Be Extraordinary

O God, who meets us in ordinary places, doing ordinary things and at ordinary times, empower us to be extraordinary in this uncertain season. Fill our lives with wonder as we witness extraordinary mercies instead of judgement and extraordinary miracles instead of the usual mess.

Give us open hearts to perceive your presence. Give us joyful words to proclaim the good news so that it may be heard above the cacophony of the world's fears. In Jesus' name, may the Holy Spirit energize us to proclaim hope and then be hope in a darkened world. Amen

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Soul Tending

Our lives are daily assaulted by noise, crowds, crime and challenges. Our serenity is intimidated by a cacophony of information that pushes and shoves its way through gluttony of media sources. Prayer is God’s gracious invitation to leave the comfort zone of your living room and enter into the throne room of God. Prayer is a divine communication strategy designed by God as an all access pass into the open heart of God.

Let Us Pray:

Lord, we come into your presence with an open heart, an open mind and open hands. Listening, our ears are like an open box, available to receive divine contents.

Thank you for the invitation to taste your infinite goodness and to feast on a grace that is not earned or deserved.

Forgive us for attending to everyone and every need with little time to tend to our souls. Forgive us when we ignore the spiritual landscape of the interior life.

Help us to be still in these precious moments and know. Help us to return to our quiet core to hear your voice, the voice that transforms the mind and heart so that we may enter again stronger, better and wiser to do what pleases you rather than what pleases us. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Texting, Tweeting and Tinkering

“My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, thought their number is past my knowledge.

Psalm 71: 15-16

Almighty and Everlasting God, you have richly blessed us beyond our imaginations. If it had not been for the presence of Christ in our lives, we would have perished a long time ago. You reached beyond the noise of this world to speak to our hearts of your grace and glory. You captured our attention with a love too wonderful for words. We eagerly turn from our texting, tweeting and tinkering ever mindful of the call to be “doers of your word.”

We can’t help but sing of your righteous acts. We sing your praises in our hearts all day long. We sing of your deeds of salvation even though only a fraction is known to us. In Jesus name, we worship you and you alone, not ourselves or each other. Amen

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A Timely Refuge

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 36: 7-9

O Lord, our Comforter, we rejoice in your steadfast love which endures forever. We stand in your presence today grateful for the solace we find in the shadow of your wings. May we find the rest and encouragement we need to face the challenges in our ever-changing environment.

Help us to show others who are burdened by the cares of this world to find the refuge of your love. Help us to guide those whose bodies, hearts and minds are being beaten down by “dis-ease”, distress and devastation to feast on the abundance of your grace. “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light”

May we fight the good fight and keep the faith so that in the end, in Jesus name, we may receive the crown of eternal life. Amen.

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Praise God!

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you everyday;

Psalm 145: 1-3

Today we praise you our God, Redeemer and King! We praise you for who you are and what you mean to all creation. Thank you for being our protector and provider. Thank you for the community of believers who help us to mature and grow into people of your word.

We pray to exalt you in our living today. May our thoughts, words and deeds praise you for you are more than worthy of praise! Amen and Amen!

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Unwavering Trust

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

Psalm 37: 5

We come today with joy in our hearts grateful for another opportunity to do all to the glory of God. Our spirit sings as we face the challenges and changes in our lives in your presence.

Forgive us when we have spent too much time murmuring and complaining. Deliver us from unwholesome thoughts and unchastened desires. Turn our hearts away from hopeless brooding and faithless reflection.

We commit to you our souls, our bodies and ourselves. Increase our faith as we declare today an unwavering trust that in your steadfast love. We commit to your care the sincere desires of our hearts trusting that you will act on our behalf. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Live Holy!

Dear God,

You are the fountain of light and in your light alone can we see light in a darkened reality. Your grace has sustained us and your mercy has kept us.

We come confessing today that we have been enticed and entertained by the cult of happiness rather than a life of holiness. Forgive us again.

We come confessing that our lives have been polluted by greed, indifference, hatred, fears and phobias. Forgive us again.

You promised if we confessed, you would be faithful to forgive. Wash us! Cleanse us! Strengthen our desire to live holy as you are holy!

Help us today to be faithful to you wherever we live, play, worship and work today. In Name of Jesus, Amen.

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READ THROUGH THE BIBLE

You can read through the Bible in one year. Start today by going to the right side of this site and scroll down until you see the verses for the month of January. If you stopped...start again!

Open Up!

Lord, open our eyes that we may see you working behind the scenes of our lives as you move and rearrange the props that can help or hinder us. Open our hands so that we may share generously the gifts you have provided. Open our mouths to speak on behalf of hose who cannot speak for themselves. Open our minds to receive new ideas, concepts or innovations. Open our hearts to love our neighbor, each other and ourselves better today than yesterday. Open our doors to new realities and at the same time give us courage to reach for things ...the evidence of things we hope for, the evidence of things unseen. As qe dig deeper into you word, may your word dig deeper into our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Encourage

Awesome Lord, thank you for your encouraging presence. Thank you for the new morning mercies. Thank you for unexpected grace. Thank you for your love that dilutes negative attitudes, harsh words and the uncertainty of our times.

Forgive us of falling short of your glory. Thank you for forgiving us of our trespasses as we forgive others.

Help us to be an encouraging presence to someone today. Help us to lift another's spirit with a kind word. Help us to celebrate the success of someone else without jealousy or envy, Help us to do good and to make good use of the time your give us.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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Clear, Precise and Wise

Eternal and Everlasting God, thank you that every good and perfect gift comes from you. Thank you for granting us the many diverse abilities that enrich our lives and the lives of those around us.

Help us today to think clearly, plan precisely, execute wisely and enter joyfully into the full expression of abundant living. Help us to do those things which takes care of our body temple and stand boldly again the enemies of our soul. May our words and deeds reflect our loyalty and obedience to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

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And Now I Can See

Eternal Shepherd of our souls, thank you for being our Good Shepherd who protects and provides, leads and loves and instructs and transform us in spite of our weaknesses, sins and inadequacies. We bring you our hopes and needs seeking your strength to give us courage to face the challenges of the day.

Remove the blinders from our eyes so that we can see that all humanity is our brother and sister. Help us to appreciate our diversity not as a sign of superiority or inferiority but as sign of the uniqueness of Your creation.

Deliver us from the shackles that bind us to fear and prejudice. Empower us to help those caught in the vise of discrimination. Enable us to help the hungry, clothe the naked and bring liberation to those held captive by economic disparity beyond their control.

Overcome our stagnant strategies to bring about a new era of equality. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Save Us!

Lead us, O Lord, through the difficult ways of this world into a time of taking stock, a time of listening for your voice and a time of renewal. Help us to make wise decisions that impact our lives and the lives of others. Save us from our sins and ourselves; save us from our prejudices and give us the grace to listen to those who differ from us. Help us to see beyond our own opinions to hear what others honestly have to say.

Bind us to you and to each other into one great human family. Only you can help us to show malice to none and love towards all. Unite us an effort to show in specific tangible ways today love towards neighbor and self. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Light In Dark Places

Almighty God, we are troubled by events that stir around us. We cannot understand them completely, for the causes and reasons are far deeper than we can see. But we do know that many lives are interrupted by the horrendous and destroyed by injustice. It is hard to understand those who do not see that what they say and do creates a dangerous climate that readily explodes with violence with the least provocation.

Light of the World, shine your brightness into the darkness of this world. Help us to resist the temptation to be exclusive or selective because Christ died for all of us. Grant us the confidence and the courage to be busy about your business today. We can do nothing but look to you, the author and finisher of our faith, for strength and direction to do your will among all people. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Wrong Things Right

"Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations!"

Psalm 82:8

Arise, O God, our hope is in you, for putting right all things wrong, all things misunderstood, and all things that seem futile especially when we are tempted to give up discouraged.

Open our eyes to see through faith that you are at work in our present circumstances. Make us strong and faithful in our service and stewardship towards you. Forgive us when we fall short of the mark...again.

We beseech you on behalf of someone whose heart is burden, whose back is against the wall and whose mind is in turmoil. Thank you that we do not have to stay defeated but can be reborn, transformed and redeemed from defeat to victory in your name. Grant that triumphant experience to someone today. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Help, Hope and Healing

In these anxious, times O God, we come to you seeking the peace that surpasses all understanding. You remain our help, healing and hope in a world that all too often insists on death and devastation. Forgive us when we sought solace in the wrong places with wrong people and things.

Now Lord, strengthen us for the road ahead. When the pressures of full agendas and tight schedules stress our emotions and stretch our patience, assure us of your presence. Help us to see the difference between our will and thy will be done.

Grant us courage in facing the challenges of the day. Grant us wisdom in every conversation. Cause us to be all you created us to be. In Jesus name Amen.

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Read Through the Bible In One Year

Have you read the Bible from cover to cover yet? If you have, praise God...do it it one more time in 2011. If not, you can get started today. The Bible verses for the month of January are located on this site. Dig deeper into God's Word this year.

Subscribe today and invite others to do the same!

Just click on the "Follow" icon.

Life!

Gracious God, who has made us in your image, we thank you for the gift of life. We thank you for a life that separates us from all creation. We thank you for life as people of the covenant, under the cross and standing on your word. We thank you for our lives as members of the body of Christ, the life that grants us the gift of eternal life!

Forgive us when we have failed to make the most of this life. Help us today to live life to its fullest! In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Invisibles

O Lord, Our God, forgive us for being invisible men and women who fade into and out of the lives of other people. We slip pass them without a touch. We observe them without being seen. We hear without responding. We become invisible because we are afraid of saying or doing something foolish. We're afraid of rejection or abuse. It is easier to become invisible rather than risk intimacy with others.

Forgive us Lord also for making other people invisible. We refuse to see their side of the story or turn a deaf ear to their cries for help. We self-medicate ourselves so that we become numb to their touch. We are blind to their presence because their needs makes demands upon our time and treasure.

Forgive us of our fears. May your perfect love deal perfectly with us to make visible your love in us and through us. You have sent someone who is Forgiveness who paid the ultimate price. Thank you Lord that we can confess be free. It is in the name of Forgiveness we pray, Amen.

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Read through the Bible in one year!

The Scripture reading for the month of January are on the right side of this blog. Just scroll down and read the Bible daily. By this time next year you would have journeyed through all 66 books of the Bible. If you miss a day....never fear, just pick up where you left off. Come...lets dig deeper and discover the transforming power of God's Word.

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Forgiven

Gracious God, thank you for your everlasting love, unmerited grace and mercies that miraculously arrive with the rising of the sun. What joy it is that we can confess our sins and you are faithful to forgive to forgive us of our sins. Help us to forgive those closet to us, especially when our hearts don't want to and our faith demands it.

Forgive us when we have failed to live up to the talents and gifts you have given us. Forgive us when we tried but didn't try hard enough. Forgive us when we were shortsighted on mole hills we thought were mountains uncrossable.

Thank you for forgiving us. And now Lord, help us to forgive ourselves. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Faithful Conclusions

Everlasting God, you who command the times in their courses and govern the years, decades and centuries in their comings and goings, we begin the year in hope. Grant that we run its race with faithfulness and arrive at its conclusion in glory. No matter what we face this year - joy or sorrow, riches or lack, sunshine or rain, sickness or health, gain or loss - stand with us with a blessed assurance so that our lives are governed by your grace and lived in the communion of peace and respect of all our brothers and sister. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Read Through the Bible in One Year

Just go to the right side of this site for a listing of Bible readings for the month of January. The Word of God is powerful. Join us as we go deeper to discover divine treasures. Remember to subscribe. Just click on the Follow icon on this site. Thanks in advance!!

And Then...

"And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded to power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another's will'And then all will be rich and free and varied

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of the many

And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance

And then all will care for he sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young

And then all the cherish life's creatures

And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again."

Judy Chicago

READING THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Join our Praycation family by subscribing to this blog on spiritual disciplines. Just scroll down until you see the Subscribe button and click. You can read through the Bible in one year in 2011. On the right side of this site are the scripture readings for the entire month of January. Use it in your personal study and/or share them in a group setting. The Word of God has the power to reproduce itself in the life of believers.

Praise God for a New Year!

"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God with my last breath!

Psalm 104: 31-35

As long as I live, Lord, I will praise you with my whole heart. You have blessed beyond measure, more than we deserve. You have sheltered us in your arms and kept us in safety. Your love has shattered our fears. Your grace came daily unearned to lift us over the rough spots we encountered or we created. May your love and compassion touch every heart today, in Jesus name, Amen.

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READING THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR - DAY TWO

Remember to go to the right side of this site and scroll down until you see reading Through the Bible in One Year. The daily reading for the entire month of January are listed. Start today and see what wonders will be revealed in going deeper into God's word.

Grant Us Wisdom

"The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" I Kings 3:5

O Lord our God, we come on this first day of the new year like Solomon seeking the tools and resources to be a blessing to others, our families and ourselves. The magnitude of the responsibilities of life, weigh heavy upon us. Thus we ask for your help from the beginning to the end of the year.

Lord we ask for your wisdom in our lives this year. Grant us wisdom. Grant us courage for the facing of this hour. Grant us your wise counsel all the days of our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen

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READING THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Beloved, as we begin a new year together, let's go to God's word. If you haven't already, read through the entire Bible this year. There will be Bible verses given every day. It should only take less than 20 minutes of your time. If you miss a day, you can always catch up. Let's see what God has to say to us as we go deeper.

TODAY:

Psalm 1

Genesis 1-2

Luke 5: 27-29

All you need to do now is look on the right side of this site for Read Through The Bible In One Year. There are daily readings for the entire month of January. Share this with your family members, friends, Bible Study group or congregation. Let's go deeper into God's Word and discover more than we ever dreamed of!