Saturday, March 8

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

MEDITATION

When I come to a time that I am troubled, lonely and burdened down, I like to turn to this passage and envision Our Lord with His open arms waiting to embrace and comfort me with the assurance that the road will go on and get smoother after we've stopped for a rest.

Maureen Bateman (1990)

Friday, March 7 – World Day of Prayer

 If you would change the world first change yourself

Socrates

Let your minds be remade and your whole nature thus transformed. Then you will be able to discern the will of God, and to know what. is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Peace Can Begin With You And With Me

Let your mind, O Lord, be an example for mine.

Help me to capture my each flash-Iighting thought.

And if it be foreign to Thy pure mind,

Then transplant another to renew right spirit in mind.

If I think bitter of friend, foe, or stranger,

Transplant with forgiveness again and again.

If f fear Man's wicked way, transplant in my mind

Your sacred thought trust – to believe in Thy ways.

If I think selfishly, transplant in my mind

Your unselfish way – to think of another and pray.

If I am proud of achievements I have made,

Let me be humble and give thanks in Thy name.

If I am discouraged with life as it is lived,

Help me to remember, all things work together

for him who believes.

And this above all, let me pray for great faith.

Fill my mind with Your love and my heart full of grace.

Written for World Day of Prayer, March 1969

First Published in The Church Women, 1971

Florence Purvis (1990)

Church Women United World Day of Prayer Celebration, 10:00 am at the First United Methodist Church, 6363 Livernois Rd, Troy, MI. The program is written by the women of Egypt.  All are welcome. No reservations are needed.

Thursday, March 6

Love is patient and kind; Love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.  Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices  in the right.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  

1 Corinthians 13:4-7  

Love can Change Your Life

What is love?  No words can define it -

It’s something so great only God could design it.

Wonder of wonders, beyond man conception -

And only in God can love find true perfection…

For love means much more than small words can express,

For what man calls love is so very much less

Than the beauty and depth and the true richness of

God’s gift to mankind – His compassionate love ….

For love has become a word that’s misused,

Perverted, distorted, and often abused.

To speak of light romance or some affinity for

A passing attraction that is seldom much more

Than a mere interlude of inflamed fascination,

A romantic fling of no lasting duration …

But love is enduring and patient and kind -

It judges all things with the heart, not with the mind …

And love can transform the most commonplace

Into beauty and splendor and sweetness and grace ….

For love is unselfish, giving more than it takes -

And no matter what happens, love never forsakes.

It’s faithful and trusting and always believing,

Guileless and honest and never deceiving.

Yes, love is beyond what man can define,

For love is immortal and God’s gift is divine!

by Helen Steiner Rice

Prayer:  Dear Lord,  help us to Love more,  Love those who challenge us, Love those who need us, Love those who are troubled,  and extent our Love to those who are unloved.  Help us to be a light of Love to others in the  dark places in our world.  In the precious name of Jesus.  Amen

Kathleen Sleder (2014)

Ash Wednesday, March 5

For many of us who have spent a lifetime in the church, there are many fond memories and an enormous sense of appreciation to those who have helped shape our lives. On the wall, in a small space between my desk and typewriter table, there's a lovely picture of a church that was once a part of my life. This picture was given to me by my beloved former minister. He is the senior minister in this historic pulpit, and he knew how much I cherished the memory of this church, For over a century, it has always been a family church, a noble landmark with a great outreach. A church can be a powerhouse a "tree known by its fruit"...

Perhaps my fondest memory is that of the people there who lived by something that was substantial, who lived by those higher values -- love in a world of hatred, and an unselfishness in a world of indulgence. Lent is a time for renewal and reflection. We do not need to go back to who we were and are and what we hope our children will be. We do need the rich heritage that is ours and the wonderful possibilities that life itself gives us. As Christian church women, may our lives always be a blessing to others as we remember the words of a favorite hymn written by the former minister of my pictured church –

God of Our Life

God of our life, through all the circling years, We trust in Thee;

In all the past, through all our hopes and fears, Thy hand we see.

With each new day, when morning lifts the veil,

We own Thy mercies' Lord, which never fail.

God of the past, our times are in Thy hand; with us abide.

Lead us by faith to hope's true promised land; Be Thou our guide. With Thee to bless, the darkness shines as light,

And faith's fair vision changes into sight.

God of the coming years, through paths unknown we follow Thee; When we are strong Lord, leave us not alone; Our refuge be.

Be Thou for us in life our daily bread,

Our heart's true home when all our Years have sped.

Listen

Written by Hugh Thomson Kerr,

pastor Shadyside PC, Pittsburgh 1913-1946

Taffy Denne (1991)