The gift of ourselves in a time of great stress!

Good Evening Dear Ones !

Whew! Social media can be a rough place. Lots of stress today. Let us begin a time of giving of ourselves during this time of great stress. This means we get to be like the prayer that St. Theresa of Avila has given us. 

Take a moment to look and listen.

Christ Has No Body but Yours- David Ogden

Week let us do something extraordinary for God by serving others.

Look to what is available in your community and pray what you can do to serve and give of yourself and maybe go off the grid and not get stressed social media wise. 


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This week I have chosen in I Thrive the action step Service With a Smile this is one of the best things I have seen yet. 

Thriver!  We feel strongly that the act of giving is a great way to enhance spiritual wellness. There are basically two types of volunteering: formal and informal. Formal volunteering involves donating your time and expertise to an organization and we’ll be exploring that during Day 2. But today, we’d like you to consider looking at informal ways to volunteer. This type of volunteering does not involve an organization. For example, you could have a bake sale and donate the proceeds to your favorite charity. You could also help a neighbor shovel snow or rake leaves. You could also grab a friend or two and pick up trash along the road or in your neighborhood. Do you knit, crochet, quilt, or build? Why not get a friend or two together and make something you can donate or sell for charity. These are all examples of informal volunteering. 

Another way to look at this is unorganized service or the expression of random acts of kindness. We love this form of service because it transforms acts of service into a way of being. When we naturally perform random acts of kindness often, it becomes habit—it becomes who we are, not what we do.

Today (and every day of this Action Step), your task is to identify moments when you can express random acts of kindness and to explore ways to participate in informal volunteering.

Today your task is to take some time to research what you are passionate about and why those causes mean so much to you. Here is a list of causes that we often find people are interested in:

• Military
• Animals
• Children
• Women’s issues
• Industry trade organizations
• Education
• Homeless
• Religious
• Medical

Certainly in the area of cancer prevention, treatment, and research, there are many nonprofit organizations that are doing wonderful things to help those impacted by this disease.

So, today, your task is to assess your service interests and then pick at least one organization that interests you most. And, don’t forget to spread some more seeds of random kindness today!

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Those were from IThrive here are my ideas!

Let us talk about giving back to our communities and not just at church. This is the time of year when everyone needs extra help with the many projects that are in need of extra assistance. Just look around at the many organizations that are in need of your special gifts and talents. If you don't know what those are I  invite you to write a list and ask yourselves "What am I good at?", "What things to I like to do?" ,"What are the community organizations appeal to me? Take time tonight to write you lists and go to your phone book and look up community organizations that appeal to you.  Here is a thumbnail sketch for you to consider;:

I like to                                                   Then I can help out this way.
Read books                              Read to children in schools or at story time
Be out in nature                       See what you can do in the area of conservation
History                                    See if you can work as a docent in museums or historical society
Be with the elderly                  Deliver meals on wheels, drive to doctor's appointments, etc
Be a caregiver                          Do respite care
Be involved with children's issues  Join the various organizations that help children

The above is just a sampler.

This is our meditative task for this evening. We will travel to the center and have our usual conversation with God and see what God wants us to do to help heal God's fragile and broken world and the entire Family of God.

Let us light a candle and hold out our giving hands and shine a light to God's people and the world that God made in love and called it good!

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God of abundance help us to be helpful towards all of our family members.

We pray that we may offer our time and our best selves in your service and in the service of others.

We pray that we may offer help to organizations that go against our grain to help those who differ from us.

We pray that we may learn to give of ourselves freely and gracefully.

We pray that our works may be pleasing to you.

We pray that we may find community within the many aid agencies that need our help.

We pray that we may help comfort our family members who mourn.

We pray that we may be of help to our family members who are ill.

We pray that we may work for justice and peace and speak truth to power.

We pray that we may seek to end hunger, homelessness, bullying, economic injustice, and hatred.

We pray that we may find ways to serve when we don't feel like serving.

We pray for peace in the war torn areas of the world.

We pray for sensible policing and gun laws.

We pray for equality for all and universal human rights.

We pray for our family members who have died.

We pray for our family members who are ill.

We pray for refugees, all victims of violence and oppression, victims of human trafficking.

We offer our own prayers in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Or these prayers!

Prayers that calm and renew

God we pray this night for all who are restless and their nerves that are shaken. 
Calm our nerves, minds, and spirits God.

God we pray for peace in this your broken world.
Calm our fears, banish hate and let us sew seeds of love and mercy to those whom we fear and hate.

God we pray for all those who have entered into hospice care and are in transition.
Calm their fears and those of their loved ones as they vigil and sit at bedside. We pray for a gentle and peaceful transitioning.

God  we pray for all who are ill and in need of healing.
Give us a sense of calm while we wait for your healing O God.

God give us courage when we make mistakes and admit our wrong doing.
Calm our fears and make us strong as we meet the bumps in the road and along our life's journey.

God we pray for our nation as it goes through many trials and tribulations.
Calm our unnecessary fears and banish all of our phobias, hate, and mistrust.

God we pray for a restful and peaceful night and that we may be rested, relaxed, renewed, and refreshed. 
Give us Calm bodies, minds, and spirits as we rest.

God we pray for all those who ask us for prayer remembering especially__________________ and for ourselves._____________.
Give us calm while we pray.

God we  pray for rain in the drought parched lands. Help us to conserve water and be diligent in conservation of our environment. 

God we pray for all the leaders of the nations around the world that need to feel the power of your love and remember they are ambassadors for peace and that they do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you O god and that they may turn their swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning  hooks and that they may never learn war anymore. 
Calm all this extremism and warring madness. 

God we pray for all who lead the various faith communities and the people with whom they minister. Calm our fears when we meet  other family members of God  from other faiths that we may show our love and compassion to them.

God we pray this night for all the least of  these. Keep them safe from harm. 
Calm their fears in the night hours and may they feel your loving and protective arms around them.

Calm us O God That we may be renewed by your loving presence that we may use the presents you have given us in the presence and service of others. 

God we lift up these prayers in the name of your only Son Jesus the Christ. Amen.

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Good Night my dearly loved ones. I love you and give thanks to God for you this night and always. May we feel God's calming presence this night and always.


With love and blessings and prayers that you will feel God's abiding presence.

Sara