Lifter of Souls, who brightens this day,
Open in us new space to take in your love. Awaken us to the invitation of traveling creatively through our circumstances. Bring us to consider what is needed by the ones beside us and amongst us. Rebuild and repurpose our lives to be vehicles that deliver new patterns of relationship offering hopefulled acceptance that heals the broken hearted. Make this day ever more beautiful through the gentle strength of your love and peace. Amen.
Beam of Blessing, who sends sparkles of light into every moment,
Our first morning breath, as we attend to the fullness of your Presence, gives us focus. Our hearts fill with gratitude by the way your creation nurtures us each day and yet, is often overlooked when there is much imperfection in our world. It is easy for us to find the broken branches, the shadows and woundedness in our midst. Help us to not only see from fresh perspectives but to act with renewed hope. Strengthen us to persevere and give us eyes of grace to see the beauty that is emerging in difficult places. Amen.
Giver of Patience, who waits tirelessly for our response,
We live in a world that overlooks and rejects too many, while you are the One who makes us acceptable. We pause midday to take a chance and sit with you. Use the slowing of the crickets, the drifting clouds in the clear sky and perhaps, something like this tire swing to remind us to attend to your Presence. Inspire us by your Spirit nudging us toward taking actions that bring wholeness. Let us be moved by the flow of your mercy and grace. Refresh us with both the exhilaration of new possibilities and a full sense of trust in our sacred connectedness with others. Deepen our experience of this day, as we wait with you and beside you for a new season to arrive. Amen.
Wisdom of the Ages, whose desire is fullness of life,
Enlighten our hearts with your Presence. As we become aware of our breath and pulse, unify our bodies and souls. It is awesome to consider the vast expression of human vibration. It is beyond our comprehension how granite mountains can be so still and yet so alive. Even a single drop of water can carve a stone. And when we stand before the mystery of death, compassion overflows and somehow life arises from despair. You make all things possible through your transforming Love. Amen.
Holy Mystery, who is actively releasing energy into the work of this day.
Use this time of silence as a mirror for our souls. Soften the light around the fissures and imperfections so that we realize how often those cracks are the very places of our hidden joy. Help us remain confined long enough to see what new color emerges from the shadows of our stories. As the sun heads toward the horizon, fill our tables with the fruit of these blessings to sustain us through the night ahead. Amen.
Peaceful Presence, who deepens the promise found in our hearts,
As the day draws to a close, we take a moment of solitude to let our minds rest. Rather than increasing our anxiety to find what we perceive is missing, help us to learn that we cannot seek outside ourselves what is waiting to be found within. Open us to accept and befriend even any interior negativity we notice. Soften our hardened places and give us the kind of flexibility that moves us to new understanding. As the layers of our souls unfold and emerge, reveal this new growth in our relationships with you and one another. Amen.
Whispering Wind, whose language unifies us across boundaries and borders,
As this morning begins with the tending of kitchen fires, we pause to listen for the gift of softly cooing hens or the quiet rush or river water, any sound that creates a desire in our hearts to turn toward your Presence. Make it our intent to be open to new learning in our work and play. Use the voices of others to help us to see the poverty of our ways. Transform our experience to encounter your many riches in place we thought poor. Amen.
Creator of Love, who inspires passion for living and serving,
Use this silent moment, giving us pause to consider the canvas of this new day. With each breath, fill us with promise for the fullness that is ahead. Thank you for providing for us and inviting us to live creatively. Use our words, like paint on the palate, to create light and shadow naming the reality in front of us. Give us courage to see truth and express ourselves in life giving ways, each a paintbrush that illuminates the need for one another in community. If one brushstroke goes beyond alignment, use it to become the foundation for an element of focus and beauty in our midst. Remind us there is no failure in love. Amen.
Sustainer of Grace, whose wisdom is found in the rhythms of the earth,
Draw us toward your active Presence as we set our intent for this day. No matter what is needed, move us away from self sufficiency to surrender. In each encounter and circumstance, open us to notice your beauty and truth. Use the interruptions to simplify our efforts to only that which is essential. Fill us with the kind of gratitude that reaches out to support those around us. When the day is over, help us to rest satisfied in all that You accomplished to bring your creation to new wholeness. Amen.
Giver of Mercy, who releases us to live anew,
Use our resistance to Silence to bring us to acknowledge how often we try to avoid your grace, how often we close ourselves from your love. Gently open us this day, to you and those who dwell in our midst. Bring us to new places of acceptance, letting go of all that is unnecessary. Strengthen us to new flexibility especially as we deal with conflict. Magnify the radical way that kindness works toward peace in places of opposition. Amen.
Janet Salbert 