My website has been blocked by a security system. I have finally located the source of remedy, and I am in. But the problem is not permanently solved. If you are checking this blog, please “like” so that I will know this is being seen. Thank you. Back with more later, I hope.
Most of what I put on this blog is add-ons to “Weaving Prayer Into the Tapestry of life”. But a friend told me something recently that I want to share. Her mother has been in declining health in a care facility in PA for the last few years. She has been traveling frequently to see her. The last trip was recent, and she knew before she went that her mother was near death. She found her heavily drugged with morphine…..
This post is longer than usual. I was the preacher for our Maundy Thursday communion service today. I told people that I was going to preach on “the ear” And I did! My text was the story of the poor slave who lost his ear in the Garden of Gethsemene. The response was so good, I thought that it might be worth sharing. M.
THE HEALING TOUCH – GIVENS MAUNDAY THURSDAY, 2015 SCRIPTURE: LUKE 22: 47-51 Jesus has gathered with…..
I wrote an asking prayer for a friend this week. She is traveling with her husband to Asia to visit her son and granddaughter and see their home there. Her stress level has been very high about the trip. As the date got closer, her anxiety increased. So I asked if she would like for me to write a prayer for her. A woman of faith, she responded with an eager “yes”. I told her that she would need to…..
My step-grandson, Robin Arnott, is a video game developer and a fascinating innovator. My image of video games is noise and action – usually loud noise and destructive action. Oh yes, aggression and competition – winners and losers. But Robin has developed a video format designed to provide a deep, meditative experience. (For more information, check out Robin Arnott and SoundSelf on Google) I am eager to try it sometime. The impact of much technical, media experience for me produces…..
My niece and namesake, Martha Brown, mailed out to forty extended family members this week a CD containing the autobiography of a favorite uncle. She also put it on FACEBOOK and is connecting it to some family history websites. Now she is enjoying the delighted responses from near and wide. This project began simply. The uncle – H.C. Graybeal (1889-1981) – was born the eldest son of a family of seven children. Everybody looked up to him as a kind…..
A Sacred Space I have joined a recently organized Centering Prayer Group in my community. We meet on Monday mornings from 9:00 to 9:30 am in a quiet room. We sit in a circle of about ten chairs around a simple worship center with a candle in the middle. When we are ready to be silent, the lights are dimmed and the candle lighted. One participant brings a timer that sounds a gentle chime to mark the end of the…..
A friend shared with me this week her diagnosis that a bone marrow problem “can be managed but not cured.” About the same time I ran across a prayer written by my pastor Guy Sayles about a year ago now after he received that same diagnosis. I sent a copy to my friend who is beginning chemo this month. She replied: “Thank you Martha, that is a lovely prayer and I printed it off to read every day.” Since the…..
A New Benediction I have a new benediction to add to the prayer resources in Weaving Prayer Into the Tapestry of Life. My successor as pastor at the Rolling Hills Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, California used it in his message in this week’s newsletter. He signed off with “May God bless you and bless others through you.” I can think of all sorts of occasions when this will be useful. I like this because I think that one of…..
Give Sorrow Words I recently read a quote attributed to Shakespeare that I had not seen before. If anyone knows where this can be found, I would appreciate hearing from you. But I appreciate the message; “ Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.” Advice for those who are grieving is abundantly available. “Allow yourself to feel your feelings.” “Be gentle and take good care of yourself.” “Get…..
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