When you pray...

As far as acts of worship go, walking a labyrinth is one of my all time favorites. This article gives you an idea of how to start but from that point, it is much more meaningful to develop your own way of walking.

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/22829/walking-the-labyrinth

I have prayer beads that are in my hands during Worship, during Communion, while I study, when I pray, when I am joyful, when I'm afraid, while walking a labyrinth, when I need to feel the touch of God. They are simple and hand made...

There are 3 large beads and in between the large ones are 14 smaller ones. The place for the 4th large bead is taken up by the crosses you see. When I cannot find the words to pray or when I am walking a Labyrinth, I pray the Jesus Prayer... (although this website puts this practice squarely in the Catholic church, this Methodist finds it quite wonderful).
For each small bead:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a Sinner.
When I reach the large beads I pray the Lord's Prayer and when I reach the crosses at the end, I speak the Apostles Creed. 

Although I love all Labyrinths, my favorite is located a the Sisters of Loretto...

Do you have to do any of this to have a meaningful prayer life? No...but I have found that there are many times when the words of others speak so much better than the words of my own mouth.

Just some thoughts and suggestions...

My walk...

My parents rarely attended church, so I had little contact with it growing up. When I was with one grandmother, she would take me to her Baptist church and when I was with the other I attended "Home Services" which were Church of God. We lived in southern Mississippi for a while and I had several friends who took me to Catholic services. Oh, and before we married, my husband introduced me to the United Methodist church! Needless to say, although I didn't have a complete understanding of any of these denominations, I had a wide variety of experiences.

I am happy to say that the UMC was the place I needed to be and many of their core beliefs are very dear to me. But, this background must be the reason I feel so comfortable incorporating aspects from other faiths in my walk with God.

My prayer beads are always with me and have helped me ease into prayer whenever I am struggling. I hold them any time I am part of an act of worship and just touching them brings me peace when I am troubled.

I love to spend time in quiet contemplation as I walk a labyrinth. Putting one foot in front of the other as I move to the center and back out again has been the source of more than one revelation.

Making the sign of the cross is not a particularly Protestant act, but seems to be the perfect ending to time spent in prayer or a quick way to bring my thoughts into focus when I'm in distress.

Gazing at Icons, using candles, praying the Hours (I love this but fail miserably to do it with regularity), meditating, lectio divina and time spent in retreat have all benefited me in my walk. 

Does that mean I'm not a faithful member of the United Methodist Church? Personally, I think I am. And, although I haven't read it cover to cover, I can't find anything in the UM Discipline that tells me otherwise.
Despite what many think, none of the things I do are new. All were practiced by the early church and have slowly been relegated to this denomination or the other, or forgotten altogether.

While I am not advocating that you do as I do, I would encourage you to keep an open mind. An open mind will lead to an open heart.

Prayer

A Chat With God from worshiphousemedia on GodTube.

Retreat...

I posted last year about time spent in retreat at the Sisters of Loretto Motherhouse and it's almost time for another. In the near future, a dear friend and I will again be spending a few days amongst the beauty and serenity of nature and the Motherhouse and I am terribly excited! It is wonderful to know that I will once again be able to spend a few days at this peaceful and holy place.

They will be celebrating their Jubilee on April 25th...200 years! Check out their Facebook page and this picture of the Motherhouse taken in 1912:

Innocence of God

Children are innocent because they cannot comprehend evil. God is innocent because He sees evil for what it is: something to wash away and be done with. And this is why He accepts our lousy, lacking, insincere prayers, our grasping petitions, our grudging penitence, our half-baked praise, and our inattentive adoration. It’s not because we’ve deceived Him, or because He’s somehow pathetically grateful for the crumbs we throw His way.

Excellent article...one that makes you stop and go, Hmmm, am I like that? And recognizing that yes, sometimes I am...read the rest here...

Rules for living like Christ...

"The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace."
--Mother Theresa

All of our actions impact the world. Whether it is just the area in which we live or the world at large, each action attributed to us counts...even if we think no one is paying attention.

Our Weekly Youth Bible Study is currently studying Ruben Job's "Three Simple Rules". His inspiration for the book is taken from John Wesley's General Rules to Methodists:
Do no harm, Do good, Stay in love with God. We're on the first one...Do no harm. I knew of these rules, but until I began to prepare for the study, I never realized how hard one "simple" rule could be. "Do no harm"...in other words avoid evil of every kind.

I suppose I should say not that I never realized how hard it could be, but that I never realized how many times we "harm" one another during the course of the day. By
thought, word or deed. By thought, without thought...with a few words or one word...by one little action, or reaction.

At this point, it seems like a daunting task...but others have tried it and been successful...my prayer is that I at least be successful in the attempt.

A prayer poem

If there be some weaker one,
Give me strength to help him on;
If a blinder soul there be,
Let me guide him nearer Thee;
Make my mortal dreams come true
With the work I fain would do;
Cloth with life the weak intent,
Let me be the thing I meant;
Le me find in Thy employ,
Peace that dearer is than joy;
Out of self to love be led,
And to heaven acclimated
Until all things sweet and good
Seem my natural habitude.
John Greeleaf Whittier

Sacred Space

I've mentioned this website before, but it's been a while.

As time passes, we see people spending more and more time immersed in technology. Believers know that God is everywhere...even in / on your computer / iPad! I just read an article that the Pope now has an iPad and is Tweeting!


For those who just don't seem to have the time for prayer on a regular work day...Sacred Space is just what you need...10 minutes of peace, quiet and prayer.

It is the work of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus. It originated in the offices of the Jesuit Communication Centre in Ireland in 1999. Being a ministry of the Irish Jesuits, it is inspired by the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Ignatian spirituality).

I have visited often since I first discovered the site 5 years ago, why not give it a go?

Prayer Cloths

For many years, I have used different "tools" in my prayer life. Whether it is prayer beads, prayer shawl, icons, incense...they all serve to enhance the experience for me.

Imagine my surprise and joy at church yesterday when I found that part of the service was dedicated to prayer cloths. Every person chose a cloth as they entered the Sanctuary.

Each cloth had been knitted or crocheted by someone in the church. While they are make them, they pray for whomever may receive it. So essentially, there's a prayer in each stitch!

We were asked to hold the cloths in our hands and spend a few minutes in silent prayer for the person who would receive it from us (we traded them!)

The next few moments were spent trading with others. Some exchanged cloths just once but other cloths traveled through 3 or 4 different hands. Our Pastor asked us to continue the process until we felt we had received the cloth God intended for us.

Everyone left yesterday's worship service not only receiving God's grace through Holy Communion but armed with our cloths...knowing that they had been saturated with prayer. What a lovely concept...to know that each time hold our cloth when we enter into prayer, we do so with the love and blessings of others!

I'm sure there will be more mentioned about this at some point. Right now, I am to full to express everything in my heart.

Mwari mubastiri wangu...

means "God is our helper". These African women find God's help at the Prayer Tree