Good morning. Today is Sunday, January 27. We are up early, getting ready for church.
Today is National Chocolate Cake Day. I can assure you that I will probably not be celebrating this one. Perhaps I will have a Skinny Cow milk chocolate wafer and pretend it is cake.
We got all of the errands done yesterday, including replacing the “Serenity” decal on the back of my car, since the old one went away with the broken glass.
We had a pretty good time together, too. We got $5 for a couple of stacks of used books at Half-Price Books. On the way in, we saw a couple unloading about ten boxes from the back of their car. I thought, “Boy, are they going to be disappointed in the offer they get.” It may not have been much more than ours. Then, we bought paper at Office Depot, went to the other Depot (the Home one) for some door hardware (had to stop at Sonic for a drink in between, of course), and then headed to the library. While I was at Half-Price, I had found a couple of books that looked interesting, so I had the thought of jotting down notes in my phone and looking for them at the library. What a revolutionary idea!! They had one of them, so I checked it out. Saved myself a few bucks, there.
This morning, we have setup, rehearsal, the worship celebration, and then we have another gathering this evening, which includes a “banquet,” in which there will be “vision-casting” for the new year, as well as a chance to renew our commitment to the church.
(From Great Stories from History for Every Day)
On this date in 98 AD, the Emperor Nerva died at the age of 62, from apoplexy. This brought into power 44-year-old Marcus Ulpius Traianus, “better known to us as Trajan.” Trajan is known as one of Rome’s greatest emperors. Nerva had only been in power sixteen months, and had been placed there by the Senate when Domitian was assassinated. During the nineteen-plus years that Trajan ruled, he enlarged the empire to its greatest extent.
Today’s birthday is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on this date in 1756. I feel compelled to also mention that today is also the birthday of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., born on this date in 1919. Ross was better known to us as David Seville, the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Father, I pray for a glimpse of you during the brief time I have today. Prepare my heart for worshiping you.
Today’s reading from A Year With God is called “How to Pray.” The scripture reading is Luke 11:1-4.
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Of course we know this passage as The Model Prayer (or some refer to it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” If you notice, the prayer is “short on our wants and big on God’s wants.” The first half of the prayer consists of worshiping God, acknowledging his holiness, and praying for his will, not ours to be done. In this prayer, there is “nothing about material wealth or perfect health or things that get me more of me.” This prayer is about more of God. It is crucial that we recognize, in our prayers, the “source of our spiritual and physical sustenance.”
I am challenged to include the “Lord’s Prayer” in my simple prayers today, and to compare its nature to my own prayers. “The Our Father contains all possible petitions; we cannot conceive of any prayer not already contained in it. It is to prayer what Christ is to humanity. It is impossible to say it once through, giving the fullest possible attention to each word, without a change, infinitesimal perhaps but real, taking place in the soul.”~~Simone Weil, Concerning the Our Father
Father, I pray for my prayers to be more like the prayer of Jesus. May I recognize you first and you foremost as I pray today. Today, as I worship you through playing the keyboard, singing songs, and hearing your word preached, I pray that you change my heart, drawing it even closer to you.
Sorry for the quick prayer, but it’s time to go. Consider the Model Prayer today as you offer up your “simple prayers” to the Father.
Grace and peace, friends.
Chocolate cake day , yes i had one , my nephew invited me to a piece of his marvellous Nutella cake and a cup of coffee, and now i´m hearing a masterpiece of my friend AMADEUS http://youtu.be/uYQbi96KWWo ; the best thing you can do late in the evening , good night
Yes…beautiful music. Thank you, Stan.
wonderful blog, and great post! Happy birthday Amadeus ~ Lover of God~ Blessings ~Deborah
Thank you, Deborah! God bless you!
Just wondering… are you a fan of Serenity/Firefly, or is the decal just for the word?
Love, love, love Firefly/Serenity (and anything else Joss Whedon does)! I named my car after the spaceship.