Time to refocus and have more Self-Care and Sabbath Rest time.

Dear Family of Love,

Yes, Dear Ones my noggin had a bad headache last night and I felt that I didn't want to do fly off the handle and write something that I couldn't take back. These headaches make me feel miserable and that is when Operation Self-Care is put into place. I hope everyone has their own Operation Self-Care plan to combat pain and un-ease. Rest is key and we all know that I could have plowed through it but I'm getting smarter in my old age. Tonight we meditate on stopping the glorification of busy and find a level living field. As one with a tri-level chronic illness it is never easy not to plow through without doing a self-check and making sure I bank my energy. Writing this blog and praying in place are crucial when I can't go out and walk long distances. We need to honor God by being obedient to what our bodies are conveying to us daily. I would like all of us now to sit back and enjoy our final time of Self-Care and Sabbath Rest this weekend. 

Let us begin by journeying into our heart homes with gentle breathing exercises and tensing and relaxing our muscle groupings. Let us do this slowly and with our eyes closed.  Set your own tempo. 

Here is a suggested piece of music to get you in the contemplative mood and Om Zone!

Sacred Music for Healing Hands

Whisper to yourself our favorite phrase:

Be Still and Know that I am God.
Be Still and Know
Be Still
Be

Breathe in and then breathe out.

Repeat. 


It is now time to get back on track enter into our Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil. Let us light our candles and be at prayer. Tonight we pray for all who are living with chronic illnesses and pain. We pray for all of our family members who do not have food, clothing, or shelter. We pray for an end to division and hatred among all the peoples of the earth. We pray that peace may prevail and that justice may roll down. 

Here are two sets of prayers that you may use additionally.

Dear Lord help us not to remain silent when members of our family are in emotional pain or are victims of violence and abuse. Grant us courage speak out on their behalf and may our words and actions be a prayer quilt of love warming them and making them feel safe and secure. 

God watch over all those who are out tonight riding bikes and walking.

Watch over all those who are working in cities and states where there are icy roads and bad driving conditions.

We pray for all those who are in  dangerous situations of any kind !

We pray that we may be alert to our surroundings!

Help us to unwind our bodies, minds, and spirits tonight and feel your arms enfolding us with your Love, Compassion and Mercy.

Please remember in prayer all those who are on your hearts at this moment.

We give thanks that you O  Lord, are a loving and merciful God  as we give thanks for.____________

Help us to celebrate life, milestone, and ______________________with joy, love, and gladness.

We pause and reflect as we remember those who have left this earthly life to be with you,  Remembering especially__________

Help us always to respond with loving and caring actions for our brothers and sisters.

Take away all coldness of spirit and actions by others and infuse and empower them with your life giving and loving spirits that they may truly know that you are the God of Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification. 

All this we ask in Jesus' most holy name. Amen

Selection II

Dear God  help us to learn and keep practicing the art of being kindness.

God help we pray that we may be continually kind to all of our family members when they are in need.

God give us kind hearts and heart homes to help us make peace in this broken world. May we practice the art of kindness to those with whom we disagree and are in division with.

God give us kind hearts to  comfort all who mourn and that we may forever have their backs.

God give us kind and supporting hearts to those who are ill in body, mind, and spirt.

God give us kind and loving hands to love and serve you and all our family members each and every day.

God we pray for all who are dying and who have died that they may have a circle of kindness wrapped around them as they make their journey to You in the Thin Places.

God we pray for all who still face severe weather systems. God keep them safe from harm.

God we pray for all who travel that they may make arrive safely to their destination.

God give all the leaders of the nations and any governmental body kind hearts to know who they truly serve and why they do it. May they remember that if one is denied equality everyone is denied equality.

God let us now with kind hearts offer our own prayers and thanksgivings_____________


God of all kindness we lift our prayers to your Only Son Jesus who modeled kindness through His deeds, actions, and parables. Amen.

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Today's wish: Today's wish is that you take time for self-care and soul-care and may you feel refreshed and renewed to love .

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Good Night Dear family of Love! I love you! I am glad to have you in my life! I give God thanks for you this day and always! Rest gentile in Gods enfolding arms tonight!

With love and a kind spirit, 

Sara

Let's get rid of labels, calling each other names, being fearful and live together with CALM (Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy).

Dear Family of Love!

Happy Keeping the Faith Friday Fearlessly Without Fretting! These days the world in which we live, move, and just be is full of fear and mistrusting our family members who differ from us. A wonderful friend of mine brought this video to my attention and this is where I'd like to start our time together this evening; Click on the link to get started:  I Am Not Black, You are not White
What things are crossing your minds, hearts, and spirits?
Do you think that it is possible to live without descriptive labels?
Can we live together as Jesus would have us do?
Is it possible to strive to be the CALM brothers and sisters in the family of God?
Let us strive with heart homes filled with love energy!

Now let us meditate on this picture :

Our music to accompany this meditation is this: 

Music of Peace - Richard Shulman


Dear Ones this is our time for our Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil  and light our candles and pray that the world may be illumined with God's light of love and peace. We pray that we may see each other as the beautiful child God made in God's own image and likeness. We pray for and end to fear, violence, and hatred."Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with us"! 

Let us be at prayer and pray to God to help us strengthen the holy connections God has given us.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections so that we may be united in the bonds of love and family-hood.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that remind us that we are family to even the least of these and our enemies.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that make us one with you so that we may serve you as in the paths  you have set before us.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that are needed at the time when our family members mourn losses of loved ones and friends.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections to reach out to all our family members who are ill and may we pray this night for all who are ill remembering especially_____________________________

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that unite us and not divide us.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that call us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you so that we may become the voice of the voiceless. We pray for peace and an end to wars, violence, and terror. We pray for all refugees, captives,and victims of abuse and trafficking.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections to our loved ones who have died so that we may pray for those who are dying and transitioning into the Thin Places.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that will help us to have a reverence for God's Cathedral of Life and all living things and beings.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections that we may bring ourselves and our gifts to the table daily and share them with all of our family members with love and for the common good.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections when we share our life's story with courage we may feel  your loving  arms around us as we speak our truth with love and mercy. May we not be afraid to come out of our closets what ever those closets may be and the secrets that need to be told. May with live our lives authentically with love, courage, and grace.

God help us to strengthen the holy connections as we pray for ourselves, on behalf of our family members, and those who have been afraid to come to us and ask us for prayer remembering_____________

God in the name of Jesus we lift up these our prayers who connects us to you and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

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Good Night Dear Family of Love, I love you and wish you all a blessed night! I'm glad that you are in my life and in my family. I give God thanks for you this night and always! 

With love, gratitude, and blessings to the brim and overflowing!

Sara

P.S. don't forget to place your worries, anxieties, mads, and anything else that is troubling you into the Worry/Sabbath Box.

Take time for more preparation for our Self-Care and Sabbath Rest Weekend.

Here is a calming exercise of  taking a Virtual Labyrinth Walk with your mouse to close tonight's meditation.  If you don't have a mouse use a stylus, pencil, or your finger. Before you take the journey into the labyrinth do gentle breaths inwardly and outwardly and say this prayer:



A Prayer attributed to St. Francis 
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Time to listen for God's still small voice of calm as we pray and meditate on Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday!

Dear Family of Love !

Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday! Have you been wearing your attitude of gratitude today? I hope so. This is the beginning of our weekly wind down and entrance into our period of Sabbath rest and Self - Care. We need these retreats now more than ever so that we may not become stressed out and tense about what we are reading, hearing, and seeing on the news and in social media. February will be 29 days this year and that means we need to be more intentional about how we approach our time and self-care. So dear ones let us take a page out of our many blogs and have a period of introspection and prayer. We all need to travel inwardly so that we may use God's Love energy outwardly. Gentle breaths in, gentle breaths out with our eyes closed. Sit for awhile and then begin asking God to help you enter into holy conversation. Stay there and listen for God's still small voice of CALM (Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy).Remember we are all one family and in this special time together wherever we are. 

Here is tonight's musical meditation.

Keeper of the Holy Grail - Richard Shulman


Dear Ones it is time once again for our nightly Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil and light our candles and pray for an end to hatred and fear. We pray this night for clean air, water, and soil so that God's Cathedral of Life may be revived and protected. We pray for all of our family members who are on the margins and who feel lost, lonely, alone, and invisible. We pray for peace and  safety in all cities, states, and nations of the world. We add our thoughts and thanksgivings on this Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday and remember to wear our attitudes of CALM (compassion, acceptance, love and mercy) and gratitude in service to God and the entire family of God. 

God help us to spend Sabbath and meditation  time so that we may connect with you our Creator and be your creation.

Beside the still waters we take our rest.

God as we rest beside your still waters may we feel the Holy Spirit renewing our spirits and remind us that we are human beings not human doings. 

As we connect with you Lord may we reconnect with our family members all over the world and keep them in our hearts as we pray. Lord beside the still waters may we find each of us resting in your arms and finding peace with each other. 

 God be with us as we become more intentional in making right choices when we have our times of Sabbath.

 God we pray for all those who cannot find times of Sabbath and rest. We pray for all those who work on  Your Day of Rest. May we always be sensitive to those who cannot enjoy days off for rest, relaxation, and renewal for the refreshment of bodies, minds, and spirits.

We pray for more rain to heal the drought parched areas of the world. 

We pray for sensitivity, empathy, and acceptance of all our family members who may not feel that sense of belonging only you can give through the loving actions of others.

We pray for all those who are ill and may need further examinations to find out what is wrong.

We pray for all who travel and for their safe return.

We pray for all parents and children who are being stressed out by unnecessary demands made on them by a get ahead society. We pray that they may find rest and reconnections as families and spouses.

We pray that we may find rest and renewal and may begin to come down from our mountain top or retreat experience with renewed intention and purpose to rest and take Sabbath time.

We pray for this night_________________________

We thank you Lord for all your many blessings remembering _____________________

We celebrate life, love, and times with all our family members and special times remembering________________

We offer special remembrances of family members who have entered to the place of heavenly joy and rest remembering_____________________

We pray that we may rest tonight in your loving arms and feel the Light of Christ Burning brightly in our spirits. All this we ask in Jesus most holy name. Amen.

Good Night Dear and Precious ones. I love you.Remember to rest, relax, refresh, and renew and know that you are loved by God and me and all our family members and you belong. 
Love and peace of mind and knowing at the core of my being that we belong to each other are bound together by God and His Love for us.

Love to you all ! Rest gentle dear ones!

Sara

Seeing Gospel Messages Everywhere We Go!

Dear Family of Love!

I hope everyone is having a Wonderful and Wonder-Filled Wednesday ! Last evening we talked about telling our own Bible stories. What have you learned about yourself? Is there some new epiphany you have experienced? Hold on to those questions as we talk about seeing Gospel Messages Everywhere we go. Today I saw this visual Gospel message:

God gives us each day these Gospel messages if only we have the courage to look and open our hearts.  This picture is of one of our family member's homes! This may not be what we call a home but the person who sought refuge here did. Walk With Me On Our Journey since its inception has been committed to opening our eyes to the living Gospel messages through pix on my prayer walks here are a few to remember:

See these are a few of the Gospel images found on our walks together. Let's see when you go on your walks or are out and about how many Gospel messages you can find. 

Tonight dear ones let us begin our Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil and light our candles and pray for the least of these our family members and pray that we may lovingly respond to the Gospel messages we see everywhere we go. We pray that we may be CALM (Compassionate, Accepting, Loving, and Merciful).


“Be the heart of a network of global citizens

Be a bridge for dialogue between civilizations

Be a beacon lighting the way to a century 

of life”

~ Daisaku Ikeda


God of abundance, joy, and love we offer our bodies, minds, and spirits into your loving care this night. As we pray let us be mindful of the needs of our family members and pray for their well being.

 God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all our family members who have had surgery or any procedure today that they may be on their way to good health and accept your healing.

God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all refugees, captives, prisoners, victims of domestic violence and abuse. Bring them out of danger and into freedom and safety.

 God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all who are grieving that they may feel your loving and sustaining grace during grief's long journey.

 God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all of our family members who are struggling that they may be comforted and relieved from their present situation.

God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all nations that they may use common sense and compassion when governing their residents. We pray for peace and and end to violence, war, and cruelty.

God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all  who have asked us for prayer and the many who are on our daily prayer heart and prayer list. Please add your own prayers and thanksgivings here.

God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over our heart homes and may we love more and more to the brim and overflowing.

God of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy,watch over all who post and tweet in cyber-space that hate may be quelled and a place of love, dignity and respect may reign.

 God  of Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy, help us to see your Gospel messages everywhere we go. Help us to see them and follow your son Jesus and model our lives and show love and mercy to your fragile and broken world.  Keep our eyes keen, our hearts open, and our spirits empowered to be engaged in your world for the betterment of all our family members. May we reflect your compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy to all. We pray that the me generation will be replaced with the we generation.

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, these are our prayers accept them with love, mercy, and grace. Amen.

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Good Night Loved Ones! Have a blessed and restful evening! Know that you are loved, matter, and aren't hated but held in God's loving arms and wrapped warmly in God's quilt of grace and mercy.  I love you and give God thanks for you this night and always!

Love, prayers, and the light is always on in my heart-home for you,

Sara