Today’s Reflection

RECENTLY, my family suffered a tragedy and was faced with having to move at the same time. I wrote this poem to express my gratitude for church members who became God for us in a physical way.

We felt God’s eyes look down today,
when women brought the lunch buffet.
It was God’s kindness packed our things,
God’s words we felt in hope that springs.

We saw God’s hand of help today,
when trucks and trailers drove our way.
God moved us into our new home.
God hugged us there; we weren’t alone.

You were God’s hands; you were his feet.
You were God’s heart that knew our need,
God in flesh when life got tough.
We never can say thanks enough.

- Carolyn Caines

devozine, May/June 2012

“We Saw God Today” by Carolyn Caines, page 40 in devozine, the devotional lifestyle magazine for teens. Copyright © 2012 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Who has been God in the flesh for you, offering you help and showing you God’s kindness when life got tough? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

1:3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
Psalm 1:3, NRSV

This Week: pray for families. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

SoulFeast is The Upper Room’s spiritual formation event for children, youth, and adults who seek deepening spirituality across a spectrum of experiences that nourish the soul. Learn more..

This week we remember Isidore the Farmer (May 15).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
• Psalm 1
• 1 John 5:9-13
• John 17:6-19

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

LIVING GODWARD implies a sense of direction—and it involves the recognition that the journey continues. … Living Godward asserts the relationship of hope to discipleship. Hope is its motive, not its substitute. Like faith, hope without works is dead. … Thinking Godward without living Godward is wishy-washy.

-John Indermark
Hope: Our Longing for Home

From page 118 of Hope: Our Longing for Home by John Indermark. Copyright © 2007 by John Indermark. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Do you find the phrase “living Godward” helpful as you think of growing in your spiritual life? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2, NRSV

This Week: pray for families. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

SoulFeast is The Upper Room’s spiritual formation event for children, youth, and adults who seek deepening spirituality across a spectrum of experiences that nourish the soul. Learn more..

This week we remember Isidore the Farmer (May 15).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
• Psalm 1
• 1 John 5:9-13
• John 17:6-19

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

DEAR CREATOR,
I pray that I may be
of service to you and your people.
I ask for courage in times of uncertainty and self-doubt.
I surrender to you my old notions
of who I thought I should be
or could be.
May I trust in your plan.
Lead me safely on this journey
so that I may be your instrument.
Amen.

- Tessa Lemos del Pino

Alive Now, May/June 2012

Prayer by Tessa Lemos del Pino, page 48 in Alive Now, May/June 2012. Copyright © 2012 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Pray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen
Acts 1:24, NRSV

This Week: pray for families. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

SoulFeast is The Upper Room’s spiritual formation event for children, youth, and adults who seek deepening spirituality across a spectrum of experiences that nourish the soul. Learn more..

This week we remember Isidore the Farmer (May 15).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
• Psalm 1
• 1 John 5:9-13
• John 17:6-19

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

OVER THE YEARS I collected many china dish patterns and interesting silver and copper serving pieces to make the dinner table feel special. Now I sometimes worry that I spent too much time polishing and scrubbing instead of coloring or playing games with the children. Even so, I feel confident that my children knew that home was a place were we came together to build lives of faith and love.

I credit my mother for first creating that kind of home for me. …

Reflecting on her life reminds me of two questions she frequently asked us children: “When you lie down at night, can you close your eyes knowing that you have been within the will of God today?” And then, “When you leave this world, will you be able to honestly say that you have done the best you could do”? I take those questions seriously. Each evening I think about my answers, knowing that even on those days when I have fallen short, God’s grace will carry me through.

-Lucimarian Roberts as told to Missy Buchanan with reflections by Robin Roberts

My Story, My Song

From page 39 of My Story, My Song: Mother-Daughter Reflections on Life and Faith by Lucimarian Roberts as told to Missy Buchanan with reflections by Robin Roberts. Copyright © 2012 by Lucimarian Roberts. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What faith lessons did your mother pass on to you? What can you do to honor your mother today, on Mother’s Day (USA)? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
John 15:17, NRSV

This Week: pray for recent graduates. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

The greatest gift a Mother can share is her faith. We give thanks for our mother’s witness, guidance, and unconditional love. Consider giving a gift in honor or memory of your mother and others who have nurtured you and shared their faith.

This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 10:44-48
• Psalm 98
• 1 John 5:1-6
• John 15:9-17

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

WHEN I WAS TWELVE, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, an autoimmune disease that attacks the intestines and stomach. I had to grow up fast. I took twelve pills a day, one of which made my face and stomach swell. I dreaded going to school, knowing that all the stares, whispers, and questions would leave me feeling like a caged animal at the zoo. During those days, I felt as if God had left me to fend for myself.

One Sunday night at youth group, somebody read Philippians 4:13 (NRSV): “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” That verse gave me hope that I could do all things through Christ, even getting through the darkness of Cohn’s disease.

Now, I know that God did not forsake me but drew me closer during that time of suffering. Instead of feeling embarrassed when I look at pictures of myself in seventh grade, I simply thank God for holding me close.

-Katherine Harris

devozine, May/June 2012

From “Near to God” by Katherine Harris, age 16, page 13 in devozine, the devotional lifestyle magazine for teens. Copyright &copy 2012 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What persons do you know who are suffering from a chronic disease? Lift them by name in prayer, and ask God to give them a special sense of God’s presence, comfort, and peace. When have you experienced a debilitating illness? How did it affect your view of God? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
John 15:9, NRSV

This Week: pray for recent graduates. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

The greatest gift a Mother can share is her faith. We give thanks for our mother’s witness, guidance, and unconditional love. Consider giving a gift in honor or memory of your mother and others who have nurtured you and shared their faith.

This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 10:44-48
• Psalm 98
• 1 John 5:1-6
• John 15:9-17

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

10 Ways to Disagree Without Fighting

1. Listen first. Hear the other person’s viewpoint without interrupting or arguing.
2. Try to see the other point of view How would you feel if you were in their shoes?
3. Be patient as the other person expresses views.
4. Think before you speak. Then state your view calmly.
5. Be respectful.No matter how much you disagree, treat the other person with respect. Remind yourself that God loves that other person the same way God loves you.
6. Pray!Before, during, and after any confrontation or disagreement, ask God to guide you and help you to resolve conflicts.
7. Look for compromise. Prayerfully try to find a way to settle things that’s fair to both sides.
8. Keep your faith in God. In trying to understand and to compromise, don’t give up on the things you know are right.
9. Forgive. If someone says something unkind, ask God to help you forgive. Don’t hold a grudge.
10. Be a peacemaker. As much as possible, try to get along with others. Even if a conflict doesn’t work out the way you hoped, keep asking for God’s help.

- Karen M. Leet
Pockets, May 2012

“10 Ways to Disagree Without Fighting” by Karen M. Leet, page 7 in Pockets: For Kids Who Love God, May 2012. Copyright © 2012 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Would you add anything to this list? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
1 John 5:6, NRSV

This Week: pray for recent graduates. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

The greatest gift a Mother can share is her faith. We give thanks for our mother’s witness, guidance, and unconditional love. Consider giving a gift in honor or memory of your mother and others who have nurtured you and shared their faith.

This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 10:44-48
• Psalm 98
• 1 John 5:1-6
• John 15:9-17

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

YEARS AGO at a retreat one of the women told us a story that changed my spiritual life. I have so often told and written about this story.

She had rescued an abandoned, frightened young dog who had not only been abused, but also half drowned. He desperately needed cleansing and medication for his wounds, but not until she began to lower him into the warm tub did she realize how terrified he was of water. His abusers had tried to kill him that way.

He screamed and fought, his whole body a solid mass of fear. Very quickly realizing that there was only one way to reach him through his panic, she stripped to her underwear and got into the water with him along with all the fleas, dirt, and blood from them both. She held him, stroking him gently, quietly talking to him until he began slowly to relax. Then the deep cleansing could begin.

I know of no better story of the Incarnation and the way God deals with our fear, our wounds, our hardened defenses.

- Flora Slosson Wuellner
Weavings, May/June/July 2012

Excerpt from “Feast and Fear” by Flora Slosson Wuellner, page 7 in Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life. Copyright © 2012 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

How do you define incarnation? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.
1 John 5:1, NRSV

This Week: pray for recent graduates. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

The greatest gift a Mother can share is her faith. We give thanks for our mother’s witness, guidance, and unconditional love. Consider giving a gift in honor or memory of your mother and others who have nurtured you and shared their faith.

This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 10:44-48
• Psalm 98
• 1 John 5:1-6
• John 15:9-17

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

MOVING AWAY from part-time Christian status is not one decision but a series of decisions, sometimes several times a day. This journey is a cradle-to-grave adventure, an ongoing challenge, and the process likely didn’t begin in one definitive moment. Progress is driven by movement—forward and circling back—full of amazing possibility and the promise of reinvention.

People often asked Jesus to explain what was consequential. We also need to be focused on what is essential, what really makes a difference. …

God’s purpose is relationship, restoration, reconciliation. But there can’t be any reconciliation without communication and certainly no communication if we can’t or won’t listen, say we don’t have the time, or refuse to really try.

Two key elements to this journey are perspective and intention. God has gifted us with the ability to see from inside our heart. So do we observe through a wide-angle lens or limit our vision to the endemic cultural myopia/ Do we run free or are we restricted by blinders? Do we search for new stars with purpose at night or do we glance up without belief in the middle of the day?

-Derek Maul

The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian

From page 137 of The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian by Derek Maul. Copyright © 2009 by Derek Maul. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What is essential to your faith? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
Psalm 98:1, NRSV

This Week: pray for recent graduates. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

The Upper Room celebrates and gives honor to our mothers today and during the upcoming week. We give thanks for their witness, guidance, and unconditional love.  My Story, My Song is the faith memoir of Lucimarian Roberts, mother of Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts.  Take a moment to read or hear an excerpt from this new book.

This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

• Acts 10:44-48
• Psalm 98
• 1 John 5:1-6
• John 15:9-17

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Today’s Reflection

JESUS HAD NO PROBLEM with the ministry of women. It was encounter with Jesus that empowered their ministry. The irony, and a cruel one at that, is that the community of Jesus has not always and everywhere honored the practices of the One we say we follow. To be sure, we are happy to have the support generated by women’s labor in fund-raising, teaching our children, and serving in “appropriate” ways in outreach. But too often, like my beloved home church, we fail to empower in ministry those whom Christ has already empowered for ministry. They, and we, suffer for it. …

God of boundless grace and providence, help me to provide for the good of your community by supporting all through whom you minister.