reflection:

Those to whom spiritual guidance is entrusted should only lay bare faults as God prepares the heart to see them.  One must learn to watch a fault patiently, and take no external measure until God begins to make it felt by the inward conscience.  Nay, more: one must imitate God’s own way of dealing with the soul, softening rebuke, so that the person rebuffed, feels as if it was rather self-reproach, and a sense of wounded love, than God rebuking.  All other methods of guidance, reproving impatiently, or because one was vexed at infirmities, smack of earthly judgments, not the correction of grace.  It is imperfection rebuking the imperfect: it is a subtle, clinging self-love, which cannot see anything to forgive in the self-love of others.  The greater our own self-love, the more severe critics we shall be.  Nothing is so offensive to a haughty, sensitive, self-conceit as the self-conceit of others.  But, on the contrary, the love of God is full of consideration, forbearance, condescension, and tenderness.  It adapts itself, waits, and never moves more than one step at a time.  The less self-love we have, the more we know how to adapt ourselves to curing our neighbor’s failings of that kind; we learn better never to lance without putting plenty of healing ointment to the wound, never to purge the patient without feeding, never to risk an operation save when nature indicates its safety.  One learns to wait years before giving a salutary warning; to wait till Providence prepares suitable external circumstances, and grace opens the heart.  If you persist in gathering fruit before it is ripe, you simply waste your labor. (The Royal Way of the Cross by Francois Fenelon)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days
 

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              
I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 
Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 6

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Jeremiah 18:1-6

Reading for Reflection:

To be a spiritual friend one must have detachment, discretion, and discernment, with all that prepares for those gifts.  Spiritual companionship is a gentle art, demanding a willingness to listen as if I had a third ear attuned to the inner self.  It is neither psychotherapy nor is it the sacrament of reconciliation.  Sometimes one needs to confront, but far more often the best form of intervention of the spiritual guide is parabolic language, nudging the friend into a new way of seeing.  The journey belongs to the other and that person’s uniqueness must be honored.

     The friend of the soul is an instrumental image.  Such a person is not to be a “buddy,” but someone who listens, comforts, and supports.  He or she serves as a hermeneut, which means that he or she is a means, not an end.  It is important for me not to think too highly of myself in this relationship, but to stand in awe of what God is doing in the life of the other person.  Often this requires me to get out of the way.  When in ignorance I have nothing to say, I must remain silent. (Spirituality for Ministry by Urban T. Holmes III)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days
 

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              
I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 
Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 5

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah30:15-21

Reading for Reflection:

Spiritual direction is a conversation with another in which we share our life, our experience of prayer, the movement of the Spirit within us.  As the other person listens, prays with us, and points out certain things we may not have noticed, we become more attentive and responsive to the Spirit’s action in our life.  He or she also helps us pay attention to God as he actively reveals himself.  God’s voice can be heard more clearly when the muddle of our thoughts is clarified. (Beginning Contemplative Prayer by Kathryn J. Hermes)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              
I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 
Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 4

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 43:14-21

Reading for Reflection:

The real question is “What does this have to say to me?”  Those who are totally converted come to every experience and ask not whether or not they liked it, but what does it have to teach them.  “What’s the message in this for me?  What’s the gift in this for me?  How is God in this event?  Where is God in this suffering?” (Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              
I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 
Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 3

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Jeremiah 6:16

Reading for Reflection:

Spiritual direction takes place when two people agree to give their full attention to what God is doing in one (or both) of their lives and seek to respond in faith.  More often than not for pastors these convergent and devout attentions are brief and unplanned; at other time they are planned and structured conversations.  Whether planned or unplanned, three convictions underpin these meetings: (1) God is always doing something: an active grace is shaping this life into a mature salvation; (2) responding to God is not sheer guesswork: the Christian community has acquired wisdom through the centuries that provides guidance; (3) each soul is unique: no wisdom can simply be applied without discerning the particulars of this life, this situation. (Working the Angles by Eugene H. Peterson)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              

I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 

Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 2

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Jeremiah 33:1-9

Reading for Reflection:

We desperately need men and women at our side who have disciplined their minds to think God: who God is and what he is doing in and among us; what it means to be created and chosen by God and how we get in on what he intends for us. (The Wisdom of Another by Eugene Peterson)

Christian life is ultimately this yielding to what God is doing in us through the Spirit of Christ.  It is the Spirit’s activity, yet, in a mysterious way, it is also truly our own. (The Journey Within by Kathryn J. Hermes)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

              

I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 

Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

direction, day 1

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.
~Sarum Primer, 16th century


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 17

Scripture for the Day: Proverbs 3:1-6

Reading for Reflection:

Tend only to the birth in you and you will find all goodness and consolation, all delight, all being and all truth.  Reject it and you reject goodness and blessing.  What comes to you in this birth brings with it pure being and blessing.  But that you seek or love outside of this birth will come to nothing, no matter what you will or where you will it.

 

                                                                         ~Meister Eckhart



Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: All My Days

All my days I will sing this song of gladness
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights;
For in my helplessness You heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

                

I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer,
I will sing of the blood that never fails;
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.

 

Beautiful Savior, Wonderful Counselor,
Clothed in majesty, Lord of history,
You’re the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Star of the Morning, glorious in holiness,
You’re the Risen One, heaven’s Champion,
And You reign, You reign over all!

 

I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades
Where countless worshippers will share one song
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honor the Lamb!

 

Closing Prayer:
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)