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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

 

Today’s Reflection

The bright and colorful SUNFLOWER reminds us of beauty offered without asking for anything in return. . . .

Offer acts of kindness as gifts this week without expecting anything in return. Kindness begins at home. Think of your child(ren)’s favorite things, and offer those things this week. Maybe your daughter loves new markers, your son loves to shoot baskets with you, or your family hasn’t had a movie night for a long time. Let go of to-do lists for a minute and offer simple kindness.

—Kara Lassen Oliver, Passing It On: How to Nurture Your Children’s Faith Season by Season (Upper Room Books, 2015)

Today’s Question

What acts of kindness have you offered or received this week? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
—Ephesians 4:32 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
—”A Liturgy for Morning Prayer,” Upper Room Worshipbook
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Gather on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at noon (CDT) to learn about breath meditation, lectio divina, centering meditation, loving-kindness meditation, and devotional meditation in a free webinar with J. Dana Trent, the author of One Breath at a Time: A Skeptics Guide to Christian Meditation.
Sign up here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

4 Comments

  • robert moeller Posted May 29, 2022 7:01 am

    Been trying to improve on acts of kindness, making some progress, thankfully it’s not super hard. Much more difficult is deciding what to do in the new home sales market. Appropriately price in one market is drastically overpriced in the new market. How to adjust is the challenge.
    A beautiful day in the Mount Washington Valley, warming up to the low 80s, blue skies and bright sun. Down to the 50s tonight, have had some rain. Now a walk along the Saco River before church. Have a blessed day NEM! Thank You, Lord.

  • Lou Posted May 29, 2022 7:32 am

    Thankfully acts of kindness aren’t hard for me either- I am a giver and I thank God for resources to help others especially my children. Prayers for you Robert in the housing market. Prayers for Julie’s health, prayers for Ally and the many challenges she’s been working through, prayers for Jill and the conclusion of another school year, prayers for April and Rick – I think all that post here are good at giving to others – contributions to this space reflect that and I am thankful for your posts and prayers. Blessings to you all this day.

  • Ally Posted May 29, 2022 6:33 pm

    Like Rick, this week’s readings have been a real blessing to me. I love creative pursuits and how they help me engage with God. This week has been full of blessings and sorrow. I try to remember to pray for wisdom for big and small decisions. I have tried to give love especially to my friends who are teachers and to the students I know. I am thankful for our kitties and the blessings they are to us. The sorrow is still in my heart. The song Blowing In The Wind has been on my my mind. “How many times must the cannon balls fly before they’re forever banned?” I’m tired of the rationales offered and the “good guy with a gun” trope. If there has ever been a situation that requires our prayers for wisdom, this is it.
    We’ve had a nice weekend. Quite warm, but not too humid. Looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow. Making pulled brisket and a chocolate No bake cheesecake for tomorrow. I’m thankful for those who gave their lives to defend freedom and stand down evil. Thankful for my NEM friends too! Blessings to you all.

  • Jill Posted May 29, 2022 7:23 pm

    My act of kindness today, was sending a short email to the sister of the teacher at my school, who passed about 6 weeks after mom did. This teacher was so important to me during mom’s struggle – she faced her cancer straight on, continued praising God and couldn’t wait to be in the arms of Jesus. She kept teaching, refusing to use oxygen for fear of scaring her freshmen. She was amazing – and I was fortunate enough to meet her sister from out of state at a cancer support meeting. I wanted Susan to know that I have been keenly aware that today is the anniversary of Sarah’s passing – and that I won’t forget this date, ever.
    A good day, with my sister, dad and brother-in-law. We all gathered at my house for pizza and brownies and lots of cards. Dad has got us hooked on Bid Euchre – and we played for nearly 5 hours. Dad and Don watched the end of the golf tournament and Becky and I took a walk, before they all headed home. I spread some mulch in my flower beds…have much more to do tomorrow.
    Roger’s birthday is tomorrow – and Becky brought him 2 catnip toys today – and he enjoyed both of them. I still marvel that six months ago I was in serious conversations with the vet about putting him down. So, so grateful to heed the vet tech’s advice – “don’t give up on him yet.” Also, deeply appreciative to my best friend for helping me nurse him back to health. My heart is full. Roger will be ten tomorrow.

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