Monday Morning Offering: /14

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

 

I'm back from my summer sojourn, Lord, 

first to the mountains and then to the sea,

and I noticed upon my return

that already you've begun

to put your brush to your palette,

giving us all a preview of your color scheme

for this fall's leafy fashion show...

 

Summer's barely gone

but autumn hastens now 

to follow her on stage

in a riot of colors:

bright, muted, glowing, speckled,  

purpled, brushed and burnished

by the artistry, the eye divine,

the glory of your grace...

 

Seasons change

and seasons change 

and season come and go

and season come again

and seasons change

and something in me longs

to stall the seasons changing:

to stay the summer's end

and hold back the dying 

bound to come each time this year

when the sunlight plays 

its game of hide and seek...

 

But this is fall's time, Lord:

when a nip in the air quickens my step and pace;

when barren branches scratch their prayers 

across a harvest moon;

when autumn's rare, spare beauty      

whispers psalms of praise 

within my heart...

 

Inside and out, Lord,

my soul and body stand between the seasons:

no change in nature’s phases fails 

to change in turn 

the seasons of my heart… 

 

The rhythms of creation, 

of suns and planets, moons and tides 

all echo in my heart and my soul knows 

how all that lives must die

and how all that dies will rise again 

when comes that last and longed-for spring 

that has no end,

that will not change

but will remain 

when I forever live in you

as you, Lord,

live now in me... 

 

Without grieving an hour's sunlight

or the joy of a warm day's kiss,

while holding close the memories

of rolling seas and mountain heights,

walk me into fall, Lord,

with autumn's leafy glory dropping down, 

gently - a russet carpet - a path for me 

to walk from summer into fall,

from season into season,

from change to change

until all things, all times, all life

converges to be one in you

my ever changeless 

ever loving,

ever living God...

 

Help me let go, Lord, 

what I hold too tightly,
what cannot last the whole year through
and let my empty arms embrace 

and trust 

that even in the changes,

in the falling, 

in the dying, 

- you are with me -

present and abiding in the seasons 

all the seasons

of my life...

 

Receive my prayer today, Lord,   

an offering of the seasons

that turn and change 

and age me:

these seasons of your mercy,

these seasons of your grace

these seasons marking all the years

I live and grow in you...

   
Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 9/7

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

It's Labor Day, Lord:
summer’s end, fall’s debut,
a day off work
for all who have a job…

Grant a day of rest, Lord, 

a Sabbath plus,
to the weary, overworked,
to those who work two jobs or more,
to those who toil without joy

or with little satisfaction…

 

And I offer you, Lord, 

I lift up to your hands,
those who have no job,
who’ve searched in vain for months, for years, 

for work to do
to pay the bills, to make ends meet
or just get by…

 

I offer to your mercy, Lord,
those not justly paid
those whose rights have no defenders,
those whose work sites fail to rise
to any standard decent, clean, humane…

 

I lift up to your care, O Lord,
those who’ve lost themselves in work,
forsaking respite, rest and relaxation, 

forgetting friends and family

and the joy that comes

of leaving work behind... 

 

I offer you to your counsel, Lord,
the young who seek good jobs

and the beginnings of careers 
and older workers suddenly
let go and set adrift…

 

I lift up in thanksgiving, Lord,
those who work for laborers’ rights,
who toil for those 

whom others cheat and use 

with no regard for human life,

for it's value,  

and for your Spirit, Lord, dwelling deep 

within each worker’s soul…

Refresh the weary laborer, Lord,
and lead the jobless back to work…

Chart a path, Lord,

for those whose work has just begun;

lift up those who work too hard;

and refresh the hearts of those

whose working days are done... 

Move the minds and hearts
of those who give employ;
make just and fair the laborer's lot
and safe each place where work is done…

Let all the work we do 

give you glory, praise and honor,

this Monday morning, Lord, 

this week and all throughout our lives...

Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 8/31

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Lord,
I try really hard 

    to do the right thing and say the right word

but despite my best efforts,
    my words and deeds so often miss their mark
and, worse yet - end up hurting folks -

    just when and where I tried and hoped to heal...

Sometimes my efforts at honesty
    become a hard lesson in humility
and while I'm grateful for the lesson
    I grieve the cost 

to those at whose expense

    my newfound wisdom comes...

Sometimes, Lord, 

    my best intentions fall apart 

        in my own hands
and, try as I might, 

    it's hard to see how and when and why 

        things went so wrong

     - but they did and I need to own that…

So this morning, Lord, I offer you 

`my failed deeds, my garbled words

    and any harm they've done 

        to those entrusted to my care...

I pray you’ll work and speak your healing 
    on whatever unintended hurt 

        my carelessness has caused...

And, Lord, I offer you 

    all I've learned the hard way,

the way that's paved with others' hurts

    a path that bears the prints of my rough steps...

 

I ask forgiveness, Lord,

    of those whose hearts I've trespassed,

        whose spirits I have troubled...

I offer my mistakes, Lord:
    the ones I didn't see coming,
    the ones I should have seen coming,
    and the ones I didn't see until it was too late:

forgive me, Lord,

    and heal the hearts of any I have hurt…

I offer you the pride, Lord,

    that tempts me to think, and too often to believe,
        that I’m always right and never wrong…

Help me know myself as you do, Lord,  

    and open wide my eyes 

to all in me that's haughty, proud 

    and much to quick to judge... 

Tame and heal and shape me, Lord,

    mold and bless my heart,

make me humble in the things I do

    and careful in the ways I speak

with everyone I know and meet

    this morning and this week... 

    

Amen.

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 8/24

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

This morning, Lord, I offer you: 
    my desire to mend a friend's broken heart,
    my knowing it's beyond my craft to do
    and my prayer that you, great Healer of Hearts,
    will touch, restore and fill her heart
    as I know only you can do...

This morning, Lord, I offer you: 
    my desire to help a friend find faith,
    my knowing that faith's not mine to give
    and my prayer that you, with your Spirit's power
    will open his heart to the hope and trust

    I know he needs to believe in your love...

 

This morning, Lord, I offer you: 

    my desire to cure a friend's illness,
    my knowing that I'm not a doctor
    and my prayer that you, the Divine Physician,
    will treat and restore him to health and strength,
    to his family, his work, his well-being...

This morning, Lord, I offer you: 
    my desire for a friend to get out of jail,
    my knowing I don't hold the keys
    and my prayer that you, most Merciful Judge,
    will free his heart to accept what comes
    and to trust in you and your care for him...

This morning, Lord, I offer you: 
    my desire to help my friend who's depressed,
    my knowing I often don't know what to say
    and my prayer that you, all Wisdom and Grace
    will calm her anxious and fearful soul
    and bring her serenity, calm and peace...

 

This morning, Lord, I have so much to offer:
    my desires, self-knowledge,

      - most of all my prayer -

that you will touch my friends' precious lives     

    with your healing and gifts,

    with wholeness and health,
    with your freedom and mercy, 

    with the grace of your presence,

        your peace and deep joy... 

 

Oh, and Lord!
I could use some of these gifts myself

    - and I promise to share whatever you give! 

Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 8/17

Coffee in the Morning by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Sometimes, Lord,
I feel little nudges, prompts and pokes
    - and I'm sure they come from you -
because they hit me when I need a push,
nudge me where I need to go
and prompt me on the things I need to do...

I offer thanks this morning, Lord
for all the ways you press upon my heart 

    and remind me of your presence 

and gently pull me free of fears 

    that keep me from your joy...

 

Grace - the word for all the ways

    you nudge me toward 

        your gifts of peace and love,

    your Spirit keeping, saving me

        from all the selfish folly

            of my doings and designs...

Does even one day pass
    that you don't stir within my soul,
dropping hints within my heart
    to move my mind to muse
        upon your presence all around?

Is any moment empty
    of the whisper of your wisdom
nudging me beyond myself
    to serve whom I've not served,
    to give as I've not given,
    to love as I've not thought my heart 

        could give itself away?

Poke, push, and prompt me, Lord 
    and wake me to your word;
call me to life more free
    than all I've known thus far...

Open wide my eyes and ears 

    to those whose paths cross mine,
who may not yet have felt the touch 

    of grace upon their hearts... 

Good God of Monday morning
    and of every starry night,
I pray I'll feel you nudging me
    all through the week ahead...

Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 8/3

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

 

This morning, Lord,

we offer you the prayers 

groaning deep within our guts,
searching for a voice

and longing for some words
to help them come to speech...

We offer you the tired prayers

that haunt our hearts and souls
seeking respite in that harbor
where hope drops anchor, 

finds a berth
and puts in for the night...

We offer you those prayers 

perched on the tips of tongues
but for which we've found no words

equal to the task

of speaking all our hearts contain

and long to share with you... 

And we offer you our prayers, Lord,

the ones that we think foolish,  
the pleas that we deem selfish
and the prayers we think too small
- or too large to dare to offer...

 

We offer you our secret prayers
embedded long ago, waiting still
to break the  silence
that our doubt and fear impose...

We offer you the hushed prayers 

that sleep within our souls,
waiting to be wakened
and shouted from our hearts and souls
in hope of reaching yours...

When all we have to say is,
"Lord, we have no words to pray..."
help us trust you welcome such as this

as prayer you take to heart...

Teach our hearts to speak to yours, Lord,
and help our hearts to know,
to grasp and come to understand
what your heart speaks to ours...

Encourage us to pray, Lord,
when we find the words to say
and teach us how to pray
- when we have none...

Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 7/27

Image: George Mendoza

The way of the fool seems right in his own eyes
   but he who listens to advice is wise...

 - Proverbs 12 

Good morning, good God!

O Lord,

    you see everything I do 
       and everything I fail to do;
    still, you pardon and forgive me
       and always take me back...

Trusting in your mercy, then,
   I'm here and boldly ask:

"When in this day's course, Lord,

    will I play the fool again?"

 

When will I be foolish

    in my thinking, in my thoughts,

    in my dreams and schemes and plans,

    in my daydreams and delusions,

    in my self-evaluation? 

 

When will I be foolish 

    in my idle conversations,

    in my rumoring and gossip,

    in my cutting, mean remarks

    in half-truths, lies and fibs?

 

When will I be foolish,

    imprudent, careless, silly;

    in what I do and fail to do,

    in how I impede progress

    or fail to foster growth? 

     

When, today, O Lord

    will I fail to seek and heed 

the wisdom you will offer

     in my thoughts, my words, my deeds? 

It only takes a moment
   to tune you out 

and fail to hear you whisper:

    here's what wise and true and just...

It takes me but a second
   to forget what's right
and choose instead 

    what soothes and pleases me...

 

I'm a dunce to have in heart

    you wisdom and your counsel

and yet play the fool, so often

    and make the reckless choice... 

 

Trusting in your mercy, then,
   I'm here and boldly ask:

"When in this day's course, Lord,

    will I play the fool again?"

Help me see my foolish ways
   and hear my foolish words
and keep me from my foolish deeds

    lest I do any harm...

 

I offer my desire, then

    to end my foolish ways

and my earnest hope to smarten up

    and follow where you lead...

  

 Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 7/13

Morning Coffee by George Mendoza

 

Good morning, good God!

 

Today I come to you, 

    offering my faults for your healing,
         and praying that you'll challenge me to grow...

   I offer you all my lame excuses, Lord:
      challenge me to honesty 

         with others and with myself...

   I offer you my selfishness:
      challenge me to watch for and respond 

          to others' needs...

   I offer you my jealousy:
      challenge me to gratitude 

          for what's already mine...

   I offer you my laziness:
      challenge me, kick-start me 

          to finally get a move on...

   I offer you my wastefulness:
      challenge me to prudently 

         conserve and not misuse...

   I offer my desire to have more than I need:
      challenge me to sacrifice, 

          restraint and moderation...

   I offer you my lustful heart:
      challenge me to center 

          on what's clean and pure and true...

   I offer you my prejudice:
      challenge me to fairness,

          to just, impartial insight...
   
   I offer my self-pity, Lord:
      challenge me to mindfulness 

          and honest self-acceptance... 

   I offer you my vanity:
      challenge me to modesty,

         self-knowledge and humility...

   And I offer you my hasty words deeds:
      challenge me to patience, 

          discretion and serenity...

I offer you my faults, Lord, 

    and pray you'll challenge me
with your truth, your grace and wisdom:
      with your healing, saving word...

Amen.

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Monday Morning Offering: 7/6

Coffee in the Morning by George Mendoza

  

Lord, I offer you the day ahead

whether I'm dreading it

 or looking forward to it:

 may it be a day I look back on

 in peace...

 

I offer you this day

because it's the one you've given me, 

the only day I have,

the day I hope you'll walk with me,

the day I want to walk with you...

I offer you this day's burdens, Lord:
large and small, heavy and light,
and I pray you'll help me carry them...

I offer you this day's mistakes
- even before I make them:
help me avoid them, Lord,
and, please, when I make them,
pardon and forgive me...

I offer you,
this day's work: may it be fruitful;
this day's rest, may it be peaceful;
and this day's time, may it be blessed...

I offer you this day's smiles and joys
and pray you make sure
I don't miss even one of them...

I offer you this day's worries and fears,
the real and the imagined,
and I pray you'll be, through all of them,
my courage and my strength...

I offer you my tears this day
and pray you wipe each one away:
heal the hurt from which they flow,
the brokenness and pain...

I offer this day's challenges,

the ones I can expect 

and those that will surprise me:

be with me, Lord, 

and help me make my way through every one...

I offer every chance I have
to comfort and heal, to pardon and forgive,
to lift up any who, in need,
may reach out for my help...

I offer this day's quiet times 

when in my mind and heart 

I might turn to you in prayer, in praise,

and find you by my side...

I offer what little I might have
and pray, Lord, I'll be open 
to all you offer me...

Amen.

Be With Me, Lord

    by Marty Haugen  

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here! 

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble,
     be with me, Lord, I pray!

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord most high,
who abide in the shadow of our God,
say to the Lord,  "My refuge and fortress,
the God in whom I trust!"

Be with me, Lord...

No evil shall befall you, no pain come near,
for the angels stand close by your side
guarding you always and bearing you gently,
watching over your life.

Be with me, Lord...

Those who cling to the Lord live secure in God's love
lifted high those who trust in God's name
Call on your Lord who will never forsake you,
God will bring you salvation and joy.

Be with me, Lord...

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