Saturday, April 29, 2017

Dear God,

Whose song are we singing?  Are we singing our own song, one of self importance?  Are we singing our nation's song, one of arrogance, a "we are better than everyone else" song?  Or are we singing the Lord's song?

When I sing my own song, it is a small, measly song about me, me, me.  I may sing a song of irritation or anger, about something I don't like.  I sometimes sing a song about my own way.  Or I may sing a song of ignorance about things when I don't have all the facts.  In any case, my song really doesn't amount to much.

Our nation's song may rally us together but if our song lifts us up and pushes others down, what kind of sad song are we singing?  If we sing the Lord's song together, we will lift up all the nations because we will recognize and acknowledge that every nation is loved by you.

Your song brings peace, hope, and redemption.  Your song is beautiful, glorious.  Your song brings healing and wholeness.  It spreads love, mercy, and compassion.  Your song is the only song to sing!

Blessed God,
thank you
for allowing us
to sing
your song.
Thank you
for a song
to sing.
Praise to you,
Almighty God.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 28, 2017

Dear God,

St. Therese of Lisieux experienced a vast darkness in her spiritual life much like Mother Teresa.  Although the darkness was profound, difficult, and painful they trusted you through it in order to find the light.

We all experience times of darkness, O Lord.  We feel lonely, sad, and frightened.  In those moments we question and doubt our relationship with you.  We wonder how we could be trapped in the darkness seemingly without your warm light.

Your son called himself "the light of the world."  As we rely on your revealing light in the darkness, we struggle; at the same time, we trust in you to guide our way, to show us the way, and to reveal the way. 

Holy God,
make your way plain,
we pray.
Let your light shine.
Forgive us
when we
cry out
in darkness
and fail
to trust.
Galvanize us
in faith,
we ask.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Dear God,

Joy fills us when we express gratitude.  When we are grateful for spring flowers blooming, compassion offered in times of sorrow, and insights coming in perplexing situations, appreciation begins to fill us and joy is a natural outflow.  The two, gratitude and joy, go hand in hand.

Whenever we feel low, depressed, or blue, we can always find something to be grateful for like faith, courage, a smiling child, a warm bed, a gesture of kindness and all these can take us to the well of joy.  Our conversion from sadness to joy is a divine gift, one that rises up from your hand.

How many times have we dwelled in darkness only to find the light there with us?  Every time joy warms us from the inside out.  We realize the darkness does not have to hold us captive because light is there to radiate within us.  When we feel ourselves grateful, joy has a chance to change us.  Such transformative moments take us right back to you and we are grateful!

Blessed God,
thank you
for all
your gifts.
Thank you
for touching
our lives
and making us whole.
Thank you
for gratitude
that leads us
to joy
and joy
that leads us
to you.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Dear God,

Why do we threaten one another?  Why do we attempt to take that which is not ours?  Why do we ruin, hinder, and terrorize each other?

Our world seems bent on destroying itself!  We behave as bullies horrifying the most vulnerable people.  We act as evil doers determined to hurt others!  We forget we have been made in your image.  We ignore your commandment to love one another.  We manipulate the truth to serve ourselves.  We set aside the reality that we are your children, loved by a heavenly father.

Forgive us, Lord; forgive us.  Show us the way to love, grace, and mercy.  Remake us anew.

We have failed
to love you
and failed
to love
one another.
We deserve
to be cursed
but by
your own word
we are loved.
Refresh our spirits,
return us home,
to the
father's house
so we
may remember
our first love.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Dear God,

Your power is great, Almighty God.  You make the sun to shine, the rain to fall, the temperature to rise.  You make the seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.  You breathe air into the world.  You make your creatures, great and small.

You give us your power to become, to transform, and to be.  You set us free to roam this world and make our mark.  You release your love, grace, and mercy into all your children.  You make us smile, hope, and serve.

Help us, O Lord, realize the power of your gifts!  Help us see the truth that sets us free!  Help us share your gifts with all creatures and all creation!

Blessed be
your name
for all eternity!
Blessed be
our God
who makes us!
Blessed be
the one
and only God
who loves.

Always yours, Andrea

Monday, April 24, 2017

Dear God,

When I listen with my eyes, I rely only on what I see.  When I listen with my ears, I rely only on what I hear.  But when I listen with my heart, I can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

You gave us five senses because you knew our world would open wide and deep.  We would be able to know you in so many ways.  We would be able to detect the slightest movement of your Holy Spirit.  You could speak and we could acknowledge.  The gift of human senses is a gift of your living power, a tool of divine communication.

This morning as I began my devotional reading, I prayed in dedication of all I would read.  I wanted to draw close and listen with my whole heart. I discovered I could listen better if I quieted down and put all my senses on alert.  When I did so, I simply smiled finding you ever so close.

Blessed Lord
and Heavenly Father,
thank you
for your
amazing gifts!
You are God;
there is none
like you.
Thank you
for divine inspiration
that came
this morning.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Dear God,

Reading from St. John's account of the resurrection, I wonder if Mary Magdalene would have seen Jesus sooner if she had not been so focused on the removal of the stone from the tomb.  It was only when Jesus called her name, she turned and recognized the Lord.

Oh, how often we get fixed on something and fail to look upon the face of our Lord!  We get distracted by so many things and we forfeit blessed reunions with Christ.  It is only when he calls our name or nudges us do we pause, turn, and witness the God of our faith.

This morning I am grateful Mary did recognize him, did go running to tell her story, and did convince others of the resurrection.  Her faith in you, her love for you, and her desire for the master all began rolling away the stones in all future disciples' lives.  Blessed be the name of Mary Magdalene, a mother to all pilgrims searching for Jesus.

Thank you,
O Holy One,
for the gift
of Mary Magdalene.
Thank you
for her witness
and the way
her story
keeps being told.
Thank you
for rolling away
our stones,
letting in
fresh air,
and calling us out.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Dear God,

Your spirit is always present wherever we find ourselves.  We may feel alone, lost, or lonely and in that place we discover your nearness.  We may be on a journey from one place to another and find you beside us. Or we may be far from home and know you are with us.  No matter where we are you are a very living presence.

This morning we left for Maine.  We traveled through Indiana, Ohio, and into Pennsylvania.  Every road produced displays of your creation.  Each new city, town, and village brought you to mind. Although we were thinking of family we left behind with troubles, loss, and hospitalization, you came to us reminding us we are never far from you.  

There is nothing more important in life than walking with you, O Lord.  There is nothing greater than a relationship with you.  There is no joy more wonderful than the joy of knowing you.

Thank you
for your
great love,
Amazing God.
Thank you
for your presence
near and far.
Thank you
for your kindness,
ever present.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 21, 2017

Dear God,

I was struck by Pope Francis' words when he talked about the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  He spoke how the door to the church was to be the door of mercy.  I realized his words were not only a call to the church but to every person.  Every human heart, mind, and soul is called to be a door of mercy.

Is my heart a door of mercy?  My mind?  My soul?  It is easy to be the door of mercy to those we love, admire, and respect but to those we do not it is anything but the door of mercy.  Yet, the holy father reminds us we are benefactors of great mercy.  You brought us into being as an act of mercy.  You poured your loving mercy upon us when we made our first mistake and our second.  You continue to be a door of mercy to each of us.

To know the church is a door of mercy brings great comfort.  I know when I walk through the door, I will find mercy waiting.  In my presence do people know there is a door of mercy?  It is a hard question but relevant and vitally important.  Am I a door of mercy for others?

Help us
become your door
of mercy,
O Lord.
We want
to be
like you.
We want
to be merciful.
How can
we expect
to receive mercy
if we
are not willing
to give it?
Teach us
your way,
O Father,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Dear God,

"There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul."  The words to this song provide a wonderful statement of faith particularly to the saddened, the lost, and the weary.  To know there is a balm, a balm of healing, brings comfort in so many ways.

No matter where we are in life, no matter our condition or state, there is a balm.  When we find our self in the middle of a sinful life or our soul is broken, cracked and leaking, there is a balm.  All we need do is cry out to the Holy Comforter who will pour out his healing power upon us.

You have given a promise to be with us always.  In your presence we find sweet mercy and compassion.  We drink in assurance and hope.  We rest in peace knowing your balm will heal with time.

O God,
greater healer
and lover
of humankind,
we come
to you,
pleading for mercy
and compassion.
Your people hurt;
they hurt
so badly.
Pour out
your balm,
O Holy One.
Bring your healing,
we pray.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Dear God,

We learn best when we learn from you.  When we listen, observe, and question, you guide us to knowledge and wisdom.

In this world in which we live, we can learn much.  But the deeper truths and knowledge come from a deep place, from your Holy Spirit.  As we tune ourselves to your frequency, when we long to hear from you, and when we yearn to learn the ways of the spirit, we gain so much more than the world can teach.  While nature can teach us about photosynthesis, you can teach us how amazing the process works as your hand guides it.  We can learn about your love for the world and all its creatures.

We can become smart, intelligent, and bright but when we are willing to learn the ways the spirit works through all things, we can become spirit wise.  We can increase our ability to be grateful, to appreciate the ways you work in human lives, and to love who and what you love.  We can also learn to see the face of God in all of nature.  Daily we can walk with you.

Most Holy God,
thank you
for teaching us
about you
and the world.
Thank you
for guiding us
along life's journey.
Thank you
for blessing us
with your
living presence.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Dear God,

Nature gives us many lessons.  If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, then we can see and hear your word.

Much of our contemplative garden was not pruned last year.  So this year the dwarf crabapple was out of control.  The Korean Lilac bush and the plants behind it were intertwined with one another.  The burning bushes were touching the serviceberry tree.  Things looked pretty shaggy and unkempt.  It was evident much work needed to be done.  So we got started.  We clipped and trimmed, pruned and dragged away limbs and branches, and cleaned and cleared.  It has been amazing how the beauty has returned.

As I made deep cuts, I realized how important it is for you to prune us, O Lord.  We grow gangly and ugly by our sin, practices, attitudes, and behaviors.  We forfeit our God-made beauty for something less.  If neglected too long, we lose our way and it is hard to find our way back to our original value.  You, dear God, make the cuts knowing how it will benefit us.  While we may see it as harsh, unnecessary, or painful, you see it as the way to the future.  On our wounds you spread your life-saving grace and somehow we begin to grow once again.  No longer stunted by the past, you point us forward and tiny, beautiful shoots begin to sprout and joy rewards our efforts.

Heavenly Father,
Master of the Cosmos,
thank you
for nature
and its lessons.
Forgive us
when we
fail to
pay attention.
Prune us,
make the cuts
that will
enable us
to grow again.
You are merciful,
O Lord;
you are goodness.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 17, 2017

Dear God,

How sweet is Easter joy when we gather savoring the gifts of your spirit!  How blessed we were to be part of a new church just started a few months ago.  How delighted we were to learn four groups of people were going out after worship to take gifts to people in the waiting room at a local hospital, to greet and sing with residents at one of the nursing homes in town, to feed police and firefighters in the area, and to help in some other capacity I have forgotten.  For them Easter worship was not over until they carried Easter joy to someone else.

That is what you want from us, isn't it, O Lord?  You want us to draw near to you, to worship and praise, to lift up our prayers, and to go out blessing others with the gifts we have just received.  Easter resurrection was a beautiful thing at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church where everyone was invited, especially the marginalized, the forgotten, the rejected, the scorned, and the anxious.  And they came and were not only blessed but left to go bless others.

Thank you
for Easter joy,
Most Holy God.
Thank you
for the blessing
of faith
that welcomes all.
Thank you
for the opportunity
to reach out
in and with
the love
of Jesus.

Yours, Andrea

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017

Dear God,

All year long I wait patiently for Easter morning.  I can't wait to step outside into the darkness, to listen for the sound of birds singing. I always figured the birds knew of Jesus' resurrection first and they broke into birdsong.  When I wake up on any day, I may hear a solo, one bird singing its praise for the morning.  But on Easter morning, it is as if every bird wants to join in.  There is a cacophony of sound, of praise and joy.  This morning it was the same.  On my back patio I stood in my pjs and robe and just listened.  It was as if they were singing, "Did you hear?  Did you know?  Our Lord is risen!"

Easter morning confirms and increases our faith.  It sets it us free to walk with the creator of the cosmos, to be changed in the blink of an eye, and to fill us with joy never ending.  How wonderful it is spread Easter joy to all those around us, near and far.

Holy God,
thank you
for this
blessed day.
May we
bring praise
to your name.
Today and
every day
may we
fill our world
with peace,
hope, and joy.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Dear God,

Holy Saturday is that in between time, the horror of Good Friday and the great joy of Easter.  In the spiritual life it seems we have many Holy Saturdays where we are trying to live through our Good Fridays in order to move to Easter.  It is a time of doubt, sorrow, hopelessness, pain, confusion, and fear.  We often wallow in this difficult time; however, people of faith remember we do not have to remain in Good Friday.  We are just hours away from Easter.

Faith does that for us.  Our belief, our conviction in Jesus, in God, gives us power, courage, and strength to let go of all that holds us back from resurrection.  Faith gives us hope, a companion on our journey, toward change, inner change.  And hope can take us a long, long way to Jesus.

Thank you
for Holy Saturdays,
Lord,
when we call
upon you
to transform us,
to move us
from Good Friday
to Easter morning.
Bless these days
when we
look to you
for power
from on high.
Thank you
for the possibility
of transformation.

Love, Andrea

Friday, April 14, 2017

Dear God,

O Lord, who can help us when our hearts are breaking?  Who can lift our spirit and give us hope?  Who can set our feet on solid ground and give life to those feet to walk forward?  Only you, O Lord, only you!

When I read of so much tragedy in the world and gaze upon my favorite cousin dying in the hospital, I know there is only one who can aid in our suffering.  You come to us on a gentle breeze.  You enter our hearts, souls, and minds.  You remind us of your great compassion because your love fills us.  You mercy oozes into every sorrowing place.  You do this because we are your children.

Thank you,
Gracious God,
for your
generous love.
Thank you
for your
tender care.
Bless those
who suffer,
Heavenly Father,
bless them,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Dear God,

Oh, to be invited to your holy table!  Oh, to receive the bread and wine!  Oh, to be loved so much!
There is something so beautiful, so mystical, of standing, moving, and journeying to the table of our Lord and actually being welcomed and fed.

Holy Thursday is that time of sitting at table with Jesus, of learning the truth of betrayal.  We all need to be at table with you daily where and when the truth is revealed.  We need to know of our bent to sinning, of our selfishness, and our refusal to follow your path.  We need to know the implications of our error.  We know that sin can lead us to death of our hope, our dreams, and our faith and what good is a useless, dead faith?

But while at that table, as darkened sinners, we are offered your very own self, not because we deserve it but rather because we don't.  We eat and drink grace, mercy, and love and we are restored once again.  But there is always a price and we must never, ever forget it.

Thank you,
Lord,
for counting us
as one
of your own.
Thank you
for your
generous invitation.
Forgive us
when we are
smudged and stained
with sin.
Cleanse us,
we pray,
and make us clean.
Help us bring
our own gifts
to the table
for your use.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Dear God,

What drives us to strike out at one another?  What inspires us to crush and shatter?  What motivates us to kill? 

When children die because of hatred and revenge, we must ask ourselves in what religion, what faith gives permission and approval to destroy young human lives?  No matter the background, color, economic status, religious affiliation, gender or sexual orientation, every child is yours, unique, beautifully made, and precious in your sight.  Every child is a child of the living God.

O God, how can we not hurt for every child injured or killed?  How can we not want something better?  How can we not weep with great sorrow for even one that is destroyed?  Our hearts need to break every time one child is hurt.

We are a broken people, O Lord, every one of us.  We do not love as you love.  We do not give mercy as you give mercy.  We do not bless as you bless.  We all deserve to die; yet, your grace saves us.  You pour your grace on us at our conception, our birth, our living, and our dying.  You call us your own.  We sin, we crave something more, we forget who we are and so we hurt others.  Forgive us, Great Comforter.  Restore our humanity.  Renew our love for you and one another.  Remake us.  Put yourself within us.  Help our eyes to see what you see.  Help our hearts love who you love.  Help our souls fill with compassion and pour out to others.  Make us new, Lord, make us new.

Bless all
your children
who hurt today,
Gracious God.
Soothe them
with your
great compassion.
Heal them,
Great Physician.
Place your hand
upon them.
Anoint them
with your
oil of gladness,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dear God,

You set me back on solid ground with family.  We have been distanced from one another for many reasons but you set before me an opportunity to step back into the circle and I did.  I set aside my own stubbornness, my belief I had no time, and my inability to come closer.  You opened doors and I walked through discovering the door was always open.

Oh what joy has flooded my soul sitting in the circle!  With an ailing cousin with stage 4 dementia and physical problems that put her in the hospital, an elderly aunt who fell and needed surgery, a granddaughter in psychological trouble, a cousin with stage 4 cancer, and a cousin who is going through testing to be put on a heart transplant list, you opened doors for us all to step inside.  There we were welcomed and were welcoming as if we were the prodigal son/daughter returning home.  To be close, to help, and to offer and receive love filled my heart, our hearts with so much joy, it is still spilling over! But that is just like you, O Lord, it is just like you!

Thank you
for family,
for drawing
us close together.
Thank you
for love
that never ends.
Thank you
for blessed moments
of faith.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 10, 2017

Dear God,

Mercy, you come bearing mercy to all who express themselves as sinners.  When we fail, when we err, when we deliberately do wrong, you are inside us pricking our conscience reminding us love is better, integrity is better, truth is better.  Then in a gigantic offering of generosity, you pour out your mercy upon us.

Only one who has been indulged with mercy knows the value, the power, and the grace of mercy.  When that mercy comes after we have confessed, you are so ready to anoint us with this extraordinary gift of heaven.  You lift our burden, excise our sin, and fill us with your own self.  We are warmed from the inside out.  Our thirst is quenched with living water.  Our wounded heart is healed.

In just the last few days I have felt the joy of mercy and my heart has been glad and grateful!

Blessed God,
who could not
thank you
for priceless gifts,
unexpected and undeserved?
No one loves
like you.
No one forgives
like you.
No one
gives gifts
like you.
Thank you,
dear God,
thank you!

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Dear God,

Yesterday morning what joy flooded my soul as I drove to worship.  All along the route, flowers were lifting up their bright, colorful heads.  Trees were proudly displaying their beautiful, new blossoms of red, pink, and white.  The sun shone magnificently against the blue sky and white, billowy clouds.  On this Palm Sunday, it was if everything was wearing their best to welcome the king.

Ever-Creating God, through nature you teach us lessons of life, of faith, hope, and courage.  You point to creation to show us the way, to remind us of our need to grow, to show our colors, and to bring beauty into the world.  You bless us so we may bless the creation around us.

Thank you,
Holy Father,
for the blessing
of this
Palm Sunday day.
Thank you
for the
exquisite beauty
and the reminder
of our
own need
to grow beautiful.
Rid us
of the death
that clings
to us
so we too
may bloom
for you,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Dear God,

Out of so much tragedy, hymns have been written.  Deep loss and much suffering have set the stage for hearts to be touched, moved, and inspired to write poetry set to tunes.  Songs like It is Well with My Soul, Like a River Glorious, and O God, Our Help in Ages Past have all come out of sorrow, pain, and despair.  It was in the midst of such chaos that you came to each composer whispering hope, comfort, and strength.  Out of these encounters with the Master of the Cosmos, they penned words and/or wrote tunes that lift up so many souls today.

Mostly we do not know what you have done to raise the dead to new life.  We are not aware how you transform sorrowful souls into inspired writers.  We are ignorant to the fact that you have blessed many with a creative spirit to lift the hearts of downhearted, downcast, and lost souls for centuries.

When we sing moving songs of faith, for a moment we enter into the experience of composers who found you, listened to you, and wrote amazing songs that continue to inspire, help, comfort, encourage, and bless.  When we do sing, we too touch that same spirit, that Holy Spirit that lifts us up out of our own sorrow, pain, anxiety, fear, and pain and we are blessed, so very, very blessed.

Holy God,
thank you
for the gift
of music,
for lyrics
that are
the linings
of pained souls,
and for inspiration
that transforms.
Thank you
for compassion
that is
eternity's gift.
Thank you
for faith
that helps us
make sense
of life's hurts.

Love always, Andrea

Friday, April 7, 2017

Dear God,

Hope is a ray of sunshine.  It penetrates the thick skin of the soul and warms the inner vessel.  It floods it with joy, the kind of joy that is unending.

Hope is sealed in the soul.  No one can steal it away.  It is eternal because any gift from you lives forever.  We may feel it wane but true hope does not die because all that comes from you has no beginning and no end.  It may come to us in a space and time but it is there always because you place it in all of us at our beginning.

As we consider this amazing hope, we think of you and eternity's love that embraces us in joy and sorrow, in doubt and certainty, and in death and resurrection.

Thank you
for hope
that blesses us
beyond blessing.
Thank you
for love
that comes
from your hand.
Thank you
for making us
your own.
May our joy
be the gift
we return
to you.
Bless you,
dear God,
bless you.

Love, Andrea

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Dear God,

Your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting.  Yesterday my 88-year-old aunt fell and fractured a C-2 vertebrae and was brought by ambulance to a major hospital in Indianapolis.  My cousin with stage 4 dementia  was put in the hospital with E coli.  I just learned another cousin has recently had two strokes.  One other cousin is in rehab preparing to be put on heart transplant list.  Every one of these situations is very serious and disturbing.  I hurt for every one of them.

What has happened, however, has been a wonderful gift.  You have drawn family members together.  We have talked to each other, lifting each other up in prayer, and reaching out to the sick.  We have surrounded them with your great love.  Your mercy has been so evident.

When life goes awry, we can trust you to help us.  You give us what we need to help one another.  You give us the heart, mind, hands, and soul of Jesus so we can encourage one another, comfort one another, and offer hope.  You give us the ability to reach out and touch one another with prayer, hugs, acts of mercy, assistance, and blessing.  As we extend your love to those who are ill and/or afraid, we see the merciful love of Jesus present in the room.  You not only promise to be with us always, you are with us always and we are so filled with joy and gratitude.

Loving God,
thank you
for your
compassionate mercy.
Thank you
for loving us,
for touching us,
and for
bringing us back
to one another.
Thank you
for blessing
upon blessing.
Please bring
your wondrous healing
to our
loved ones
and all those
who suffer,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Dear God,

This morning I read a devotion by Joyce Rupp who spoke of the ritual of forgiveness.  She challenged the reader to pick up a stone and hold it in our hand.  Then she offered the story of the woman caught in adultery where the punishment was stoning.  After pausing for reflection she urged us to consider stones thrown at us, times when we threw stones at others, and how Jesus' mercy was given.  I thought too of my own guilt and my hurt and anger at stones thrown at me but more than these I focused on the mercy of Jesus.

Funny thing when the author recommended we imagine a stone, immediately I thought of the heart stone I picked up at the beach.  As I held it in my hand, I realized how your mercy pours over us all, those wounded by the stone's throw and those who throw. 

Merciful God,
how great
is your love.
You give mercy
to us all,
calling us
to be full
of mercy ourselves.
Teach us
the way
of mercy,
O Lord,
I pray.
Thank you
for the
countless gifts
of mercy given.

Love, Andrea

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Dear God,

The evil forces are at work in the work.  They seek to devour, to kill, and to ruin.  Yet, the power of the Almighty is greater.

When we put our trust in any but you, O Lord, we set ourselves up for great difficulty.  The gods of this world will take us where we do not want to go, to every dead end.  At the end there will be nothing to hold us up, to cure our ills, or renew us.

Your power is in your mercy, Beloved God.  Your mercy anoints us like a spring shower bringing with it love from on high, compassionate that leaks into every cracked soul, and joy that can bubble up in the worst of situations because you are with us.  When we have felt your mercy come upon us, we know no greater gift.  Our knees buckle, for we fall to pray in thanksgiving.

Help us
fight evil
with your mercy,
Loving God.
Help us
keep our eyes
on you.
Show us
the way
to you,
we pray.

Love, Andrea

Monday, April 3, 2017

Dear God,

Disappointments are simply opportunities to consider God's will in our lives.  Some disappointments are small but others can be really big like broken promises, failure to follow through, and lost chances.  Moments like these can help us reconsider our expectations to see how they line up with God's will in our lives.  Over time we can see the ways you worked in our lives to challenge us, help us, and cause us to grow in faith.

Some times we get so invested in something we want, we fail to consider what you might want for us in a particular situation.  We may move forward not even praying or consulting you.  We may wind up in hot water because we didn't count the cost of a decision without you.

The more we draw close to you, the more we want what you want, and the more we wait and listen, the more we will line up with your will for our lives.  That will bring us more hope, faith, trust, joy, and peace.

Gracious God,
woo us
to your side.
Make us
your own.
Teach us
to desire you
and your will,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Dear God,

This morning after my devotional reading, I entered into my time of prayer.  But you stopped me.  You simply asked me to listen.  As I quieted myself and listened, pictures of people and situations appeared before me.  Each was a troubling scene.  At the same time I heard a bird sing and then another.  It seemed you were saying we are to sing even in a season of darkness.

You reveal whatever it is we need to see and hear, O Lord, when we are ready to stop talking and start listening.  You want to speak to us.  You want to tell us what is on your heart.  You want us to see the plight of others.  You want to recenter us.

Move me
to your side,
O Lord.
Open my mind,
my heart,
and my soul.
Speak to me
and help me
to hear,
I pray.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Dear God,

Joy fills our soul when we follow your leading, when we listen to your voice, when we do your will.  Only good awaits us when we say yes.  The way may be difficult but the benefits are great.

These last days I have been on a whirlwind journey spending time with grandchildren, elderly aunts, children, cousins, and friends.  I didn't think I had the time but therein lay my problem.  I always have a list of work to do and I like checking off the tasks done.  However, in making my work my priority I leave little time to connect with people I love most in the world.  I fail to be a good mother, grandmother, family member, friend, and helper.  I miss out on opportunities to reflect, remember, and to celebrate relationships that have nourished me all my life.

This happens with you too, Lord.  I busy myself with everything else and fail to make time and space with you.  I fail to be a committed, faithful Christian.  I give you the leavings of my day.  I am sorry.  I miss you every day that I do not spend quality time with you.  Every day I have a longing in my heart for you; yet, I don't always follow up on that longing to carve out time with you.

But when I do...when I listen, hear, and follow, you fill me with so much joy.  You anoint me with the oil of gladness.  My heart, soul, spirit, mind, the whole of me overflows with joy.  All the moments I spent with family and friends the last few days have filled me and I am bubbling over with joy.  I realize that all this joy comes from you and I am full of gratitude to you, Most Gracious Redeemer.

Bless you,
O Lord,
for your
loving persistence.
Thank you
for your
tender care.
Thank you
for connecting us together.

Love, Andrea