300 words a day

A prayer for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

God. We come to you today aware that we are not perfect. We hate to say that out loud, not because we think we are perfect, we know we are not.But when we say it out loud, we are a little afraid that you or someone else will say, “It’s about time you noticed.”And will […]

by Paul Merrill

Looking for the beauty

Winter in North America… grey skies, cold temperatures, beige-brown fields, grey piles of snow. It’s easy to look at what we see and not be aware of hidden realities. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and […]

by Jon Swanson

Lord’s Prayer: That is really hard (Matthew 6:11)

Jesus says that we are to ask God to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Jesus says that there is a correlation between our asking God for forgiveness and us forgiving other people. We are to ask for forgiveness and, it seems, tell God to forgive us in the same way as we […]

by Jon Swanson

Inspiration And Hope

Rich Dixon is reflecting again. +++ Last time, I said I didn’t necessarily want to be the center of an inspirational story. Then, I met the mother of a former student who told me she was inspired by the story of RELENTLESS GRACE. And this week I received a call from a guy who hosts […]

by Jon Swanson

Lord’s Prayer: Enough for today (Matthew 6:11)

Sometimes context doesn’t seem to matter. Things seem clear at face value. Like a request for bread. What could be more simple? “Give me food today. (Please).” For the people hearing this model prayer from Jesus for the first time, the request was only partly about the future or about today. It had everything to […]