Day 147 | Thursday, 13 August 2020

Day 147 - Audio Version

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Day 147  |  Thursday, 13 August 2020
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 COVID update – 8/12/20 2:30 pm 262 with 106 in battalion 3

 A Beginning:
“God is at work. Light pierces the darkness. Love calms fear.  Joy tickles sadness.  Hope lifts up despair.  Peace disarms anger.  Kindness dances around hostility.  Music sings away troubles.  God is at work!  Rejoice!”

 A Prayer of Invocation:
 “Loving God, give us open hearts, as open and eager as a toddler's first steps.  Give us open ears, that we may hear your words fresh and wild, comforting and challenging us. Give us open hands, ready to receive a blessing and willing to offer gentle care. Loving God, show us the depths of your grace in these precious moments and in your holy Word. Amen.”

 A Prayer of Confession:
“Holy God, like a loving mother and a caring father, you seek the best for us, desiring health and wholeness, peace and justice for all creation. Yet we seek our own way, wandering off toward the gods of success, popularity, wealth or comfort. We look for immediate satisfaction, the quick fix, a temporary relief. We sit at the wrong table, ignore our troubling conscience and try to numb our loneliness.

“Teach us, loving God, that our true home is with you, that you have a place for us at the banquet, that you adorn us with the finest robes and place us on the right path again and again. Fill us with your deep and abiding joy. Amen.”

 An Affirmation of Faith:  A New Thing  (Isaiah 42:5-9; Revelation 21:5)
“We believe that the LORD is God,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
who called us in righteousness,
who took us by the hand and kept us;
who has given us as a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to
bring out from the prison those who sit in darkness.
We believe the former things have come to pass, and new things now spring forth.
For we believe the one seated on the throne of heaven who says "See, I am making all things new."”

 A Prayer for Quietness:
“As the world rushes by, O God, we want to slow down and find meaning in you. In the age of information, may we stop and listen and empty ourselves to find the simple and true message about your love for every human being.  Create in us a place that is not touched by the world that calls us to rush, hurry, consume and satisfy all our wants. Simplify our desires so that they become one with your desire for us. And when we are weary, give us the strength to find the quiet place that renews us for the days ahead. In your goodness, we pray. Amen.”

 A Blessing:
“May the blessings of God warm you like the sun.  May the love of Christ wash over you like a gentle rain. May the joy of the Spirit raise you to new heights like an eagle soaring.”

 Quote: “The best rose bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.” -Emily Dickinson