Sunday, December 10, 2017

#AdventWord Week 2 #HashTagsWithMeaning2017 the word is #Prepare




Good Evening Beloved Community!

Happy day of Sabbath Rest! I hope all off you are doing well. We are experiencing dangerous wildfire season here in California. It is so bad that the area schools will be closed tomorrow due to the dangerous air quality. Nothing #Prepares you for this. This morning when I woke up, the lighting from outside was very eerie and driving to church was like going to a late afternoon service only it was morning. Nothing #Prepares you for this! So how do we #prepare for these strange times in which we live, move, and just be? It all depends on what the circumstances are. Time after time I keep remembering Jesus sage piece of wisdom and that was being always "#Prepared". Last year I thought I was #prepared but like the foolish and unprepared bridesmaids I wasn't. So how do we #Prepare ourselves for events that feel like the proverbial door hitting us in the face? That is where our time together tonight comes into play. But first let's do our daily #AdventWord definition on #Prepare:

pre·pare
[prəˈper]



VERB
prepares (third person present) · prepared (past tense) · prepared (past participle) · preparing (present participle)
make (something) ready for use or consideration:
"prepare a brief summary of the article"
synonyms: make/get ready · put together · draw up · produce · arrange · assemble · construct · compose · formulate


(prepared)
created in advance; preplanned:
"the spokesman was reading a prepared statement"
make (food or a meal) ready for cooking or eating:
"she was busy preparing lunch"
synonyms: cook · make · get · put together · concoct · fix · rustle up
make (someone) ready or able to do or deal with something:
"schools should prepare children for life" · "by this time I was prepared for anything" · "she took time off to prepare for her exams"
synonyms: get ready · make preparations · arrange things · make provision · get everything set· train · get into shape · practice · get ready · study · review · instruct · coach · train · tutor · drill· prime · brace · make ready · tense · steel · steady · ready · (all) set · equipped · primed · waiting · on hand · poised · in position

(be prepared to do something)
be willing to do something:
"I wasn't prepared to go along with that"
synonyms: willing · ready · disposed · predisposed · (favorably) inclined · of a mind · minded
make (a chemical product) by a reaction or series of reactions.

(in conventional harmony) lead up to (a discord) by means of preparation.

ORIGIN
late Middle English: from French préparer or Latin praeparare, from prae ‘before’ + parare ‘make ready.’

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Tonight everyone needs to #prepare the following 8 daily lists and complete each one daily for the week to come.
List 1: Disaster planning a.k.a. Where is your get ready and go kit?
This picture in Facebook is really helpful:

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List 2: End of life wishes? Have you had the conversation?

List 3. Do you have an escape plan for you and your family if you have to get out of your house?
Draw a schematic diagram.

List 4: Do a health genealogy? Who has had what disease and condition that might be hereditary?

List 5: Make sure your faith community has copies of your end of life wishes and begin to talk about your funeral arrangements. Don't leave it to your family members. Interview mortuaries and find one that will meet your needs. 

List 6: Decide what is important for you to keep in your home. This is the De-clutter list.

List 7: Take time to begin reconciling with people you need to make things right. It really does help.

List 8: Take time to begin to start a new chapter in your life. Where are you headed? What is God calling you towards. List the spiritual things that you want to prepare yourselves for in the weeks to come during this Advent Season.

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These are just a few suggestions ! And now let us prepare our hearts and minds to make vigil and pray for all who are being affected by the wildfires and other disasters in our country and throughout the world.


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Come and save us, * O Lord God of hosts.
Come and save us, O Lord God of hosts.
Show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved:
O Lord God of hosts.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Come and save us, O Lord God of hosts.
V. Show us your mercy, O Lord:
R. And grant us your salvation.


Advent Week 2

Prayer Over The Advent Candle

O God, as light comes from this candle,
May the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,
Warming our hearts and brightening our way.
May Christ our Savior
Bring life into the darkness of this world,
And to us, as we wait for his coming.
Amen.


(www.catholicnewsagency.com)




Advent
Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height and look toward the
east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the
word of the Holy One. Baruch 5:5


Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down
righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also. Isaiah 45:8, NRSV


85 Benedixisti, Domine
Psalm 85:1-2,8-13;

1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins.

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.



A Song of the Wilderness
Isaiah 35:1-7,10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, *
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
It shall blossom abundantly, *
and rejoice with joy and singing.
They shall see the glory of the Lord, *
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weary hands, *
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to the anxious, “Be strong, do not fear! *
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you.”
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, *
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer, *
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness *
and streams in the desert;
The burning sand shall become a pool *
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The ransomed of God shall return with singing, *
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Joy and gladness shall be theirs, *
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

Isaiah 40:1-11

40Comfort, O comfort my people,
   says your God. 
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and cry to her
that she has served her term,
   that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
   double for all her sins. 

3 A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
   make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain. 
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
   and all people shall see it together,
   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ 

6 A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
   And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
   their constancy is like the flower of the field. 
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
   when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
   surely the people are grass. 
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
   but the word of our God will stand for ever. 
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
   O Zion, herald of good tidings;*
lift up your voice with strength,
   O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,*
   lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
   ‘Here is your God!’ 
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
   and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him. 
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
   he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
   and gently lead the mother sheep. 

The Song of Mary Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones *
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things *
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

2 Peter 3:8-15

8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,* not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.*
11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness,12waiting for and hastening* the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 13But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him,


A Song of Faith
1 Peter 1:3-4,18-21
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, *
by divine mercy we have a new birth into a living hope;
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, *
we have an inheritance that is imperishable in heaven.
The ransom that was paid to free us *
was not paid in silver or gold,
But in the precious blood of Christ, *
the Lamb without spot or stain.
God raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory *
so that we might have faith and hope in God.

Mark 1:1-8

1The beginning of the good news* of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.*
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,*
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,*
   who will prepare your way; 
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   “Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight” ’, 
4John the baptizer appeared* in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with* water; but he will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit.’


 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


Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to
preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our
Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us pray using the #AdventWord #Prepare and its synonyms.
Let us respond with : Let every heart prepare Him room. 
We pray this week that our heart homes, heart roots, and inner beings are continually being prepared for your loving and abiding presence O, God.
Help us to make ready in our lives for the changes yet to come and to travel lightly and not be attached to things and anything else that draws us away from serving you and our beloved community family members.
God give us courage to follow through with our list preparations and that we may learn to let go and let God.
God help us to make the necessary plans for our community's safety and change. Help us to make ourselves ready to be the change you want to see in your fragile and broken world.
God make help us to make peace with our enemies by preparing our souls to accept them as our brothers and sisters. Give us courage to see you in them.
God help us during this time of joyful expectation to study your living Word and spread the God News to everyone.
God help us to be co-healers with you and care for the least of these.
God give us strength to get back into physical, spiritual, and mental shape to meet the days ahead. 
God help us to be aware and our shoulders ready for our family members who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.
God help us to be willing to accept your call and go wherever you lead us. 
God prime and prepare our hearts to receive your son Jesus yet again by being the compassionate, accepting,loving, and merciful children you have made us to be.

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God we lift up these our prayers as we"Let every heart prepare Him room" Amen.

We continue to pray with this week's prayers.

Prayers for Focus

God help us to be #Focused on you and serving you!
God help us to center ourselves and our lives on what truly matters.
God as we  gather together around this sacred circle may we meet together in Christlike fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers.
God help us when our lives become blurred may we be re-focused in on you and renew our lives with holy clarity.
God  help the communities in which we live get to the heart of the matter when there is perpetual violence,discord, and division.  
God take our complacency away when we find ourselves traveling the way of apathy and be fixed on you and what you are calling us to do and to be.
God help us when we stray to be led back to you as we hear your clear voice calling us back to you.
God remind us everyday that Love is the reason we are here and love is an action word to carry out into this fragile and broken world. 
God  help us to wake up and pay attention when you are calling us to action.
God make our lives focused on compassion, acceptance, love and mercy. May we seek to speak, stand up, focus on universal human rights for all who are on the margins of society.
God may our prayers be focused on this night_________________
God may our thanksgivings be focused on this night_____________
God re-focus our leaders and government to serve the least of these and follow the Matthew 25 pledge "

I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.

God center us as we pray the beatitudes.
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)

God we lift up these our prayers to you O God as you are our center and reason for being. Amen.

 Prayers for Mending!

Restore us O God that we may truly become your children and live in your holy and life giving kindom. 

Knit us together as one holy people who love one another as you love us.

God give us the gifts to help you protect and remake this world a better place in which to live for all beings. We pray that we may become planet, water, animal and people protectors where we will be able to live in health and harmony.

God renew our communities, families, and ourselves daily by giving us that necessary  tap on the shoulder to do the things and serve and answer the call you are calling us to do.

God challenge us daily to become repairers of the breech and be bridge builders and tear down walls that divide us.

God give us the courage to listen and love and help mend broken communities that are divided. Give us courage to be change makers that will renew and restore our communities to wholeness and health.

God give us courage and strength to correct the wrongs and injustices that have been done against all of your creation.

God take from us the arrogance that have set us on a path to destruction and lead us on a path to construction and peace building. 

God  help us we pray to mend, heal, and feed all our beloved community members who are homeless, hungry, ill clad, and on the margins of society.

God we pray that we may help mend all divisions in our community

God we pray that our cities may be awakened to the truth of what is happening in our city and find ways to work together even if it means taking a risk and stepping down from office. 

God help our leaders to put the needs of the people they serve first before unhealthy political ambitions. Heal their hearts and minds so that they may renew their oaths of office and remember they are our public servants not our masters.

God we pray for the mending of_________________

God we celebrate today_____________________

God we lift up these prayers to you so that we may truly  trust in your mending of your world and our lives. Amen.


Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: Comfort and
relieve your sick servants, and give your power of healing to
those who minister to their needs, that those 
for whom our prayers are offered may be strengthened in
their weakness and have confidence in your loving care;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Healing prayers 

God help us to be co-healers with you that we may heal and cleanse the environment so badly in need of renewal and conservation.

God help us to be reconcilers with you so that we may bring all divided family members together in compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy. 

God help us to lovingly respond to all who are ill and in mourning that we may use our heart homes, heart roots, and love energy to be sources of comfort and solace and soulace. 

God help us to be co-healers with you to renew and restore peace to our world, nations, cities, and in our inner beings that violence, terror, bullying, and abuse may be no more.

God grant us courage to help speak out for the voiceless ones who are in need of healing of their bodies, minds, and spirits.

God give us courage to help see you in our family members who are the least of these and heal them by giving of ourselves with a smile, touch, broad shoulder, and any way that we can.

God we pray for the scientists who seek to find cures for orphan and known diseases.

God we pray that we may be healed from the need to be busy all the time and that our hearts may rest securely with you.

God we lift up prayers for healing, restoration, and renewal for_____________

God we lift up thanksgiving prayers for the healing of______________

God we lift up these our prayers in the Holy Name of your Son Jesus who is the Great Physician and Healer of us all. Amen.

O God our shield and armor of light, whom we adore with all the
angelic host: defend us from evil; watch over any who are in
danger this night and give your angels charge over them; and
grant that we may always rejoice in your heavenly protection and
serve you bravely in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.


Loving Jesus: Protect and sustain us with your hand. Open the
door of your love that, sealed with your wisdom, we may be free
to serve you with joy. Amen.
(a prayer of St. Gertrude)

Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
St. Teresa of Avila



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.



The Wisdom of God

the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen you
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)




Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to
generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21

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Today's #AdventWord: #prepare
Tomorrow's #AdventWord: Messenger



Good Night Beloved Community! Lots of love from me to you! God bless you and keep you this day and always. We are in a holding pattern from prayer walking due to the poor air quality from the ash and smoke from the wildfires. I hope to return soon.


With Hope, love, peace, and joy!
Sara

Resources:
Book of Common Prayer
Lectionary Page
Book of Occasional Services
Enriching our Worship
Walk With Me On Our Journey
Quote sites for prayers, and quotes.
Preparation sites


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