Sunday Ps. 105 retells the story of Jacob, Joseph, and Moses the move into and release from, slavery in Egypt. Consider writing a piece retelling another part of Scripture. Consider writing a similar song about the hand of God in your life. If you are really feeling ambitious, how about the hand of God in the life of our country? OK, maybe a piece of history where you are interested.

Monday-I just picked up a book on the great virtue of resilience. the ability to bounce back from defeat or a death is a virtue of real import for life.With our current overpraising of children, I fear that we are giving them a shallow sense of self-worth, but not one that could readily face hardship. It would be my contention that this virtue also comes as a gift from the hand of God, especially when we most need it. I also think that it may be within but so hidden or covered in scar tissue that we don't realize that it is there. I realize that aging may well sap our resilience, but it can be restored.

Tuesday-Anxiety sometimes is worse that what we fear in actuality. a good example is waiting on medical tests, blood work and the like to come through. The results start to weigh on the mind, and then the imagination starts to kick in.,Self-talk helps sometimes. I commend prayer. Admit to God that anxiety has disturbed your placid state. Describe the anxiety. Go through the parade of fears that your would be loath to tell anyone else. Realize that anxiety itself is a drain on one's life energies. Find some good antidotes to anxiety. Know that prayer is surely one.

Wednesday-we are engaged in a new mission project, shoes into water. The idea is that our old shoes are sold and poor people get shoes. The proceeds then go to dig wells and purify water in poor communities. I like ho it links up real needs but also moves to help with the cause of so much illness in the world poor water supply. Public health measures such as this do more than any number of clinics to promote overall health. charity is a cup of cold water to someone in need, but justice provides the way for everybody to be able to get a glass of water.

Thursday-In working in our 7 deadly sins class, I was reminded of 2 words from the Middle Ages in looking at our spiritual troubles, acedia, not being able to care and  tristitia, deep spiritual sadness. Let's call them both spiritual signs of depression. In a striking figure, the early church spoke of being able to find joy as  a sin. In a cynical, bitter age, that certainly is as contemporary as one could desire. Who can help read the paper and sigh, what's the use? With our Jewish religious relatives, we are called to help heal the wounds of this world. In so doing, we help to heal the spiriutal wounds that assail us.

Friday-Hurting the feelings of someone is serious business. Oh, we may be tempted to tell people not to be so sensitive, to toughen up, to learn to take it like an adult. Hurt feelings do hurt relationships. Of course, sometimes we do so out of misspeaking or accident. In that case we just need to talk it through. Sometimes we do have slips of the tongue, and we can apologize. We can all practice the discipline of kind words as a weapon against our easy moves into hurtful words.

Saturday-Recently, someone mentioned being envious of the born-again religious experience. This was a person raised in the church, so his has been an experience of Christian nurture. The older churches may not offer that experience as a projected mark of grace. Instead of infatuation, we offer more the life-long love affair with god. It is a smoother ascent into the realm of the divine. so often, those who had a Road to Damascus moment spend their spiritual energies trying to recapture that moment.