Once people feel nourished and refreshed, they cannot help but be kind; just so, the world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people.
From: Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest
See also – http://inwardoutward.org/2014/09/01/seeking-approval-2/
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.
From: Thomas Merton
Please visit Discipleswalk.org
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes…and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent .
From: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.
From: Thomas Moore
Check Disciples’ Walk for a few comments.
If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time.
– Edward Hays
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
Karl Barth
It is important to read this prayer through to the end, even if you find it uncomfortable at times.
A Thanksgiving Prayer – by Charles Moore
O Lord, how can I thank you for the bounty on my table
and the extras stuffed in my fridge,
when thousands of children still die every day of starvation?
for the comforts of my home,
when over 600,000 Americans are homeless?
for my health,
when millions of people can’t afford to see a doctor when sick or fill the prescriptions they need?
O Lord, how can I thank you for the work I have that pays the bills,
when so many are unemployed or don’t earn a living wage?
for a life free of calamities,
when earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, and fires ravage entire populations?
for the leisure time I spend reading for pleasure,
when nearly a billion people are unable to read a book or sign their name?
O Lord, how can I thank you for a life of peace,
when bullets fly in inner cities and schools, and
when drones, landmines, missiles, and sanctions stalk the lives of millions?
for this country of ours, so blessed and free,
when the soldiers who fought for it are killing themselves at a rate of 22 a day?
for the wonders of nature,
when half the people on this planet are stuck in cities?
O Lord, how can I thank you for my wife’s tender love,
when half the marriages around me will fall apart?
for my child’s smile,
when more than one in four children don’t even live with their fathers?
for my daughter’s happiness
when thousands of teenage girls are cutting or starving themselves in quiet desperation?
O Lord, how can I thank you for the freedom to go where I want, say what I think, and do what I like,
when up to 27 million people work as slaves or are trafficked for commercial sex exploitation every year?
for friends to love and who love me,
when every fifth person lives alone and has no more than one significant conversation every six months?
for giving me faith and hope, a reason to live,
when one in ten American adults reports they are depressed?
O Lord, how can I thank you for all the blessings you bestow,
unless I spend less on myself,
give more to others,
befriend the friendless,
help the helpless,
strengthen the weak,
lift up the downcast,
give faith to the faithless,
pray for the hopeless,
thank the thankless,
defend the defenseless,
embrace the rejected,
clothe the naked,
and feed the hungry?
O Lord, I do thank you,
for I have so much to thank you for.
But one thing I ask of you, and one thing only:
help me to thank you not just with heart and lips,
but by the very life I live.
From: http://www.plough.com/en/articles/2013/november/a-thanksgiving-prayer
A Litany of Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.
(add your thanks …… )
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and
promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the
Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer (1979) p 837
Praise differs from thanksgiving, which is offered for a specific reason or a particular gift. Praise does not depend on any single deed or gift of God. It is a prayer, chorus, or hymn directed to God out of endless wonder from our endless discovery of who God is.
Praise goes beyond thanksgiving to express our amazement at God’s concern for us that exceeds our expectation, merit, or imagination. Thus, praising God begins in surprise. God provides more. God is more than we had hoped or dared to imagine.
From: P. Joel Snider, The Upper Room Disciplines 2015: A Book of Daily Devotions, reading for June 3, 2015, p 166
(Check Discipleswalk.org for a some additional thoughts.)
“Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.”
From: Thomas Merton