Monthly Archives: March 2013

Mar 28 2013
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Maundy Thursday

The designation “Maundy” is thought to be an English corruption of the Latin mandatum, as in the “new commandment” (novum mandatum), that Jesus gave his disciples on this night: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

~Bobby Gross, Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God

Gracious God,
On this day of Holy Week, we remember the command Your Son gave us to love one another. As we look toward the the final days of this week, we are in awe of the reality that he so perfectly obeyed this command. He did what we can only try to do through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Now and always, impart to us Father, Son and Spirit a deeper understanding of this mandate and empower us to love others sacrificially. In the perfect name of Jesus, Amen and amen!

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Mar 27 2013
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Holy Week

On Palm Sunday we begin our journey with the one who comes in the name of the Lord; and his steadfast love guides us into a deeper understanding of what it means to not be given over to death we deserve. By marvelous grace, we enter the gates of righteousness because the stone the builders rejected becomes the chief cornerstone of our lives. It is marvelous in our eyes, a day to rejoice and be glad in. Easter Sunday invites our hearts to give thanks to The Lord for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever.
~reflections from Psalm 118

Blessings on your journey to Easter…

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Mar 22 2013
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Beneath Thy Tender Care

O lord my God, thank you for bringing this day to a close;
Thank you for giving me rest in body and soul.
Your hand has been over me and has guarded and preserved me.
Forgive my lack of faith
and any wrong that I have done today,
and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.

Let me sleep in peace under your protection,
And keep me from the temptations of darkness.
Into your hands I commend my loved ones
and all who dwell in this house;
I commend to you my body and soul.
O God, your holy name be praised.
Amen.

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Mar 19 2013
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An Unrequired Rhythm

During Lent, I have tried to understand the sufficiency of God’s grace in tangible ways. Here is a prayer for the grace to be gentle with myself and others.

Gentle One,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
Guide me toward
an unrequired rhythm.
Lead me into
life-giving moments.
Together with you,
I long to be found…
established by faith
anchored to hope
abiding in love.

Amen and amen!

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Mar 15 2013
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Learn

Difficulties

Do not try to break difficulties;
Bend them
with gentleness and time.
~St. Francis De Sales

I have multiple copies of this quote waiting to be found.
Today I happened upon two of them just when I needed to be reminded:
No matter what difficulties I am confronted with, God is gentle!

Lord, continue to teach me what it means to take Your yoke upon myself. Amen and amen!

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Mar 13 2013
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A Sojourner

Recently, I was at the San Francisco airport waiting for a friend returning from a trip to Bali. After confirming the China Airlines flight from Taipei had landed and was in customs, I stood in the international terminal loitering with lots of other people for a long time. There was no mass exodus of sojourners coming through customs. One by one, weary travelers arrived at the gate excited to soon depart again, with people delighted to see them.

Watching all these comings and goings, made me think of this verse:

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest like all my fathers.
~Psalm 39:12

There is a loneliness that settles into the soul. It comes not from simply standing all alone, but from stopping long enough to realize that our lives are filled with dear ones making arrivals and departures all the time. We weep for them. And if we’re truly attentive to our grief, we ask The Lord to bring us the peace we so desire.

For me that peace comes when I wait like I did at Gate A. As I finally give voice to the cries of my heart and surrender my soul to the comings and goings of joy and sorrow, I recognize that I am a sojourner also. Each day I am invited to be God’s guest on this spiritual journey. I must confess I am not always thrilled with the destinations, but I am grateful that God is with me every step of the way. I am not traveling alone. Neither are you!

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Mar 07 2013
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Contentment

When the words of my own prayers escape me, I turn to the Psalms. And once again I am reminded, there are no better prayers I can pray than these. The Psalms take hold of my worry and transform it into worship….my denial into truth…my desperation into hope…my fear into faith…my suspicion into trust.

Personally, I pray Psalm 131 more than any other. In fact, one day as I was whispering these words, I realized I had memorized them.

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

It never fails! Each time, I take hold of my Bible and begin praying the Psalms, something happens. As I pour out the content of my heart, contentment floods my soul.

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Mar 06 2013
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Spiritual Leadership

Spiritual leadership springs forth in grace from our desire for God’s presence. This doesn’t take effort or striving. It takes courage, and a kind of showing up, attentiveness.
~Gerald May

What do you need to be attentive to in order to be a courageous spiritual leader?

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Mar 01 2013
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Spiritual Transformation

Spiritual transformation does not result from fixing our problems. It results from turning to God in the midst of them and meeting God just as we are. Turning to God is the core of prayer. Turning to God in our sin and shame is the heart of spiritual transformation.
~David G. Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself

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