Posts Tagged With: prayer

Prayer for Moore, Oklahoma

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Joanna

IMG_2513Almighty Creator,

We come before you in shock, in brokenness, in sorrow,
in the wake of the mighty winds that devastated schools and hospital, homes and businesses;
in the wake of this tragedy that has shifted the earth beneath our feet.

We come before you because the tide of our grief roars and foams and threatens to overwhelm us.
And now, in our sorrow, we need to know your presence.

So be our refuge, O God. Be our strength.

Let us depend on your faithfulness–that you will carry us through this time of mourning and into the lives we must live now.
Let us rejoice in your faithfulness–that you are empowering many servants to help heal and rebuild.
Let us live lives of faithfulness–that we might follow Jesus’ path of peace and justice with each step we are privileged to take in this world.

Holy One, receive our praise and receive our prayers. Hear our sighs too deep for words.
Protect those who continue to search for the living.
Strengthen those who tend to the wounded of body and soul.
Surround and shelter those whose homes have been destroyed.
Provide deep peace to those whose loved ones have been killed.
Send your Holy Spirit–the Comforter–to dwell among us and within us–now and always.
Amen.

*This prayer is inspired by Psalm 46 and adapted from a prayer I wrote for my friend Lola’s funeral.

Categories: Prayers, Worship Pieces | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Prayerful Parenting

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Joanna
Here is the flower on my deck that I appreciated during my prayer time this morning.

Here is the flower on my deck that I appreciated during my prayer time this morning.

My Sabbath prayer time this morning was spent sitting on my back deck in the glorious sunshine. I did a little sketching and a little journaling. Talking with God about some difficult parenting stuff.

Most of the struggles right now are with our 16-year-old son who has been diagnosed with ADD and Aspergers. I won’t go into details, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that things are challenging.

I told God all the ways I want my son to change. The things I want my son to start doing and to stop doing. God told me that I cannot make my son change. I can pray for the Holy Spirit to transform him.

I told God that I don’t like the way I feel about my son sometimes. I don’t feel that warm, gushy, “mom” feeling that yesterday’s festivities (Mothers’ Day) were all about. God told me that I cannot control how I feel. I can, however, choose to act in more kind and loving ways.

So I made a list of four simple rules that I will try to follow with my son. At the risk of seeming like a terrible mother (I’m afraid you all will think, “What kind of a mom needs a rule to help her do that?“), I am going to share them here as a means of accountability for myself. And just maybe as a help for other parents struggling with similar challenges:

1. Speak kind words first. (“How was your day?” comes before, “I see you forgot to turn in your math homework again.”)

2. Say “yes” if reasonable. (“Can I have crackers for snack?” Yes. “Can I have four cupcakes for snack?” Still a “no.”)

3. Stay calm and quiet. (a.k.a. Use my inside voice.)

4. Stop arguing. (It takes two people to argue. I know this. I tell my children this all the time.)

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It seems like a reasonable list. Wish me luck. Actually, prayers would be better. And God’s guidance to you this week in all the ways you are called to serve and love in this world.

Categories: Parenting | Tags: , , , , , | 7 Comments

On the Cleveland Kidnappings

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Joanna

Yes. It is horrible that a man held three women and a child captive in his home for years.

Yes. It is almost unbelievable that neighbors, police, and even the captor’s family members knew nothing about this for so long.

Yes. These women and this child need our earnest prayers for the full healing of their bodies and the deep healing of their spirits.

No. The news reporter does not need to ask the police chief four times about the chains and ropes used to bind the women.

No. We do not need to know the details of what is inside that house. Of exactly what the women endured.

This is not an episode of CSI. These are the real lives of real people.

The only people who need to know the intimate details are the actual crime scene investigators, the judge and jury (God help them), and the family, friends, and therapists to whom the women turn for help (God give them strength).

Instead of watching another interview or reading another article about the crime, perhaps our time would be better spent getting to know our neighbors a little better. Listening to the stories of friends who have experienced their own traumas. Sending a card, or even taking a meal, to someone who is suffering right now. Nurturing–and giving thanks for–the children in our lives.

Yes. There is darkness and evil in the world.

No. Our lives are not enriched by wallowing in it.

Categories: Ponderings | Tags: , , , | 13 Comments

Monday Prayer Practice: Decluttering

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Joanna
My dresser--Before

My dresser–Before

My dresser--After(Don't look in the mirror or off to the side. We're focusing on the dresser!)

My dresser–After
(Don’t look in the mirror or off to the side. We’re focusing on the dresser!)

Can decluttering be a spiritual practice?

I’m sure it can. But I’ll be honest, my decluttering efforts these days are spurred on more by anxiety than spiritual maturity.

My husband and I are hoping to buy a house on some acreage just out of town. He wants to have (more) chickens and gardens and fruit trees. I want to have a space in which I can offer retreats–day retreats soon and overnight accommodations eventually.

Barring an unexpected inheritance or lottery win, we will need to sell our current house if we want to buy a new house. And according to our real estate agent, we have to declutter and clean our house if we want anyone to buy it.

I realize my situation is extreme–most of you aren’t planning to move in the next few months. Still, many of you may be doing (or thinking about doing) some spring cleaning of your own.

Moving forward, I’m going to see if I can do what I have to do with more peace, gratitude, and awareness of God’s presence than I have been able to muster so far. And may you, also, find the holy in the messiness of your life.

Categories: Practices | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Monday Prayer Practice: Coloring!

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Joanna

The church I serve is pretty non-traditional, but we do have some traditions. One of them is that the children are invited to color the bulletins every Easter. We have a potluck breakfast before worship, and when the kids finish eating they can gather around a table with a stack of bulletins and assorted crayons, markers, and colored pencils. Our Easter cover image is something in outline–this year a cross with flowers wrapped around it–and the kids color away.

This year, an interesting thing happened. A mom started coloring with her daughter. Then another mom. Then another member walked by the table and said, “Oh, can I color too?” And another sat down with a smile on her face saying, “I haven’t colored in ages.” And soon there were more grown-ups than kids coloring in the crosses and flowers. (Our bulletins looked fantastic!)

I was reminded of the soothing joy of applying color to paper, and that grown-ups sometimes need an excuse to color. So this morning I got out my Colored Pencil Prayers book because I knew that whatever my prayer time would be, it needed to involve coloring. Flipping through, I found “Offering & Receiving Prompt 3: Offering Indecision.” Bingo!

My husband and I are currently looking at a home in the country. Wanting to move. Worried about moving. Wondering about money and the future and what might or might not happen with family situations and me having a little retreat center and him wanting to be a kind-of farmer. I’ve been going back and forth between excited and apprehensive, certain and doubtful. My usual intuitive discernment methods are all off kilter because I’m still in deep mourning for my dad.

“Great!” I thought, “I’ll color my way to an answer.” Which, of course, didn’t happen. Because I still have to wait and listen and talk and crunch numbers (ack!). But the prayer let me rest for awhile in my desire to be faithful and re-reminded me of God’s presence and faithfulness in every cranny of my life.

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So today I commend to you the spiritual practice of coloring–whatever form that might take for you.

And blessings to you on this first week of the Easter season!

Categories: Lent/Easter, Practices | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Good Friday Worship

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Joanna

This is the Good Friday service I put together for this year. We will again be using a script put together by a church member that simply pulls out the dialog of the passion story. I find this to be a powerful reading, though it could be confusing for people unfamiliar with the story.

You can find an alternate opening prayer here, and the order of worship from a couple of years ago (which includes foot washing) is here. As always, you are welcome to use material from this blog in your own worship settings. Blessings to you as we enter into Holy Week.

*A couple of notes: There should be seven candles plus the Christ candle lit at the beginning of the service. During the tenebrae section, one candle is extinguished following each reading, with the Christ candle being the last. Also, all hymns are from Taize.

- – - – - -

Welcome and Introduction

 Call to Worship

On this dark night, as the shadows deepen,
We come to be present with Jesus.
With the glory of Palm Sunday behind us and the victory of Easter not yet come,
We will sit together in this space with our breaking, our broken hearts.
In this world that is at once beautiful and holy and tragic,
We seek to be present with all who suffer.
In the dark valleys of life, when sorrow threatens to overwhelm,
We long for a safe and sacred space to sit with our grief and our questions.
Jesus Christ, holy friend,
we know that you are here with us.
Let us be here with you. Amen.

Silence

Hymn: Stay with me

Prayer of Confession (from Psalm 51)

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
According to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions.
Create in us clean hearts, O God,
And put new and right spirits within us.

Silence

Assurance of Pardon
(God will not cast us from the Divine presence. God will not take the Holy Spirit from us. Through Christ, God forgives us and restores us. May the peace of Christ be with you.)

Silence

Hymn: Kyrie

Prayer

Holy, loving, suffering God,
Give us eyes to see
the injustice and suffering that abound.
Give us hearts to feel
the depth of this world’s brokenness.
Give us ears now to hear
the words of your passion.
Amen.

Silence

Tenebrae Service

Hymn: Kyrie
THE DEAL: Jesus, Chief Priests, Judas
Hymn: Kyrie
THE ROOM AND TABLE: Peter, Jesus
Hymn: Kyrie
THE GARDEN: Jesus, Peter
Hymn: Stay with me
THE ARREST: Judas, Jesus, Chief Priests
Hymn: Kyrie
THE DENIAL: Servant Girl, Peter, Two Others
Hymn: Kyrie
BEFORE PILATE: Pilate, Jesus, Crowd
Hymn: Kyrie
THE WALK: Soldiers, Jesus
Hymn: Jesus, Remember me
THE CROSS: Crowd, Priests, Criminals, Jesus, Soldiers
Hymn: Kyrie

~Please leave the worship space in silence.~

Categories: Lent/Easter, Worship Pieces | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday Prayer Practice: Family Liturgy

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Joanna

practicing families 4I am involved with a new blog project called Practicing Families. One or two Mondays each month, you’ll find my weekly prayer practice in the form of a family liturgy over on that blog. And never fear, I will always link you over.

For my personal prayer practice this morning, I did a visual lectio divina on Luke 4:1-13. I found this to be a good passage for this type of meditation.

Blessings to you as we begin the Lenten season this week.

 

Categories: Lent/Easter, Parenting, Practices | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Monday Prayer Practice: Art Journal

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Joanna

This morning I finished reading and praying through Jan Richardson’s retreat material for Women’s Christmas. I had my colored pencils and art journal ready as I read, and found myself sketching out this picture to accompany a favorite quote:

May you sink the roots of your soul
Deeper and deeper still into the love of God
Who encompasses and encircles you
Without beginning, without end.

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The point, of course, is not to create beautiful artwork. (Though I do like how the tree leaves turned out.) The point, for me, is that the words somehow sink in more deeply as I illustrate them.

Creating art that incorporates or reflects meaningful quotes–from scripture or elsewhere, is the practice I commend to you today.

Categories: Practices | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Star Words for Epiphany

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Joanna

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My blogging/pastor friend Marci Glass is giving star words for Epiphany. The general idea is that you receive a word to contemplate, a word to help guide your thinking about God and your relationship with God in the coming months.

 

She gave me the word “desiring.” So now I’ve written it on a star. (I knew that obnoxious sparkly paper I bought on sale would be good for something!) After I’ve lived with the word for awhile, I will post a reflection.

In the meantime, I encourage you to head over to Marci’s blog if you would like to know more about this practice and get your own star word!

Categories: Practices | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Prayer in the Wake of Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Joanna

God of the broken-hearted,
God of the broken heart,
Receive our sighs
too deep for words.
In your time
by your grace
heal us.
In this meantime
hold us
as we weep.
Hold us and rock us
with the rhythm
of your own
grief-struck
quaking
body.
Amen

(I wrote this several months ago when I learned about the death of my friends’ six-year-old child. These are the words I pray today as I read of the shootings in Connecticut.)

Categories: Prayers | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments

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