Tag Archives: Advent prayers

Advent Prayer 12 – Lament of the Busy

15 Monday Dec 2014

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8328024253_6b187a2c31_zGod I’m swimming in Christmas prep!
The cards aren’t ready to send-
Half are addressed
And maybe a few names are scribbled within the cards.
Shopping.  Wow.  I’m not even close to be finished.
A few more gifts to buy for the family
And for my love.
Don’t forget about the lunch next week
And dinner Wednesday night
And a couple of other holiday parties.
I signed up to volunteer this Thursday…
And Saturday…
And next Monday.

Wait… the tree.
The tree isn’t even up
Let alone the lights
And the ornaments
And the rest of the household Christmas decorations.

Then there’s the wrapping
And the cookies
And the caroling
Besides the everyday work
Around the house and the office.

Stop.  Breathe.

Ok.  In my preparation
I’m forgetting to prepare myself
To open my heart in new ways
And to be silent and still.

Instead, I keep moving-
Falling into the busy trap-
Being less intentional,
Less relational
And more cynical.

Open me, God
To the freshness of the day
To the love in front of me
And the presentness of this moment.  Amen.

Advent Prayer 11 – A Blessing for the Sunday Morning Brunchers

14 Sunday Dec 2014

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imageMay the God of creation surround you with fellowship this hour,
May the Christ of merriment bring laughter to your day,
May the Spirit of sustenance refresh you for the week.

May you see the Divine-
however you see Her or Him-
surrounding you in the lines to order,
the banquet or buffet,
the smiles across tables,
the serious reflections,
and discussions for justice.

May you grow in mind and spirit
As you ponder life’s major issues –
In the chaos of heated discussions
And the laments of everyday life.

Whether stillness or noise awakens you this morning,
Whether you find the Holy in the ordinary or in the sanctuary,
Be well.

Advent Prayer Day 10 – A ‘Love Actually’ Prayers of the People

11 Thursday Dec 2014

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For the one who is cheated on by a long-time love
And flees to the country to write away his pain,
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who feels betrayed by a spouse
Wondering if the affair is flirtations, intimacy or love,
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who loses the chance for love
Because taking care of family is a top priority,
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who can’t show his affections
And for the one who he pines for,
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who longs for his best friend’s girl
And yet wants to move forward with his life,
As he laments “Enough… Enough…”
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who remembers his spouse
So soon after he lost her,
And as he takes care of her child,
We pray to you, O God.

For the one who finds contentment
In the time spent with his greatest love:
His best friend,
We give thanks to you, O God.

For the sparkly new relationship
After meeting in a hallway
Or in front of a cottage
Or rushing to say goodbye in an airport
Or working together closely
Or flying to a new country,
We give thanks to you, O God.

For the first wave
The first smile
The first embrace
At the airport arrivals gate,
We give thanks to you, O God.

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Advent Prayer Day 9 – For the Reproductive Losses

09 Tuesday Dec 2014

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God, I don’t know what to say
To the couple who can’t have a baby
Even though they’ve been trying for four years.
I don’t know how to comfort the friend
Who had one, or three, or five miscarriages.
I don’t know how to support my loved ones
Whose adoption fell through.

How to I approach the friend
Who gave birth to a stillborn child,
Who felt the child move kick?
What words will bring her a sense of comfort
And give strength to her partner?

These losses mount up, God.
They are losses I’ve never experienced
But the pain radiates from their eyes
And I have a sense that they’ll be in pain
Even though they laugh.
Even when they seem fine.
Even after they’ve stopped talking about it.

Telling them that their child is “better off”
Or “there’s a reason”
Or “God needed another angel”
Will absolutely tear their souls.

There are no words that will cover their pain
But by just being there-
Even in silence and words unspoken-
May bring the daybreak of peace.

Help us be your presence to women and men
Facing the empty wombs of life.

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Advent Prayer Day 7 – The Cry of Generation X

07 Sunday Dec 2014

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imageGod, they called us slackers
And those without direction
And angsty
As if Wynona or Kurt spoke for all of us.
Maybe they did… a little.

We wondered when the world would blow up
Who would send the missiles first-
Us versus them.
There’s still a piece of our souls
That cringe when we hear “war” or “bombs” or “nuclear.”

It’s the end of the world as we know it…
But we couldn’t tell if we felt fine,
Or if we didn’t.  Meh.

Maybe it was melancholy that we became accustomed to.
Maybe we stopped hoping.

And yet, we weren’t slacking
We’re just trying to listen for our call
To know where to go
And embracing meaning in everything we do.

We worked.
We kept moving forward.
Moving through the motions as we waited for life to start
Or end.

We couldn’t be as cool as the generation before
Or the generation after.
We’re the middle child, living in the shadow of our older brother Boomer
And eclipsed by our younger sister Millennial.

We are the generation in the wilderness
Wondering if we’ll make it into the promised land.
From crisis to crisis
Our story is a journey
Never a destination.

Sometimes, God, it was tough to find you
And we lost some sisters and brothers along the way.

And now, as adults,
We only know resilience in despair’s face.
We lament, God, as we may never understand our true purpose
Or accomplish what we had hoped for.

Now in the early evening of our lives,
We wonder if we’ll live the dream
Or continue to move through the motions.

 

Advent Prayer Day 4 – Praying for the “Normal”

04 Thursday Dec 2014

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Phone Sept 2014 4016God of the rocky roads and rollercoasters,
Where is my ordinary?
When will I be back to normal
Or are these aches and dry eyes and needed naptimes
My new routine?

Boring.  Boring is good.
I could go for boring.
But I don’t have a typical day anymore.
Each day brings it’s undeserved gift
Of… who knows.

When I  open my eyes will I feel like I never received sleep?
When two o’clock rolls around
Will I need a nap?

Will my fingers swell
And my neck hurt
And my legs stiffen
And nose stuffy up?

OR will I have a “normal” day
A day that will make me feel 25 instead of 86 or 47 or 62.

Oh, please God.  Give me a “normal” day.
Give me a day where I can go to the gym or stay awake all afternoon without a latte with extra espresso.
Allow my fingers to bend without the knife jab-like pains
And my feet move freely as I walk a mile or two.

Could my weight stay the same
Instead of increasingly bloated ankles.
Could you help me keep a routine
Instead of spending half the day dealing with an unruly tummy?

May I make the most of my “normal” days
Work hard.  Play hard.
Love my friends and families and neighbors hard.
Make the world a stronger place,
Eat, drink and be merry, for the tomorrow I may need sleep.

And when the day comes,
The afternoon of drooping eyelids,
Of swollen glands
Of vertigo
And never-ending pains,
Allow my body to fall to sleep.

Advent Prayer Day 3 – A Charlie Brown Christmas Prayer

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

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1292306774God of the shadows and grey-snow days,
Hear the echoes in our souls
And the empty rings in the hallow chambers of our hearts.

For those who have the Charlie Browniest lives
Who can’t find the happiness in holidays,
And open empty mailboxes each and every day.
“I know I should be happy but I’m not.”

We cry to you, God, when we don’t feel loved,
When we feel like failures,
When we are engulfed in fears,
And when we feel the world would be better without us.

It doesn’t matter if the if the doctor is in
Or the friend is in
Or if joy is in.

There is no joy.
Our tree is sparse just like our spirits.

May those who can’t shake their inner Charlie Brown-
Who can’t form a smile in their souls-
Find the purpose of their lives,
The splendor of the season
And the love of a friend.

Inspired by Charlie Brown Christmas, 1965

Advent Prayer Day 2 – World AIDS Day

01 Monday Dec 2014

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God of beautifully broken bodies,
Of days of health
And nights of fevers,
We lament the loved ones lost
From complications to AIDS.

For those who watched friend after friend after friend die
In ’85 or ’87 or ’91.
For those wondering how they are still alive 30 years later.

Because of pills and procedures
Life doesn’t end with a diagnosis,
A gift of modern medicine.

For those who can’t afford medications,
Who must choose between food
And medical bills
And other bills
And pills.

For our sisters and brothers around the world,
Those who don’t have western privilege
And first world medicine
And for the orphans and widows of this disease.

For those today who must wait twenty minutes to see if they have HIV-
Those twenty… long… minutes… of waiting, and worrying.
For those who will be in shock when hearing the word POSITIVE,
Requiring follow up medical care,
And for their bodies trying to adapt to new medications.

For those whose results allow them to move forward like nothing happened,
And for those whose negative means living life as if they could not catch it.

For those who still work to keep the stigma alive-
Attribute the disease to certain behaviors,
And certain people,
Disregarding the thought that when one person in the Body of Christ has a disease
All have it.
Forgetting that those who are negative pose more of a health risk
As the healthy bear germs that could kill an immune-resistant love one.
May they see that all of us are made in God’s image.
May their hearts and mind turn around.

And may all of us know the abundance of God steadfast grace,
Transmitting that love to all we meet.