Sunday May 12-Mother’s Day-We have a psalm of praise of ra day that praises mothers.Verse 11 could easily apply to mothers:”light is shed on the righteous/and joy on the upright in heart.” May mothers know no darkness this day. may the light of love shine on them all day. May joy be shared fully this day.
Monday-encouragement is not the easiest thing to do without falling into cliche.I just poicked up a new book by the spiritual writer Marjorie Thompson on the subject. she sees the need for encouragement to be rooted in our doubts about our own worth. so, she simply asks us to imagine to be soaking in the loving presence of God for us with an image that works, light, water, radiance, or being suffused with a virtue.
Tuesday-self-esteem and achievement are linked. We spent a good bit of time on rasising self-esteem by praise, but unconnected to achievement.I see the point as so many people hear nothing but put down, it serves as an affirmation of self-worht. the trouble is that it is an assertion alone. Achievement buttresses self-concept when you can say that I did this.What achievement mean much to you? Do you have some moral achievem,ents of which you are proud? How about a spiriutal mountain you have climbed?
Wednesday-we are scheduled to have a scholarship meeting here today. Few things give me as much pleasure as getting money together for a worthy cause. i find few causes more worthy than education.Who were some teachers that touched you in a positive or negative way? did they say anything that stuck with you? Vcan you recall some instances where you gained a new perspective or something in a new way?
Thursday-Affirmations are forms of mantras.I was just reading a spiritual director stressing the use of them to fight different spiritual ailments, a version of an apple a day.They can have a way of going deep inside and can arise, unbidden, in certain needful situations. Since we don;t memorize Bible verses as we once did, we may need to post them or recite some to allow them to seep into our consciousness.
Friday-Fred Rogers continues to interest me. I love the story that Koko, the gorilla who learned some sign language watched him on TV.when Mr. Rogers went to visit Koko, the beast embraced him and went to untie his shoes.He would wake extra early to exercise in the pool, but his early waking also allowed him to exercise his soul in prayer wiht an enormous number of people for whom he prayed.
Saturday Recently we had a clean-up campaign in Alton.In the church year, we have Advent and Lent.for that matter, every time we have a prayer of confession it is clean-up time for our souls. Sometimes it is so difficult to face some of the junk in our lives over the years, that we bury it without dealing with it, even in asking God for forgiveness. Sometimes, the junk has been in us for so long we cannot imagine life without it. Try. The faith is about release, and may it be so for you.
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