Sunday-Ps 98 asks us to sing,sing a new song. What would elicit a new song? What makes a new song more immediate than an old one? What are issues with old songs?
Monday-The hymn "Precious Lord Take My Hand" is often sung at funerals.. The hymn was written by Tommy Dorsey. His wife died when she gave birth to a baby boy. The baby boy died that evening. It was in the depth of his grieving that he sat down at the piano. He later said, "I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody. Once in my head they (the words) just seemed to fall into place."
Tuesday-Acts 10:44-48 Hector Tobar's account of the 2010 Chilean mine disaster, "Deep, Down, Dark," recounts how 33 men were trapped for sixty-nine days beneath 2000 feet of rock. By their third day, angry at mine owners, longing for home, facing a hopeless plight, Sepulveda,, yells out, "I want to pray." He is not alone. He's a Jehovah's Witness; most of them are Catholic; but they turn to Henriquez, a devout Evangelical... He drops to his knees. The men, humbled, do likewise. Henriquez simply prays, "We aren't the best men, but, Lord, have pity on us." One man remembers his excessive drinking. Another his harsh words to his daughter. "Consider this moment of difficulty of ours. We are sinners and we need you. We want you to make us stronger and help us in this hour of need ... Please, Lord, take charge of this." Gordon Long
Wednesday-We can get too comfortable with the often-quoted wisdom, "Pray as you can, and not as you can't." Consider this- "Until I try some ways I think I can't pray, I don't know quite so well how I can..." Do you enjoy nature and physical exercises? Deepen them. Is keeping a journal or quiet centering prayer not so natural? Stretch your self.Ira K Groff
Thursday-The journey calls us to pack lightly. We discover that the old ways, habits, and patterns no longer serve us... Travel is easier with light bags. What do we want to carry forward with us?We then cross a threshold which is a space between. ..Thresholds are sacred places in the Celtic imagination where the veil is considered thin between heaven and earth. When we open ourselves to the liminal and stop grasping at the way things were, we may discover a variety of unseen presences supporting us along the way.Abbey of the Arts"
Friday-For your Spirit woven into the fabric of creation for the eternal overlapping with time and the life of earth interlaced with heaven's vitality I give you thanks, O God. For your untamed creativity, your boundless mystery, and your passionate yearnings planted deep in the soul of every human being I give you thanks. Grant me the grace to reclaim these depths, to uncover this treasure, to liberate these longings in being set free in my own spirit to act for the well-being of the world."(from "Celtic Benediction" by John Phillip Newell)
Saturday-(Eph. 4:26) - don't hold a grudge, let go of your offense, don't let your anger control you. There are occasions when it is appropriate to be angry - anger can spur us to respond to an injustice and seek to right a wrong. But, when anger seeks revenge instead of justice, God's Spirit has been pushed aside by a spirit of vengeance.There is a saying: "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Rather than drinking poison, may God grant us the grace to drink from the cup of reconciliation.
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