Dear Family,
I hope everyone has had a good day and that you remembered that today is You Matter Monday. I think it is time to go back and remember to make everyday holy and that we practice meaningful familyhood bey being interconnected in prayer and meditations each day. A year ago I posted a meditation that gave us a daily structure. We are going to use that structure again. This will give you time to go off the grid and unwind our bodies minds and spirits. It will give us a place where we don't have to hear, see, or be affected by all the nasty and hurtful politics out there and that has made it in here to our heart homes.
I invite you to continue to take self-guided retreats make time for meditation with the suggestions here below.
Monday- You Matter Monday
Take time to start the week out right by being kind to yourselves.
Practice loving yourself.
Do a mediation of your choice.
Practice our Mindfulness exercises and breathing:
It is simply this, we start with our breathing exercises using this format:
Inhale the Holy Spirit.
Exhale Love.
Inhale the Holy Spirit
Exhale Love
Inhale the Holy Spirit
Exhale Love
Now repeat the following 3 times;
Be Still and Know That I am God.
Be Still and Know
Be Still
Be
Now get out some kind of timer, mindfulness app, or music and set them for 5 minutes when you begin. Then close your eyes and be silent. If the music goes long don't worry that will lead you into our time of prayer and thanksgiving.
Go for a walk if your body is telling you to do so.
Exercise your mind.
Tuesday- Take Care Tuesday
Take care of your physical, mental, and spiritual selves. Take time to care for yourself and others.
Allow for more rest, relaxation, and renewal.
Use any of the above.
Wednesday : Wonderful and Wonder-Filled Wednesday.
This day is to get ourselves out into God's Cathedral of Life and seek out the wonder and mystery of creation, the environment.
Take your children and grand children to the park, beach, or zoo to see these places of wonder and amazement. Hint you can take yourselves there by yourselves too. If your soul and mind likes art, music, and theater these can be places of wonder too.
Go outside and breathe and pray. Prayer walking can help you find wonder too.
Thursday: Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday.
This day is all about mindful intentionality and gratitude. Putting on our attitudes of gratitude and random acts of kindness. Remember these are daily acts too. Think of Maunday Thursday, Thanksgiving day, and Ascension Day. 3 key holy days that are celebrated on Thursdays.
Do something radical in the Love Energy department.
Begin to prepare for the weekend by unwinding and de-stressing!
Friday: Keeping the Faith Friday Fearlessly Without Fretting.
Let go of the week's garbage.
Practice using a Worry/ Sabbath Jar that we should be using daily and not just Fridays. Place your worries, anxieties, fears, mads, your anger fits, on pieces of paper and place them in the jar until Monday evening. Do not look at them.
Enter and go deeper with God as we do every evening but this time be in real conversation and listening time.
Begin going of the grid for a space.
This is Self and Sabbath Care Weekend Eve.
Saturday: Self-Care Saturday
Take time for self-care and being kind to your bodies, minds, and spirits.
This is your spa day- Just for you. Tell your family you are going to go off the grid and spend time with yourself.
This is a retreat day: Walk a Labyrinth, Stations of the Cross, prayer walk or meditate in silence.
Sunday: Sabbath Care Day;
Worship God.
Rest with God.
Don't do any measurable work.
Enact your own set of Blue Laws.
Go on over to the other side of the lake to rest and pray.
Visit a quiet and restful setting that will refresh you.
Don't forget to spend time with your family members.
Daily: Pray, Meditate, Walk, Enter into measurable silence, read some spiritual tome, Make each day include lots of Love Energy, Expansion of our Heart homes, serving the least of these, and becoming more and more united with our family members we may not like in love and charity. Each day let Love, Hope, Peace, Joy, Justice, Mercy, Kindness and Inclusion be our watchwords.
So there you have it our simple things we can do to combine all three. Tonight we will use our breathing exercises with a musical selection and then enter into prayer.
Ludovico Einaudi -In a time lapse
Richard Shulman -Open Spaces
God we thank you for making each and everyday holy.
God we pray that we may enter into a time of preparation to worship you in your sanctuary both indoors and outside in your Cathedral of Life.
God we pray that we may take time to breathe in your life giving and sustaining Holy Spirit.
God we pray for all the firefighters and a cessation of all the wildfires around the world and in our state.
God we pray for rain to heal the drought parched areas of our world and especially in California.
God we pray for peace in the world. Help us to set a good and loving example by loving everyone without judgement.
God we pray for the healing of everyone's bodies, minds, and spirits. We pray for all the caregivers who minister to their needs.
God we pray for all of our family members who are going back to school.
God we pray for ___________________________
God we pray for all faith communities around the world that we may learn to love each other with open minds and hearts. We pray for all leaders of the many faith communities who are in preparation for the week's worship.
God we give thanks for______________________
Tonight's prayer vigil comes from a blog when I was having chemo and it was in the Jesus Cycle of the three sets of 4 chemo cycles = 12.
Let us light our candles and be at prayer.
Jesus, we pray tonight that all barriers to peace may be broken down and that love, justice, and mercy may be the keys to unity.
Jesus, we pray for ourselves and that the doors, gates, and barriers may be open and we may pray with loving and open hearts and let the Holy Spirit in.
Jesus, we pray for an end to violence of any kind especially violence committed against children.
Jesus, we pray for times of rest and reflection in God's Cathedral of Life and Love!
Jesus, keep watch over all of our family members who are vulnerable.
Jesus, we pray this night that all social service agencies may respond to the needs of the least of these.
Jesus, give us strength to speak truth to power and let justice roll down.
Jesus, take away the barriers that keep us from following you and walking with you on our journey together.
Jesus, replace judgement with love and understanding.
Jesus, give us glad and thankful hearts that we may have attitudes of gratitude.
Jesus, heal all those who are on our hearts, minds, and prayer list. Give them comfort and heal their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Jesus be with those who mourn and all those who have died or are dying. Giver everyone comfort and enfold them with your loving arms.
Jesus, finally we pray for an end to terrorism and acts of sectarian violence one and for all that swords may become ploughshares and spears, pruning hooks and that there may an end to war forevermore.
Lord Jesus we thank you that you are already accomplishing these things ! We pray lift these prayers to you in your Most Holy Name. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Family, I love you and may you find the doors, gates, and barriers that are keeping you from living life abundantly being made open for you. I give thanks to God for you this day and always.
With love and a heart filled to the brim and overflowing!
Sara
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