“As earth’s flowers need Heaven’s sun and dew — so our lives need Heaven’s grace and love to make them what they should be.”
O God, our heavenly Father, Mother, we need Your blessing and help. We are blind, and cannot see where to set our feet, and we need to be led by the hand of One who knows all the paths. We put our hands in Yours this day. Show us the way, for You know its every step.
Tell us what You would have us to do. You have a plan for our day’s life. There are things You have set down for each one of us to do. May we find these things, and may we have grace to do them all.
Keep us from being so absorbed in our own plans and schemes, that we cannot take Your plan and do Your will. If sometimes it is hard for us to take Your way, if it breaks into our cherished hopes and desires help us always to say, “Thy Will be done.”
We ask You to give us grace to live today as we should live. Life is not easy for us. Our burdens are heavy. There are temptations at each step.
Help us to speak only the words that will minister grace to those who hear.
Help us to be honest in all our business transactions.
Help us to be thoughtful and kind to all we meet.
Help us to be a strength to many. Let us be a discourager to none.
Please bless all of our work today. Without your blessing, there can be no true profit.
As earth’s flowers need Heaven’s sun and dew — so our lives need Heaven’s grace and love to make them what they should be.
Breathe on us , as we bow here at Your feet, and fill us with Your Spirit as we go forth. Then we shall be blessed, and be ready for a day of love and peace and joy.
We ask all these favors, with the forgiveness of our sins, in the name of our Savior. Amen.
Daily Prayer Guide 7/16/20 adapted
Have you ever read a blog and felt like having a conversation with your inner self about it?
I’d like to hear your thoughts after reading my blog, inspired by this blogger’s message, “http://www.beautybeyondbones.com/Covid-19 NYC, a city flatlined.”
The story in Beauty Beyond Bones captured the pulse of my prayers for NYC and other communities that feel flatlined by the Covid-19 pandemic. The author of the blog, a resident of New York City, said, “NYC flatlined.” The NYC that I know and love is a vibrant, bustling, spirited city fueled by the lifeblood of her people. Beauty Beyond Bones wrote about a current Pandemic view of NYC where empty streets, closed businesses and the uncharacteristic silence of a city mourning the loss of many people. I wondered if NYC flatlined. I’ve heard a variety of opinions from my NYC relatives and friends. Most people agree NYC streets are quiet, relatively empty and stillness penetrates the air. Yet, I find stillness can be a strength.
As a former NYC resident I imagine her pulsating through this second tragedy in two decades. Several years after 911 the city was filled with tension and restless anticipation of another tragedy. This is certainly an indescribable time in our country’s history. My heart goes out to anyone who lost loved ones. Sending my deepest condolences. I hope all who suffer find relief, healing, comfort and peace.
We are called to separate from friends and loved ones during crushing times in our lives. Many learned to pray and plead for God’s presence in ERs, waiting rooms, ICUs and wherever Social Distancing dictates. NYC is getting ready for this next sprint where she presses on toward the mark of her higher call. If, NYC and any community shows up for the race toward less contaminated fields without their shoestrings tied they could experience flatlines instead of a finish line. The prospects for success are shady without essentials such as, protective equipment, tests supplies and the means for processing Covid results.
NYC and other communities struck by the Covid-19 virus may appear lifeless or flatlined due to the numbers of deaths and sickness. It’s difficult to rebound when so many people are still sick and dying. But, the pulse of life is present and daily recovering. Many thanks for the nurses, doctors and others on the front lines rescuing patients and sacrificing their lives to do so. Let us pray they receive the highest praise by giving them a higher measure of preparation,k and tools to meet the challenges. We can prayerfully wrestle with this pandemic and win while we also embrace the hope of saving lives and our livelihoods.
During my years as a Critical Care Nurse in a New York City Hospital I wore clogs because shoestrings were not dependable in a busy surgical ICU. I cared for many patients including Arthur Ashe during his first Open Heart Surgery. He was young, robust, and vibrant. The standard of care was not compromised or threatened by a lack of equipment or supplies for patients and providers. I recall changing my mask more often during one shift than current nurses do in days.
In some ways, NYC resembles the heart. It’s always beating, pulsating, contracting, and relaxing. Prolonged relaxation without contractions may lead to lethargy. Lethargy May feel like you’re flatlining. Exercise such as marching in place may reduce that feeling, and add cardiovascular benefits. There are other risk factors.
Friends, the tenets of Florence Nightingale’s days during the Crimean War saved lives. She instituted hand washing and reduced infections and the hospital’s death rate by two thirds according to her 1860 publication, “Notes on Nursing.”
“I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.” (Florence Nightingale)
My faith inspires me to practice speechless praying while examining patients in my clinic. I would pray as I passed my stethoscope across a patient’s chest years before attending seminary and becoming an ordained pastor. The gap between Practitioner and Pastor was a wilderness experience. Some patients sensed my prayers and welcomed the feeling of calm and peacefulness.
If you or someone you know experienced the death of a loved one from this Covid-19 Virus then, feeling flatlined may describe your feelings. Give your self time to grieve. Others should stay in touch with you.
Love never dies. It grows deeper.
As a Nurse, I couldn’t fully process the deaths of my patients until midnight, the end of my shift. During my walks from the hospital to my NYC apartment I experienced NYC as a city that never sleeps. The pulsating skylights seemed to affirm these thoughts. “I did your best, and I trusted God to do the rest. Peace Be With You.”
These days, I write prayer prescriptions(RX) for anxiety, fear, grief, hopelessness, sadness, isolation, insecurities and more. Prescriptions (RX) are free, without risks or adverse effects, and known to benefit all. Prayers are powerful. I call the Higher Power, the Holy One, God, more often these days. “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on…(add name).
Let’s breathe and pray.
Spirit of the living God breathe Light, life, and healing in our lives. Almighty, strengthen our endurance. As we enter the Sanctuary of Your love, build our spiritual relationships with you, and your children.
Let this be the fast that connects us in spirit. Keep us safe. Let us tap into your Power that’s beyond our finite imagination. Help us use this power to serve You and Your will, O God.
Let us bear witness to the gift of faith. O Lord, grow the seeds of caring and compassion within me..
Let’s call You, O Holy Lover, the Great Stream of Light, the Almighty, and the Creator.
Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11 pm., by pressing the reset, and calming the toxic impulses.
We pause, fast, give and stretch our spiritual muscles. We open space for You are Holy, Almighty, a Love Supreme and the Beam of Light pulsating throughout darkness.
We pray, Lord, have mercy on those who are sick, separated, in harms way, and without a place to stay. Help us overcome invisible attacks, losses, feeling flatlined by heartbreaks and heartaches.
We give thanks for our loved ones, especially those who are no longer with us. Help us to live peacefully without them.
Help us to love, comfort and care for one another. Help us to do and to be our best. To trust You, O God will do the rest.
Let us park and pray at 1:11 pm.
Pray these words, “As You will O God, as You will.”
“Thank you God.”
Are you PARKED?
Let us park and pray at 1:11 pm.
Almighty God, we are parked in our homes, away from businesses, schools, churches, merchants, family, friends and foes. We are parked and now we pray.
Lord, we call on you to help us. We need your supernatural power to overcome the Coronavirus and it’s impact in our world.
Your Holy power is greater than any strength we can ever imagine.
Merciful God, increase our ability and stamina to withstand the risks of sickness and sorrow.
I lift up my eyes to the hills from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord. Ps 121:1
Our eyes are upon you, O God. Here our prayers and have mercy on us, we pray.
Almighty God, speak peace, calm the raging seas within and around us. We are parked in shelters, institutions and communities. 
Lord, arrest the forces of this horrific virus. Bend stubborn attitudes, disingenuous behaviors and injustices that threatens to interfere with medical care.
We are your people. We hear your call. We are parked and we pray.
Loving God, we look up to you for our help and strength. We depend on You. Holy Mother comfort and feed us. Holy Father protect us from harm. 
Holy One, breathe on us.
Unite us as your children.
Answer our prayers.
You have our attention.
Give us Your Grace, Peace, Healing, Love and more.
Have Mercy on us. Lord, we are parked now and we are praying now at 1:11, morning, noon and night. We cry ABBA! Hear our prayers.
In your Holy Name. Amen.
Next Prayer: The Prescription
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn…then I will hear from heaven and forgive…heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Is there someone in your life who needs peace?
This is what God promises and delivers to you:
Pray this simply powerful prayer at 1:11 pm with me in spirit.
Master Gardener, I heard some folks complain about the weeds in our gardens that ever so often wrap around our tongues, hands and feet.
Weeds interfere with our ability to be at peace and give peace.
Many struggle to release these weeds, roots of entanglement that kill the peace that you give us.
As one vice is released another one stands up against many of us.
It’s a constant battle to be free and at peace.
Master Gardener, hear our prayer.
Holy One, release all who are bound and at war.
O Merciful Peacemaker, prune our gardens.
Magnificent Lighthouse, shine your Divine Light on all who fear.
Shower your people with your Holy peace.
Thank You O God for giving us your everlasting peace.
In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
Remember God’s Promise
John 14:27 NRSV
parkandpray111pm.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/god-move-this-mountain-1.m4a
To the God who does extraordinary things through ordinary people. Give us peace.
To the God whose power is bountiful. Let not a virus prevail. Spread your love, O God.
To the God who moves mountains, raised the dead to life and heals all manner of diseases, conquer our fears and all that breaks our body, mind, and spirit.
Holy Spirit, that permeates every cell within us, cleanse whatever is spoiled. Strengthen whatever is vulnerable and protect whatever is healthy.
Bless us with a common love for you and one another.
In our Savior’s Name we pray. Amen
Very Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces much fruit. Jn 12:24
Sometimes death comes in threes. First, my Auntie Dottie left us peacefully. Her prayers calmed storms, moved mountains of doubts, healed, blessed and renewed our faith. She loved and lived to please Jesus. The Holy Spirit was her constant companion.
Second, Barbara Whatmough, my creative Prayer Partner whose art, songs and thoughts created a tapestry of divine glory to God. She embraced a peaceful sleep where “the Heavens declare the glorified God.” Psalms 18:1
Third, Cynthia Corry, my delightful and dependable helper suddenly went up to yonder. She often stayed behind to help pick of the pieces of our Good Friday Service, Luncheon for the Homeless and Fellowship Hour. Her smile was like a candlelight burning and leaving a trail of sweet calm.
Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11
God of Grace and Mercy, thank you for the gift of life and the promise of eternal peace. Make your presence known to us as we mourn the loss of our loved ones and also celebrate their home-going. We park and pray at this moment in Your Holy Name. Amen
And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. – John 16:22
Park and Pray is
Free,
No Meters,
Ticketless,
No expiration!
It’s Available,
No Limits!
It’s Proven,
It’s Harmless,
No Side Effects!
It Requires: A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N
Attention
Time
Talking
Effort
No Coercion
Total Focus
Investment
Open heart
Now or never
Faith in God
What the Lord Promises when you
“Come to me,
all you who are
weary and
burdened, and
I will give you rest.
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.
For my yoke is easy and
my burden is light.”
Jesus of Nazareth Matt. 11:28–30
O God, hear the prayers of my heart, mind and soul. I wait with mercy and thankfulness for your response. Amen.
What if you’re on your way to an unfamiliar destination. Maybe you’re fearful about getting lost, being alone and abandoned.
Do you feel like you are under watchful eyes?
The Psalmist reminds us:
“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalms 121:8
Prayer is a way to acknowledge and accept the Lord’s help.
There are many ways to Park and Pray. You may find yourself parked or sitting on a bench at a bus stop. Maybe you’re willing to stop wherever you may be at 1:11 pm.
At the bus stop you see bystanders, strangers and an onslaught of traffic racing around a rotary. You hear a melody of horns, tires screeching, babies crying and a host of multilingual conversations. You are distracted and confused by the commotion. Your peace of mind diminishes.
Yet, Spirit calls you to mindfully withdraw from the crowds and enter into a sacred space where God waits for you.
You lift up your eyes to the hills and you ask, “Where will my help come?” You are reminded that your help comes from the Lord. (Ps121:1)
So, you to embrace the Light and you feel the presence of the Divine. It’s as if a breeze gently touches and guides you. Feel the raindrops extinguish your doubts and shower you with calmness.
You’re on your way and you’re not alone.
“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalms 121:8
Let’s Park and Pray
Almighty God, thank you for waiting and watching over me.
Thank you for awakening me to your presence and for walking with me.
Forgive me for doubting your presence and your promises to love me and never leave me.
Lord, strengthen my faith and renew my hope. Help me to discern your voice, your messages and your will.
Holy Spirit inspire me with passion and patience to prayerfully watch, wait and walk with You always.
Holy one, may I always know your presence, especially when I am lost, feeling hopeless and abandoned at the crowded bus stops in our lives.
Receive my prayer in the powerful name of my Savior. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friends, no matter where you are along life’s journey join us in spirit. Park and Pray at 1:11 pm with us.
Check the menu tab for your name on the prayer list and for additional prayers.
I struggled with naming the title of this Reflection but writing the Prayer was a breeze.
Remember the movie, “Guess Whose Coming to Dinner?”
Do you remember the guest, the handsome Sydney Poitier, a poised, smooth, and debonair Black man who won the hearts of many?
Yes, but, it didn’t happen without a struggle.
Someone boldly invited him to dinner. Eventually others welcomed him.
He wasn’t the boogeyman or the big bad wolf who planned to “huff and puff and blow your house down.”
The guest was already equipped to be a friend, a neighbor, a worker and lover. The folks around the dinner table had to change their perceptions and ways.
Today, we are faced with unexpected guests.
We are challenged to reach across our tables and invite an immigrant father, mother, child and family to dinner. Pray with them and for them.
We are called to do our best.
Trust God will do the rest.
Let us Park and Pray at 1:11 pm
Almighty God we look to You for guidance as we struggle with a humanitarian crises involving guests who are seeking a refuge from life threatening situations.
We are grounded by Your Spirit, Word and Love. Bless us with the means and ways to honor justice and welcome our guests to a bountiful table.
Inspire us to welcome an asylum seeking immigrant family. Equip us with the tools to address their most urgent needs. Bless them with the righteous desires of their hearts.
Gracious and Merciful God we thank you for making room for us at your table. We are grateful to be Your guests and servants. Feed all who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
O Holy One feed us until we want no more. Until we can say and believe that, ” The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.”
We Park and Pray at 1:11 pm
In our Savior’s name. Amen
Falling Upwards
What is it?
Is there such a thing as falling upward?
Is it something you plan to do or is it an accident? What is it that pulls you upwards? What pulls you out of the weeds and close to the clouds?You’re far away from whatever holds you down. Enjoy it!
Hang in there! Hold on!
You’re standing on tree limbs of a sturdy tree. Look around you and now look 👀 up. It feels amazing!Do you wonder how you will get down? Do you care? What if you just stay up there for a while?
How does it feel to fall upwards?
It defies gravity.
But, it does not defy God.
Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11
Almighty God, so great is your power, magnificent is your strength and awesome your wisdom. You are amazing!
Gracious God, help me to find your peace in the midst of the weeds, the trees, the dark clouds and raindrops. Help me to feel your peace especially when I’ve fallen and I struggle to get up. May I hold and share your peace at all times.
Thank you for the blessed assurance of your presence. Holy One, I give myself to you, to safeguard, protect, build and lead as you please.
In Your Holy Name. Amen.
Holy One we give thanks for those who serve as mothers in our lives.
For mothers whose loving arms nurture, protect and support us.
For mothers whose footsteps we follow and shoulders we lean on.
For mothers who are shepherds of your people.
For mothers whose spirit continues to feed us.
We give thanks and praise in Your Holy name we pray. Amen
Hated by the world,
Sold for thirty pieces of silver,
Sweating blood in Your agony,
Betrayed by Judas,
Forsaken by Your disciples,
Struck upon the cheek,
Accused by false witnesses,
Spit upon in the face,
Denied by Peter, .
Mocked by Herod,
Scourged by Pilate, .
Rejected for Barabbas,
Loaded with the cross,
Crowned with thorns,
Stripped of Your garments,
Nailed to the tree,
Reviled by the people,
Scoffed at by the malefactor,
Wounded in the side,
Shedding Your last drop of blood, .
Forsaken by Your Father,
Dying for our sins,
Taken down from the cross, .
Laid in the sepulchre,
Rising gloriously,
Ascending into Heaven,
Sending down the Paraclete, .
Jesus the Innocent Lamb of God,
sacrificed for us, Jesus our Mediator,
Jesus our Redeemer,
Be merciful, Spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
https://www.cbmidwest.org/prayers/0307SevenLastWordsofJesus.pdf
Dear Friends,
I thought you might like this interesting quote:
“The destiny of nations lies far more in the hands of women—the mothers—than in the hands of those who possess power. We must cultivate women, who are educators of the human race, else a new generation cannot accomplish its task.” – Froebel
What are your thoughts?
Holy Mother of all living beings, thank you for Your Mighty hands that stretch beyond our imagination. You embrace the universe, touching stars and hugging our lives. Holy One, you help us imagine ourselves as an extension of your hands, heart, feet and spirit in our nation. Love Divine, inspire us to unite, love and share your bountiful blessings around the world. Empower us to be steadfast, to persevere and to resist the forces of evil. May we glorify you O God far greater than we praise ourselves. Merciful God, receive our prayers. In your Holy name. Amen
The WORD
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eye—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” – (Job 19:25-27)
A PRAYER of LAMENT
By Debbie Przybylski
Lord, I know that you are faithful over all things, even the hard, dark times of my life. Help me not back away from you in my time of grief. Help me instead to lean into you and trust you, even when I do not understand your ways. Please keep my head above the waters of anguish and my feet from slipping off the ground of truth. Help me see you in these hard moments and glorify you in my response. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
My adult son revisited his childhood book and he found new meaning –>
What matters most?
The fall or the getting up? ——->—>
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Nelson Mandela
Let us Park and Pray at 1:11
Holy One, you are amazing! You show up when I need you. You speak to my heart and soul. You give me strength to hold onto the ledges, edges and cliffs of life’s journey. When I fall down on my knees you welcome me and lift my burdens. Falling in love with you is an incredible journey. Spirit of the Living and Loving God fall fresh on me so I may fall up when I’ve fallen down. Draw me close to you so I may follow the Light of your Holy presence. In my Savior’s name. Amen
Glorious God who calls us to
Remember Dr. King
Calls All People to Break Free!
Fall on our Knees & Pray
Walk the Talk
Listen to a Deeper Way
L👀k behind and step forward
Wise God who guides and gives us a future with hope. Give us this day Bread for the journey is long and your people are hungry for justice.
Wait! What do you see? A Star? Red, white, blue and green? A wooden Cross? A chandelier? Candlelights, sunlight and our reflections? A Choir of witnesses?
Yesterday, we prayed as we lit a candle for each state that experienced incidents of mass gun violence in 2018. We prayed for our nation and world.
Did you know that as of August 2018 there were 268 incidents of mass gun violence in the USA? https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/charts-and-maps
Imagine, our nation held numerous Prayer Vigils and devoted more than 275 days praying for peace, comfort and an end to Gun Violence. God hears our prayers. God is still speaking. Are we still listening?
Candlelights eventually fade yet, a prayer is like an endless flame. We are called to pray without ceasing.
What if we lit a candle daily?
Today is Advent, a time to wait, watch,
When you Park, and Pray at 1:11 pm try lighting a candle.
Light a candle, watch it, hold it and imagine you’re holding a prayer. Ask God to “give you this day your daily bread” in other words fulfill your needs.
Seek the Great Light of God and allow that light to enter those dark places in your life and the lives of others.
God of life, Light of the world,
God of Peace and Protection.
Your presence is profound,
Your work is beyond our imagination,
You do impossible things,
Your joy is our strength,
You fill us with Your grace,
You give us ways to conquer our fears,
You heal our brokenness.
You lead us out of our wilderness.
Help us to be a candlelight in the midst of darkness.
Help us to wait, watch and listen for you,
As we listen for your guidance.
Teach us to trust and obey
Guide our feet, O Lord,
Restrain the hands that harm us,
Arrest the wicked hearted,
Strengthen the weary ones, O God.
Transform cruel and misguided minds.
May Your light burn bright in our lives.
In Your Holy Name. Amen
“And now I (Jesus) am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” John 17:11-15 (Scroll down to continue)
Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11 daily for protection, peace and justice for all.
“God, deliver us from evil.”
We remember with heartfelt agony those who perished in the midst of acts of hatred, bigotry and disregard for life.
“God, deliver us from evil.”
We remember with sadness the fatal shooting of two unarmed Black patrons in a Kentucky grocery market.
“God, deliver us from evil.”
We remember with deep concern for our former Presidents, leaders and public officials whose lives were threatened with hateful rhetoric and makeshift bombs.
“God, deliver us from evil.”
We remember with grief the 11 worshippers who were gunned down and 6 injured at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
“God, deliver us from evil”
We remember sinners and saints who touched our lives.
God, protect us from hostile acts and disregard for life.
“God, deliver us from evil.”
We remember acts of loving kindness.
We remember God, who calls us to love one another.
God, Love Divine, who welcomes our expressions of love.
We seek the Most High, the all Wise, Protector and Healer.
We vote, speak and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters.
We park and pray at 1:11 pm for all our neighbors.
We cry out and we rejoice in the Lord of Life!
God, whose presence anoints and lifts our spirit.
Merciful God, who delivers us from evil.
“For thine is the kingdom power and glory for ever.” Amen
Park and Pray at 1:11 pm
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27
Almighty God, as each day begins, help me to be aware that there is power in the peace that you give me. Help me to hold onto this power and peace. Merciful God, help me to resist any temptation, apathy or tendency, that may cause me to relinquish it. O God, I call you at 1:11 pm and I prayerfully look to you to renew my power, refresh, restore and maintain my peace and my neighbor’s peace. At the end of the day, may I rest and sleep in peace and gratitude for the gift of power and contentment in Your Holy presence. In my Savior’s name. Amen.
Dear God, thank you for blessing us with Aretha Franklin. Her gifted voice and powerful spirit continue to edify your name. Your teachings about love, respect, righteousness and more are woven in her songs. Her music represents a tapestry of life. Holy One, thank you for inspiring and equipping Aretha with a powerful voice, an instrument of love, peace, and healing. There’s no sitting still when Aretha, the Queen of Soul’s voice is heard. Her spirit filled voice propels us to rise, hold our heads high, reach beyond the sky. We remember her manner of praise in her life and song as an extravagant and awesome gift!
Thank you Almighty God for Aretha, who experienced your holy presence early and throughout her life. Her music reflected the times in which we live. Times when we shed tears and laughed with her! Aretha, the Queen of Soul, often grounded us in your Supreme Love, a Divine Love. Aretha’s life and her songs are also reflections of our joys and sorrows. Queen Aretha reminded us in her life and in her passing that still waters run deep. In the midst of troubled waters, there is hope. You are One Lord of all who is the Bridge, the Way Maker, the everlasting Savior who gives us Life, Breath, Pulse, and Passion. Aretha means Beauty; Virtuous; and Excellent! She lived her life as the Queen of Soul, who ministered to many souls. Aretha, the Queen of Heart whose music still tugs on our heartstrings. Aretha, gone but never forgotten.
Eternal God, receive her into your everlasting peace. In our Savior’s name. Amen.
It’s 1:11 p.m! Where are you praying?
It was a sunny day when I parked under this tree to pray at 1:11 p.m. Here’s what happened.
After praying I looked down and the ground was covered with blackberries!
I looked up at the trees above my head and I snatched a handful of this sweet fruit.
I looked up at the trees above my head and I snatched a handful of this sweet fruit. 
I stayed under the covering of these beautiful trees and I enjoyed these gifts.
I embraced the sunlight that pierced through the branches. I stayed and prayed.
Lord, I give thanks with a grateful heart for our time together. Thank you for your grace. Your blessings are unconditional and your love is boundless. Your Fruits of the Spirit nourishes the body, mind and spirit. Lord help your spiritually malnourished children receive you and use your food according to your will. Bless all with a constant flow of compassion for all your children. May serving you with passion be our first and last meal of each day.
Parking and Praying at 1:11 p.m. in our Savior’s name. Amen
Almighty God,
Giver of life and abundant blessings.
Give us reverence for all creation.
Give us passion to love what you create.
Give us respect for every person.
O God, be the moral compass within us,
That we may reflect your image
in our Savior’s name, we pray. Amen.
I needed a time to press the reset button. There are days when I need to restore the Peace that God gives us early, just before we’re awake. Sometimes in my haste to start the day, I forget to receive the gift of God’s Peace. Prayer is a way to receive the Peace.
