God – Page 11 – A Quiet Walk

PRAYERFUL TUESDAY, Sept. 24, 2013

Posted on September 24, 2013 by a quiet walk

A PRAYER FOR PEACE

I have set my bow in the clouds and it will serve as a sign
of the covenant between Me and the Earth Genesis 9:13 (Torah)

This last past week has been especially disturbing with gun violence in so many places that I have lost track of where they all are. I can’t even be sure that all have been reported by the ever present Sad News Division of our national media. There have been simply too many acts of violence to report.

All I can do is offer prayers of comfort and safety for every person on the planet because I can’t name all the communities, families and individuals affected by gun violence this week. I don’t think that has ever happened before. One of my greatest fears is that massive gun violence, or violence in any form will become the “new normal” for our lives and we will begin to ignore these incidents because they become common.

Every day I pray to the Divine Spirit of us all that we will stop killing each other long enough to recognize we are brothers and sisters. I pray that, knowing that while my prayers may be heard by the Spirit there is little hope of them being answered unless we all of us, hear that prayer and yell “ENOUGH!” The killing will not stop until we, the people, say we have had our fill of guns in the hands of the mentally ill, of the glorifying war and banditry to entice our children into these acts as play, and of having our children shot, bombed, starved, and abused all for the glory of some pathetic so called religious or political despot. So today on this our Prayerful Tuesday I would like to offer the following prayer of peace, petition and intercession. It is called the Caim, the encircling prayer, a form of prayer used by early Celtic Christians.

Circle Prayer of Peace, Petition and Intercession

Putting Ourselves in the Holy Spirit’s presence

Circle me, O Holy Spirit;
encircle me with your presence.
Keep joy within, keep bitterness out;
Keep generosity within, keep greed out;
Keep wholeness within, keep sickness out;
Keep wisdom within, keep folly out;
Keep strength within, keep weariness out;
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep hope within, keep despair out;
Keep peace within, keep turmoil out;
Keep love within, keep self-seeking out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.

In the name of the Sacred Three, the Parent, Child and Holy Spirit, Amen

Prayer for those in my heart

Circle, O Holy Spirit, (name[s]),
encircle them with your presence.
Keep joy within, keep bitterness out;
Keep generosity within, keep greed out;
Keep wholeness within, keep sickness out;
Keep wisdom within, keep folly out;
Keep strength within, keep weariness out;
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep hope within, keep despair out;
Keep peace within, keep turmoil out;
Keep love within, keep self-seeking out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.

In the name of the Sacred Three, the Parent, Child and Holy Spirit, Amen

Prayer for Peacemakers

Circle, O Holy Spirit, those who work for peace,
encircle them with your presence.
Keep wisdom within, keep folly out;
Keep strength within, keep weariness out;
Keep generosity within, keep greed out;
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep hope within, keep despair out;
Keep love within, keep self-seeking out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.

In the name of the Sacred Three, the Parent, Child and Holy Spirit, Amen

Circle those who are victims of violence and injustice

Circle, O Holy Spirit, (name people and places),
encircle them with your presence.
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep strength within, keep weariness out;
Keep truth within, keep falsehood out;
Keep compassion within, keep hard-heartedness out;
Keep courage within, keep fear out;
Keep peace within, keep turmoil out;
Keep love within, keep hatred out;
Keep light within, keep darkness out.

In the name of the Sacred Three, the Parent, Child and Holy Spirit, Amen

Circle those who commit acts of violence and injustice

Circle, O Holy Spirit, (offer name[s]),
encircle them with your presence.
Help them to see the truth and to turn away from falsehood;
Help them to learn compassion and leave hard-heartedness behind;
Help them find the courage to turn away from evil;
May they feel your love in a world filled with hate;
Help them to see your light in the darkness.
In the name of the Sacred Three, the Parent, Child, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Prayer of Blessing
The peace of the earth be upon you
The peace of the sky be upon you
The peace of the sea be upon you
The peace of the holy Spirit be upon you
upon you and all of G-ds creation

The love of the earth be yours
The love of the sky be yours
The love of the sea be yours
The love of G-d, Christ, and Holy Spirit be yours
and all of children of the Holy One.

AMEN

Ruth Jewell, ©September 24, 2013

Prayerful Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Posted on September 17, 2013 by a quiet walk

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of G-d.

Namaste

In the last few days it seems our world has slipped another cog on its sanity wheels. There have been floods in Colorado, a devastating fire in New Jersey, children have gone missing, there are continuing world economic problems, people are dying in conflicts in the Middle East and South America . . . there are just too many to name. Are you as overwhelmed as often as I am?

Sometimes I just have to stop and find something that reminds me that I am not alone in this world of many sorrows. G-d walks with me through the pain and suffering I see all around me. It is important for all of us to remember G-ds grace is in all things, all people, every moment even if we are to frightened or too busy see that amazing presence. On this Prayerful Tuesday I offer to you the practice of Visio Divina, a visual meditation on something in creation.

Sometime today pause and find something to focus on for a few moments; it could be a leaf, a sunbeam, the face of a friend or loved one, or you may use the picture of clouds above. Pick something that reflects G-d’s presence to you at that moment.
Hold that image in your mind and meditate on the gifts God has given you.
You might take a moment to jot down any thoughts you may have for later contemplation.
When you have finished your contemplation offer your own prayers of intercession
End your time of prayer with a prayer of thanksgiving to the blessed creator.

My prayer for you this day is a “Prayer of Blessing” from John Phillip Newell’s book, “Praying with the Earth, A Prayerbook for Peace.”

Prayer of Blessing

Peace where there is war
healing where there is hurt
memory where we have forgotten the other.
Vision where there is violence
light where there is madness
sight where we have blinded each other.
Comfort where there is sorrow
tears where there is hardness
laughter where we have missed life’s joy
laughter when we remember the joy.

(John Phillip Newell, Praying with the Earth, A Prayerbook for Peace,
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2011, pg. 44)

May you find your moment of stillness and may it fill you with peace. Namaste

Prayerful Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Posted on September 10, 2013 by a quiet walk

Into the Wilderness

An old Hebrew root for wilderness means “to speak,” {dabar – meaning “to speak” is a primitive root of midbar – meaning wilderness, a place where you can hear G-d speak}. Those who traveled into the wilderness were outsiders, minorities, women and Judean peasants and they were the ones that heard G-d speak. All too often we believe we have to be on the “inside” to hear G-d’s voice, we must “do it the right way” in order for G-d to notice us and accept us. Yet that isn’t the way I’ve observed G-d work. It is the outsider, the minority, the woman, the one who seems to be doing it all wrong that is called by G‑d.

How often do feel as if you are on the outside? Might G-d be calling to you, inviting you into the wilderness, to hear the voice of the Creator? Today I invite to take this moment and breathe deeply. Breathe out your burdens, worries, your cares and the responsibilities that weigh on you. Sit in stillness and open up to G-d’s voice. G-d will take your concerns and tend to them while you rest in G-d’s loving kindness and grade. Breathe in G-d’s presence and love for you. Remain still for 5 or 10 minutes in your inner silence and breathe the breath of G-d.

My prayer for you this day is that the stillness of this moment will remain within your heart all day letting you see G-d’s grace and blessings in all of the days tasks.

The Peace of G-d be upon you.

Ruth Jewell, September 10, 2013

Fall Blessing

Posted on September 3, 2013September 3, 2013 by a quiet walk

Prayerful Tuesday
September 3, 2013
We are at that strangely wonderful place, between summer and fall. The temperature feels like summer, but, the air and light tells us that fall is just beyond the next horizon. The grand harvesting of vegetables is well on its way, with too many zucchini and not enough ripe tomatoes. Fresh Washington apples are appearing in the stores and those lovely peaches are becoming rarer. Oh how I will miss this summer!

But time rolls on to the next season and the joys of copper colored leaves and yellow pumpkin faces crookedly grinning at me from front porches. Each season has its own joys and Fall calls us to a time to celebrate the abundance of G-d’s world while preparing us for the rest and renewal of winter.

On this Prayerful Tuesday I invite you to join with me in reflecting where you have felt G-d’s presence in the past summer, how are you feeling the joys of G-d today, and what hopes do have for the future. Take just a few moments today and contemplate what it is that fills you with remembrance of pleasures past, joys of the moment, and hope for future renewal.

Fall Blessing

The blessings of sun and moon be on you,
the blessings of gentle rain be on you,
the blessings of earth be on you,
the blessings of good company be on you.
On you and all that walks this land
the gift of love and light
the gift of grace and spirit
the gift of rest and stillness
the gifts of heaven, earth, sea and sky,
the gifts of G-d’s abundance
on you and all creation.

Ruth Jewell, ©September 3, 2013

Prayerful Tuesday, Paying It Forward, August 27, 2013

Posted on August 27, 2013 by a quiet walk

Prayer Practice of Paying It Forward

Paying it forward is described as the recipient of a good deed turning and doing a good for some else instead of rewarding the donor. It is based on the idea that if everyone shared what they had the world would be a better place. Today, this week, I would like you to practice the “Prayer of Paying It Forward.”

Examine your own lives and identifying when someone gave you something special, helped you out when you were in bad place, or lifted your spirits when you were depressed. Let the memory of what they did fill you again with the joy of a generous gift. Now as you go through your day and through this week you may meet someone who also is in need of a special helping hand, a word of praise, someone to listen to. Offer to them a moment of your time, a word or phrase to cheer, or gift of physical resources without expecting acknowledgement or repayment. If they ask just tell them to “help someone in the future when they need it.”

Today’s prayer:

A Celtic Prayer

‘Maintain the right of the lowly,
rescue the weak and the needy.’
Psalm 82

Let me be awake to life
In my soul and in my seeing
Let me be alive to the gift of grace
of each person I meet
Let me be fully alive
Let me be fully aware
Of earth, of sky, of sea,
Of every human family
of all creations glory
Let this day be my prayer to thee
Amen

Ruth Jewell, ©August 27, 2013

Do Not Refuse

Posted on August 20, 2013 by a quiet walk

Hebrews 12:18-29 18 You have not come to something* that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly* of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ 27 This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (NRSV)

We come into a new Kingdom, one that cannot be touched, heard, or seen. A Kingdom built on our own blood, tears, and spirit. A Kingdom that cannot be shaken by fears, hate, jealously, ego, and greed, it replaces the old kingdom that failed to grow us in God’s presence and love. I, we, must not reject or fear to enter the New. God consumes the old in the cleansing fire of love and releases me, us all, to walk, no run, from the old and into the new. To freely become the being the Divine Spirit wants me, all of us, to be.

Where is this kingdom you ask? If I can’t touch it or see it how do I know it exists, how do I know I’ve arrived? The new Kingdom is not a place of buildings and nation states. No; this new Kingdom is a way of living, visible only through my, our, actions in the world, our prayers, and our relationship with God. It is a Kingdom of the heart, spirit and soul, held together by love, justice, compassion, mercy, peace and walking humbly with the Divine.

No one is forced to enter and all are welcome in this new Kingdom. People enter one by one, in their own time, and in their own chosen way. No one is forced to stay; all may leave and return whenever they choose. I have been in the Kingdom many times; I have also left it many times. Today I choose to enter and as I look back I see . . . You.

The Hardest Task

Posted on August 9, 2013 by a quiet walk

Morning Scripture Psalm 33:12-22

G-d fashioned me from the heart of the SPIRIT,
and all creation with me.
I cannot see the immensity around me,
only the little shelf I stand on do my eyes perceive.

I think my knowledge is so great,
that I no longer need G-d.
Yet all that I am is because of G-d.
All the strength in my arms
is worthless; all the knowledge
of my mind takes me nowhere.
I stand like a child on the side of a mountain
but see only trees, not knowing
much more lies beyond the next bend

I say “I see the mountain,”
I say “I understand,” yet much lays hidden
in caves so deep I cannot imagine.
I think I am so smart,
yet G-d knows how much is still to learn.

My hope for success has no future
without the G- d of creation.
Only the LORD of all
can grace me with life and vision.
Only when I open the ears of my heart
to the SPIRIT within and around me
will I find what my heart seeks.

I hear the voice of the Ancient of Days calling:
“Trust in the LORD, and rest in the SPIRIT.
Only then will your door to life and hope
open wide and your path made smooth.
Our hearts together will beat as one
and they will sing with joy.
The sound of lute and harp
will resound in our ears
and the taste of sweet celestial honey
will delight our mouths.”

All I have to do is trust, to rest, to give to G-d.
Why or why is that so hard?

Let your steadfast love, O LORD,
be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:22

Not Alone

Posted on August 3, 2013 by a quiet walk

Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Not Alone . . .

You are not alone
Surrounding you is
A cloud of witnesses
Cheering you on
Sending you
Strength and courage, so . . .

Let your burdens go
Drop them from your shoulders
Slide them off your back
Free yourself for . . .

The race Jesus calls
You to run,
Just as Jesus ran
So too you are called to run

Let your feet fly
Pump your arms high
Forget yourself
Carry the burdens
Of the weak and hurting
Let Jesus lead your on
As you let yourself be free to . . .

Give yourself away

A Prayer for the 4th of July, 2013

Posted on July 4, 2013July 4, 2013 by a quiet walk

Holy Spirit, as we celebrate our country’s birth I lift up in prayer the people in our nation who are hungry and homeless, who protect our streets, homes and country here and in far places, our President who carries the burden of responsibility to guide us and his family. Please keep all safe from harm here and abroad. I also lift up our elected leaders in our cities where they walk the frontlines of budget with less funding, poverty, hunger and homelessness, and keeping our streets safe. I lift up our state leaders who struggle with budgets that are bigger than state incomes as they make difficult choices about funding education, infrastructure, and public services. I lift up in prayer our national leaders who are in such conflict with each other. On this day of celebration help them to overcome their differences to become the effective leaders we elected them to be. I lift up those who come to our shores looking for a better life, help them to discover their dream and find friendship and love in our community. Most of all, Abiding Spirit, I lift up our planet and ask for forgiveness for the damage we have done to your creation. Creator help us find our way to healing our relationship with the Earth, each other and you. Amen