A Concord Pastor Comments

4/17/26

NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 4/17

(For those who will read this and worry:

my health is very good - thank God!)

This is the day the Lord has made...

Today's the first day of the rest of my life...

One day at a time...

These sayings are valuable on every day, Lord,

but especially for me, especially today,

my birthday, my 79th...

Today these words are unusually keen:

filled with meaning,

solemn and joyful,

poignant, mysterious,

amazing and graced...

For decades, Lord, the years slipped by so quickly

but now's the time when each day counts,

when every sunrise comes as gift

and every night's a time to pray

in thanks for all the life I've known,

in hope for all that's yet to be...

My supply of days will have its end

though I pray much more's in store for me:

time to enjoy whatever you've planned,

to seek your pardon for wrongs I've done,

to deepen my faith in your love for me,

to grow in your wisdom, more and more

and to do what I might

to share the peace you've shared with me

through decades of my life...

79 years, Lord - and I'm grateful for every one!

I give you thanks for the joy I've known

and for your healing in times of grief...

I praise you, Lord, for all your blessings

and for sustaining me in times of need...

I thank you, Lord,

for getting me through all the troubles

I thought I couldn't, wouldn't survive...

And I pray tonight for many more days

- for weeks and months and years -

to seek and find and know your love:

a day at a time, each day a gift,

each day the first of the rest of my life...

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...

Amen.

Thank You For This Day by Billy Causey

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Thank you for this day; thank you for this time.

Thank you for this moment in my life; I give you thanks.

Teach me how to live; teach me how to love you more.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow's not yet come; thank you for today.

Thank you for this day, thank you for this time.

Thank you for this moment in our lives; we give you thanks.

Teach us how to live; teach us how to love you more.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow's not yet come; thank you for today.

Thank you for today; thank you for this time

thank you for your presence in our lives; we give you praise

Teach us how to live; teach us how to love you more.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow's not yet come; thank you for today.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow's not yet come;

thank you for today. thank you for today.

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Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 4/17

My AI baker counts 79 candles on this cake!

Today's my birthday and a few years ago a dear friend sent me an email including the words in green below which I adapted and made part of a prayer I wrote at the time.

O God, who brought all things into being, today's the anniversary of my birth, the day you beckoned me to enter this beautiful world, the work of your hands...

When I try to downplay my birthday, Lord, remind me that it's the anniversary

of your calling me out of my mother's womb to the life you had in store for me. And that makes this a holy day - not because of me, Lord - but on account of what you did for me: you gave me the gift of my life, conceived of my dear parents' love; you gave me a lifetime's span to grow in grace and love of you; you gave me all these years to find you, to know you, to follow you and to share the many blessings you've given me...

To mark and honor this day, Lord, I ask for the grace to humbly acknowledge the meaning you've given my existence, something I too often take for granted...

Help me see, Lord, all the ways you've shaped me, touched me, blessed and healed me - and - all the ways you've shaped, touched, blessed and healed others through my words and deeds and the grace of your Spirit...

Help me see, Lord, how you've used my weakness to support and strengthen others;

how in my foolishness your wisdom still shone bright; how even through my sinfulness you revealed your heart of mercy; and how through my stumbling efforts

you worked wonders with your grace...

Light my heart and will on fire, Lord, that I might see that I inhabit this earth for a reason - and that reason is your love...

You created me for a reason, Lord... for a purpose... for your plan... for a part to play in tending to your people's hearts and souls...

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of my life; for the gift of all who walk with me; for gift of these 79 fleeting years - and for keeping your promise to be ever at my side, night and day, now and ever more...

Amen.

Thank You For My Life by Ed Tossing

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4/16/26

NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 4/16

For many, Lord,

the shades of nighttime open up a stream,

a flood of fears, a river flowing

deep with grief and pain...

So many cry themselves to sleep

and pray their tears might bring release,

might ease the pain and pressures

of the day they' left behind...

Will you wipe away our tears, Lord?
Will you gently dry our faces
moist with sadness and distress?

Will you rock us in your arms,

will you sing us fast asleep, Lord,

with your lullaby of mercy?

With your soft and simple melody

calm our worried fears and soothe

our troubled, tired souls?

Sing to us this night, Lord:

gently shush and hush us,

rock our souls to sleep

while we're cradled in your arms...

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake

and watch over us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Songs in the Night by Lauren Talley

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Tough times are right before my eyes
So close they make it hard to see
Much beyond myself and where you're leading me

Dark skies as I lie awake in silence once again I find
The battle’s all about where I set my mind
So 'til a new day finally comes
I'll think on all the mighty things you've done.

And I will sing songs in the night
While in a time of so little light

I'll recall your goodness, your faithfulness
And the great things in my life
These will be my songs in the night

Each time life brings me to my knees
I will pour out my heart to You
And run into Your Word
For Your promises are true
And even though it doesn't feel you're close
I'll trust You with me still.

And I will sing songs in the night
While in a time of so little light

I'll recall your goodness, your faithfulness
And the great things in my life
These will be my songs in the night

This will be my song in my darkest hour
more than my own strength
I'll trust in your power.

And I will sing songs in the night
While in a time of so little light

I'll recall your goodness, your faithfulness
And the great things in my life
These will be my songs in the night

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No surprise here...

Here's an excerpt from Pope Leo's comments at a Meeting for Peace in Bamenda, Cameroon, on April 16, 2026.

The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet a lifetime is often not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found. Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilization and death. It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.

We must make a decisive change of course — a true conversion — that will lead us in the opposite direction, onto a sustainable path rich in human fraternity. The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters! They are the descendants of Abraham, as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore.

Let us look into each other’s eyes: we are this immense people! Peace is not something we must invent: it is something we must embrace by accepting our neighbor as our brother and as our sister. We do not choose our brothers and sisters: we simply must accept one another! We are one family, inhabiting the same home: this wonderful planet that ancient cultures have cared for across millennia.

(Here's the full text of Leo's remarks)

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 4/16

Teach me, Lord,

to pray for peace,

to long for peace,

to strive for peace,

to study peace

to work for peace,

to dream of peace,

to keep the peace,

to search for peace,

to lobby for peace,

to hunger for peace,

to teach peace,

to counsel peace,

to envision peace,

to nurture peace,

to practice peace,

to pursue peace,

to dwell in peace,

to cherish peace,

to cling to peace,

to foster peace,

to preserve peace,

to argue for peace,

to champion peace,

to surrender to peace,

to secure peace,

to embrace peace,

to preach peace,

to plead for peace,

to enkindle peace,

to sing of peace,

to cultivate peace,

to strengthen peace,

to yearn for peace,

to thirst for peace,

to treasure peace,

to design for peace,

to encourage peace,

to favor peace,

to endorse peace,

to prepare for peace,

to deny myself for peace,

to desire peace,

to promote peace,

to support peace,

to inspire peace,

to hold out for peace,

to speak for peace,

to empower peace,

to bend towards peace,

to embolden peace,

to prioritize for peace,

to sacrifice for peace,

to speak up for peace,

to expect peace,

to believe in peace,

to choose peace,

to sustain peace,

to plant the seeds of peace,

to serve the cause of peace,

to walk in peace,

to make peace,

and to be at peace,

with you Lord

and with my neighbor

and myself...

Amen.

Peace by Ed Cash

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Fun fact - floral!

Writing my Night Prayer yesterday, I came upon this fun fact:

All jonquils are daffodils

- but not all daffodils are jonquils.

Here's the whole story...

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4/15/26

NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 4/15

Lord, these are the first blooms you've opened

at my backdoor, in my backyard this spring...

I was tempted to pick up the leaves before snapping this picture and then tempted again to shop them out before I posted here... but something kept me from editing your signs of spring, budding and popping open over winter's dried remains... fine, bright harbingers of hope, defying a thief who, for a season, robbed me of the sun, light and warmth my soul has sorely missed...

As in the garden, Lord, so in my life: open my eyes to the times and ways your gracious presence blooms around me - in and out of season... and help me sort through the brush cluttering my path as I seek for signs of healing grace, reaching out to touch and to delight me...

Be the daffodils my wintered heart has longed for, Lord, and bloom, deep in my soul, with the beauty and the glory that only you can bring...

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...

All Things Bright and Beautiful

by John Rutter

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All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful:
the Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains,
the river running by,
the sunset and the morning
that brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden:
He made them every one.

God gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God Almighty,
who has made all things well.

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A lot to chew on here...

I keep running into Robert Arnold's videos online and find them to be consistently filled with clear thinking and wisdom - things many of us are hungering for these days. The video above is an example. I needed to watch this several times - and will watch it yet again - because there's so much to chew on here...

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 4/15

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4/14/26

NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 4/14

For this evening's prayer I've written a litany which prays for the gift of God's grace while giving thanks and praise for how that gift is already ours...

For the grace to trust your love, Lord,

in good times and in bad:

for this I pray