Today’s Reflection
OFTEN I AM ASKED, “How do you do it?” One valuable tool I employ is the regimen of reading scripture and devotional books and praying each morning. That practice undergirds my day. The beginning time varies beause I first take care of Bob’s [my husband, for whom I am caregiver] meds and breakfast and wait for him to get settled with nap, crosswords, or coins. At night I follow a routine also. Because weariness dictates its length, it may be as short as a recitation of the Twenty-third Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer.
Two or three times weekly I use a brief order of worship called Compline, found in the small, well-worn Episcopal Book of Common Prayer on my bedside table. The English word compline is derived from the Latin completa, meaning complete, and by extension, completion of the day. The service includes some scriptures, and I am especially fond of Psalm 91, a comforting assurance of God’s protection. Another part of the service that connects with the deep recesses of my being is the canticle (scriptural song) of Simeon based on Luke 2:25-35.
- Nell E. Noonan
The Struggles of Caregiving
From page 63 of The Struggles of Caregiving: 28 Days of Prayer by Nell E. Noonan. Copyright © 2011 by Nell E. Noonan. 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 observe a daily spiritual practice? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture
Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?
2 Samuel 7:5, NRSV
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This week we remember Thomas à Kempis (July 24).
Lectionary Readings
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Even before I get out of bed, while my mind wakes up and the strains of classical music waft from the radio, my day begins with a number of devotionals, depending on my mood.
There is this one, of course, which also links me to the lectionary for the week. And there is Richard Rohr. And a link from the UCC that often pricks my social conscience, and Today in the Word from Moody, which encourages me to think outside my box.
In the summer I eat my breakfast outside and enjoy quiet time.
At day’s end, scripture and prayer before sleep. My cats help me with this one