Hey friends, I spent last week with a bunch of people engaged in Christian camping ministry. If you know me, you know that I LOVE camp. We had one session where we broke up into small groups and talked about ways we experience God's abiding presence in our lives. I got some really good feedback on the exercise, so I thought I'd share it with you. Disclaimer: time in nature is ...
Read More
Jesus, Gentle Healer, our pain is piled on top of pain We've just about done all we can do. We've worn our masks. We got our vaccines. We've kept our distance. We've missed out on so much. We thought we were done. But it keeps coming back. Another cancelled trip. Another missed event. Another season of missed revenue. Another distance learning day. Another friend who is no longer with us. The pile of grief and pain and ...
Read More
Note: this prayer is not meant to exclude the unvaccinated. It is to give voice and vocabulary to the frustrations and struggles I am hearing from those who are vaccinated (and am experiencing myself). I believe our prayers are most effective when we can be honest with God and ourselves about what we are thinking and how we are feeling--especially when we wish weren't feeling and thinking those things. God, ...
Read More
On this day when the first vaccines are being administered to first responders, we pray: For healthcare workers on the frontlines who are physically and mentally exhausted. For those who continue to battle the virus in hospitals and in homes. For the long-haulers who have been dealing with the effects of this virus for months. For the custodians and janitors and all the unseen heroes who tirelessly clean and sanitize to keep ...
Read More
God of love and God of all, We enter into this election with an anxiety unmatched by any election day that has come before. Instead of a nation coming together to elect a common leader, we are a nation coming apart at the seams. We are battling for the soul of America, but we have very different ideas of how that soul should look, feel and behave. We fear for the safety and peace ...
Read More
Creator of all things, We pray for those who are overworked and overwrought. For those who feel like there are not enough hours in the day and for those who fill their hours with that which does not feel like enough. For those who have lost work, those who fear going to work and those who are desperately seeking work. For those who work in spaces and places where their own health and ...
Read More
At a time when (for many) work, school and home life all take place in one space, it can be hard to separate one from another. Everything morphs together, and it can feel like school or work never really ends. The feeling of "home" has been taken away. There's no magic wand to wave to fix the stress and strain we're all under right now, but an establishment of simple rituals ...
Read More
I've been using the same Mother's Day prayer for years now. I've adjusted it this year to reflect our realities. May we mindful of the myriad of emotions Mother's Day stirs up for people we love--especially this year. Today we pray for moms. We pray for the moms who bake cupcakes, wait in car lines, pack lunches, juggle sports schedules and preside over petty playground squabbles. We pray for moms who are ...
Read More
About 10 days ago, we talked about Psalms of Communal Lament in our weekly Zoom Bible study. Lament (crying out to God) is expressed throughout our scriptures. It is a form of prayer that is cathartic and reassuring at the same time. I encourage you to write your own Psalm of Communal Lament, but for now, here is mine: Almighty God, Creator of all, things are getting really ...
Read More
There are seasons in life when the pain just seems to pile on. Those times when we don't dare say, "at least it can't get any worse," because we know that it can and probably will. These seasons are difficult enough when they are our own, but perhaps even more difficult when they are happening to people we love, and we feel helpless in our efforts to alleviate ...
Read More