Dear Family of Love,

We are having another night of quiet and waiting. I'm getting used to waiting and having periods of quiet. We all need them. God and Jesus were experts on this. I hope everyone had a wonderful day that wasn't too stressful. Have you looked into the mirror today and said these things? "I Love you____(place your name into the blank) You matter____________(place your name into the blank), and God Loves you _________(place your name into the blank). For the remainder of the week let's do this daily and also tell our family members the same thing that you say to yourself. It may brighten up someone's day. Tonight are you ready to open up your Worry/Sabbath box and see if any of the things that you had written down are still causing you worry, anxiety, or fear? If not, don't worry about it and place new worries, anxieties, and fears in the box. We need to lay these things down to help us validate and value ourselves even when we don't feel it. We must work on treating ourselves with kindness and love. If we don't start with ourselves how can we do this with God and our Family Members/ Neighbors ? So let us start today by loving God, ourselves, and our family members/neighbors more fully and unconditionally. In yesterday's Gospel of Matthew we were reminded of this : Please see below:
Matthew 22:34-46

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

`The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet"'?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

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I guess we have been given our marching orders! There isn't any escape from doing this. So let us be joyful and love one another. Let's make this a time of happy reconnecting with God, one another, our family members/neighbors, the Earth, and all living things. Remember the words that Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians? This is our piece that we will meditate on this evening! Take your time ! What speaks to us and how can we apply it to our own life?

1 Corinthians 13:4-13New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,[a] but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Here is tonight's meditation music :Ubi Caritas, Durufle, Ubi Caritas - Taize, Veni Sancte Spiritus Taize, Veni Creator Spiritus choose one or choose them all!

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God of love we pray that we may be more loving to You, our neighbors/ family members, and ourselves. Grant us courage every day to be more kind, more loving, more peace making, and more compassionate. May we be more, more, more,.......

God of love, we pray for all our missing and exploited family members that they may be safely returned into the loving arms of their families.

God of love, we pray for all who are ill and most especially children who have chronic illnesses.

God of love, we continue to pray for an end to violence, war, terror, and anything that draws us away from being the loving family of God you made us to be.

God of love, we continue to pray for the people and cities of Ferguson, Marysville- Pilchuck, Ottawa, that as they grieve they may feel your loving and healing arms around them.

God of love, we pray for peace in this fragile and broken world and that we may raise up leaders who are peacemakers and not warmongers. May they do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you O, God.

God of love, shower upon us rains that will cleanse and heal your drought parched lands

God of love, love we pray for all the many faith leaders and communities that need help in becoming loving and accepting of one another.

God of love, help us to lay down all our fears, worries, anxieties that may cause us dis-ease and mistrust of persons, facts, and lead us to extreme and dangerous thinking and actions.

God of love we entrust these our prayers,thanksgivings, remembrances, and celebrations for our selves and on behalf of others remembering especially_______ to You Lord God and in the Name of your only son Jesus. Amen.

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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you and give thanks to God for you always! Remember every day is holy, you are holy, and every thing that God made is holy. Remember tomorrow is Take Care Tuesday.Take good care of you, others, and this planet of ours.

Love, prayers, blessings and peace be always yours,

Sara

Some of the recent photos I never get tired of!