• Home
    • About
  • Prayer Diary
  • Daily Quote
    • Untitled
    • Archives Quote musings 2012
    • Archives, Quote musings 2011
  • Word & Image
  • Resource List
  • Books
  • Prayers and Poems
  • Spiritual Books
  • Archives, scripture
  A Prayer Diary

Daily scripture calendar

1/18/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Every morning I write a scripture in a weekly calendar; at the end of the year I pass the calendar on to a friend. Often the same scripture  appears year and after year; they are the  'oldies but goodies.' Others come are new ones that have caught in interest. 
     I don’t just open the Bible, point to a verse, and write whatever it might be. Most come from my early mornings readings: The Bible and The Divine Hours: A Manual for Prayer, by Phyllis Tickle. There are three volumes, “Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime,” “Prayers for Springtime,” and “Prayers for Summertime.” The Bible readings include Psalms, Epistles, Gospel, and Hebrew Bible. I start at beginning, read through, and then back at the beginning. This morning I read: Psalm 35; Ephesians 3; Matthew 20; and finished up Exodus. I don’t always read an entire chapter at one sitting, nor do I read every chapter or book of the Hebrew Bible. 

0 Comments

Begin with thanks

11/30/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture
Take a glance at the beginning of St. Paul's epistles and you'll notices that he starts with a salutation  expressing thanks and grace to the people to whom he is writing. Here are example from the first two epistles in the New Testament. 
   First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. Romans 1: 8
     I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus…. 1 Corinthians 1:4

    I'm not planning to start my emails offering grace but what if  I begin with 'Thank you'? No one would consider it strange. I think they would feel welcomed and invited in to consider whatever I had to say. I'm going to try it. 

0 Comments

Faithfulness

4/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15
 
As I read this verse from Psalm 86 this morning I thought, “Oh, that’s what I’m supposed to do, that’s what God wants of me: imitate God. It’s a given that I will fall short of the mark, but if I don’t try, then what is the point of reading the Bible, what’s the point of trying to lead a good life.
It’s a tall order: be merciful and gracious to others, even those I deem not worthy: don’t get angry at people in the news: love everyone.
The verse ends with the word faithfulness. The only way I can begin to fulfill this tall order is by being faithful. I have no power on my own, but I can embrace faith by surrendering to God.


0 Comments

Eternal life lived with God

1/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
​I taken on the challenge of reading the Scripture, Commentary, and Reflections (by Gail R. O’Day) of the Gospel of St. John in The New Interpreter’s Bible, (Abington Press, 1995)--all 475 pages of. It inspires slow, ponderous reading; nevertheless, my goal is to complete it in 2019. So far, I’m about ready to begin Chapter 4. 
    Today I’m pondering O’Days comment about eternal life in John 3:15:
 
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
 
    She writes: “Eternal” does not mean mere endless duration of human existence, but is a way of describing life as lived in the unending presence of God.”
    As I meditate on this idea of eternity as God’s ending presence, a sense of deep, timeless peace that is eternity coming over me; I could be in the moment forever; if something were to happen to me I would be at peace; worries and concerns, as well has joys and happy anticipations fade a way.
     The spiritual awakening in me is palpable when I shift from considering eternity as part of the human life cycle (Chronos time) to meditating on it as a way of being with God (Kairos time). I sense a leap in faith that is not of my own doing. 

0 Comments

My own Bible study

10/16/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
     Although I’m aware of the many benefits to joining a Bible study, I’ve decided to create my own private one. At the moment I don’t want another defined commitment on my calendar, nor do I want to go out to a meeting in the evening. The opinions and musing of others, therefore, will have to come from what I read. Plus, I want to get started now. In fact, I’ve already begun.
    I’m studying the Gospel of John. The text is The New Interpreter’s Bible, Each gospel section is divide into three parts: Scripture, Reflection, and Commentary. I started with Chapter 20, because I was drawn to Mary’s encounter with Jesus at the empty tomb. I’m planning to continue through the chapter to the end of the book and then start at the beginning: In the beginning was the word….
     I want to keep this study going at a steady pace, pondering and praying the entire way. I mention this because I have a tendency to rush and decide I’ve had enough before coming to the end. We shall see.

0 Comments

Child abuse at our borders

6/15/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
     Yesterday on my cottagebythesea blog I wrote about the child abuse our government is carrying out on children and mothers seeking asylum as they courageously dare to enter the United States through Mexico. I’ve posted it below.
     Here on this prayerdiary I want to talk about all the praying that’s going on for the situation. People are praying and I trust you who read this blog are doing so as well.
      That’s the first thing I want to say. The second is that as Christians we are called to feed the poor… what you do to one of these, you do unto me. That’s what Jesus tells, and whenever I need a refresher, which I do, I read Matthew 25. It’s all there.
      Finally, what about the law? Jesus told the man who asked him which law to follow in order to gain eternal life, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27). You can find a similar response in Matthew 22:37.
     That sums up Jesus’ entire message. Just a few phrases, with a chapter or two thrown in for amplification and clarification.
 
Here are this morning’s gratitudes:
I’m grateful I had the freedom to nurse my two children.
I’m grateful that I am sooooo angry that nursing children are being taken (grabbed) from their mother’s breast at our Mexican border.
I can’t believe that my gratitude has to do with anger. As I’ve written before, every morning my husband and I start the day saying what we’re grateful for. Those ought to be positive, right? And they usually are because isn’t that the nature of gratitude? Isn’t that how we want to live?
But this is a totally new concept for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), this separating nursing mothers and children. Separating is bad enough, but taking a baby from the breast? Child abuse is hardly a strong enough term. Is there any argument that says it’s not child abuse? I’m not saying abusive in some general, vague term. I’m using the full term: CHILD ABUSE.
Who are these people who physically carry out this child abuse? Border guards, men and women. I assume that more of them are men, because that’s the kind of job men have. A few may be women, but I can’t imagine any woman would grab a child from a mother’s breast. More likely the women border guards are probably in the detention centers comforting children and mothers.
I assume that these border guards are citizens of this democracy called the United States of America. How can these men and women stand by and be complicit in this child abuse? They need the job to support their families and they are powerless—the two go together; I get that. I also get that that is what German citizens said as they unwittingly participated in Hitler’s cult, which let to the Nazi state. And now, our the United States government, via the president, is requiring its citizens to participate in immoral and unethical acts against fellow human beings.
I’m angry but refuse to admit I’m powerless. I have to believe that I am a citizen of a democracy. I can speak out against this child abuse, but is there something more to do?
 


0 Comments

Elizabeth Warren Christian faith

9/6/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
     Did you know that Elizabeth Warren is a practicing Christian? Her faith was revealed in an article entitled “For Warren, faith is (quietly) critical to her public life” on the front page of the Boston Globe on September 3rd. I never knew this, nor I gather, do most of her fellow citizens. Those who knew are pastors of churches where she come to worship.
Evidently Warren is very private about her faith. She prays, reads the Bible, and follows Jesus. We have a little Jesus in all of us, she believes.
Recently, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Warren spoke on (Matthew 25:40).
     Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breathren, ye have done it unto me
 
“He [Jesus}is saying to us, first there’s God in everyone of us, there’s Jesus in every one of us—however you see it in your religion, that inside there’s something holy in everyone.”
 
     What a powerful public statement for us Christians sitting to the left of the political spectrum. An affirmation and inspiration for us to speak out about our faith. It is also a powerful statement for all people working for peace, longing to be compassionate, and who can see Jesus as an model of human good.
 
     It seems that Warren’s life, both public and private, receives its energy, not from ego but from God. The Jesus in her speaks and acts for the poor, the powerless, the disadvantaged, and the underprivileged. It is worth noting that Joe Kennedy III recently referred to Matthew 25 in his plea from the senate floor for health coverage.

0 Comments

Meeting Jesus during Easter Week

4/19/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
I love Easter Week, which begins Easter Sunday and ends the following Saturday, because Jesus feels especially present to me.
According to the Gospels, he was resurrected but hadn’t yet ascended.Jesus was still walking around, meeting two of the apostles on the Road to Emmaus, and showing Thomas his wounds in the Upper Room.
These stories encourage me to be attentive as I take a walk or sit in the Angel Room. Maybe I will meet Jesus, too. That’s what faith is.


0 Comments

Mary/Martha challenge~

7/9/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
I found myself in one of those Mary/Martha situations the other day. I was Martha in the kitchen; all those sitting there-- not helping—were the Marys. The truth is, I wanted to be a Mary and have some Marthas doing the work. That’s a human understanding of the story. Of course there is more, which I’ve been pondering for the past few days.
The Mary/Martha story is at the end of Chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel, which starts out with the commissioning, sending out and return of the seventy (or seventy two) disciples, followed by the lawyer asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, and the Good Samaritan parable, and ending with Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha. From world wide evangelism, to an example that everyone is our neighbor, to one’s personal relationship with God.
Embedded in this chapter is the Christian message: You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Luke has the lawyer responding to Jesus’ question.
He knows the answer and so do we, but following it is the challenge. Whether we are out in the world or sitting in our own homes, again and again we are called to renew our capacity to love.


0 Comments

My western view of art~

4/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The following is also posted on my cottagebythesea blog (along with a slideshow) but I want to add a little here. Just as I don’t read the Bible only as history but how that history speaks to me now, I don’t look at religious paintings only as history (of art), but as living stories with messages for me today.
    When I gaze at Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, I think of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will be the Christ bearer. I also ponder what God is asking be to bear, what God is calling me to do in my life.
 
     My observation is that Asians make up the largest group of tourists in Italy these days. It’s a good thing for the economy; they are the ones carrying huge bags out of the high-end designer stores on Via Tournabuoni. I’m talking about pocket books costing $2000 and dresses at $4000. There aren’t enough of us American to keep those shops open. I understand this—well kind of.
In museums and churches I notice Asians glancing at noteworthy pieces of art while intensely reading their guidebooks. For me, on the other hand, the history of western art, and especially the Biblical stories depicted in paintings, are deeply embedded in my mind and spirit. When I visit museums and churches I have an enormous back-history to draw upon, both consciously and unconsciously. It at these times that I am reminded of my superficial viewing of Asian art at the Shanghai Museum in 2003, and I am humbled.



0 Comments
<<Previous
    Contact me
    [email protected]

    Archives

    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Categories

    All
    55 Maxims Of Fr. Hopko
    Amy Carmichael
    Anne Lamott
    Art
    Assisi
    Awe
    Bede Griffiths
    Benedict
    Bible
    Billy Graham
    Blessing
    Bliss
    Bonhoeffer
    Books
    Breathe
    Brigit
    Call
    Canticle Of The Sun
    Celtic Daily Prayer
    Centering Prayer
    Christ
    Christian Life
    Christmas
    Church
    Cloud Of Unknowing
    Coleridge
    Communion
    Compassion
    Contemplation
    Contemplation And Action
    Contemplation And Action
    Cottage By The Sea
    Craft
    Cross Roads
    Cynthia Bourgeault
    Dad
    Daily Prayer
    David Steindl-Rast
    Death
    Death And Dying
    Desert Mothers And Fathers
    Desiderata
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
    Doris Grumbach
    Dostoyevsky
    Easter
    Edin
    Edinburgh
    Emmet Fox
    Energy
    Epiphany
    Ermetic Life
    Eve Kiley
    Everyday Simplicity
    Faith
    Fasting
    Father Maximos
    Fear
    Florence
    Food
    Forgiveness
    Frederick Buechner
    Friends
    Fruit Of The Spirit
    Gardens
    Gift
    Giving And Receiving
    Giving Thanks
    Giving Thanks
    God Moment
    Grace
    Gratitude
    Harold Rohheiser
    Healing
    Health
    Heart
    Hildegard De Bigen
    Holy Spirit
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Hospitality
    Howard Thurman
    Humility
    Humor
    I Believe
    Icons
    Incarnation
    Intercessory Prayer
    Intercessory Prayer
    Iona
    Iona Prayer Circle
    Ireland
    Italy
    James Martin
    Jeffrey M. Gallagher
    Jesus
    Jesus Prayer
    Joan Chittister
    Job
    John Baillie
    Joy
    Julian Of Norwich
    Kate Tristram
    Katherine Paterson
    Kazantzakis
    Kinds Of Prayer
    Kingdom
    Kyriacos C. Markides
    Laura Hillenbrand
    Lent
    Louie Zamparini
    Love
    Madeline L'Engle
    Maranatha
    Margaret Bullitt Jonas
    Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
    Marsha Sinetar
    Martin B. Copenhaver
    Mary Luti
    Mary Oliver
    Matthew 25
    Max Ehrmann
    Meditation
    Meeting Jesus In The Gospel Of John
    Meister Eckhart
    Midrash
    Ministry
    Miracles
    Mom
    Monastery
    Monastery Of The Heart
    Morton Kelsey
    Mountain Of Silence
    Moving
    Music
    Mystery
    Nature
    Northumbria Community
    Now
    Oliver Herford
    Oswald Chambers
    Othona Community
    Outreach
    Oxyrtynchus Manuscript
    Pamela Dalton St. Francis
    Passivity
    Peace
    Phyllis Tickle
    Pilgrimage
    Pope Francis
    Praise
    Prayer
    Prayer List
    Prayer Questions
    Prayer Questions
    Prayer Shawls
    Prayer Walk
    Pray Without Ceasing
    Psalms
    Raven's Bread
    Reading
    Religious Orders
    Retreat
    Richard Rohr
    Robert Frost
    Robert J. Wicks
    Rome
    Ronald Rolheiser
    Ross King
    Rule Of Life
    Sabbath
    Sacred Places
    Sacrifice
    Scotland
    Scripture
    Silence
    Simone Weil
    Simplicity
    Sister Madonna Kolbenschlag
    Skye
    Society Of Saint John The Evangelist
    Sol
    Solitude
    Son Of Man
    Spiritual Exercises
    SSJE
    St Augustine685a78b5bd
    St Benedict2e69d019b8
    St Brigid8a489d0d27
    St. Francis
    St Francisda1a8c4071
    St Ignatius97c6861c0b
    Suffering
    Taize Lent743fec0e30
    Talking With God
    Thanksgiving
    Theophan The Recluse
    The Reader
    Thomas Keating
    Thomas Merton
    Thomas-merton
    Thy Will Be Done
    Trinity
    Unbroken
    Upper Room
    Walking With God
    Walter Ciszek
    Way Of A Pilgrim
    Welcoming Prayer
    Wm Paul Young757e23b986
    Wonder
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly