A Prayer of Thomas Aquinas

“Most merciful God, order my day so that I may know what you want me to do, and then help me do it. Let me not be elated by success or depressed by failure. I want only to take pleasure in what pleases you, and only to grieve at what displeases you.

For the sake of your love I would willingly forgo all temporal comforts. May all the joys in which you have no part weary me. May all the work which you do not prompt be tedious to me. Let my thoughts frequently turn to you, that I may be obedient to you without complaint, patient without dejection, and serious without solemnity. Let me hold you in awe without feeling terrified of you, and let me be an example to others without any trace of pride.”

- Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)

Drought Conditions

Well, we all knew the drought conditions here in Texas were bad. This data from LCRA confirms it. See those dark red areas? That's where the conditions are the worst. Guess where we live. Pray, pray, pray for rain!

A Prayer of St. Benedict

At the Missional Church Network blog, I read the following prayer by St. Benedict (480-547):

Gracious and Holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive You,
intelligence to understand You,
diligence to seek You,
patience to wait for You,
eyes to behold You,
hearts to meditate upon You,
and a life to proclaim You,
through the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ our Lord.

What a prayer. It encompasses so much! I need to pray it daily. Thank you, Lord, for inspiring people like St. Benedict to put into writing what so many of us need to be expressing in our own prayer life.

July 5th Patriotic Service

We had a wonderful worship service on July 5th. I wrote about it over at the FBC Wimberley Music Ministry blog. Of course, I think it's worth your time, so click here to read it.

A prayer for the close of the day

The following is a post on Pastor Rich Kannwischer's blog. I came across it the other day. It helped me. Maybe it can help someone else.

A friend over lunch recently shared with me his struggle with taking work home at the end of the day. He may not have a lot in the briefcase, but the tensions and work seems incomplete, following him to his family. I agreed that as a pastor the work seems never done. There is always another phone call to make, another tweak of the sermon or lesson, another new relationship to build. These are wonderful problems to have, but it does make it hard to feel a sense of completion at the end of a day.

So I shared with him a prayer that I keep near my computer at the office. It is a prayer I regularly say at the close of a day's work.

"Gracious Father, you have kept me this day even without my knowing. As the shadows now lengthen and the evening comes, hush the busyness of this world and calm the troubled waters of my heart. My work is not yet done, but it is time for rest. I thank you, God, for all the good we did this day and for all that has given me joy. Forgive me for when I have strayed from your will and your way. Take from me my worries, my pains, my complaints and my fears. May evil no longer have power over me. Let your servant now depart with peace to join those I love to celebrate and bless with your humble kindness. Amen."

Now, if you aren't already, go home and rest.

We're All In This Together Movie Preview

Trend Spotting

Here's an interesting article from Marian Salzman. Check it out. It's eye-opening to see the future trends that Salzman talks about.