Walk With me on Our Journey: Tonight we pray rest and begin our weekend retreat a day early to help us stop the glorification of busy!

Good Evening Beloved Community!

Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday! I hope all is well and that you have had a good day. I have. What I at first though was going to be a Blanket Fort Jammie Day, turned out to be an unannounced work day at the Faith Factory along with a grand and holy tour of walking leading up to a return to Cancer Rehab Exercise Class. I need to work other muscle groupings. I am blogging to you from the comforts of my bed. Sometimes I get the best inspiration from this cozy area. We all must continue to honor what our bodies and God is telling us to do. Tonight we pray rest and begin our weekend retreat a day early. Why you ask? Because we are heading towards a busy time of year and the more we stop the glorification of busy and focus on what is most important in all aspects of our lives. Dear Ones Let it be so!

Let us engage in the "Be Stills"

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

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

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

Light of the World Phos hilaron

Light of the world, in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.

Let us light our candles and be at prayer and make vigil!

Psalm 134
Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, *
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord; *
the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

As we light our candles tonight let us be mindful of all who suffer various forms of anxiety and are afraid to ask for help. Tonight as we pray let us prayerfully and lovingly encircle one another with a prayer quilt of CALM ( compassion acceptance love and mercy) and that we may feel the warmth of this quilt when ever we need it. God give us courage to lean on and learn from each other. God help us to find ways to show and be love to the unlovable and marginalized and yes even our enemies too. God we pray that we may deepen our relationship with you and each other. Help us to hear your voice at the very depths of our souls and in the voices of others whom you have brought into our lives for a reason. Let us hold the virtual Light of Christ to one another this night and say" The Light of Christ in Me, Recognizes the light of Christ in You!" and The Love that God gave Me I give to you and my neighbor. Holy and loving God help us remember that Love patience, and understanding and peaceful nonviolent protests are the keys to affect change in this fragile and broken world.

Psalm 143:5-10
5 I remember the time past;
I muse upon all your deeds; *
I consider the works of your hands.

6 I spread out my hands to you; *
my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.

7 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; *
do not hide your face from me
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,
for I put my trust in you; *
show me the road that I must walk,
for I lift up my soul to you.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, *
for I flee to you for refuge.

10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; *
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Wisdom 10:9-17

⁹ Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.
¹⁰ When a righteous man fled from his brother’s wrath,
she guided him on straight paths;
she showed him the kingdom of God,
and gave him knowledge of holy things;
she prospered him in his labours,
and increased the fruit of his toil.
¹¹ When his oppressors were covetous,
she stood by him and made him rich.
¹² She protected him from his enemies,
and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him;
in his arduous contest she gave him the victory,
so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything else.

¹³ When a righteous man was sold, wisdom^* did not desert him,
but delivered him from sin.
She descended with him into the dungeon,
¹⁴ and when he was in prison she did not leave him,
until she brought him the sceptre of a kingdom
and authority over his masters.
Those who accused him she showed to be false,
and she gave him everlasting honour.

¹⁵ A holy people and blameless race
wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.
¹⁶ She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,
and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.
¹⁷ She gave to holy people the reward of their labours;
she guided them along a marvellous way,
and became a shelter to them by day,
and a starry flame through the night.

A Song of Judith

Judith 16:13-16

I will sing a new song to my God, *

for you are great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.

Let the whole creation serve you, *

for you spoke and all things came into being.

You sent your breath and it formed them, *

no one is able to resist your voice.

Mountains and seas are stirred to their depths, *

rocks melt like wax at your presence.

But to those who fear you, *

you continue to show mercy.

No sacrifice, however fragrant, can please you, *

but whoever fears the Lord shall stand in your sight for ever.

2 Corinthians 10:2-7

²I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards.^*³Indeed, we live as human beings,^* but we do not wage war according to human standards;^* ⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human,^* but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments ⁵and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. ⁶We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we.

A Song of Our True Nature

Julian of Norwich

Christ revealed our frailty and our falling, *

our trespasses and our humiliations.

Christ also revealed his blessed power, *

his blessed wisdom and love.

He protects us as tenderly and as sweetly when we are in greatest need; *

he raises us in spirit

and turns everything to glory and joy without ending.

God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature;

God is the true father and mother of natures.

We are all bound to God by nature, *

and we are all bound to God by grace.

And this grace is for all the world, *

because it is our precious mother, Christ.

For this fair nature was prepared by Christ

for the honor and nobility of all, *

and for the joy and bliss of salvation

Luke 17:20-31

20 Once Jesus^* was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; ²¹nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among^* you.’

22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. ²⁴For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.^* ²⁵But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.²⁷They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. ²⁸Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ²⁹but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them ³⁰—it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back.

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.

O God, whose mighty hand freed your servant George Freeman Bragg from bondage and blessed him with perseverance and courage: Deliver your Church from its ignorance and injustice, that through his example and prayers all the baptized may share in the work of ministry and, at the last, attain to the perfect freedom of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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.

Hymn:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Prayers for ourselves and others may follow. It is appropriate that
prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings of the day, and penitence for our
sins, be included.

Wrapping ourselves in God's Loving arms with our prayers!

Let us visualize ourselves as being in God's loving arms seeking to know God better and feeling God's love encircling us. May we feel the love energy radiating from our heart homes outward to all of our family members around the world.

Let us lovingly pray for all of our family members tonight and consciously know that each one we pray for is a beloved Child of God.