Letting go of the words

God, today I am not quite sure what words I need to find the focus, the calm, to help me be centered. Perhaps words are not the answer. May the cool crisp air, warm sunlight, and love of tender hands provide assurance of your peace in the midst of my unrest.

Belly laughing

O God, I am quite sure I saw you yesterday in a belly laugh. The joy that breaks forth from my child's face is surely the joy that you hope to pour into our lives. I celebrate the moment that we shared together as we laughed. The power of that moment is beyond words. All I can say is how grateful I am for the moments that make my heart so full my eyes fill with tears. I am so glad that I have today and that I get to experience it again. Praise be to you oh God, for the overwhelming joy in the simplest of places.

It is solved by walking

Last night I had a very unique experience. I walked the labyrinth with the youth group as we mediated on our participation in the Kingdom Experiments and what it was like to try to live the beatitudes. At the end of the night, Dev Crist, invited us to walk the labyrinth as a group. It has inspired me to pray:

Oh God, I celebrate this morning all the ways communities push us, pull us, and drag us on the path. I give thanks for the ones who lead and the ones who follow. O God, physically being on a path helped me to see, not only that we need each other, but that we already have each other and we need to come together to find our direction. We need to come together in you oh God. May the shuffles of our feet, the stretching of our hands, and the connectedness we already have in you, be further strengthened so that we might live as your people daily. May it be so.

Feeling full, but needing substance

God, as I look at my calendar for the week I feel full. There is so much I hope and need to accomplish. As I think about the week, my face, back, and shoulders begin to get tense. May your breath, your life break into these moments of tension. Remind me of your spirit. Center me in your goodness. Embrace me in my anxiety. Breath life of calm, chill, peace into my moments. Give me substance O God. Provide me with substance O God.

Ready

I was at a meeting last week where we starred into the face of the unknown. One of the members said she felt ready. She was ready to step into the mystery and trust in the hope of a new and more loving tomorrow. I long to be ready...

God, I want to be ready to receive something new, something different. In the face of the mystery of your calling, may my heads, feet, heart, and mind be prepared to care for, nuture, and tend this newness. Break in, I am so hungry for it, break into my life so I might discover how to care for my brothers and sisters more fully. I talk about it a lot, but help me discover new ways to do it. Ways that become real and part of my living. May it be so.

No, I do not have a case of the Mondays, I am just grumpy

So a quick update. I prayed about taking time to catch snowflakes on my tounge and I did it. It was more wonderful then I had remembered. I found myself laughing so hard I was in tears... Creating God, create a new mindset, a new space in me this day. Open my clentched fists that I might be ready to recieve. Shift my perspective so that I may be ready and willing to do what is needed. Grant me clearer vision through the fuzzy fog.

Snow on a Spring day

Living in St. Louis I have found one thing is always constant, the weather is always going to change. I never know if I will wake up to find sun, rain, snow, wind, or other outside my window. Although it is technically a spring day and I expected and hoped to find flowers and sun and maybe a rain shower, I was greeted by spring snowflakes. Go figure.

But this surprise of snow reminded me that is life. It is the unexpected, the joys, the challenges, and certainly the stuff that I thought was behind me. So, I decided to rejoin the blogging world.

I have decided I want to create a space that is open for my prayers, my hopes, and a new spiritual practice for myself. And if there is anyone out there who is willing to come and long and have this conversation with me, great.

This space is going to be used as a space for me to offer some prayers. I am eager to hear new ways and ideas to be open to the spirit of God in our midst from anyone who wants to comment.

I know I often find the Spirit of God in nature, in my son, in conversations with people, while in my car, and in places that surprise me. My hope in sharing these prayers is to be more intentional and more watchful for that spirit and to be open to the luring of God. I hope you join me in praying and finding new ways to pay attention....

God, I delight in the unexpected ways that you pop up in my life. In snow on a spring day, you remind me that life is not always what I expect it to be. May I be open to things that are surprising. May they teach me. I know my first response is to be upset and grumpy. Instead help me to take delight and try to catch snowflakes on my tongue. Amen.