Perspective on prayer in Anne Lamott’s July 8 op-ed in the New York Times is wonderful [thanks to CP friend Rich for sharing the link via her FaceBook page]  The NYT op-ed is well worth a full read – just be sure to have 10 minutes to fully embrace the text! 🙂

Some noteworthy statements include:

• Prayer says to that space, I am tiny, helpless, needy, worried, but there’s nothing I can do except send my love into that which is so much bigger than me.
• “Look — I think we can both see what we have on our hands here. Help me not be such a pill.”
• It is miserable to be a hater. I pray to be more like Jesus with his crazy compassion and reckless love.
• “Slow me down, Girlfriend.” The prayer changes me. It breaks the toxic trance.

As we heard from the Singing Sister last week, Anne reminds us that sometimes we need laughter to help ease the pain.

TIME FOR A SONG? the song Abide with Me comes to mind in the context of this and the last several Christian Playbook posts. Maybe you’re ready for a listen HERE [or on the CP Song YouTube playlist HERE with loads of other good tunes?]

POSSIBLE ACTIONS: During the week ahead, continue looking for the rainbows and opportunities for laughter amidst the clouds and downpours, the darkness and bitterness.

PRAYER: “Slow me down, Girlfriend.” AMEN!

 May times for prayer, laughter and gratitude find you in the most unpredictable moments…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 17, 2022:

• Amos 8:1-12 and Psalm 52 
• Genesis 18:1-10a and Psalm 15 
• Colossians 1:15-28 
• Luke 10:38-42

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Joy is Like the Rain – This song title makes one wonder…exactly how is joy like the rain?

Rains can cause work stoppages and make farm fields into ponds. Not necessarily joy-inducing for outdoor laborers and farmers, for sure. Yet, rains also produce healthy crops, happy animals, radiant rainbows plus conversations while waiting out the storms.

Songwriter, Miriam Therese Winter, describes it this way: “Laughter runs across my pain, slips away and comes again” [full “Joy is Like the Rain” song HERE.] 

Sometimes we need laughter to help ease the pain.

This certainly relates to our Christian lives. If we’re always trying to be “devout as a Pharisee,” how does one make time for the laughter and the joy? Finding the right balance is critical (and yet still worry-inducing for many of us “sparrows.”)

POSSIBLE ACTION: During the week ahead, continue looking for the rainbows amidst the clouds and downpours.

 May joy find you in the most unpredictable moments… Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 10, 2022:

• Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82 
• Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10 
• Colossians 1:1-14 
• Luke 10:25-37

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We return to Guideposts for the Fourth of July perspective HERE.

May we treasure this country and the independence it provides, including the ability to practice whatever faith we choose. Praise God!

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

P.S. How is the pruning going (reference to the previous CP post HERE)? And the Abiding? 🙂 Not easy, but important as we each seek to favorably pursue God’s wishes for the creation we are to become…

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 10, 2022:

• Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82 
• Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10 
• Colossians 1:1-14 
• Luke 10:25-37

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Whether you are a gardener or not, the SSJE post HERE about pruning will likely resonate. There are just too many wonderful, important things to pursue in life, plus lots of others that give us additional joy.

It can be too easy to just keep piling on more and more good stuff to the point of near-exhaustion. And even if not exhausting, this “too much of a good thing” gets in the way of other priorities in our faith tradition. With reflection and then sometimes painful trimming, we can continue branching out as a key element of the complex vine.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS: in the week upcoming, consider reading the “Read More and Comment” (HERE) SSJE section, and then taking time as Brother Geoffrey outlines:

I find it helpful to get a big piece of paper and then just write down or draw all the different parts of my life, all my relationships, activities, commitments; gather everything together. Then spend time just looking at it all, with Jesus. … Then, with clippers in hand, ask for the courage – or your worst enemy! – to prune, ruthlessly, that you may bear much fruit, to God’s glory.

Abiding. Pruning. Not easy, but important as we each seek to favorably pursue God’s wishes for the creation we are to become…

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit! 

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 3, 2022:

• 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30 
• Isaiah 66:10-14 and Psalm 66:1-9 
• Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16 
• Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

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Know someone who has felt estranged from “the church?” The book Post Traumatic Church Syndrome by Reba Riley may be a magnificent match for their reading pleasure.

This book found its way into the listening routine on a recent trip to Canada. Reba’s experiences during her “30 Faiths Before 30” journey provide humor plus lots of “AMEN” moments.The trio in the car all enjoyed what we heard.

Reba comes at this from a faith-filled but frustrated start to an AHA-filled finish. Well worth the 11 hours of listening (audio available from the Cinci library HERE and you can likely reference it easily from this to your home library or make a purchase should you be so inclined)

POSSIBLE ACTIONS: spend a few minutes reflecting on which faith traditions you have experienced over a lifetime. What are some of the AHA moments you had during those times? [While you may not have experienced 30 different faiths, yet, you’ve likely experienced a few…]

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

P.S.  Anyone catch that the song links for How Can I Keep From Singing were reversed accidentally? 🙂 This is the one from 1860  (song story HERE and music HERE) and one a little more contemporary (HERE). 

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 26, 2022:

• 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 and Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 
• 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 and Psalm 16 
• Galatians 5:1, 13-25 
• Luke 9:51-62

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My life flows on in endless song;
   Above earth’s lamentation,
  I hear the sweet, tho’ far-off hymn
   That hails a new creation;
  Thro’ all the tumult and the strife
   I hear the music ringing;
  It finds an echo in my soul—
   How can I keep from singing?

Do you hear the sweet music? How appropriate to read these words in lamentation times…

The song titled How Can I Keep From Singing has several renditions including these from 1860 This is the one from 1860  (song story HERE and music HERE) and one a little more contemporary (HERE).

While the melodies and words are different, the message seems mighty similar. How Can We Keep From Singing?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 26, 2022:

• 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 and Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 
• 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 and Psalm 16 
• Galatians 5:1, 13-25 
• Luke 9:51-62

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[NOTE: this is a re-post from previous years, with updates]

“It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons.” ~ Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)

Happy Father’s Day.  Hmmm… while appreciating the concept, perhaps this is less about celebrating men who father children (flesh and blood) and/or raise children and more about recognizing men who are wonderful examples to children?

So… maybe this year we say “Happy MaRoMo** Day!” to all the important guys in our lives?

For many of us, lifetime blessings include a multitude of positive male role models – dad, brothers, uncles, brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews, friends, teachers, ministers, work colleagues and more. For many of us, Jesus has certainly been an important MaRoMo, albeit in story rather than in person!

What positive characteristics come to your mind when thinking of Jesus? JOY may be one, perhaps helped along by Sherwood E. Wirt’s book JESUS Man of Joy, including this description

“Jesus smiled wider and laughed heartier than any human being who has ever walked the planet.  He was young.  He radiated good cheer.  The real Jesus was a man of such merriment, such gladness of heart, such freedom and openness, that he proved irresistible.  He became known through Galilee for his genuine strength, sparkle in His eyes, the spring in His gait, the heartiness in His laugh, the genuineness of His touch; His passion, playfulness, excitement, and vitality: His JOY!  He made a dazzling display of love.  He set hearts afire.  He was an elated, triumphant young man with an incredible quality of life.”

~ JESUS Man of Joy,  p.22

Wirt continues with some action-oriented thinking:

“We ourselves may also express the joy of the Lord in smiles and laughter and good cheer, but those are not the only ways.  We participate in his joy through acts of worship, praise, prayer, and song, in witnessing to the saving grace of God and in helping others.”  –  – JESUS Man of Joy p.22

May each of us – male and female – find some Christ-like behaviors to model for our world on this Happy MaRoMo Day and in the years to follow…

POSSIBLE ACTION: Identify some important male role models in your development. Spend some time thinking about their impact, then thank God for their influence and possibly send a note, place a call or do some other form of reaching out to those still with us in mortal form…

May you enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 19, 2022:

• 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a and Psalm 42 and 43 
• Isaiah 65:1-9 and Psalm 22:19-28 
• Galatians 3:23-29 
• Luke 8:26-39

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The word Selah finds its way into the Bible in a number of places, but primarily in the Psalms. Some sources think the word was an instruction to pause before continuing with the next section, somewhat like what a rest provides in musical scores – a break from the singing/playing.

An example of Selah is HERE as part of Psalm 50. In taking that pause, we as the readers get a chance to reflect on the previous section before moving on to new ideas.

Taking Selah experiences in our daily lives can be transformative. Pausing and reflecting after key life events can help us return revitalized for whatever comes next. Maybe the recent Easter season brought new “AHA” moments about your faith?

ACTION: Take a pause, reflecting on your Easter and Pentecost experiences. Are there upcoming actions you can do based on “Spiritual stirrings?”

May Selah times find their ways into your days, helping the Spirit to move in new and wonderful ways!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 19, 2022:

• 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a and Psalm 42 and 43 
• Isaiah 65:1-9 and Psalm 22:19-28 
• Galatians 3:23-29 
• Luke 8:26-39

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The blog post “Hallelujah may just be enough” (HERE) focuses on the word Hallelujah. The author says uttering Hallelujah multiple times 

“is claiming your part in what God is up to”

The nice thing about the SSJE post is you can read and/or listen to the commentary.

Perhaps today will offer many moments for Hallelujah said aloud – whispered, shouted, said silently or …

One way of experiencing this word is by listening to the familiar Hallelujah Chorus. Perhaps  you have time to listen/watch the flash mob version HERE or another favorite you have?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 12, 2022:

• Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and Psalm 8 
• Romans 5:1-5 
• John 16:12-15

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Lynne Babb’s post on Creative Prayer While Walking (HERE) is music to the ears of those of us who like the idea of CP’s “Movin’ and Prayin’ ” (HERE). One particularly noteworthy commentary of Lynn’s post is part of a foreward she wrote for another person’s book:

Christians have long underemphasized the significance of the body, and I am thrilled that in recent years Christians have begun to rediscover spiritual practices based in the body, including fasting, pilgrimage, walking a labyrinth, and the stations of the cross. Friends increasingly tell me they are finding joy in a variety of bodily positions while praying.

Movement can effectively enhance prayer. Perhaps today will offer an opportunity to try some “thinking in the presence of God” as Lynne describes it or another of CP’s “Movin’ & Prayin’ “ activities?

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

• Want some listening pleasure related to this topic? Maybe Nat King Cole singing Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit (HERE)?
• Or maybe a quick grin with Peanuts talking about Prayer in School HERE?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 12, 2022:

• Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and Psalm 8 
• Romans 5:1-5 
• John 16:12-15

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