Prayer in Homeground

Our heavenly Father,

Thank You for this day that You have made. Many times we have forgotten how to rejoice in it. We have forgotten to thank You for each other and the many blessings. But today we proclaim that “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4 KJV).

I pray blessing upon my dad. Thank You for the grace upon his life. It has not been easy for him in the transitions, but we know You were there each and every moment, and You still are. To us, it seemed a pity that He moved away from ministry. We don’t know the whole picture, but You do. I pray for Your mercy upon His life. In a place where He is unbroken, I pray Lord that You will convict His heart in Your own time. I pray that we his children will love him and continue to respect Him. For this is Your command.

Father I lift up my mom to You. We know that You are pleased with for her persevering spirit and a heart for our well-being. She is successful both at home and in her work place. But even then, there are times when she feels unappreciated, sad, bitter and even insufficient. For those times I pray for your gentle touch to still her and let her rest. Let her find meaning in her labor and let her find riches in Your glory. I pray that we will be a blessing and comfort to her, as we continue to seek Your face together.

Thank You also for my sister. I have found friendship in her since the day that I was born. That I know many do not do, and I don’t intend to take this blessing for granted. Lord I thank You for all the wonderful memories we have collected while growing up. But as we “put away childish things” to feed on Your word in new life opportunities, let us support each other anew and edify with words that strengthen and heal; with words and actions that talk of love and righteousness.

Lastly, I thank you, Lord, for my brother, the youngest in the family. As such we always feel the need to protect and guide him. So often they come out like nagging and commands, when all we need to do is pray and direct him to Your word and trust YOU, the author and perfector of His faith. I thank You that Your grace is sufficient for him and that just as he comes to the crossroads of His life, You have blessed him with a new relationship. In all these things may He lift up to You in sacrifice and thanksgiving.


In Your great and powerful name,
Amen.

Praying for Your vision, Lord.

Lord, will you continually be above me- be Lord of my attitude, morals and ethics. There is no relativity with You, only righteousness and holiness. In this age where media, education and politics pervade our families and community, I know that greater are You in me than he who is in the world. Help us stand guard and firm with Your word, and I pray for Your presence to be real to us each and every day. Be among us. Thank You for Psalm 77:4 that you are also in the holy temple and You examine us and are for us. Finally Lord, I thank You that You go ahead of us and make our paths straight. You know our thoughts, and every word even before I speak them. (Psalm 139) Because of that we have a hope and a future in You. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Amen.

Prayer At My Workplace

My dearest heavenly Father and Lord,
I thank You for this morning at my work place. Just as it is a wet day outside, I thank You for the outpouring of Your love and mercy, and Your dew that sustains me, always fresh, always anew.

This morning I want to pray for my boss. Lord, I thank You that she is always willing to help me and others deal with difficult cases, as she is struggling with her own workload. Always there to suggest and advice, befriend and encourage, I thank You for the experiences that she herself has gone through. This has enabled her to be the person she is today. As she shares about her family, we know You will protect her husband and children, and bless them abundantly.

I thank You Lord for my colleagues. Lord, by divine appointment You have placed them each at their seat. With individual gifts and life stories to tell. I thank You that they have helped me settle in so quickly. I was new- but now I am acquainted. In this vocation where love is the key- let us not take for granted that the bigger lover himself is You. When we find that we cannot love anymore, let us come back to You. Lord I pray for good communication amongst all of us. In good times and in conflict, both.

Finally Father, I pray that You give me a good attitude, teachable, responsible, patient, kind- Lord, the fruit of the spirit remind me so; not because I have to be, but because You Jesus are living in me. When I find it hard to forgive, Lord help me remember You have died in my place and redeemed me. For that I can stand where I now am. Lord, when I remember You came for the sinners not the righteous, the poor not the rich; the weak and not the strong, it gives new meaning to where I am.

In Your son, Jesus’ precious name,
Amen.

the perfect ponytail

I was standing in the train,
waiting for my stand to come.
At first, just gazing out into the passing
View- when then a girl came into
and paused the motion; all passing notion.
Just five or six years was she,
And lovely pony tail she spot.
Reminds me of the days of young
And now still captivates, now when old (er).
It takes one length, 9 inch or so-
Width- a- 2 and tapers down
To one small curl right at the end;
And inward faces-no awkward bend.
I notice how its texture keeps,
one full shape that swings with her.

But fin’lly as I tore my eyes
and saw how far to stand I’ve come.
It’s rightly my alighting time,
I pick my lady bags the way I’m found
And leave the childish things behind.

A Peaceful Settlement

The Rosemary Bed & Breakfast is not a tourist attraction but a people attraction. They come and go in an ordinary manner; quiet, unhurried and rested. A clear sign is how one doesn’t feel compelled to sign the guest book by the reception area. But you’ll be glad if you did because it is there you find that Hugh Jackman prefers poached eggs to scrambled, and how the actress from Cider House Rules “loves waking up to the scent of freshly cut grass.” Her owners are also very ordinary people. If one could only illustrate with the bread basket and converse in terms like rye, linseed, wholemeal and sourdough; multigrain and barley loaf; the spicy fruit and cinnamon stick- we’d find that the owners are the normal crusty white loaf. Not that they aren’t made for anything great, because everyone loves the crusty white with their soup or some crumbly cheese. But compared to the people of the world like Hugh Jackman, or the young chambermaid and kitchen hand, they are a notch less aesthetic.

If “aesthetic” could be used to describe them. They don’t like being known as ‘employees’ of Rosemary only because they already see themselves her hands and feet. But unlike her owners, Eve and Leah have their own voice. Perhaps it’s because they are only seventeen and have yet to seen the world. Even the Rosemary cannot keep the aspirations of the young within her pastel walls or hydrangea hedges. Placed alongside each other with no other companions to jest with or strive (remembering that the owners are more or less very neutral parties), the relationship can either be exciting in the sense of a pillow fight, or less restful, without the pillow. Eve and Leah’s was none of this. Though not less cordial than a nod in the morning, both instinctive knew they weren’t best pals and kept out of each other’s way. It could well be that Eve is the taller brunette and Leah is a petite strawberry blonde; or that one loves running through the sprinklers in the morning, the other finds nothing more challenging than analyzing music scripts. However, as the omniscient narrator, I must tell you that these differences are mere trifles to the very stuff that makes them similar. In fact, they are very much in essence both the nutty rye.

One particular chilly morning, a time when the dew is ripe for the fairies’ collection, the girls finally came to face with each other with a little more than a perfect courtesy. It all happened when Eve stepped in for a glass of water and left the scrub brush on the floor beside the kitchen counter. Of course the story goes that she forgets to retrieve it and when stepping in a half hour later, finds Leah humming and scrubbing the stone floors. Now some of us shudder at having to sweep the floors inside with an outdoors broom, tea towels to wipe tables, or even water flask to contain milk. For Eve, it is beyond all natural order to see the bathroom bristles hit kitchen stones; she glared from the doorway at Leah, willing the scrubbing girl to look up with her gaze. And yet the unaffected girl continued humming to canon in D, dipping the scrub in the hot soapy water, washing a square of stone, dipping, sudding; not a beat amiss. In fact, she maintained so at peace in her haven that Eve, too, became distracted with her own sense of calm.

Some time passed before Leah finally finished the corner and looked up. Seeing Eve, she jolted and blushed from the intrusion.
“Sorry I hadn’t noticed you. Did you want something?
“Me? Oh no. It’s just that… well…”Eve stutters, “Oh it’s nothing.”
“Oh alright then, I was just about to ask if you had left your scrub brush here. I put it away while to wash these floors.” And moving quietly to the sink, Leah drew another brush out from below.