A Garment of Praise

When I read Ann's words last week about a habit being something we wear, I thought of Miss Anita from the church I attended as a child and where my husband and I took those first tottering steps together into the world of church life and ministry.  Dear, precious Anita, whom my husband will tell you taught him to pray as he listened to her quiet humble prayers; prayers which always ended in tears, always hers and often mine.  She requested the same song from our chorus book on Sunday evenings, always this one:

Put on the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness;
Lift up your voice to God.
Praise with the Spirit and with understanding.
O, magnify the Lord.

This is the year of Praise for me, and like Miss Anita, I will wear it as a garment, my daily habit.  I will put it on each morning first thing and try to be mindful throughout the day that it is about me.  I will place reminders about my home for those times that I forget what I'm wearing and why I am doing whatever I happen to be doing.  Reminders like this scripture which is now before my face multiple times a day ... placed prominently in the place where I find myself so often at home (but that's next week's post!): 


1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3



What are you wearing these days? :)

Praise

My theme for 2011-

PRAISE

As I pondered and prayed about what name to give the coming year, Praise kept floating to the surface.   Like bubbles in a stream it would appear ... fluid, moving, alive ... simply Praise the Lord.  Then I would push it down, searching the stream of thoughts for a different word.   Surely this wasn't it, shouldn't it be more something?  Like the names of other years-  Hope, Peace, Simplify ...

But no, PRAISE is perfect.  It is the word He has chosen for me because He knows what I need most this season; and that is to focus solely on Him and His Word, which will cause me to PRAISE  Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing in my life and in the world. 

Yes, this is the year of PRAISE here at LOVE living simply! 

The scripture I am commiting to  memory:

Psalm 145


A psalm of praise.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All your works praise you, LORD;

your faithful people extol you.

11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises

and faithful in all he does.

14 The LORD upholds all who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.


And when I ponder those beautiful, living words, how could I not praise Him?



Care to join me in  365 days of PRAISE ?  Leave a comment if you like to let me know you are joining the chorus of praise! 
 
I'll be posting more on this soon and hopefully a simple printable to record our praises.

If you'd like to join in with others who are naming their year, visit Holy Experience. 

Counting and Waiting

It is that time of year ... a time of waiting and counting down the days. 

"How long until Christmas?", is usually one of the first sounds heard in my home during the weeks before His birthday.     

And so we mark the weeks with our Advent wreath (One from another year pictured below, this year's photo coming soon.). 

And we count the days with an Advent calendar.  Little bags filled with a treat for each day (last year's calender photo below.) ...

And we prepare our hearts for His coming as we count and wait with what has become my personal favorite (though candy is certainly a tasty way to number the days)- the Jesse Tree .  Ann Voskamp, has made her Jesse Tree Devotional book available for Free, beautiful, generous soul that she is.  Visit Holy Experience to download this wonderful Advent book for your family. 

We read each day's devotion and then hang the ornament on the tree.  Last year my children requested we hang the ornaments along the Advent calendar line so they could watch the story unfold (a great idea if I do say so myself).  We had  had several opportunities to share His Story with our guests during the Christmas season when they asked about our "Story line" ... an unexpected blessing for us all!  

How do you count the days until Christmas? 

These are a few of my family's Christmas Practices, more coming next week. 
To join in the conversation or read other thoughts on The Practice of Christmas, visit Holy Experience today.

A Time for Rest

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  Psalm 62:5-6

Some days there seems to be no rest, physically or spiritually.  My mind is spinning with thoughts- of ministry, home, family, things I want to do, should do, must do ... My feet and hands are busy with those tasks that must be done in order to have a decent home and fulfill the commitments I've made to others. 

And some days all I want to do is rest.  It has been this way lately, too many thoughts and tasks makes one weary of soul and body.  But I was reminded by Him who gives us rest that when I pour out myself to serve the Lord, He will make sure I find rest when it is necessary. 

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31-32

So, on to the busy tasks He has given me, with a quieted heart now refreshed by knowing at the proper time He will call me away to a quiet place to rest with Him.

A Place of Quiet Rest

My world is often noisy, too noisy for this mama who just wants a little bit of quiet most days.  The children are seemingly the loudest on the planet, happy or no, they seem to do everything with elevated noise levels. The neighbors are even more noisy, and seem to gravitate to whatever outdoor spot is nearest my location inside the house to do their talking ... mostly vile, foul things that I do not want to hear, but  it is a vivid reminder to pray without ceasing. The barky dog who belongs to the bellowing neighbors is another intrusion into my quest for quiet.  And then there is the phone, which I dare not ignore lest it be a ministry-related call and not just another interruption to my search for a bit of quietude and rest. 

In this all too noisy space, I still must find a time and a place of rest.  I've had a long-standing practice of having my morning quiet time in the early morning hours after my husband leaves for his factory job- usually between 4 & 5 am.  The children learned long ago that the first hour or so after Daddy leaves for work is "Mom's Prayer Time" and the only interruptions to be tolerated are those due to illness or otherwise life threatening issues.  They do try to abide by this, though being the voiciferous children they are, if two of them should happen to be awake at even that early morning time, there will be some noise, but it is usually kept to a "quiet for them" murmur from their bedrooms. 

On days that my quiet time just doesn't materialize, I know that if I don't find at least a few minutes for solitude and rest, the day will not go well for any of us.  On those days, I try to find a quiet, absorbing activity to interest the children for a short time and slip away to a peaceful spot to read and pray.  Even 10 minutes of rest will refresh and renew this frazzled Mom to be able to once again face the noise and mess of family life and ministry.

And when even that fails, I do my best to rest in His presence no matter how much chaos there is all around me. 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1

And when I don't make some time for rest, and royally mess things up, which is far too often for comfort ... there is repentance and rest even then ...

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength ... Isaiah 30:15


It is then that I must run to Him who promises to give me rest- Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  Matthew 11:29

And isn't that what we all need, rest for our world-weary souls? 

Sowing Seeds

We planted beans in the garden yesterday.

Little fingers carefully spacing the seeds just so.

Teamwork was needed to get all those seeds in the soil.

Seeds are planted, now they need water. 

Other seeds being planted in little hearts as the water soaks into the soil...

And tonight, ready or not, there will be even more little hands, feet, and hearts in the garden with us.  As we sow more vegetable seeds in the soil, we pray that the Lord provides us opportunity to sow seeds of His Love into these dear ones lives, as well.

 

This season as we cultivate a garden in our community, we will be teaching others the skill of gardening, growing healthy food for those who are in need and to share with our neighbors; but our main goal is to sow the seed of the gospel into as many hearts as we are able.  For that is what He has asked of us, and those are the seeds that will produce the best fruit.  So, as we sow, weed, water, and pray ... we leave the results to God who is able to bring even our feeble attempts at serving Him to a glorious harvest. 

Not to us, O LORD, not to us

but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.  Psalm 115:1

Fast from What?

Fasting. I've been pondering that one this week.
We don't observe Lent at our church, but my husband and I have done so for the past few years. I was thinking about my lack of "giving up anything" this season thus far, oh I tried to fast from coffee (ha, don't try that one if you need to be focused enough to homeschool 3 girls, care for a wild and newly mobile one year old, write with any clarity and meaning, otherwise function like a reasonable adult), chocolate (my husband bless him brought me a Heath bar the first night ... ).

As I sat this morning in my prayer spot and prayed (whined) about this whole Lent thing and how I wasn't doing well, didn't know what to "give up" etc., etc. a little thought popped into my mind ...

Fast from negativity. No complaints, no excuses, no criticism of others. Keep those opinions to yourself if they aren't positive, even if they are true!

At first I dismissed that thought, I mean Lent is about giving up "good things" isn't it? But the thought was persistent throughout the day.

Then, I read Jennifer's post and I see ... maybe this year God wants me to fast from the thing that is keeping me from His best!

So, now that I've blurted it out for you all to read, and confessed my tendency to have just a tad bit of a critical spirit (confession is good for the soul, right?) ... I think the next few weeks will be a bit quiet for me, much to some people's relief. I'm sure some tongue biting will be in order, but I think we will all be the better for it!


I'll be praying this daily:

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

Pray for me!

Loving Like Jesus

Loving like Jesus sometimes just means "being there" for someone.

Today I received a call from a dear friend whose aunt passed away yesterday. Her passing was expected, she lived 104 (yes, really!) years on this earth and was ready to go on to a new life with the Lord; but losing someone we love is never easy, even when it is expected and we know our loved one is in a much better place. You see, my friend and her family have been loving like Jesus themselves, caring for this lady in their home, doing all they could to make her last days comfortable and peaceful, surrounded by those she loved.

I got a text message yesterday telling me she had passed away. I answered back- praying for you. What else can one do at a time like that? Sometimes (probably more often than we realize) praying is the very best way to love someone, because God knows exactly what to do when we lift our friend in need up to Him. He is what they really need.

After praying, at least in this situation of loving like Jesus, comes just "being there". As I said, my friend called today to tell me about the funeral arrangements. When I asked what I could do she said, "Please just be there. It will help me if you and your family will be at the funeral and then afterward come with us to the church for lunch. I'll feel better if you are there." Just be there, could it be any simpler? Just be present, show your support and love by being there.

Often, like now, there are no words to make things better, there's nothing I can do to ease my friends hurting heart; but I can pray, and I can "be there" for her, loving her like Jesus by lifting her up to Him and being there for her when she needs me.



How do you love like Jesus? Visit Holy Experience to join in the conversation.

Seek Ye First

He is faithful. He keeps His promises, every single one.

I was bombarded with the scripture passage Matthew 6:25-34 recently. I'm sure you know the theme of it well, Do Not Worry ... Seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

We hear that frequently do we not? But to live it, frankly is scary.

I'll be very honest here and tell you that as a little girl, I learned that Catherine has to take care of Catherine, because other people can't or won't. And while that is pretty much true in regard to people, it is completely false when we are dealing with God. He can and will take care of me and mine, if only I am willing to get out of the way and let Him. That's the hard part for me.

The scripture passage I mentioned kept popping up, in my devotional reading, in books, sermons, scripture readings, ... I'm telling you, it was e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.

Finally, I prayed, "Lord, I know what your word says; but how do I do this? You know our situation, you know the bills we have due, etc., etc." (I'm sure the Lord gets tired of all my talking some days ... Why I feel the need to explain things to Him I don't know; but that's the way it goes with me, I'm afraid.)

Trust Me was the only reply.

"OK Lord, I will trust you. I will seek You first, and trust You to provide what we need, which at the moment is this _______."

And He did.

Did money appear in our mailbox? No.

Did my husband's job situation improve overnight? No.

What did happen is that He spoke to the heart of someone else; someone who listened to what He said, and took their own step of faith to obey Him, because her obeying His voice would also require a sacrifice. Now she had to trust Him to provide for Her, too. And He does, and He will.

He is faithful my friends.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

If you would like to share how you have Experienced God recently, please visit Holy Experience today.

Amor Es

How do we love like the Father?

As I was pondering that question this morning, I picked up my Bible and perused the concordance for LOVE. Two themes seemed to be most prominent when I went looking for Love in the scriptures ...

God's love

endures forever



God's love is

unfailing



Those are tough, aren't they?

Forever is a long time. And being all too human, enduring anything unpleasant for even a short time is well ... apt to make me not as loving as I know I should be.



Unfailing ... let's just say that doesn't describe me ...



So, I know that to love like the Father, I will have to do what I must when anything good or godly is required... Let HIM do it! Only by allowing Him love others through me can I ever hope to love as He does. I must empty myself and allow Him to fill me with Himself, who is love.



Amor Es. That is the title of the song we sang in prayer group last night. Yes, in Spanish. (We are part of a bilingual fellowship, and are very slowly learning this beautiful language.) But no, I really didn't know the meaning of much of what I was singing at the time.

I did know that Amor Es means Love Is, but that was about the extent of it.


This morning I did some translating and was touched by the beauty and truth in the song. Here is my translation of the chorus (pieced together with the aid of an online dictionary):

Love is to give yourself in soul and body to mankind.

To live always serving, without expecting something for yourself.

That is exactly what God did through Jesus ... and what He still does today, through us.

I pray that like You, Father, may all that I do be done in love (1Cor. 16:14).

To read how others Love like Father, visit Holy Experience today.

How to Pray: For Beginners

Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life. ~ Jonathan Edwards

I agree, but in the beginning, the discipline of prayer sometimes doesn't come easily.

Thankfully, God knows and understands our frailty to even pray, and sends the Spirit to intercede for us.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27



O God, forgive the poverty and the pettiness of our prayers. Listen not to our words but to the yearnings of our hearts. Hear beneath our petitions the crying of our need. ~ Peter Marshall

Never let the enemy tell you your prayers aren't "good enough" for God. Think how delighted we are when our children utter those first attempts at words. I think our Father feels the same joy when His children first attempt to voice their prayers. Just breathing His name is enough to get His attention, and the blessing of His Presence.

Showing up is the first step. "I'm here, Lord." After all, it is communion and relationship that He wants from us. He already knows our needs ... He wants our time and our hearts!

Call out His name ... Lord Jesus. He will answer!

A Quiet Prayer

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.

Isaiah 30:15

Lord,

Today I wait for You in quietness and trust. You know my soul needs, my heart needs, my earthly needs. In You alone are my needs met, so I wait expectantly, joyfully for You to come and meet with me.

Joy...a net of love and my heart's cry

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. ~Mother Teresa



Thinking about spreading a net of love today...
There are so many stray souls, precious souls, who need to be caught up in love by joyful Christians and brought to Him...so, so many.




Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Matthew 9:37


Lord,
So many need you, your love, your salvation, your grace.
Help me, Jesus, to be joyful so that I may spread the net of love
for those lost ones, those wandering ones, searching for something...
searching for Love, for You; though they might not realize it just yet.

Lord,
Help me choose joy, when my first response is irritation.
When I spend Labor Day morning rushing from place to place, children in tow,
with husband searching for a place for a homeless man who asked for our help to lay his head that night.
When finally an available bed, and a promise to hold it is secured (Thank you, Jesus!), and we have just enough time to dash home for husband to change into his work clothes and drive the 15 minutes back into town to drop him off.
When I must assume the task of meeting the homeless gentleman and directing him to his place of shelter; with strict instructions from husband, as this is not the safest area of town... he'll call to check on me.
When not wanting to make another round trip home and back, the children and I spend the day in town, window shopping, running assorted errands...mostly waiting for the appointed meeting time.
When I arrive a bit early and find no one waiting, so I drive down the block and come back. No, he's still not there. I drive around again, being instructed not to park and wait for him...and I drive, and pray, and wait. Nothing. Frustration mounts. I've spent most of the day on this man, and now he doesn't even show up. I assume (and pray) he's found his own place to stay; but I am annoyed that he didn't even bother to come and let us know; especially after he was so adamant yesterday that my husband not forget to meet him!
When husband calls and I must tell him the news.
When after he gets off work, we go back to the shelter so he can go inside and check to see if perhaps the man is there.....no, not there. Irritation at the thoughtlessness of this man remains throughout the evening, interrupted by intermittent prayers...just in case something happened to him.
Where was my joy? Why could I not just do my part and leave the rest to You? I made the wrong choice...until that little whisper of the Spirit caused me to pray.

"Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul."

Lord,
Forgive me when I am irritated at the inconveniences that come with serving You.
For, it was You after all, that we were serving as we searched for and located a place for this man. I should be grateful for Your provision for him, even if he didn't take advantage of it.

How many times, Lord, did you make provision for me, only to have me choose to do things my own way instead?
And Your response to me? Not frustration or irritation,
but grace, grace upon grace, time after time...
how I still need Your grace, Father!

Help me, Lord, to choose joy,
when it has to be a conscious choice,
when otherwise my flesh
would yield up something quite less lovely.

Help me, Lord, to choose...
joy instead of judgement,
grace instead of griping,
to learn to live and love like You, always.

Thank you for Your grace, Lord;
for I am so very, very needful of it myself.

Thank you for the Joy that comes
when I choose to serve no matter the outcome,
because of You, for You, with You...
for in Your presence, Lord, there is fullness of Joy!


I pray that a multitude of joyful souls will spring up and go forth, spreading joy to those who need it most; and that those willing to choose joy, will be renewed, refreshed and abundantly blessed for their obedience to the Joy Giver!


Join me in choosing Joy today...for His glory, and for the sake of those souls who need to be brought into His kingdom?




To read more heart's cries today, drop by Holy Experience.

Building a House of Prayer

Building a house of prayer is much like building a house of stone or wood. Start with a firm foundation-Jesus; and build stone by stone...moment by moment, day by day, prayer by prayer. Your house of prayer will stand firm and be a refuge and protection for your soul and your family when storms of life come; just as a well-built home will protect you and your family when thunderstorms rage outside its walls.

Prayer flows throughout our house daily. From the first silent prayers offered as I wake each morning..."Thank You, Father for this day... I love You, Lord." Some days it is "Oh, HELP me, Lord!" because, though thankful for another day, I'm not ready just yet to face it.

As I wander into the kitchen and start water for coffee, I lift my husband up to the Lord, "Help him, protect him, bless him this day".

After he leaves for work and the girls resettle in for a little more sleep, I begin my morning time with God. I read from a devotional and the Bible, pray for my family and friends, sometimes I journal, sometimes I just sit and breathe out whatever is heaviest on my heart at the moment, and wait for Him to fill me...

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~ Edwin Keith

We pray together during the day. At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we give thanks for our food, and lift up other concerns, prayer needs we are aware of...not always, some days, a very quick, "Thank You for this food, Amen." is all you will hear.

I often get calls or emails throughout the day requesting prayer, and we lift those up as they come...
We pray with family and friends who visit our home, and have hosted cottage prayer meetings for our church family.

We pray together as a family before bed, a ritual started years ago, and one that the children will not allow to be skipped, ever. Gathered round on the living room floor, my husband reads a Bible passage or missionary story, and then we pray; each taking a turn if we feel like verbalizing our prayers. Some nights all pray aloud, some evenings one person or more chooses to keep their prayers between them and the Lord. But we pray together as a family, every night.

One room of our house of prayer still requires work...My husband and I struggle with praying together, just the two of us. I don't know why, we certainly communicate well enough any other time...but there is always this...tension there. It is something we must work through and get over; as more than ever, we need to pray together. I've read other posts today that tell a similiar story of the struggle to pray with a spouse... Join me in prayer that this struggle be put to rest, and prayer, pure and genuine, would flow freely for those who have this problem?


This is the cry of my heart today:

Psalm 86
Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Lord, your child is poor and needy...in need of You and Your help, even in prayer. Help me to continue building this house of prayer, one that trusts in and honors You in all things. I pray as I call to You all day long, You will be blessed by the outpouring of your child's heart to You.

Lord, I pray for myself and my sisters who struggle with praying with our husbands...help us, heal this rift Lord, break the strongholds that keep our mouths closed, and our hearts afraid to open up and reveal the cry in them. Lord, help our husbands also open up and pray freely with us.
Lord, as you have joined us together, husband and wife, one flesh; join our hearts in one cry to You. Amen

For more on Building a House of Prayer, visit Holy Experience today. Ann's grace-filled words will bless and encourage you.

Pilgrimage into Prayer ~ When Plans Fail

Pilgrimage into Prayer...

I read a passage in For The Family's Sake recently, in which Susan Schaeffer Macaulay described her frustration at finding a good time to spend in prayer, Bible reading and meditation during the years when her children were young. While reading the biography of Charlotte Mason, she learned how Miss Mason set aside "the best time of each day" for these practices. For Charlotte Mason, it was following her afternoon walk, when she felt "quite fresh".

For me, the best time of day is early morning. By afternoon, I'm often feeling anything but "fresh"! I usually spend the hour our so after my husband has gone off to work in prayer, meditation, journal keeping, and Bible reading. Those few moments of quiet allow me to spend time at the feet of Jesus, in order to prepare my heart and mind to face the day.

Life being what it is, some days just don't work out the way I plan for them to. Take this morning for instance... For some unknown reason, all of my girls tumbled out of bed as soon as the kitchen light flickered on at 4: 15 a.m., and were ready to start the day. I, on the other hand, was not! They always wander down the hall to give Daddy a hug and kiss goodbye as he is leaving; but normally all head right back to their beds for a few more hours of sleep allowing me to settle on the loveseat with a cup of tea and meet with the Lord. Not today...no, no, not happening, and of course, this was one of those "need quiet" mornings for me. Sometimes noise is just too much...noise.

At 6:00 a.m., they wanted to go sit outside and wait for Auntie to arrive with little cousin Emma, who spends her days with us now. From 4:45 when my husband left until 6:00, they were mostly in their bedroom...talking, jumping, making all sorts of odd noises, turning on the radio to the station that was anything but "positive and encouraging" for me so early in the morning. There was not a bit of much needed quiet to be found this morning.

I tried to pray, really I did. Yet, not only was the hum of activity from the children distracting, my mind was racing, thinking all sorts of disconnected thoughts; it was every bit as noisy inside my head as it was outside. Not a good way to start the morning, not at all.

What do I do on days like this, when despite my best planning and efforts, I fail?

On those days, I return to the age old prayers that have been repeated countless times over the years. Prayers that are not commonly prayed in the church realm I grew up in. Oh, yes, we all learned the Lord's Prayer in Sunday school...but I do not remember it being prayed in church...ever. I do wonder why?

(photo of church windows snapped during our weekend wandering)

The Our Father or The Lord's Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done

in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

And the others, the Glory Be and the Jesus Prayer; those I discovered in my own spiritual searchings as, with a group of friends, I studied the Spiritual Disciplines and read much on prayer.

I have come to love the simple beauty of these prayers, and return to them often...especially on days like today, when I am distracted and quickly becoming distraught!

Glory Be to the Father or Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,

And to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning,

is now,

And ever shall be,

World without end.

Amen.

And the one I feel the to pray most often-

the Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Some days I just repeat just 3 words....Jesus have mercy, Jesus have mercy, Jesus have mercy...for as long as I need to.

It is amazing how a few moments spent breathing out one of these prayers stills the soul and centers the mind. And they aren't just words, these prayers...not at all. Read them, pray them...they are powerful, beautiful prayers...ones that touch the heart of God, and change the heart of man.

For more on a Pilgrimage into Prayer, stop by Holy Experience today.