We intend ...

Today, a prayer:

The gratitude we intend

The witnesses tell of your boundless generosity,
And their telling is compelling to us:
You give your word to call the worlds into being;
You give your sovereign rule to emancipate the slaves and the oppressed;
Your give your commanding fidelity to form your own people;
Your give your life for the life of the world . . .
broken bread that feeds,
poured out wine that binds and heals.
You give . . . we receive . . . and we are thankful.
We begin this day in gratitude,
Thanks that is a match for your self-giving,
gratitude in gifts offered,
gratitude in tales told,
gratitude in lives lived.
Gratitude willed, but not so readily lived,
held back by old wounds turned to powerful resentment,
retarded by early fears become vague anxiety,
restrained by self-sufficiency in a can-do arrogance,
blocked by amnesia unable to recall gifts any longer.
Do this yet. Create innocent space for us this day
for the gratitude we intend.
In thankfulness,
we will give,
we will tell,
we will live,
your gift through us to gift the world.
Amen

- Walter Brueggemann

Blessings,

Ron

Like the palm tree ...

Dwell in God’s Word today;
meditate on this psalm one section at a time,
pray about that thought,
and then consider the next thought.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever,
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 92 – NRSV

Grace and peace,

Ron

We will tell ...

Today, a prayer:

The gratitude we intend
Walter Brueggemann

The witnesses tell of your boundless generosity,
and their telling is compelling to us:
You give your word to call the worlds into being;
You give your sovereign rule to emancipate the slaves
and the oppressed;
Your give your commanding fidelity to form your own people;
You give your life for the life of the world . . .
broken bread that feeds,
poured out wine that binds and heals.
You give . . . we receive . .. and are thankful.
We begin this day in gratitude,
thanks that is a match for your self-giving,
gratitude in gifts offered,
gratitude in tales told,
gratitude in lives lived.
Gratitude willed, but not so readily lived,
held back by old wounds turned to powerful resentment,
retarded by early fears become vague anxiety,
restrained by self-sufficiency in a can-do arrogance,
blocked by amnesia unable to recall gifts any longer.
Do this yet. Create innocent space for us this day
for the gratitude we intend.
In thankfulness,
we will give,
we will tell,
we will live,
your gift through us to gift the world.

Amen.

Blessings,

Ron

What I thought I wanted

Following is a bit of poetry in song, written and performed by Sara Groves. She speaks of learning how to live in the place where you trust that God is working something out in the unseen space.

What I Thought I Wanted

Tuxedo in the closet, gold band in a box
Two days from the altar she went and called the whole thing off
What he thought he wanted, what he got instead
Leaves him broken and grateful

I passed understanding a long, long time ago
And the simple home of systems and answers we all know
What I thought I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and somehow peaceful

I keep wanting you to be fair
But that’s not what you said
I want certain answers to these prayers
But that’s not what you said

When I get to heaven I’m gonna go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions,
I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted and what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted

Staring in the water like Aesop's foolish dog
I can’t help but reflect on what it was I almost lost
What it was I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and grateful
I’m broken and grateful
I want to be broken and grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful

Blessings,

Shiann

The parent of the virtues

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1-17 (NIV)

There is so little in the Bible that give as clear an if…then situation than in this passage. When I desire peace, I must get rid of the things above and fill that empty space with the things suggested. It may seem formulaic, but it is so comforting to know that there really is something I can do to make things better. It is a promise that God keeps. It is not always that simple, because it is not simple to control our thoughts.

Blessings,

Shiann