Book of Common Prayer A Litany of Thanksgiving
836 Thanksgivings
Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so
freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and
sky and sea. We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women,
revealing the image of Christ, We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and
our friends, We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve, We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play, We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering
and faithful in adversity, We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice, We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places, We thank you, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and
promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord; To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the
Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
See also The General Thanksgiving on pages 58 and 101.
From the Book of Common Prayer online: here.
WELL! Not too popular… this 5 day series (encouraged by Ed Cyzewski) didn’t get much (any?) participation of the contribution variety. Did it help anyone?
I. have. no. idea.
(but I hope so)
Would you still like a Mini Retreat today?
If so, try this:
Prepare yourself to take a short rejuvenating break to refreshen your day and your spirit. So, please eliminate potential distractions nearby. (Silence your phone, computer, shut your door, etc.) Now take a few deep breaths…in and out…just like a weird belly button. When you are fairly relaxed move to #1, just below.
1. On paper, or your computer, list the top ten blessings in your life.
2. Write the bullet points version of WHY they are blessings to you.
3. What do you come up with? Any patterns emerge?
4. Now, pray with those, and let your heart be full of thankfulness and gratitude.
5. End your time whistling, singing, playing the spoons, skipping, or something like that. Lighten up today. You need a break.
Bonus point. Now that you’ve come to the end of this series, share something with the rest of us.
Thank you, everyone.
SNEAK PREVIEW… Saturday’s post is entitled “Can a Person Absolve Your Sin”?
Ed Cyzewski invited me to carrying on with his 5 minute Retreat series this week. Today is day 4 of 5. I hope you find this brief exercise a way to create a bit of time and space in your day to refocus and reenergize. May God bless you.
This retreat would be best to do if you have a stone or brick handy. If it’s not easy to search for one outside, find something else, that feels weighty in your hand, like a paper weight, book, full water bottle, etc. Yes, I realize that sounds weird. Indulge me for a few minutes, k?
Before we start, please take a few steps to prepare yourself to take a short rejuvenating break to refreshen your day and your spirit. Together we will gain new perspective. So, please eliminate potential distractions nearby. (Silence your phone, computer, shut your door, etc.)
Ready? Here we go!
Hold your stone or object in your hand.
Close your eyes and take a few deep, slow breaths. (Be aware of where you are. “Be where you are.” That is, push the chatter of your mind aside, purposefully, for this short and set amount of time.)
Now as you gain awareness of yourself in the spot where you are, be very aware of the weight of the object in your hand. Concentrate on that sensation for a bit. With your eyes closed, notice its bulk, size, “weightiness”, and stay with that for about 60 seconds. (That will feel like a LONG time. But, please do hang in there, friends!)
Now think of the things weighing you down in your day this week. Everybody has something. Do you have conflict in a relationship, too much to do, deadlines, struggles, car trouble, illness, loneliness, frustration? What is bothering you RIGHT NOW?
Think about how those things in your life really do feel like a weight resting on top of you. They are pushing you down. They feel heavy.
Now, feel the weight of the stone or object in your hand, and make the conscious association, of what weights you down with this weighted symbol of it that you are holding.
Feel their weight, and recognize that you want to be free of it. You want new strength and relief. You want to claim that release.
Talk to God briefly about your particular struggle/s, all while clutching your stone or object.
If you can say this next bit out loud, I recommend it. If that will be too awkward because of your surroundings, try to repeat this a few times in your mind:
God, I am laying my weight down. Take it from me. I willingly lay it down for you to pick up.
(Repeating this for your ownership of this act will help you a lot.)
Now set down your weight. Release it. Lay it down, with purpose. (If you are outside, you may want to throw it down, or put it in a trash can. Or, maybe that’s just me. OH! And watch out for glass. It can sneak up on you, just as you let your stone fly.)
NOW–Feel the weight lift. It’s GONE.
Breathe deeply.
Now walk away.
And thank God.
Thanks for coming along today, and daring to experience life a bit differently. I hope this is helpful to you in a special way. I’d love to hear about your experience, if you’d like to share it here.
