Features - Share

Have you ever noticed how the hand of coincidence strokes our lives? Maybe you’ve had two events happen simultaneously, in unbelievable circumstances, and rational thinking cannot explain the “tiny miracles.” 

The moment we feel abandoned, or entirely without hope, an unexpected scenario unfolds. Suddenly the answer appears, written in the glorious script of an unseen author.

Albert Einstein wrote, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

We are not alone in this world and little coincidences help remind us.  It’s no coincidence the word “coin” is embedded in the word for this mysterious phenomenon. There is a spiritual presence with divine timing, using the daily events in our lives in a magnificent way.

Nothing is impossible. Acknowledge that a power greater than our own, works behind the scenes to help us achieve our greatest dreams.  Revel in the beautiful sound of anonymous whispers from the universe.

How many coins have you collected along life’s path? Share your stories with others as you enjoy wealth beyond compare.

- Sharon Sinclair

Sharon Sinclair is a poet, author and inspirational speaker. Her book Water from the Moon is available in print and on CD. Visit her website at www.poetryspeaker.com.

© 2011 Sharon Sinclair. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Divine Timing

I am so impatient,
sighing and stomping around my room.
I've been praying for a full year now.

Do You give points for faithfulness?
My numbers surely must impress.

What can I do to rush Your answer:
Light a candle?
Or should I fast?

Would you please give me a sign?
Nothing big, I'll know it's You.

OK- new prayer.
I get it.
"You who supply my every breath,
I beg You- teach me patience,
help me recognize a prayer answered."

You hear me.
I'll wait and watch.
Your timing is always perfect.

- Heidi Haller

"HAVE YOU HAD A DIVINE 'COIN-INCIDENCE?'"

Features - Share

We were in the middle of a bad situation. Without getting into the details, people were reacting through emotion. I had to pray, but I was so upset. What would help?

Start a prayer group.

Rats. Another one of those little nudges that completely ignores my comfort zone. I'd never been to a prayer meeting, but I know how to run a vacuum. My friend and I decided that I would host and she would lead. Here’s some pointers:

1. Pick someplace to meet. We found that a casual home setting worked better than a public meeting place, which felt too formal.
2. Provide simple refreshments. People may be anxious about praying in front of others. A hot cup of coffee is a comforting thing.
3. Ask people to bring favorite prayers to share. This is a good way to get quieter members to participate.

Two months into our journey, the situation improved and we’re still meeting. We’re not experts, but perhaps what we've learned will help you start a group of your own.

READ MORE from the extended feature!

- Sue Bradford Edwards

Sue Bradford Edwards (SueBE) is an original member of the Prayables Pray Maker Council. She is a professional writer, teacher and speaker. Her website  www.suebradfordedwards.com is home to her popular blog: One Writers Journey. You can contact SueBE at suebradfordedwards@yahoo.com.

Until

Expectation seems to define my life.  
I watch as kettles boil and clocks click midnight.
Calendars turn and leaves fall to the ground.  
Still I linger, seeking some quiet secret.
I hang on, believing in Your goodness.  

I know waiting is the hardest of hardships.  
It’s a thawing of icicles, the sluggish drip
outside my winter window announcing,
slowly, that spring will surely come.  
Give me the courage to wait for tomorrow.

- Miranda Claudius

"SHARE YOUR PRAYER GROUP POINTERS!"

Features - Share

I think light and dark are in each of us and we can tap into either avenue at any point in time.

When I was expecting my son years ago, I prayed every day: "Please give me a happy, healthy, well-adjusted son with a strong backbone and a mind of his own."
As in, make him all the things I'm not.

Instead of creating another human being and making him a repository for all my neuroses and flaws, perhaps I should have started working on myself. It took me many years to reach the point where I was able to honestly examine where I was in life.

It wasn't until I saw the tail-end of an Oprah show about the new-age film, the Secret, that I started to wonder how much of this I had done to myself. And I was shocked at the answer. Every time I said, "I'll stay in this job, for now", or "I'll keep the status quo of this dysfunctional marriage," I made my choice. Each interim measure that lasted for years had my fingerprints all over it.

So I opened up to the notion of possibility. Hope. Grace. And found that I could turn the light on in my own life if I just had a little faith.

READ MORE from the extended feature!

- Ruth Williams

Ruth Williams is a founding member of the Prayables PrayMaker Council and freelance writer living in central Jersey, with her son, Coleman. You can read more from Ruth on prayables.com and on her blog; Freelance Writing, Jersey Life, and Everything Else in Between.

Friend in Need

TYou know, there are times
when I think I can’t find You.
Instead of sending me help
in the form of a knight in shining armor,
You give me the neighbor
who was just minding their own business.
But thank you, too, for not letting me
act like the man who says, “Where were You?”
Thank You for giving Yourself to me
and allowing me to see You
in the form of neighbors and friends
who give of themselves so freely.

- Mary Boscaino

"THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY THEIR FAITH."
Habakkuk 2:4

Features - Share

We're deep in the hunger season for many smallholder farmers in western Kenya. Last year's maize harvest has run out for a lot of farmers and they must buy maize at the market. Unfortunately, there is a countrywide food shortage and prices are four times higher than they were at the beginning of the season.

Beatrice Arinyula lives in Lutacho village. She joined a new type of farmer's co-op, One Acre Fund, and is waiting for her harvest. She is suffering from hunger and faces the daily reality of doing work in her fields on an empty stomach. So do her children, Loreen and Rukia. Their father, who was a policeman, died in 2007, and since then, the family has faced an uncertain future.

But Beatrice is now optimistic. Her half acre of maize is full of strong, dark green stalks, and she anticipates one of the best harvests of her life in August. With the seed and fertilizer she received from her co-op, combined with the training provided by her field officer, Beatrice is on her way to producing more than enough food to feed her family.

- Nick Handler

Nick Handler is the Kenya Country Director for One Acre Fund. OAF empowers subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing training, planting materials and access to markets. One Acre Fund makes it possible for even the poorest and most rural farmer to generate more income, and permanently solve their own hunger problem. 'Enough' is an excerpt from One Acre Fund's Family Profiles. READ MORE

Sustenance

- Abigail Wurdeman

"HOW DO YOU HELP OTHERS HELP THEMSELVES?"