July 13, 2014

A sower went out to sow. Such familiar words, loving God. We read them together at least every 3 years in the Lectionary. Your word provides for us a formula for living well; for loving abundantly; for sharing our love and our lives- all to honor you; all to your glory.

Sometimes, we do get distracted by a need to have more and more. And we turn our attention from you. Sometimes we are consumed by worry. And again, we forget about the security we feel when we are grounded in your word; when we have planted ourselves in the good soil of kindness and mercy; of love for all; of right living.

You remind us everyday by surrounding us with miracles and beauty everywhere we look; you remind us that we have been blessed by you. We hear the laughter of a child in the distance and think of you.

We notice a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower and watch in wonder as tiny wings create a blur around its body.

We hear the music of Bach or Mozart and listen, mesmerized by sounds too beautiful to describe.

All are blessings you provide. And as you ask us to care for ourselves daily, we hear you.

We know that we can always turn our worry over to you, knowing that you are present at our times of need. This morning we take a moment to lift up to you our prayer concerns, asking you to relieve us of our worries if we carry worries; or help us to celebrate boldly, if we have a celebration in our lives.

For Agnes. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Rose and Jeff, and Mary Anne who has been so present for both of them.
For Eleanor and her family. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Julie after a car accident.
For Lois and her fiancé Joe, who has cancer. God in your mercy hear our prayer.
For Bill as he continues cancer treatments. God in your mercy hear these, and others as we consider quietly those in our lives who need your closeness today; or who are celebrating something special.