February thanksgiving prayer

Thank you God

for the noticeably lengthening days

the lighter mornings and evenings

and the sense of expectation

from the sense of edging slowly towards the cusp of spring.

As the dark days of winter recede

we see the promise of spring

in the budding bulbs

popping up in the still cold earth.

For your faithfulness

shown in the rolling round of the seasons

we give you thanks.

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A prayer for Lent

It is my Lent to break my Lent,

To eat when I would fast,

To know when slender strength is spent,

Take shelter from the blast

When I would run with wind and rain,

To sleep when I would watch.

It is my Lent to smile at pain

But not ignore its touch.

It is my Lent to listen well

When I would be alone,

To talk when I would rather dwell

In silence, turn from none

Who call on me, to try to see

That what is truly meant

Is not my choice. If Christ’s I’d be

It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.

-Madeleine L’Engle  

Enfolding

God to enfold me

God to surround me

God in my speaking 

God in my thinking 

God in my sleeping

God in my waking

God in my watching

God in my hoping

God in my life

God in my lips

God in my hands

God in my heart

God in my sufficing

God in my slumber

God in mine ever living soul

God in mine eternity

- Ancient Celtic Prayer

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A prayer for the beginning of Lent

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your loves sake. Amen." 

(Book of Common Prayer)

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Prayer for before a nativity play..

Today we praise you father God

in words and in music

and through the creative retelling of

the old familiar Christmas story.

This is a story we have heard from childhood

a story that has become part of us through repetition

It is a very familiar story

yet still we find we wonder and praise God

at the immensity of the story behind the tales of shepherds, angels and kings.

It is the story of the mighty God, the creator of heaven and earth

coming to earth in unbelievable vulnerability

as a baby

born in an insanitary and dangerous place and time

in a borrowed cowshed

where danger lurked in the shadows cast by Herod and Rome.

And as we ponder on this amazing initiative by God

we realise that this is always the way that God works:

coming in seeming weakness

speaking through the small and vulnerable.

God's way is a path that is often difficult for us to follow

for it goes against the accepted ways of the world:

The path of following Jesus

brings great reward but does not promise an easy journey.

Written by me December 2015

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Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool,
To weep is to risk being called sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.
To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure

But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Chained by his certitude, he is a slave; he has forfeited his freedom.
Only the person who risks is truly free.

An inspirational piece of writing by Janet Rand.

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Love yourself too...

"Love is the centre and the core of everything, and that Self is the place where all love must begin. Those who love others grandly are those who love themselves grandly. Those who have a high toleration and acceptance of others are those who have a high toleration and acceptance of themselves. You cannot show another a part of you that you cannot show yourself. Therefore, begin where all growth, where all evolution, where all love must begin: with the person in the mirror.

Will you not love yourself grandly today? For the world's sake?"



Neale Donald Walsch

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summer prayer

Under the warmth of the summer sun
the world awakes and blossoms into every imaginable color.
You created a garden for us to enjoy
and within it planted the most magical of flower and trees.
You needed no horticultural training to plan your color scheme,
no gardening expert to recommend variety or design.
Your garden is perfect its colors harmonious its scale immense
spoilt only by the clumsiness of those who tend it.

Creator God who breathed this world into being
who is discernible within the harmony of nature,
the perfection of a butterfly's wing,
the grandeur of a mountain range,
and the soaring eagle and humming bird,
thank you for this world which you have created.
Thank you for summer sun which reminds us
that your creative breath is still alive and active.
Thank you for the warmth of your love
sustaining this world: your garden.
- John Birch, Summer prayer

Glory

Glory to you for flowing air.
Glory for light beyond compare.
Glory for water as it flows.
Glory for soil and all that grows.
Glory for life and love and birth.
Glory to you, Lord of the Earth. 

- David Adam,' The Open Gate: Celtic Prayers for Growing Spiritually'

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Summer prayer

Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation,
create in me a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.
Amen

- Summer prayer from ‘Ignatian spirituality’

 Image "Yellow Cosmos Flower And Blue Sky" courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net