THE LORD IS NEAR

(Ps. 16) 
by Nan Merril, Psalm for the Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness

Remain ever before me, O Living Presence,
for in you am I safe.
You are my Beloved; 
In You and through You I can do all things!

I look to those who are One with You,
and learn from them of your ways.
My delight increases,
each time I sense your Presence within me!
Songs of Praise well up from my heart!

I bless the Counselor who guides my way;
in the night also my heart instruct me.
I walk beside the Spirit of Truth;
I celebrate the Light.
I bask in the Oneness of All!

Thus, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
I shall not be afraid,
nor fall in the pit of despair;
For in Love's presence I know the fullness of joy.

You are my Beloved and in you will I live forever!

  

Oh, Lord, let my prayers come before you like incense 

and my hands like an evening oblation!

Psalm 141: 2 

LENTEN REFLECTION - GOD'S ENDURING LOVE FOR US!

In the midst of the struggles that we encounter 
along our life's journey,  seeking for truths and certainties 
in the seeming endless blows of questions and doubts,  
may we experience that deep trust in God 
who continually draws us closer
to the Life of our Triune God. 

May we constantly be reminded that 
our faith is not something that we possess, 
but something that we enter into - 
a real dynamic relationship with God. 

Just like giving time and attention to our beloved partners, 
may we then be more patient, 
more generous with our time and attention, 
being more aware and more attuned 
to God's abiding presence in our lives each day.  
 May we then come to cultivate in our hearts
 that deep confidence in the groundedness 
of our relationship God, 
even jumping at the point of staking our lives on it.

May our hearts be more sensitive to the sacredness 
of both joy filled and painful revelations unveiling before our eyes 
and trust that what ultimately matters
is the growing intimacy of our relationship 
with our Ever Abiding and Ever Loving God
who accompanies us so closely on our life's journey.

May we always find the profound peace that we long for -
God is with us even in our deepest joys 
and in our most unfathomable sorrows.
God, too, rejoices and labors with us! 
Our dark nights, too, will pass...

NEW YEAR'S BLESSINGS!

"O Lord, Your Word is a Lamp unto my feet,

and a Light unto my path!"

Psalm 119:105

GOD LOVES AND CARES SO MUCH FOR US!
HE HAS BLESSED US
AND HAS CONTINUED TO SHOWER US WITH HIS GRACE 
IN SO MANY WAYS WE COULD NOT
EVEN IMAGINE.

  LET US JOIN HANDS IN PRAYING
THAT WE MAY CONTINUE TO BE AMAZED 

BY GOD'S MANY BLESSINGS

ON  OUR LIFE'S JOURNEYS
ESPECIALLY DURING

 THIS NEW YEAR. 

God's plan is good,

His Power is GREAT

and His Best is yet to come.

Matt Anderson

For I know I have PLANS FOR YOU, says the Lord,

a PLAN OF FULLNESS, NOT OF HARM

TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND FUTURE...

Jer 29:11

PRAYER IN TIMES OF TROUBLES

God is our REFUGE and our STRENGTH,

Who from of OLD has HELPED us in our DISTRESS.

Therefore we FEAR NOTHING -

Even if the EARTH should OPEN UP in front of us

and MOUNTAINS PLUNGE into the DEPTHS OF THE SEA;

even if the EARTH'S WATERS RAGE and FOAM

and the MOUNTAINS TUMBLE with its HEAVING...

(Ps 46:1-3)

GOD'S SEEMING ABSENCE AS GOD'S PROFOUND PRESENCE

"Dark Night of the Soul" is a profound feeling of God's seeming silence
and distance to everything that craves for deeper union with God

I have experienced the "Absence of God" so  profoundly

and that this "negation" has gradually became 
God's New Presence in my Life! 
May God be Praised!

EVER PRESENT GOD, 
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME 
THAT YOU ARE THE GOD OF DARKNESS AS WELL.
EVEN IN MY DARKEST MOMENTS, YOU ARE THERE,
SEIZING ME AND LOVING ME.
I PRAY THAT I MAY ALWAYS FIND YOU
IN THOSE MOMENTS 
WHEN I AM UNMOVED TOTHE BEAUTY OF CREATION, WHEN I AM FROZEN TO THE LOVE OF COMMUNITY, WHEN I AM OBLIVIOUS OF YOUR ABIDING PRESENCE. AMEN.

You made the night your cloak,
you covered yourself in a canopy of storm clouds.
Psalm 18:11

You are the Light of my Life

"Yes, You are the Light of my life;

You shine through my darkness.

Yes, with you I can do all things;

and my spirit soars like an eagle.

Your way lead to wholeness,

O LOVING PRESENCE;

Your Word in me is Life;

How tenderly You live in my heart!"

Psalm 18

-Nan Merril, Psalms for the Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness

PASSION FOR LIFE

"Who among you delights in life?" 

Psalm 34

WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY AT WORK?

IT IS ABOUT ABUNDANT LIFE:

living fully into each moment 

paying attention to what is happening within us and around us,

understanding what our lives are about

and how we're meant to make a difference

within the larger communities of which we are a part.

It is, finally, about deciding to act, to make creative choices

that will move us and our organizations

toward a DEEPER WHOLENESS.

-Whitney Whererrer Robertson-

Live and Livelihood

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TRUSTS IN THE LORD...

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water 

that brings forth its fruit in due season;

his leaf shall not wither;

and whatever he does shall prosper!

PSALM 1: 1-5