Today’s Reflection
I always have the option of checking out, of course. I can check my email on my phone. I can get lost in the cocktail party in my mind or peruse my mental curio cabinet of worries. I can start thinking about when I’ll grade papers, how I’ll write about this experience later today, or how I’ll lead next week’s online intensive class. There’s a time for that kind of planning, to be sure, and when that time comes, I hope I will give the work my fullest attention. But now is not that time. Right now the call is to return to the present, where the gift of summer is unfolding before me, where God’s Spirit is gently blowing, where my own life is being lived.
—L. Roger Owens, Everyday Contemplative: The Way of Prayerful Living (Upper Room Books, 2021)
Today’s Question
How do you practice being fully attentive to the present? Join the conversation.
Today’s Scripture
Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
—1 Samuel 3:9 (NRSVUE)
Prayer for the Week
Nurturing God, tend our lives like a patient gardener. May our desire for you grow as your grace works the soil of our lives. Amen.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.
Something More
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
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2 Comments
Check the weather, go for walk, preferably in the woods, Read NEW EVERY MORNING when it first appears in my email. Pay attention during Bible/book study and worship. Thank You, Lord.
Heat wave coming, high temps could reach 95-100. Thankful AC is available and working . Hope everyone stays safe, heat is the deadliest weather condition,. Drink water, stay hydrated.
I’m not very good about being in the present- often I get sucked back into the past where I feel
I was happiest when my kids were young / or I do the opposite and fast forward into the future where I sometimes get anxious. I try very hard to stay centered on God and centered in the present of what His will is for me – but I know that I am weak. I pray for His daily assistance to keep me moving in the right direction-
Prayers for you all – I follow along but haven’t been commenting much- I do pray for you all.
Peace to you.
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