Daily Devotions
Meditation, Prayers, and Assorted Stuff for June 15, 2020
Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, “Small Steps of Love”
How can we choose love when we have experienced so little of it? We choose love by taking small steps of love every time there is an opportunity. A smile, a handshake, a word of encouragement, a phone call, a card, an embrace, a kind greeting, a gesture of support, a moment of attention, a helping hand, a present, a financial contribution, a visit—all these are little steps toward love.
Each step is like a candle burning in the night. It does not take the darkness away, but it guides us through the darkness. When we look back after many small steps of love, we will discover that we have made a long and beautiful journey.
Today’s prayers comes from Ted Loder.
Praise from All Creatures
Praise be to you, O Lord, who spins shining stars across the wondrous heavens and stretches out the seas, who lifts the dawn into place and sets boundaries for night, who awes the earth with storms and gentles it with green, who gives everything a season and breathes life and love into the dust of me. Praise be to you. Praise in all things, for all things: the soft slant of sunlight, the sweat of battle, a song in the wilderness, the evening breeze, the deep breath, the tended wound, mercy, quietness, a friend; for the miracles of the daily, the mysteries of the eternal. Praise be to you. Praise from all creatures, laughers and list-makers, wonders and worriers, poets and plodders and prophets, the wrinkled, the newborn, the whale, and the worm, from all, and from me. Praise, praise be to you for amazing grace. Amen.
Dad Jokes:
What do you call a belt with a watch on it? (A waist of time.)
How do you organize an outer space party, You planet
If your nose runs and your feet smell, are you build upside down?
Today’s links!
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/health/toilet-paper-hoarding-personality-wellness/index.htmlA new study links toilet paper hoarding with personality type.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/cruise-ship-performer-makes-paper-bag-outfits/index.htmlQuarantined cruise ship entertainer Ashleigh Perrie got creative with the paper bags that her meals came in. Take a look.
https://thisisreportage.com/collection/collection-fifteen/ You’ll find a collection of the world’s very best wedding photography here. Trust me, it’s a lot more than just cutting the cake!
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/year-swaps-cake-smash-spaghetti-adorable-birthday-photo-71179303 In lieu of a traditional cake smash, a toddler named Ira dove into a big bowl of spaghetti to celebrate his first birthday.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kathy-sullivan-astronaut-dives-challenger-deep-ocean/ Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first woman to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the ocean. Sullivan was also the first American woman to complete a spacewalk over 36 years ago. Now, she’s the first human to have done both. Read about her adventure here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnl9ZvrM_yQTechnical difficulties kept this video out of yesterday’s worship service. Take a moment to listen to Kirk Franklin’s Strong God.
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Sunday worship at 9 AM, with “Doughnut room” time starting at 8:30 AM. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/815064120, Meeting ID: 815 064 120 Dial in to participate at +1 312 626 6799.
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Copies of “Our Daily Bread” have arrived in the church office. Feel free to stop by and pick up a copy, or help distribute them to others.
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Stay safe and stay well!