Prayer for Wednesday (from 1 John 3:17, Mark 1:40-41)

Jesus,
You saw need,
You felt deeply,
You reached out and touched the man.
Compassion stirred,
Deep within.
Transform me,
To feel deeply,
To let compassion stir,
Deep within,
So that your love in action
Takes over my life.
In your loving name,
Amen

Prayer for Wednesday (from Psalm 148)

God,
All of Creation shouts Hallelujah,
Hailstones, lightening,
Sun, moon and stars,
Clouds and rain,
Bellow their praises to you.
All of Creation shows gratitude,
Sharks and cows,
boys, girls, moms and dads,
angels and wild beasts,
Call out their thanks to you.
I cannot help but join in,
with my heart,
with my mouth,
with my mind,
with my hands and feet.
Thank you, God. Amen

A Prayer for Tuesday (From 1 John 3:11-16)

God, Who is love,
forgive me
for my heart like Cain,
for my actions that take life,
for my jealousy,
for my desire to get ahead,
for my failure to "get it"
...that all I need is in You.
Through your Spirit
give me a heart like Christ,
who brought life through his actions,
who laid down his life,
who really "got it"
that all we need is You.
In Christ's name, Amen.

A Prayer for the Beginning of the Week

God, Creator and Sustainer,
In You is fullness.
In You is life...
Nothing else satisfies.

Govern my heart,

guide my thoughts, 

direct my words, 

master my will;

So that in everything I do

I bring glory to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

This is not an easy prayer...

In thinking of the importance of the smaller group leaders and the youth workers in our church I have been doing some reading.  In that reading, I came across this prayer I have heard before...it's worth sharing.  It's typically used in an annual "Covenant Service" by the Methodist Church, where all commit together to following hard after Christ.  But as I read it I was reminded of Paul's attitude towards service to God, willing to accept whatever God brought his way.

I want this to be my prayer...even if it is in old English!

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen. 

—as used in the Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936. 

Top Moments from Fall Retreat 2010!

Top Moments from Fall Retreat 2010

1.      The crazy mingle game while waiting for the buses to arrive at Stillmeadow

2.      Having both Stillmeadow campuses worship and play together

3.      The prayer stations

4.      Watching kids play in the creek

5.      When one of the boys brought over a roasted crawdad

6.      Playing Taboo outside with a ton of people

7.      Hearing the bell ring during the prayer stations

8.      The sound of George’s coffee pot in the morning after a short night’s sleep

9.      The Warm Fuzzy encouragement bags!

10.  Hearing the bold prayers around the campfire on Saturday night

11.  Communion on Sunday morning

This is just a start…I’d love to hear of some more from my facebook friends!