Seeking Authentic Voice

Leader Creator God, we come before you- Asking prayers for those who Lead Nations Cities Churches Homes All known to you in the womb May we lead as you desire Leader Incline Your heart, O gracious God, and teach us to love Response May our heart be Yours. Leader Holy One, we come before you - a people who see in a mirror, dimly shards of lives broken, sick, poor, hungry hidden in our blindness. Help us to see as You see Leader Incline Your heart, O gracious God, and teach us to love Response May our heart be Yours. Leader God of Mercy, we come before you – Speaking the tongue of mortals yet Deaf to the Cries Anger Power Control Hidden in our silence Help us to hear as You hear Leader Incline Your heart, O gracious God, and teach us to love Response May our heart be Yours. Leader Gentle God, we come before you- Giving thanks for all our blessings the gift of life hope faith love family friends all we care for this day Help us to be Your Hands Leader Incline Your heart, O grac...

kathrynzj over at RevGals offers this Friday Five Meme: 1) What have been the benefits for you of social networking (blog, twitter, facebook, etc...) For me, like many others, there have been countless benefits - friendships made and or sustained, thoughts and ideas shared, prayers offered, hope and grace and kindness beyond measure. 2) Which medium do you use the most? Or if you use them all, for what do you use each of them? I use them all, although I post on twitter a lot less often than any of the others, and have only used Skype once. Facebook is fun and has reconnected me to lots of friends. But blogging is nicer because the posts are longer, more reflective, or at least more informational. Plus I'll blog with folks I don't know but I don't facebook or twitter with people I don't know. 3) If you could invent a networking site (with no limits on your imagination), what would it provide? What would it not provide? yeah, no ideas here....but I'm sure someone w...

My husband does not like this new pink blogskin. It's too pink, he says. And he didn't like the first photo I had in the header...although it too was of a sunset it was too busy with the busyness of the skin. (Can you tell that my husband use to work in graphic arts?)...So I explained to him that I wanted something sort of "Valentine's Day-like" and that I tend to change the skin for the season...I actually like the skin, I am kind of a romantic at heart and love old textures - this reminds me of some old wall paper that one would find in a fine old house... quality-fine. My skin is going through some changes too. As I approach my 53rd birthday, just a few weeks away, I am keenly aware of the changes happening to my skin. First of all, despite the fact that I exercise a fair amount, my skin is sagging. Secondly, I have gained weight, so I have more skin. Mind you, my weight is still ok - but I'm not the thin lean woman I always was...now I just look middle age...

Yesterday I preached and Presided at Back in the Saddle Church. it was not my best sermon - not bad - just could have used some more development. But as happens, sometimes, I was really busy last week. Seems everything I had to do in January landed on Sat. Jan. 23. I had the sermon to write and a reflection for the Ft blog, the Preacher Party to host, and a phone interview for a potential new call. Add to that some family drama with a 17 year old child (teenage years are synonymous with "drama"....). Still, the sermon was received well enough considering I suggested that we consider Christians, Jews, and Muslims as the body of God and that we focus our evangelism toward those who have no faith tradition. (Of, course that is a wide open field these days...the unchurched, or dechurched). But mostly yesterday was a fun day at church. Lots of laughing and sidebar silliness between the clergy staff, the altar party, and even members of the congregation. It is a fun church, "B...

Holy and Gracious God, speaking into our lives May we hear, deeply, may You sound-through us May we be your body, hands, feet, heart Reaching out to others may we extend your love. Inbreaking God, stir us, we pray To care for the broken, Hungry, needy, sick, bereaved, And all who have lost their way. Stillspeaking God, whisper to us in the silence That we may quietly hear you and Gently follow. Stillspeaking God Shout us out of our illusions. God of mercy, lead our leaders Nations, cities, houses of worship, Houses of people, lead all with mercy That we, all, may be merciful as you. God of compassion, through your Holy Spirit Forgive us, redeem us, restore us, teach us, fill us. Incarnate God, divine and human Body and spirit, us and you One, all, thankful hearts This day and every day. Amen. Crossposted on RevGalBlogPals and RevGal Prayer Pals

Geraldine Brooks was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal where she covered the wars in Bosnia, Somalia, and the Middle East. She is also a Pulitzer Prize winning author for the book, “March.” Her latest novel, “People of the Book” tells a story of intrigue and mystery similar to the DaVinci code. The subject of the novel is an ancient haggadah. A haggadah is a book that tells the story of the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt, led by Moses, Aaron and Miriam, through the Red Sea. It is the Passover story told each year on the eve of Passover at the Jewish Seder meal. Brooks crafted this story of fiction on the few details that are known about the famous Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illustrated 500 year old manuscript that somehow travelled from Spain to Vienna and eventually to Sarajevo. It survived the book burnings of the Inquisition, two world wars and the book burnings of the Nazi’s, and the war between Bosnia and Croatia. It’s a story of how three religions, Judais...

Songbird, over at RevGals, offers this Friday Five Meme: 1) What was the mode of transit for your last trip? My most recent long distance trip was from SE Arizona to Chicago and back. I drove by myself and made the round trip in a week. On the way there I drove straight through, stopping only for a four hour respite at a security-safe rest stop an hour east of Amarillo Texas. I was motivated to drive straight through because my daughter's dog, was in the car with me - I was taking him home to her....the drive back was a bit more leisurely.... 2) Have you ever traveled by train? Yes. I love train rides, except for the numerous stops and delays. My husband, kids, and I took the train from Chicago to Detroit for a family wedding about 15 years ago. I've taken the train several times from Chicago to Minneapolis and from Chicago to Southern Illinois University when I was in college in the '70's. And, of course, living in Chicago for 35 years I often travelled by "El...