Week Ending May 25, 2018
{quotes}
People of faith show loyalty by showing up in a House of God regularly.
More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.
The first step to getting what you want is having the courage to get rid of what you don’t.
Don’t be pushed back by your problems – be led ahead to your opportunities.
God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly.
Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
{blessings}
Prayer and Affirmation
Is that noise in your head bothering you? Shut it down and shout it out with prayer and affirmation. May you be blessed to fill your mind with positive thoughts which all come from God.
Right Turn
You’ll take a lot of left turns before you make a right one. May God bless you with patience as you travel life’s path. You’ll figure out the way as you go along.
Traditions
Traditions are nice. It’s continuity, it’s familiar, and it’s important to keep them. May your traditions be a blessing and bring you joy.
Value Life
Life is too short to spend it being angry and hurt. Too precious to be counting every wrong. Too sacred to be talking about other people. May God bless you to value life and to live it well.
Held by the Hand of God
May God make you holy when you feel numb and immobile, paralyzed by fear or anxiety, anesthetized by compulsion or trauma. May God lift you up and out of your dead places with loving arms and breathe into you hope and life beyond measure. Held by the hand of God, may you see your life in a new way and with new possibilities— with the eyes of the Creator who sees the whole of you and loves it unconditionally. May the God of Vitality bless you.
Maxine Sonk OP
{prayers}
Forgive and Forgiven
Dear God, Making up is hard to do. Dissolve this stubborn resolve. Wash away anger, resentment and bitterness. Bring me peacefully to a point where I forgive and am forgiven. Amen
Work Worthy
Make me worthy of the work I have and make the work worthy of my talents. Provide for me O Lord enough compensation for comfortable living. Amen
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.
Receive Blessings
Lord Thank You for Your unconditional love, for all Your works, for the joy and the good times, for friends and family. May each of us and all of us receive Your blessings today, tomorrow and every day to come. amen
Make My People Smile
Dear God, As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears, dispense more cheer than gloom, spread more cheer than despair. Never let me become so indifferent, that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged. Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy, and forget momentarily, all the unpleasantness in their lives. And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper: When you made My people smile, you made Me smile. Amen
God Support Me
Prayer is not for the sake of external intervention but rather for the hope of internal transformation. I do ask for miracles, flashes of light or even good health. Prayer that supports my spirit does not ask or demand that God intervene in the flow of life but rather support me, elevate me, strengthen me against the onslaught of its waters or the inaudible stillness of its depth. I have never found that negotiation, blackmail or temper tantrums work with matters of the spirit. I need help, grace, kindness, a knowing that I am supported and not alone, no matter what happens to me in the course of things.
Rabbi Karyn Kedar
{stories, features, video}
Story: God in Between
Feature: Fertility: Children of Science and Faith
Music Video: I’ll Fly Away
Maggie Story: Thou Shall Not Kill
Video: Kid President Motivational
Video Prayer: Rest by Vinita Hampton Wright
{bible affirmations}
David’s Psalm 55:7–9
O if only I had wings like the dove I would fly away and find a restful abode. I would wander afar while hastening to find a haven from the stormy tempest.
And so I pray that my spirit have the strength to soar, that my heart have the courage to seek, and my mind the wisdom to discover, a life of meaning and purpose. Grant me, O God, strength, courage, and wisdom. Rabbi Karyn Kedar, CCAR Press, 2014
Psalm 119:73
Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.
I devote myself to study and prayer.
Psalm 26:2
Prove me Lord. Try me.
I stand ready to accept the challenge and I will make God proud.
Psalm 86:15
But You Lord are merciful, gracious, slow to anger, full of love, loyalty, and truth.
Whether I get married or I don’t. Whether I have children or I don’t. Whether I buy a house or I don’t. Whether I go to college or I don’t. Whether I do work I love or I don’t. Whether I have financial wealth or I don’t. Whether I stay loyal or I don’t. Whether I have my act together or I don’t. Whether I maintain healthy habits or I don’t. Whether I die old or I don’t. Whether I make my mama proud or I don’t. I am always loved by God.
Pentateuch 12:25
The Voice of God is the uniqueness of each and every person. The Holy One said: Do not be confused because you hear many voices. Know that I am One and the same.
God is One and I am One with God.