Friday, February 19, 2016

Wilderness Week Day 5: Let's talk about where we worship and our own personal temples.





Dear Family of Love!

Happy Keeping the Faith Friday Fearlessly Without Fretting! Wow we are into day five of our wilderness journey. Please take a moment and look again at the title of tonight's blog. Let's take about a minute or more to brainstorm and write down what that means to us individually. Then take a look at last evenings ponder work: 

Tomorrow's ponder work is this!
Tomorrow's Keyword and Concept: What are the differences between temples, churches, synagogues, basilicas, and cathedrals? Where do you worship?
To ponder tomorrow or this evening: How can you apply pinnacle of the temple. to our main theme of the week: Taking time by serving the least of these by taking on________________?

I worship at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Santa Maria California and have been attending there since I was born. The church is where my family of choice lives. I don't just worship by sitting in the pews on Sunday. I worship by serving God by being the newsletter editor, sacristan, serving shelf stable lunches doing office volunteer work, being a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lay Eucharistic Visitor. Worship to me doesn't just mean pew work it means being able to serve God in and out of the church building. I worship on prayer walks and I also have found that I do worship while I write this blog. Yes dear family we here at Walk With Me On Our Journey is a worshiping community and a different kind of church. I'm reminded that when two or three are gathered together we have a community.We also have our own personal temples at home and in our bodies minds and spirits. Remember when we talked about our heart homes last week? Our heart homes are the Temples of the Holy Spirit. Tonight let us take time to spend time in worshiping together and enjoying our time together as a family and that is what being church really all about. It isn't about the building but the community. 

As it is keeping the Faith Friday Fearlessly without Fretting don't forget to get our your sticky notes and place your worries mads, anxieties and anything else that is troubling you into the Worry/Sabbath Box in preparation for our Self-Care and Sabbath Rest Weekend Retreat. 

Let's engage in our "Be Stills"

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Slowly inhale.
Hold.
Slowly exhale

Pause. Count to 10.

Repeat 4 times! 

Now sit quietly and reflect up the day past and enjoy your visit with God. Open wide your heart homes and feel God filling you up with Love Energy.

Let us spend some additional time hearing music from Taize Songs for Lent 2015


Dear Ones Let us take time to light our candles and be at prayer and prepare our heart homes for tonight's Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil. We pray this night for all who are having their Sabbath time tonight and all who are in preparation for worship on Sunday. We pray for love and a spirit of understanding with all faith communities. We pray for all our  family members who lack food, clothing, and shelter. We pray that we may continue to be CALM (compassionate  accepting loving, and merciful). We pray that we may all be one and find new and enlivening ways to be God's family throughout the world. May we seek to become peacemakers and serve God by showing Love bearing Light, and promoting justice and equality. We pray that we all may be able to live authentically as the beautiful children of God God made us to be. 





Let us enter into our worship space by listening to this: Moses Theme -Ennio Morricone

God we pray that as we your family who meet together nearby and far away through the gift of cyberspace may never take this time for granted.

We pray this night for all who are in need of prayer especially those who are on our heart homes_______________

We pray for all of our family members who are lost lonely and alone that they may be protected and and surrounded by your love. May we be given hearts and eyes to see who they are and not be afraid to love and help them.

We pray for all of our family members who are pre-grieving and grieving this weekend. May we help you love and comfort them.

We pray for sound government in our nation and the nations of the world. Let there be peace, justice and universal human rights. 

We pray for any and all concerns that are on our hearts and in our minds this night and place them one by one into the Worry/ Sabbath box.

We pray for all faith communities that we may be united in love and understanding and bonds of friendship and familyhood. 

We pray for all of our family members who are angry bitter bigoted, hate-filled, racist, and violent. We pray they may be led away from destruction and into loving and constructive actions for the good of all.

We pray for all of our family members who are in need of rest and sleep that they may be able to receive the gift of sleep and renewal.

We give thanks for__________________

We lift up these our prayers O God to you in the Name of your Son Jesus.

Or these.


We pray this night for all of our family members who may find themselves lost without friends. May we learn to keep our eyes open to all who are alone and need this special kind of family.

We pray for all of our friends who we call family! May we love them and give them a soft place to fall.

We pray for all our enemies and those who wish us harm.  May we learn to give of ourselves and model healthy and uniting friendships within the bonds of peace.

We pray for friendships among all people and nations.and that bonds of trust and unity may grow and prosper.

We pray for all of our family members who are in need of love, homes, clothing, and food and that they may be protected from harm and severe weather.

We pray that we may be friends with all living things within God's Cathedral of Life.

We pray that we may be friends not only to our family members but ourselves.

We pray that we may teach our children how to make and keep friends.

We pray that we may be  lovingly accepting of all our friends and  our family members who differ from us. 

We now close with our classic prayers !

As we close our worship this night we remember these prayers.

The  Beatitudes  Matthew 5:3–12 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10

 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.

The Song of Mary    Magnificat
 Luke 1:46-55
My soul doth magnify the Lord, *
    and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded *
    the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth *
    all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *
    and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him *throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm; *
    he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *
    and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, *
    and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, *
    as he promised to our forefathers,
    Abraham and his seed for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Song of Simeon    Nunc Dimittis

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
    to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
    whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
    and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. 

+++++++++

Good Night Loved ones! I love you! May you find rest in body, mind, and spirit! Don't forget tomorrow is Self-Care Saturday and that means we  take time to take care of ourselves. I give God Thanks for you this day and always!


With love, friendship, and in thanksgiving for our community as the Family of Love,

Sara

Tomorrow's ponder work.
Just a reminder of the seven keywords and concepts:
Here are our seven Keywords and concepts;
Wilderness
Temptation
Famished
Find out what the Pinnacle of the Temple Looks like.
What are the differences between temples, churches, synagogues, basilicas, and cathedrals? Where do you worship?
Devil
Holy Spirit

Our Keyword and concept for tomorrow is: Devil
To ponder tomorrow or this evening: How can you apply these places of worship( temples, churches, synagogues, basilicas, and cathedrals)to our main theme of the week: Taking time by serving the least of these by taking on________________

This week we will take time to apply these concepts for our period of introspection and getting into the minds of the least of these.


























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