Divine Gardener, through whom beauty appears,
Open us in this silence to allow your life-giving power to enter us through each breath. Teach us to hold lightly any sense of your Presence. Increase our trust through the empty and dark days. Strengthen our awareness of the delicate and fleeting blooms of kindness that help us endure reminding us that we are not alone. Help us return to this emptiness often so that we can emerge full. Amen.
Holy One, who encircles us with light,
Bring us to a simple awareness of your Presence in this silence. Awaken us to both the stirring landscape and the deep quiet within. Lead us to the center of your purpose. Move us through the holy experience of finding everything, where we thought there was nothing. Thank you for shining mercy upon us all. Amen.
Counselor of the Exiles, who leads us to our true home,
Sometimes we grow weary of living in the tension of the reality we perceive and the future we hope to enter. Refresh us with this pause in our day, to take in to our beings all that you are providing and to send away from ourselves all that holds us back. Help us to listen more deeply to your silent song. Show us the creative threads you provide for us to use and then build in our hearts a place for new life to emerge. Amen.
Click on Short Film above to watch my son’s short three minute video, “Fiinding Welkin.”
If you like it, please click HYPE in upper left corner. Thanks.
Hidden God, whose depths are infinite,
Help us shed our outer layers in this silence. Uncover the stranger that is within. Living on the surface, seeing only what is visible, can blind us toward the very thing we need to recognize. Rather than the condemnation we claim upon ourselves and others, guide us to deeper truths though which life emerges. Bring acceptance, clarity and peace up from the sacred chaos. Amen.
Living Water, who flows over and through our lives,
Serenity spreads through our bodies as we soak in your silent Presence. Each breath releases a wave of renewal. Draw us to the source of your merciful love. Give us wisdom to live in the balance of emptiness and sufficiency. Send us out, today, so that the invisible is made visible. Amen.
Renewing Power, who brings all things into being,
Gather us toward you in this silent pause and ready our souls for this day. Cleanse us by your loving Presence. Strengthen us to enter into the unknown. Remind us that there is nothing in this world better than being claimed by Love. Use us in this growing season. Scatter our spoken words like seeds for generating compassion toward one another. Make us mindful that our deeds reveal our hope and commitment. Amen.
Wilderness Guide, whose journey invites us to unknown territory,
Use this silence to expose our resistance toward you, help us surrender our self-satisfaction. Soften our sharp edges. Make real the work of your love and mercy. Shape in us a new willingness to travel the path of humility. Bring the cross we wear on our heads this day, into our hearts. Amen.
Source of Brightness, who illuminates the earth in every season,
In the hushed silence of this snowfall, we attend to your Presence. Like the creatures of the wood, you turn us inward in preparation for the work ahead. Help us to move slowly through this day, taking our time to notice the details we thought were insignificant. Foster patience in facing our difficulties, deepening our experience in the sufficiency of your grace. As we yearn for peace amongst peoples, fill us with yours. Amen.
What is hammering at you for attention? Carole Crumley invites us to deepen our trust, come to the Gerald May Seminar this March.
By Carole Crumley.
Carole is Shalem’s senior program director. This blog was excerpted from an article in the 2012-13 annual report. If you’d like to read the entire article or other articles therein, please follow this link.
“Batter my heart, three person’d God; for, you
as yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
that I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow mee, ’and bend
your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.”
John Donne, “Holy Sonnets”
I recently stumbled upon a cable television art auction and was totally transfixed as the auctioneer placed item after item on the block. Evidently bidding was very slow that particular evening. The auctioneer, trying to energize his audience, began to hammer loudly with his gavel calling out, “Wakey, Wakey. Come out from wherever you are and bid on this piece. Bid on it! This is extremely rare!!! Wakey, wakey. This is…
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Janet Salbert 