appointed prayer

week of October 5

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Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon your church the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Anna, Isaac, and Haley the Christmas dogSolomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?

And as if often the case, medical science is proving the wisdom of Solomon’s Spirit-inspired words.

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Posts Tagged ‘priorities’

entering the presence of God

Monday, October 9, 2006 · living the life · 2 responses · comments closed

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3–5)

Psalm 24 was part of […]

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Dilbert: “work-life balance”

Friday, February 24, 2006 · quick take, vision and goals · no responses · comments closed

Today’s Dilbert offers a wonderful picture of the struggle to find balance. Dogbert offers a list of 11 priorities and tells his seminar participants that they can do only 3; work and holidays are two, and they can choose the remaining one.

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“consult not your fears”

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 · vision and goals · no responses · comments closed

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. — Pope John XXIII

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fear: the anti-goal

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 · vision and goals · no responses · comments closed

Every week, I eat breakfast with Jeff, Chris, and William — we are, to use John Eldredge’s term, a “band of brothers.” Our conversations range over a wide variety of topics, from movies to marriage and politics to prophecy. However, we always make it a point to talk about our goals, and we have worked our way through some books to help us be more purposeful and focused.

Jeff’s been reading Chris Howard’s Turning Passions into Profits, and he told us about Howard’s idea of having goals you move toward (positive goals) and those you move away from (anti-goals)…

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a prayer for what I love

Friday, August 19, 2005 · living the life · no responses · comments closed

I’ve been thinking about yesterday’s post, wondering about the appropriate response to the Holy Spirit touching the one thing I don’t really want to give up. In such a response — such a prayer — I must:…

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“stop praying”

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 · living the life, vision and goals · no responses · comments closed

Dan Miller’s latest newsletter sounds heretical, but he makes a great point that sometimes “waiting on the Lord” is simply an excuse for doing nothing.…

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what kind of family are you?

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 · vision and goals · no responses · comments closed

In today’s edition of the 48 Days Newsletter, Dan Miller writes about the need to resist conformity and have an “eagle heart.” He says:

“The Latin saying ‘Aquila non captat musca’ (The Eagle doesn’t catch flies) is used to indicate that wise people do not engage in minor activities.…

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