Add Pray To Your Day!
Prayer of Appreciation
Wealth is a Jellyfish
Wealth is a Jellyfish I was a jellyfish for Halloween last year. I built my costume by way of Goodwill and Michael's, hot-gluing long ribbons to the rim of a hat covered in white fabric, and shredding a second-hand skirt for complimentary inner tentacles. It was a simple costume . . . and it was a tremendous success. At parties, strangers would run up to me, pointing and shouting like they were my Pictionary teammates:...
Good Job! Who Really Needs Praise?
Good Job! Who Really Needs Praise? I’m not really around little kids that often in the winter months. That’s when I live in West Palm Beach Florida, in a condo, next to a University, and close to the business district. I work from home and I don’t get out much. My most regular outings are when I go to synagogue.
Fussing Over the Folks
Fussing Over the Folks Help me to not worrywhen the phone rings and ringsand my messages go unanswered.Let me take a deep breathand picture them;not in a ditch,but where they usually are these days—touring a winery,hiking a woodland path,or on yet another trip. The life they are living today...
After the Wreckage
After the Wreckage I am far away todayremoved from devastationdistanced from despair.Across the world they sufferand I stare at this computerthinking of hopelessness. My needs are their wants.My wants make me blushwith shame. May the humility that life bringsshow me again,...
Wholeness
Wholeness Thank You for this day of exhaling,of unprecedented blessingand finally relief.This is the day the wound started healing.The moment the rift began to mend.The storm has passed and we still have each other.
Tower of Babble
Tower of Babble Speak to me like I don't get it,because I don't.Parse it out for mewith patience and persistence.Here I am, ready to receive the word.Ready—the one thing that cannot be deniedis that I've been refinedand am at the crossroadsawaiting that clear calling.You've shown methat You have dominionover all the earth:fish, fowl, and...
Overheated Musings
Overheated Musings Dog days, summer's end.This month's revelationscome quietly,sweat-soaked.Thank you for endings,for they make beginnings sweeter.Life cannot always be sunny weather;we must bear our winters, too.Help me to appreciatethe seasons as they happen.Let me stay warmwhen cold winds blow.August will...
Small Wonders
Small Wonders I praise You for the tiny gloriesI am often too busy to see:the irregular scallop of a maple leaf,the impossible yellow of a dandelion, the perfection of untrammeled snow. For the scrap of sunlight the cat findsin the darkened hallway,I thank You.
Gal Pals
Gal Pals They're the ones that I can count on,sure as the beads on an abacus.It is miraculous to mehow You fit them into my life:the childhood friend,the college roommate,the confidante,the sisters by birthand by marriage.Treasures, all...a profusion much greaterthan one woman deserves.Thank You for the bondsforged by...
Lesson in Roses
Lesson in Roses I was thinking,the other day,about tea roses.The splendid profusionof hybrids—two beautiful plantsbred togetherinto something startlingly newand impossibly lovely.And it occurred to methat it was something like a marriage:The two of us,starting out foreign to one another,
Encounters
Encounters I ask Your blessing upon all who enter my life today. May they feel Your love as they interact with me, hear Your love when I speakand leave my presence knowing they have been touched by Your love. Guide me to see, feel, and love the way You...
Pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven As I wondered where the money came from, I said to myself:What do you think? That money would fall from the sky?Then I realized, that’s where all my money has ever come from,even if I earned it on a job
Dot-to-Dot
Dot-to-Dot The miniscule snail, settle snugly between the tightly-packed folds of a humungous cabbage I'd got at the Farmers' Market, didn't know what had almost hit him. I had just sliced it in two before scooping out the centre for coleslaw and using the outer leaves as a shell for stuffing and baking, after boiling it. I gouged out the gobbet of leaves around him, and transferred him to the garden. Throughout this operation, the creature's...
The Sacrifice of Strangers
The Sacrifice of Strangers Great Uncle Vic was married to Ruby only one year when he enlisted as a US soldier during World War II. He was probably younger than me when he came home on furlough and convinced his sister-in-law, Naomi, to go bowling with them. "C'mon," he said. "This may be the last chance you get to bowl with me." Naomi told me this story recently, adding, "I think he already knew somehow."
Monday Rebirth
Monday Rebirth Today I am born to a new week.I thank You for the view from Monday,for the wide, unworn week stretching out before me,for all the possibilitysimmering beneath the surfacesff appointments and deadlines.Thank You for standing beside me today,stepping with me into another new beginningand filling me...
From Rags to Riches
From Rags to Riches Seated on a lofty perchshe held her Persian head high.Thank You for allowing meto perceive the subtle dignitythat elevated a homeless felineto the stature of royaltydespite her humble surroundings. There is kindness presentwhere animals...
Every Single Day
Every Single Day A few...
Pulse of the Generations
Pulse of the Generations We raise our faces to You.You who has sustainedcountless generations;with the steadiness of Your love,with the strength of Your wisdom.You are the blood that unites us.You are the pulse that revives us.You are where we begin,where we end,where we are. I...
Everyday Miracles
Everyday Miracles There are things I don't understand, but I count on them.Electricity. A compass. Faith.Things that light my way and take me where I need to be.Gravity. Common sense.You. Things I count on to
Sunday Rest Stop
Sunday Rest Stop Today is the day for not doing.A day for saying no to the buzz and whir of daily life.It is a day for savoring minutes.Thank You for this day of rest.Let Your peace descend on me,like twilight falling.Show me the joy of perfect quietude,of listening to You in stillness.Let the world stopif only for a...
Thankfulness
Thankfulness I attended an interfaith women's group meeting on Saturday. The topic was loss – of all types – and how we can move beyond it. As the morning went on, more of the older members of the group discussed the loss they felt about their childhood.
Going Against Traffic: Culture Clash and a Two Way Street
Going Against Traffic: Culture Clash and a Two Way Street As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's...
Hotline to Heaven
Hotline to Heaven You have to admit:You made me mouthy,gave me big dreamsand great expectations.I even carry a portable soapboxwith me in case I need to vent. But whatever I need to say,and however I express it,I know You hear me.I might say it in a colorful way,but always intend reverence,
Fireworks
Fireworks July is like a sparkler: bright, hot, and somewhat dangerous. Who can work, after all, in the languorous sun of a summer's day?
Whatever May Come
Whatever May Come I’m getting the idea You know what the heck You’re doing.You made me funny, fickle,sometimes feral,but You know I always find my way back to center.You gave me the quirks I possess, like a penchant for...
Self-Acceptance
Self-Acceptance I achieved Rubenesque status by eating reubens,living life fully, indulging to the hilt. Fondly, I remember fondue.The bakery, sacred to me.I approach pie with what one can only regard as piety.Thank You for this ample frame, which allowed me...
In All I Do
In All I Do Let me sing Your praisein all that I am:nurturing mother,loving daughter,faithful wife,supportive employer,disciplined employee,or humble volunteer. Let me sing Your praisein all that I do:bearing up the disappointed,guiding the lost,lending strength to...
Living on Your Own Terms
Living on Your Own Terms It’s not for everybody, but it works for us. During the winter months, I live in Florida and my husband David commutes from Chicago. I’m not your typical seasonal resident. I’m not playing mah jong or bridge with my condo neighbors, and I haven’t attended a single charity ball. I’m a workaholic like my husband. And somehow we manage to eek out...
Praise Song
Praise Song Praise to YouWho whispers to usin a spring breeze,in the sigh of leaves overhead,in the chuckle of a running stream.Praise to YouWho cries out to usin the roar of waves endless,ever present,all encompassing,making You known.Praise to YouWho calls to usin the pop and creak of ice,in the thump of snow...
Paso Doble
Paso Doble Each day is a blessingof epic proportions.I give thanks forwhat might seem meager comforts:real cream in my coffee,a day without a bill in the mail,Paso Doble, the Spanish two-step.Sometimes life is a dancea woman has to do backwardspushing against the windand obstacles in the...
Playtime
Playtime Trees must be climbed,pebbles thrown and puddles stomped.Instead of calling him back,help me share in the joyof these sights, these sounds,and these experiences.Help me fight the urgeto look for the stain removeruntil after we have had our fun,run our race,and laughed out loud.With Your help,I can relearn joyin the sticky hands...
Syncing to Real Life
Syncing to Real Life Thank you for helping me to disconnect,if only for a short time.No television or computer.No social media or texting. Rather, fresh air and pungent smells,Pointed sounds and colorful sights,Surprising tastes and varied textures.Genuine, caring people.
Joyful Words
Joyful Words You gave us all the ability to laughand the desire to play.Please help me to not confusetaking You seriouslywith taking myself too seriously.Please help me to rememberthat a laugh and a smileand a bit of funcan go a very long way.
Namaste
Namaste
A Blessing in Uniform
A Blessing in Uniform Please bless the strangerin the faded uniform.Give him the peaceof a career well-served,and a service completed.Give him my thanksfor the doors he opened,the paths he paved,the battles he spared us. Please bless the strangerin the muddy uniform.Hold her...
Grateful Start
Grateful Start Thank You for this day–a fresh start,a new opportunity,a gift from You.Thank You for filling itwith the joy of friends,the wonder of what might be,an awareness that You are here–watching, waiting, loving,more awesome than anythingthat stands against me.
You Know
You Know Only You can say what I need.I think I know: this job, that house, this person that I say I love. But only You can say what I need. I do know what I want: to trust more in You, in the gentle and hopefulunveiling of Your promise.
Inspirational You
Inspirational You I pray for You to be with mein the moments I need inspirationto fulfill my life’s pathwaywith creative moments and joy.I know my journey consists ofmore than just monumental events,but is filled with day-to-day activitiesthat lead me to my greatest work.I find my joy and inspiration a...
