Message of Hope
Today's Reflection
I SEE MORE now when I pay attention, which I often do not, and I am more overwhelmed by beauty that I now realize has nothing to do with me at all—except as it brings me half-understood messages of God’s goodness and love. Two sights from my adult past I remember now. The first is a huge oak tree outside my floor-to-ceiling window before my daughter was born. It was covered with dark red leaves of such an intensity that their red color and shapes reflected off the white walls of the apartment where I lived. It was truly astonishing and it hardly seemed possible, but there it was. Through that tree I received an obscure message of hope and beauty at a place in my life that seemed so hopeless I was not sure I could survive it.
—Roberta C. Bondi, Wild Things: Poems of Grief and Love, Loss and Gratitude (Upper Room Books, 2014)
Today's Question
What might God want you to notice today as a message of hope?
Today's Scripture
“Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.”
—Psalm 33:22 (NRSV)
Prayer for the Week
Creator God, As you draw us closer to you, draw us closer to each other. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room .
Something More
Who came up with the idea of using nativity scenes to celebrate Christmas? Many might be surprised to learn that Francis of Assisi, the well-known thirteenth-century saint, is credited with creating the first nativity scene. The Living Nativity: Preparing for Christmas with Saint Francis introduces readers to Saint Francis and his joyous reenactment of the birth of Jesus, complete with a manger and animals. Discover more.
Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
Sponsored by The Upper Room. Copyright © 2019 | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
8 Comments | Join the Conversation.A Story of Faith
Today's Reflection
AS WE MOVE along our spiritual journeys, we live in the tension between fear and fantasy. But I know of a third way to continue our spiritual journeys: We can choose to live a story of faith and trust in God and God’s goodness. Making this choice does not mean that we will never feel fear or submit to fantasies about the future. Stories of faith do not resolve this tension; instead, they help us transcend fear and fantasy in surprising ways by pointing toward the divine presence in our lives.
—Michael E. Williams, Spoken into Being: Divine Encounters Through Story (Upper Room Books, 2017)
Today's Question
What story of faith in God’s goodness can you share today?
Today's Scripture
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
—Colossians 2:6-7 (NRSV)
Prayer for the Week
I love to tell the story
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest.
From "I Love to Tell the Story" by
Katherine Hankey, The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 156
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room or share it in the comment section.
Something More
During Advent we think about a wondrous mystery: that God chose to become human and lived among us. Rediscover The Wondrous Mystery this Advent.
Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
Sponsored by The Upper Room. Copyright © 2019 | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
3 Comments | Join the Conversation.