Hopefulness
1. Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,whose trust,
ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
be there at our waking, and give us we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.
2. Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.
3. Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.
4. Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.
Sung to the hymn tune "Slane," (same tune as Be Thou My Vision), this is a wonderful way to end the week - and it was our closing hymn this morning.
Am waiting for some friends with whom I've arranged to meet and walk with around Wilde Lake and finally have a quiet moment to listen to the crickets and squirrels in the cooler-than-expected afternoon sunshine.
Strange, isn't it, that after a morning in church, one should still need a place and time for quiet contemplation?
But for me church is as much an event of friendship, company, and music as it is one of prayer- and I am grateful for a period of calm before I start huffing and puffing around the lake:).
This morning I got to play flute and it was OK- it's so frustrating to me that the rehearsals always go far better than "show time!" I suppose it's a function of being less nervous. Oh well.
Afterwards, I had a nice conversation with the Bishop "John" and a few other friends, wished a friend a safe journey back home and joked around with friends old and new. In Xianity, there is the belief, held by some more literally than others, that when two or more are gathered in Christ's name, He is in the midst of them. Of course, among the "Whiskeypalians," the old joke is that "When three or more are gathered, there's always a fifth." Oh never mind... But getting back to that basic premise, a very good friend of mine once said that the Presence of Christ is really found in those quiet, joyful exchanges of joy and sometimes shared sorrow among people who gather together and try to live as He would like us to live.
Well, that's my theology lesson for the day;)
Things at the Realm of FugueStateKnits are in a holding pattern. Life is moving along, of course, but the arrival of the newest member of the gang is being joyfully anticipated:)
On the knitting front, I made a shameful killing at the Yarn Swap yesterday. I found a treasure trove of way back issues of Knitters and Vogue Knitting and an issue of Cast On - all from the late 80s to early 2000s.
I got dock yarn, cotton yarn, specialty yarns, silk and wonder of wonders, I scored myself some lovely Manos del Uruguay:). Schweet!!:)
Well my friends are here - time to get these buns of pudding moving:)!
-God be with you 'til we meet again+
ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
be there at our waking, and give us we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.
2. Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.
3. Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.
4. Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.
Sung to the hymn tune "Slane," (same tune as Be Thou My Vision), this is a wonderful way to end the week - and it was our closing hymn this morning.
Am waiting for some friends with whom I've arranged to meet and walk with around Wilde Lake and finally have a quiet moment to listen to the crickets and squirrels in the cooler-than-expected afternoon sunshine.
Strange, isn't it, that after a morning in church, one should still need a place and time for quiet contemplation?
But for me church is as much an event of friendship, company, and music as it is one of prayer- and I am grateful for a period of calm before I start huffing and puffing around the lake:).
This morning I got to play flute and it was OK- it's so frustrating to me that the rehearsals always go far better than "show time!" I suppose it's a function of being less nervous. Oh well.
Afterwards, I had a nice conversation with the Bishop "John" and a few other friends, wished a friend a safe journey back home and joked around with friends old and new. In Xianity, there is the belief, held by some more literally than others, that when two or more are gathered in Christ's name, He is in the midst of them. Of course, among the "Whiskeypalians," the old joke is that "When three or more are gathered, there's always a fifth." Oh never mind... But getting back to that basic premise, a very good friend of mine once said that the Presence of Christ is really found in those quiet, joyful exchanges of joy and sometimes shared sorrow among people who gather together and try to live as He would like us to live.
Well, that's my theology lesson for the day;)
Things at the Realm of FugueStateKnits are in a holding pattern. Life is moving along, of course, but the arrival of the newest member of the gang is being joyfully anticipated:)
On the knitting front, I made a shameful killing at the Yarn Swap yesterday. I found a treasure trove of way back issues of Knitters and Vogue Knitting and an issue of Cast On - all from the late 80s to early 2000s.
I got dock yarn, cotton yarn, specialty yarns, silk and wonder of wonders, I scored myself some lovely Manos del Uruguay:). Schweet!!:)
Well my friends are here - time to get these buns of pudding moving:)!
-God be with you 'til we meet again+
Comments
The yarn haul sounds great! I wish I'd never gotten rid of those old issues I had - but wishes are just that, wishes. At the time it was necessary in my life so I did what was needed.
Hoping for the safe arrival of a healthy grandchild (I know the baby will be beautiful so don't add that).