Dear God, Thank you for the moms in my life.  Thank you for my mother, who was a working parent with significant responsibilities, but who gave herself to loving me and others. Thank you for her decision to begin a program for speech therapy at our home when I was small, so she could be with me. Thank you that she dragged me with her to camps and schools as she worked as a speech therapist, so that I might interact with all sorts of folks. Thank you for her decision to become a mother to my cousins when my [...]

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. Dear God, Sometimes, I feel like I don’t quite fit in. I feel different from the people around me. I feel like the kid who plays alone on the playground. I realize that others may look at me and not see that sense of isolation. I know that part of it is due to decisions I have made not to show other people my true self. I also know that part of it is my desire to [...]

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. God of mercy, I confess… I say that to you often. I confess… Do you get tired of hearing it? Do you get tired of hearing about the same old sins, over and over? Do you grow weary of my weakness, annoyed by my failures at real repentance, worn out by my words imploring you to come in and save me from myself? You know, when my kids come to me and tell me they need [...]

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I am so thankful that I was blessed with parents who believe in me. They taught me that I was special, that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to, that my potential was unlimited. Thank you for that. I am so grateful. It has led me to always want to grow, to be better, to aspire to be used for a greater purpose. It has formed my perceptions of what you expect [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I read all my old prayers to you, God, and recognize how often they are filled with contrition and confession. I continually remind you of how far short I fall. I try to be honest before you, approaching you with humility. And I know that such contrition and confession is appropriate – my sin is real. But I also can see how unbalanced that prayer life is, and how weary you must get of hearing me apologize to you. It is as if your attitude toward me is primarily disappointment.  When I read your Bible, I see [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I am so thankful for this last Sunday. You did indeed breathe new life into me. I felt a resurrection of the heart. I felt my bones come together and form life again. I was lifted up. Thank you, God, for new life, abundant life, everlasting life. God, I pray that I would be able to continue to receive this amazing life you give me each and every day. But what shall I do with it? It needs to come out of me, to pour into the lives of others. It makes me want [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYER God of both Fridays and Sundays, “See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e'er such love and sorrow meet…?” - Isaac Watts, early Methodist hymnodist. I stand amazed by your love, for me, God. When I stand in the court of the pavements of my imagination, watching the whip, the thorns, the humiliation…, my heart breaks. When I trail behind your son to the cross, watch him fall and struggle to rise, I bow my head in shame and sadness. But then I consider you, God… seeing what we do to [...]