Twenty years ago I discovered a wee, 2″ x 3″ and 1/2″ thick book in an antique store.  Today that book, Week-day Prayers,  is among my most precious possessions.  Written by Christian Reisner, his prayer offerings are short yet richly infused with meaning.  Listen in…

O Thou Tender Shepherd, straighten all our paths today.  Save us from the hesitation of doubt.  Make us considerate of others’ feelings.  Soften the sharp words that threaten to slip off our tongues.  Sweeten our deeds with kindness.  Teach us how, like our Lord, to endure wrong in silence.  Ballast us with love.  Direct our aims.  Steady our hearts.  Plant right loves.  Employ our good impulses.  Give direction to enthusiasm. Spur us to our best.  Bring us to the end with our assigned tasks well done.

May I suggest you now reread this prayer, pausing after each sentence. Then read it aloud and notice what phrases stick to your soul. Words that give us pause are often a window to our needs.  Sticky words can open skylights of understanding.

Sometimes Christ’s voice to me is a waterfall, and I couldn’t miss it on the freeway during rush hour, but usually it’s a soft rain, a gentle breeze, or even a whisper and I must lean in to hear.

The quiet gives me opportunity to sort myself out in God’s presence. Thats when I stop any pretending and excusing. The stillness gives me space for confession and petitions. I open the stained glass window of my soul. My heart finds centeredness in God’s grace.

Remember, life change is a process that requires time, hard work and merciful inner messages. And for me, supportive people were imperative to reflect healthy kind of normal since at best my norm was extreme. Friends and God’s Word continue to help me exchange my old eyeglasses for the new lenses of a higher perspective that allows me to see God more clearly, myself more gently and other’s more lovingly.

Excerpt from Stained Glass Hearts

Sometimes I sit silently and wait for God’s Spirit to counsel me. I wish I were better at that kind of prayer because during those times I gain the ability to survive the injustices and inequities of this life with more grace and holy ingenuity. I’ve noticed the more acute my ear becomes to identifying the Lord’s voice from ongoing racket in my head, the more sensitive and discriminating my “knower” is.

To pray is nothing more involved than to open the door, giving Jesus access to our needs and permitting Him to exercise His own power in dealing with them.
-O. Hallesby

Excerpt from Stained Glass Hearts< ]]> http://patsyclairmont.com/2011/08/prayer/feed/ 4 http://patsyclairmont.com/2011/08/a-shift-away-from-anxiety/ http://patsyclairmont.com/2011/08/a-shift-away-from-anxiety/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:53:04 +0000 admin http://patsyclairmontblog.com/?p=352

I once believed outside environments and people created my feelings of panic and flooded me with frightening physical symptoms. Actually it was my belief that I wasn’t safe that incited and fired up my emotions. When I felt scared or angry, I attached danger to my feelings, creating a firestorm of terror. Adrenaline would race through my body, setting off a myriad of symptoms: tremors, sweats, air hunger, racing thoughts.

I finally came to the realization that I was stirring up my own anxiety by believing the lies that I was going to die or lose my mind. When I admitted to myself that I had suffered through hundreds of anxiety attacks and yet I was still alive and sound of mind, the entrenched, scary thoughts began to lose their power over me.

I memorized Scripture that I would quote to redirect my thoughts toward God’s care of me. I selected portions that mirrored his love and constancy. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever=present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1).

Excerpt from Stained Glass Hearts

We can see in Daniel’s story (Old Testament Daniel) that although he survived his enemies, he still was criticized, plotted against, and lied about. Prayer doesn’t necessarily rescue us from all evil intentions or diabolical schemes, but instead it gives us a resource for comfort, wisdom, strength and unexplainable joy in the midst of the ravenous lions of life. And when we lose our joy, the Spirit replaces it with endurance, that indestructible, internal insistence to keep on keeping on.

Excerpt from Stained Glass Hearts.

Ruby is a sensation! Everyone says so. She is vibrant, warm, vivid, and promotes love wherever she goes. She is multifaceted in her interational appeal and is accustomed to royalty. I personally am drawn to her saguine charm. Quite honestly, Ruby’s a gem! No, really, I’m speaking of the gem.

For a long time rubies were primarily from India and were so treasured that rulers, on hearing a particularly beautiful ruby had been found, would send out digitaries to meet and escort the gemstone. Wouldn’t you love to be treated that way? C’mon, really.

One thing we know for sure: rubies are a valued treasure.

Scripture tells us that we would be wealthier if, instead of gathering rubies, we became aficionados of wisdom by passionately chipping away in the rich-veined mines of God’s Word to accrue true wealth. This wealth is stored up within for us to use to live passionately and to invest generously in others.

Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

Wisdom is winsome. It’s love-based. It resonates with morality, resounds with truth, restores dignity, and reforms the heart. And it gives us something to say that’s worth hearing.