Sunday-We read Romans 11 sections today, the 14th. V. 29 “God’s gifts and call are irrevocable.” I love the strength of that affirmation. God makes promises that are honored. God is reliable. God will not call back what god has given. too often, we get anxious about a more tricky god who acts more like a dishonest official than the creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all. Put differently, place some confidence in your baptism, where God chose you to be part of the whole household of God.

Monday- Kind deeds seem to come more easily to many of us than kind words. Maybe we fear that we are sounding false or that we could give someone a swelled ego. Kind words can stick with us, sometimes over a long period of years. We all have the insistent critic in the back of our minds, so it is good to hear external compliments on occasion.

Tuesday -Upset minds often make poor decisions. Upset minds do not take in information very well. Upset minds are prone to hearing things inaccurately and then jumping to conclusions. Rash decisions are often the product of being upset and wanting to get something over, or maybe just because action feels better than feeling powerless. Trying to establish a cam center within and also promoting that within groups will lead to more considered judgment. That does not mean we are not fallible, but it does put the odds for a good decision more in our favor.

Wednesday-”The most overlooked feature of humility is the quiet acceptance of our strengths” writes Ronald Wells. Humility is not being a doormat, not someone who denies that God gives gifts as well as limitations in our personal storehouse of traits. It is not arrogance or false pride or egotism to realize that one has some virtues, abilities or strengths. To let them lie fallow out fo fear of seeming prideful would be more of a sin, I would think. Learn to be able to take a compliment. Try to listen if God’s voice is trying to get a compliment through to you.

Thursday -serenity is a virtue that I prize, probably because I sense it so rarely. i even like the sound of it. I like that a tennis player is named Serena. Spiritually serenity strikes me as being able to rest in God. it strikes me as borne by a confidence in Providence, in god’s constant care. having a sense that God has a hand int he affairs of the world removes a sense of duty and utter responsibility from our shoulders.

Friday- Adam Nicholson wondered if the King James version of tee Bible is so good because so many of the people behind were not, especially King James himself. some were ambitious, always looking for clerical advancement.God can work through imperfect people, all of us. God can work through groups, as through the 6 committees of the Company of translators. So often, what the KJV did was take the good and make it better.

Saturday-Active spirituality applies to many of us who may well admire spiritual contemplatives but for some reason are unable to attain their spiritual level in meditative postures. It may include the physical production of an act of charity, like the Saturday Cafe. It could inquire about questions being raised while reading a Scripture passage. It can be the promotion of certain disciplines to build up a perceived strength or a weakness inside our souls.