I'll be flying back to Boston on Friday and then I have a busy day on Saturday so I won't be posting until Sunday morning, January 4 - Epiphany!
1/1/26
10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
I hope and pray that 2026
will bring peace to you,
to those you love,
to our nation,
and to the world...
I pray that the New Year
I pray that the New Year
will bring us all closer
to the mercy and love of God
revealed in Christ Jesus...
And I pray that the New Year
And I pray that the New Year
will find us all growing together
in holiness, health and happiness!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
New Year's Buffet: reflection and song...
Here's a buffet of reflections
from which to choose on New Year's Day...
New Beginnings by Every Nation Music
This is the day of new beginnings
The old is passing
Change is coming by your Spirit
It's a new season of revealing
Your Word is true
and You will never ever fail
Your presence will lead us
Always providing in the desert
And filling our souls with living waters
And lighting the night with Holy fire
You're turning dead ends into doorways
Chorus
Always providing in the desert
And filling our souls with living water
Lighting the night with Holy fire
You're turning dead ends into doorways
And He's never failed me yet
He's never failed me yet
My heart and my soul confess
God is my confidence
He's never failed me yet
A Prayer for When There's Too Much Going On!
When there's too much going on, Lord:
give me your peace...
When I'm feeling overwhelmed,
come lift me up...
When things are moving much too fast,
then slow me down, Lord...
When it seems I just won't make it,
give me hope...
When I don't know where to turn,
show me the way...
When I'm totally confused,
give me your wisdom...
When I hurting inside and out,
touch me with healing...
When I wonder where you are,
show me your face, Lord...
When I cannot find an answer,
speak your truth...
When I don't know how to pray,
send me your Spirit...
When I'm feeling all alone,
stay by my side...
When I'm tired and worn out,
refresh my strength...
And when I cannot fall asleep,
send me good dreams...
Yes, when there's too much going on,
Lord, give me peace...
Amen.
A Sung Christmas Blessing
We're still in the Christmas season! Here's a blessing written by Michael Joncas and Alan Hommerding, sung by Concord Pastor and the people of Holy Family Parish in Concord.
YOUR Top Ten Stories from 2025
This is the 16th year I've published this post! An annual guide to help each of us determine The Top Ten Stories in our own lives in the past year. The repetition of this post would be boring were it not for the reality that our story (and our stories) change every year.
So, sometime today, over the weekend or next week... use these questions as a guide for prayer and reflection and for reviewing your own Top Ten Stories from the past year. You might use these questions as you're writing in your journal. Even just reading through this post - one time - will likely lead you to reflection, discernment and prayer...
1) This year has been the source of many confounding and tragic stories so let's start with what might be a harder question: What was the happiest story of my
life in the past year? In the midst of all the bad news, what brought me some relief, some happiness - even some joy? How did that story begin? How did it end? Who were the characters in that story as it unfolded? How might I keep the memory of that story alive in my heart, to sustain me through whatever difficult times the new year might bring?
Have I taken time to thank God for this happiness? What particular happy story might I anticipate, hope for, pray for in 2026?
2) What was the most deeply spiritual story in my life in 2025? When was I most aware of God, of my Higher Power, of the Spirit alive in my soul? How did God move in my life in the past year - and how did I respond to God's presence within and around me? What was (were) my deepest moment(s) of prayer? How would I "chart" my spiritual journey through 2025: its ups and downs, its twists and turns, its straightaways and its detours, its clear paths and its dead ends? Did I find ways last year to share my spiritual journey with others? What did I learn from what others shared with me of their walk in faith? What are my hopes and resolutions for the new year ahead? Where do I hope my spiritual journey will take me in 2026?
3) What was the most selfless story of my past year? In what ways did last year offer me opportunities to serve others, care for others, sacrifice for others? Who were the people in my life who gave up things for me? What did I let go of for others? What did I receive in what others offered me? Was I open to how others wanted to be generous to me? Have I expressed my gratitude? What are some practical ways in which I might become a more generous person as the story of 2026 unfolds?
4) Is there a story of my making peace in the past year? Did I let go any old grudges? Or did I create some new ones? Did I brush some chips from my shoulder? Sweep some resentments from the corners of my heart? Did I forgive anyone? Accept anyone's forgiveness of me? What spiritual path have I walked through all the political turmoil in the year just past? Did I help create or resolve differences and divisions? Am I carrying any hard feelings into the new year? As I review the year behind me, do I find myself to be at peace with God? with my neighbor? with myself? What left-over peace making responsibilities am I carrying into 2026? What's my plan for working on them? Who are the people, in what situations, might I be a peacemaker in the year ahead?
5) This one's a hard question - but important to ask: What's the most selfish personal story I recall from the past year? Did I prosper at the expense of someone else? Were there times when I put my own needs ahead of those around me at home or at work or at school? How did my selfishness hurt others? What can I learn about myself in all of this? Have I made amends for any selfishness? In what situations, in whose lives, might I be a more selfless person as the story of my new year begins and plays out?
6) What was the saddest story I
have to tell from 2025? And it might be difficult to name just one here... What happened that left me feeling wounded,
empty, lost, abandoned? Who helped me through that time? Who shared my burden with me? Was I able to bring my sorrow to the Lord? to prayer? What did I lose in
this story - and what did I find in living through that loss? Have I healed from this sadness or am I
still living through it? Are there any ways in which I'm clinging to my sadness? How can I tend to the memory of this sadness without letting it consume my attention and energy? Have I asked the Lord to heal and mend this sadness in my life? Can I name and reach out to someone whose story of sadness I know, someone whose spirits I might help lift in 2026?
7) Among all the many disturbing images of pain and suffering in the past year, what story of beauty survives in my mind, my imagination my heart? Something in nature? A concert? Watching a child grow? A wedding? Someone's story of perseverance and survival? The beauty of so many giving so much for others? A friendship? A work of art? A book or a poem? A vacation? A personal accomplishment? A touch, an embrace, a newfound love? Have I shared the beauty of this experience with anyone else? Have I expressed my gratitude for such beauty? Have I thanked God for this beauty, God from whom all beauty and blessings flow? Have I made time for moments of beauty in my life? Can I name a time, a place or an opportunity when I might look for and share something beautiful with others in the New Year?
7) Among all the many disturbing images of pain and suffering in the past year, what story of beauty survives in my mind, my imagination my heart? Something in nature? A concert? Watching a child grow? A wedding? Someone's story of perseverance and survival? The beauty of so many giving so much for others? A friendship? A work of art? A book or a poem? A vacation? A personal accomplishment? A touch, an embrace, a newfound love? Have I shared the beauty of this experience with anyone else? Have I expressed my gratitude for such beauty? Have I thanked God for this beauty, God from whom all beauty and blessings flow? Have I made time for moments of beauty in my life? Can I name a time, a place or an opportunity when I might look for and share something beautiful with others in the New Year?
8) What’s the story of new acquaintances and friends who became part of my life in 2025? What circumstances opened me up to new relationships? How is my life richer for having these new folks, these improved relationships, in my life? Did any difficulties help deepen my relationships with others? How did I enrich the lives of others? Who are the people around me whom I might reach out to in 2026? The Lord is the best and most faithful friend I have: how will I need, find and nurture the Lord's friendship with me in the year ahead?
9) What's the story of the greatest challenge or change in my life in the past year? How did this change or challenge impact my life? my spirituality? my faith? my relationships with others and my understanding of their difficulties? If this challenge, this change was difficult, how did I seek and accept help in living with it? If this challenge, this change, was a happy one, how did I share it with others and invite them to benefit from it? How has 2025 prepared me for challenges and changes in the new year? What challenges lie ahead for me in 2026 and how will I ask God to help me accept them, work with them and meet them?
10) What’s the unfinished story left
over from my life in 2025? The "to be continued" story? What are the loose ends I need to tie up?
What fear,
hesitation or just plain laziness has kept me from completing something I
wanted, needed and planned to do? Are others waiting for me to bring
this to completion? Am I
waiting for others to help me? Am I ready or slow to accept others'
help? What
still needs to be done - and how and when will I get to that in the year
ahead? What peace, what happiness might be mine were I to bring some
closure
to this unfinished story? Where is God in my unfinished story? How
might I open myself and invite the Lord to have a greater role in bringing
to fulfillment all the stories he begins in me? How might God be the
resolution of my stories in the year ahead?
Simply looking to the past year and pondering these questions - with an eye to the year ahead - might be both instructive and prayerful.
May your New Year be holy, healthy and happy!
Pause for Prayer: NEW YEAR'S DAY
It's a new beginning, Lord,
a new day, a new month, a new year
and I know that new beginnings
come in different ways, for different folks,
so...
I pray today for all who've waited,
who've longed and hungered for a new year,
who've longed and hungered for a new year,
eager to see 2022 fade away
- which I'm fairly certain may be most of us...
I pray for those who are more than ready
to move beyond the hurt and disappointment,
I pray for those who are more than ready
to move beyond the hurt and disappointment,
the illness, fear and suffering,
the grief and burdens of the year just past...
the grief and burdens of the year just past...
I pray for those who desire a new beginning,
who pray for new grace to look afresh
at everyone and everything…
I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,
to begin again, to trust again, to try again
to hope again in you
and in your gracious love for us…
and in your gracious love for us…
who’ve lost the energy, the courage, the desire
to look ahead to a new beginning...
I pray for those who’ve lost a sense
to look ahead to a new beginning...
I pray for those who’ve lost a sense
of where one day ends and another begins...
I pray for those so tired of yesterday
I pray for those so tired of yesterday
they’ve lost a taste for tomorrow…
I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,
to begin again, to trust again, to try again
to hope again in you
and in your gracious love for us…
and in your gracious love for us…
And I pray, Lord, for those too tired
to mark the beauty of a rising sun,
the solace of a silvery moon…
to mark the beauty of a rising sun,
the solace of a silvery moon…
I pray for those weighed down by worries,
fears and problems,
burdened by too much work
fears and problems,
burdened by too much work
and too little time to do it…
I pray for those whose days and nights run together,
keeping them from rest and relaxation...
keeping them from rest and relaxation...
I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,
to begin again, to trust again, to try again
to hope again in you
and in your gracious love for us…
and in your gracious love for us…
And I pray, Lord, for all who long
for the gentle way you hold us when we’re weary:
I pray you strengthen us in our weakness
and carry us from day to day...
and carry us from day to day...
I pray for those who need to see
how faithfully you walk with us:
day by day, week by week,
through every season, all year long...
how faithfully you walk with us:
day by day, week by week,
through every season, all year long...
I pray for those who wait your healing
of last year's loss and grief;
who wait the gift of your gentle presence,
who wait your peace in the year that's just begun...
of last year's loss and grief;
who wait the gift of your gentle presence,
who wait your peace in the year that's just begun...
I pray for the grace we all need, Lord,
to begin again, to trust again, to try again
to hope again in you
and in your gracious love for us…
and in your gracious love for us…
Send your Spirit upon us, Lord,
to open our minds and hearts
to open our minds and hearts
to all you'll offer in this new year, 2023...
May this truly be a year of grace:
may your mercy be our healing
and your healing be our hope…
and your healing be our hope…
Give us the grace we all need, Lord,
to begin again, to trust again, to try again
to hope again in you
and in your gracious love for us….
and in your gracious love for us….
Amen.
This Is A Day of New Beginnings
by Brian Wren
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12/31/25
NIGHT PRAYER: New Year's Eve 2025
It's New Year's Eve
in a year that seemed so very new
not all that long ago...
Where has the old year gone, Lord?
And how did I spend, how did I live
these fleeting past twelve months?
How well I remember
the times we walked and talked, you and I,
and the peace of your companionship...
But I remember, too, the times when I forgot,
when I ignored that you were by my side
when I, like a fool,
tried to make it on my own...
when I, like a fool,
tried to make it on my own...
And all the times
you took delight in me
and all the times I sadly failed your love
in what I said and what I did,
in what I failed to say and do...
you took delight in me
and all the times I sadly failed your love
in what I said and what I did,
in what I failed to say and do...
But you never let me down, Lord,
you never failed to love me,
to pardon and forgive me:
your grace so sweet and pure
- and always freely given...
But now there comes a new year, Lord,
and with it comes my prayer
to grow in faith and hope and love,
more faithful to your word...
In the new year, Lord,
I pray you'll nurture in my soul
a desire for your wisdom,
a hunger for the truth,
a thirst for all that's holy...
I pray you'll nurture in my soul
a desire for your wisdom,
a hunger for the truth,
a thirst for all that's holy...
Wake my heart to 2026
and all your gifts and blessings:
as a new year dawns tomorrow,
help me live it day by day...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace...
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace...
Amen.
Tonight's song isn't a hymn but rather a reflection on the regrets and hopes in the minds and hearts of many on New Year's Eve...
New Year's Day by Carole King
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Everybody makes a dream this time of yearFrom now on it's gonna be good for youAll your friends and familyGather 'round in peace and harmony
It's a time to remember your blessingsIt's a time to remember your goalsAll the people in your lifeBe they new friends or old
And it could be the time of your lifeEverything's gonna turn out alrightIt'll be okay, in every way, makin' it betterIt's New Year's Day
And should old friends be forgotKeep everything they gave youAnd though they may seem so far awayYou walk with them each and every day
And I know sometimes the road isn't easyAnd we've said some things wish we'd never saidOnce a few rounds you loved and lostYou pick yourself up and take a chance again
And it could be the time of your lifeEverything's gonna turn out alrightIt'll be okay, in every way, makin' it betterIt's New Year's Day
Countdown's dawnAnd we'll sway along with the bandJust one more danceMay all your dreams come true
And it could be the time of your lifeEverything's gonna turn out alrightIt'll be okay, in every way, makin' it betterIt's New Year's DayNew Year's Day
12/30/25
Hoping to make a new beginning in 2026?
Many of us look forward to the new year as a time to make a new beginning. Here are some scriptures that might help in our reflection and prayer, in our determination and resolution to change and grow...
Do
not despise these small beginnings,
for
the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…
Zechariah 4:10
Forget the former things; do not dwell
on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Do do you
not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:18-19
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should
ask God,
who gives generously to
all without finding fault,
and it
will be given to you.
James 1:5
But he said to me,
“My grace is
sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly
about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power
may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
For God has not given us a spirit
of fear,
but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
And we know that in all things
God works for the
good of those who love him,
who
have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Trust in the Lord with all
your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Therefore, if anyone is a new creation.
The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord,
plans for your welfare and not
for evil,
to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
To put off your old self,
which belongs to your
former manner of life
and is
corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new
self,
created
after the likeness of God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 12/31
time to think and pray
and make some resolutions...
Now, no one knows better than you, Lord,
my track record on resolutions:
the ones I've made year after year
at New Year’s - and so many other times -
when I've promised and pledged:
to do this or take care of that,
or to stop doing things I ought to avoid;
or to follow through on meeting goals
I’ve wanted to achieve…
But then just days or weeks later
- well, you know how that goes, Lord!
So let me begin
by placing the whole New Year ahead
entirely in your hands, Lord…
I put my heart in your hands, Lord,
and I pray you'll
mend its broken pieces,
soften what's grown coarse,
warm what's chilled and frostbit,
smooth its jagged edges,
ease what’s stiff with anger,
loosen all that's tight with fear,
undo the knots of worry
that bind and tie me up
- all this for my sake, Lord,
and for those who count on me,
wait for me and hold me in their hearts…
In the New Year, Lord,
give me a heart for others
and help me resolve
to love my neighbor as myself...
As a New Year begins,
I place in your hands, Lord:
my mind and my will,
my thoughts and ideas
and my dreams and my schemes
and I pray you'll help me sort through
my doubts and my questions,
my fuzzy, lazy thinking,
my confusion and my foolishness…
In the year ahead, Lord,
give me the gift of your wisdom
and help me resolve
to seek and rely on your Holy Spirit
for guidance, direction and counsel...
Sharpen my thoughts
with the sword of your truth, Lord,
with the sword of your truth, Lord,
and when my thinking narrows,
open my mind with surprise and wonder;
lead me to study what I need to study,
and to learn what I need to learn;
give me a hunger for the naked truth
and the grace to resolve
to follow and live by its light…
In the year ahead, Lord, I offer you my body:
help me respect and care for the frame
that gives my soul its form and substance.
Get me out of my bed and off my butt:
move me, shake me, stretch me;
walk with me and strengthen me, Lord,
to do the work that’s mine to do…
And I offer you my spirit, Lord, my soul:
give me the courage and the strength I need
to walk each day with you,
your arm around my shoulder,
my hand tight in yours,
guiding every step I take...
In 2026, Lord,
give me the gift of your grace
and help me promise, pledge and resolve
to trust in your faithful love and care:
whatever may befall me,
whatever comes my way,
wherever my path may take me,
wherever your Spirit leads,
through good times and through bad times,
in sickness and in health,
through happiness and sorrow,
through my laughter and my tears
through joy and disappointment,
through brokenness and healing,
through sunshine and through darkness,
through loneliness and friendship,
in my weakness and my strength,
in my good deeds and my faults,
in my prudence and my foolishness
my selfishness and kindness…
In the new year, Lord,
help me live each day with you:
a day at a time,
an hour at a time,
moment by moment…
Fill my days with energy
and resolve to do your will;
fill my nights with restful sleep
to strengthen and refresh me
to live the year ahead
as you would have me live it…
In the New Year, Lord,
I pray you’ll make my thoughts pure,
my dreams sweet,
my intentions just,
my speech true,
my body healthy,
my soul pure,
my path straight,
my heart generous,
my love patient,
my plans firm,
my goals reachable,
and my will
ever faithful to your own…
I entrust to your care, O Lord,
all the burdens and sorrows
the New Year will bring.
Give me the grace to accept your help
all the burdens and sorrows
the New Year will bring.
Give me the grace to accept your help
and to shoulder my burdens
with a hearty spirit
and a peaceful soul…
with a hearty spirit
and a peaceful soul…
And I offer you, Lord, the New Year’s joys:
let me miss not a single one
but rather, delight in them all
- and share them with my neighbors...
In 2026, Lord,
help me resolve to do for others
as I'd have them do for me...
In the New Year, Lord,
help me always
do the next right thing…
In the 12 months ahead of me, Lord,
help me trust and believe
that all shall be well, that all shall be well,
that all manner of things shall be well…
Into your hands, O Lord, my God,
I entrust this New Year
and I pray, through your grace,
I’ll come to its end
in your mercy and peace,
held close in your loving arms…
Amen.
He Who Began A Good Work In You
by Steve Green
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