Today’s Reflection
HOPEFULLY WE HAVE all had our fringe moments as well – those times when divine light breaks through the darkness to remind us that God is with us. Those times when God uses common, ordinary, everyday times like sitting in a Starbucks or driving to the grocery store to get our attention. Those times when God uses common, ordinary, everyday people to offer words of wisdom and grace to us.
“I am the LORD your God,” reads Isaiah 41:13. I am. God was, is, and has always been.
We are never alone. Yes, bad things happen and evil exists in the world, but God is always with us. We have never been abandoned.
Go, and see that God is with you.
– Kristen E. Vincent
Beads of Healing
From page 63 of Beads of Healing: Prayer, Trauma, and Spiritual Wholeness by Kristen E. Vincent. Copyright © 2016 by Kristen E. Vincent. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What is God calling you to do today? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12, NRSV
This Week: pray growth of body, mind, and spirit. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section.
Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers. Call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center website.
This week we remember: Athanasius (May 1).
Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
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11 Comments
Thank You, Father – for Your Ever Presence. You are there in the ordinary, seemingly mundane moments. Turn my attention to You. Spring is bursting forth…the colors and the scents You create are fantastic.
The church I am attending is a church plant of a much larger church to the north. The main campus church has a cancer support group which meets the first Sunday of every month. A lady in my small group, who lost her father to cancer in December, told me about it. I will be going today.
Enjoyed a relaxing day yesterday. Nice to ride from one venue to the next – taking in the beautiful day with windows down, unhurried.
Thankful for a wonderful long walk yesterday, met other people who are taking part in “Green Up” by collecting all that’s thrown out along the road.
Amazing how much there is. Enjoyed the weather.
Grateful that the very high winds, hail, rain, thunder, and lightning did not do damage.
Lots of research looking for the few buildings I need for the Landecker model railroad layout. A train station, house, barn, and freight depot found in the Landecker Amt region of the German state of Hessen. I love half timbered houses and there are many there. My great grandfather and his twin brother left such a house between 1875 and 1885.
Progress with yard work around the house and garden.
Church today and help with a program to care for the homeless.
Continued prayers for the needs, concerns , and joys of the UR family. They vary greatly, but God is able to handle every prayer. Prayers for my church family, there too the needs differ yet God cares for each one. Prayers for Anneliese, her new tenant, Melanie, and a dear friend, Doris. Thankful for Erich’s meals and help around the house, his job begins two weeks from today. Waiting is not easy. Thankful for resources needed and shared.
Blessings to you all on this, the Lord’s day.
I am thankful that the trees are beginning to grow new, green leaves and therefore the view outside my many windows is now vibrant and full of life.
I am thankful that Jill has many outlets and much support during this stressful time.
I am thankful that Robert and Erich have one another and the Anneliese has a new tenant. I am thankful that Robert shares so freely wwith us regarding his interesting hobbies and endeavors. My daughter’s paternal grandmother is from Germany. She and her husband met when he was in the army.
Blessings and prayers for and thank you to all of the UR family
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Vince Lombardi
I have been out of a job for 7 months now due to a layoff at the University where I used to work. I looked at the job situation with eager eyes looking to get into a job I wanted this time instead of just any job. Sometimes during those days of loneliness, I would be mad at God. I felt I was doing the right stuff, being courteous and kind to others, helping others out. But still nothing. Did God know I was alive?After 5 months of wanting a good job, I started looking for any job. My faith was wavering.
I had stopped going to my Sunday services, so that I could focus on things I needed to do on the weekend. I still went to a Thursday night service at my church that was given by the youth and the young Associate Pastor. It was during one of these services that his sermon really spoke to me, like it was for the first time ever, and his sermon was out of Revelations, a book of the bible that I had rarely looked at or heard anything about.
Maybe I wasn’t seeking a relationship with Father God and Jesus… and so I prayed for clarity and the will to focus on His Word. Suddenly people started talking to me again, and I felt renewed. Thank you God for speaking through our pastor so that I could hear your message.
I’m still out of a job, but I feel that things will get better soon. The sun, green grass, and fresh breeze, never felt so good. Amen
David,
Staying positive, seeking clarity and a better relationship with God, is certainly helpful, essential. Prayers that you will find the right job.
Thanks for sharing. It has you on the prayer list of this wonderful group. I believe in the power of prayer.
Again, I so appreciate the prayers and encouragement I have received from UR friends.
I am thankful that I heard from my daughter yesterday, and we have exchanged several texts – no mentiin of her blow- up. No apology, no insight on her part. She is acting as though nothing happened. I am having trouble forgetting the deeply hurtful things she said to me when she got angry this time. I am hesitant about re-connecting in person, and it happening again, as it appears to be a pattern. She does not allow dialogue if I try to have one when she is upset, she just tells me off and cuts off communication. She refuses to see a therapist together. Help me, Loving God, to go forward with both love and dignity. Guide me, give me the words to say, I pray. My daughter is 40 years old, I am 68. When she rages at me, I reel at the suddenness of it, I sleep poorly and feel awful. I know she loves me, needs me. I want to suppirt her and be there for my grandson. How can I manage my own feelings? I am visiting my grief therapist for help. I so appreciate your prayers and all the encouragement you offer.
I am discouraged about myself, criticizing myself harshly, feeling overly sensitive and generally pessimistic, although keeping it to myself. Maybe a bit depressed. I pray to feel God’s healing. My husband and I are going hiking, and he always comments how that makes me “mellow.”
I am concerned about my very close friend/ neighbor, Sharon, who is visiting a friend in Hawaii. I have sent several emails in the last several days to check that she is okay and have not heard anything back. I hope it is just lack of a good internet connection. Please pray for her.
Robert, it is a joy to read about your hobby and how it gives you joy.
Blessings, UR friends, and thank you for your prayers.
Prayers for you and your daughter. Finding ways to help people get the help they need is a daunting task. This is especially true for people who refuse help.
Admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting better. Prayers that your daughter will have God’s wisdom and make progress.
Yes, modeling the area where my forefathers came from is giving me a lot of pleasure. My interest in regional studies is bearing fruit. Thankfully I have visited the area where my family comes from, actually been in my great grandfather’s house, and met relatives. It is a very multifaceted interest.
It is a wonderful thing when one person’s joy gives pleasure to others as well.
Your comments are a blessing.
Thank you, Robert, I appreciate your encouragement, prayers, and your steadfast faith and service. Erich is so blessed to have you. I will continue to hope and pray for my daughter, to find an easier relationship dynamic with her, to handle my hurt when she is offensive and angry, and to respond with wisdom, dignity, and love. I know one must be patient and persistent. Blessings and prayers for you, Erich, and Anneliese.
Andrea, there are some aspects of your relationship with your daughter that are similar to my relationship with my son. Being mistreated, disrespected, cutting off contact, and being angry me are examples. All of us have our faults, no one is perfect, for these reasons we depend on Jesus. Am trying to learn how to deal with these situations. This has been going on for a very long time.
Communication becomes very difficult. I think it will be a struggle for the rest of my life. That said. I don’t give up.
Prayers for Sharon and word from her on how things are going. As humans all sorts of thoughts go through our heads when we face the unknown. There are days when I have the same experience with Anneliese. Pray to and trust in God. There are times that is the best we are able on our own to do. Persistent patience helps.
Thank you God for your presence for in your presence there is joy. Thank you always being there for us. Thank you that we are never alone and you are never too busy for us.
Blessings to all
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