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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

Today’s Reflection

THOUGH TYPICALLY associated only with artists and children, creativity partially reflects the image of God within each of us. It is one strand of our divine DNA. The other strand is love, which is enormously creative. Woven together in a double helix, creativity and love compose the soul’s purpose in life while providing the tools to mirror our Creator. They are the means as well as the end of the journey, the path as well as the purpose.

—Karla M. Kincannon, Creativity and Divine Surprise: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection (Upper Room Books, 2005)

Today’s Question

In what ways can creativity and love enable you to mirror the Creator?  Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
—1 John 4:16 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

Holy One, Help me discover my God-given creativity and find the sacred in each God-given moment.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room or share it in the comment section.

Something More

Which Advent study is right for you this year? Take our Advent quiz to find out.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

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7 Comments

  • Robert Moeller Posted October 16, 2019 7:59 am

    I believe the Holy Spirit, Christ within me, guides me to use the God given gifts, talents I have, to do God’s work. I thin some of the helpful things we do
    we may not even recognize.

    Helped my son with back pain yesterday, some car rides have his back hurting. Went to Bible study, we had a good discussion.

    Prayers for
    Marcy’s health and well being,
    Julie’s hands, foot, safety and daughter Megan, hopes for a peaceful new place to live,
    Jill’s school and her work with people affected by cancer, her Dad and sister,
    Betsy’s move, husband’s work, Kelsey and Harrison, and the new home,
    Andrea and Lowell’s health, travel, Andrea’s daughter, grandson, and son-in-law,
    Connie and her husband, health, love of nature, and poignant posts,
    Lou and her new atmosphere, her work, house, and especially children,
    Mary and Molly as they adapt to a new situation and participate in new activities, glad Mary still teaches,
    Rusty and K and their wellbeing,
    The UR family, your needs, concerns, well being, and health, thankful for your posts. Blessings to each of you as you travel the journey of faith. Thank You,
    Lord.

    Hopefully Anneliese sees her heart doctor soon due to new issues with her heart. Prayers for Doris struggling with cancer. May the little girl mentioned in yesterday’s Bible study receive the help she needs. Hopeful that Erich will
    soon have a job, a long awaited job fair is on Saturday. Patiently I wait and pray for help from a new counselor. Thank You, Lord.

    • Lou Posted October 16, 2019 3:24 pm

      Thank you for your specific prayers for all today Robert- I pray that you get the counselor you have patiently been waiting for and that this helps with your son. You have been so patient and supportive – a good father to your adult son. Prayers also for Anneliese and Doris and for the rest of your family –

  • Julie Posted October 16, 2019 8:17 am

    I think loving anyone or anything is in and of itself creative. We must see something in the other that connects and resonates within us. Caring for others calls me to be creative in sensing their wants and needs and find a manner in which to address the need or want in a respectful manner.
    Prayers for Robert and Erich and all those who Robert prays for.
    Prayers for April, BJ, Betsy and their families.
    Prayers for healing for Andrea, Connie and Marcy, may all be well.
    Prayers for Jill and Larry, may they continue to share a close relationship that allows for stark sharing. We are having rain and I know you are also, so keep dry and warm as the temps fall today. The leaves have not turned much here either. The weather people say it is because of the warm weather we have had.
    Prayers for Mary and her family and students, may all be blessed. If I may ask you further questions: You refer to your students as “tuition.” In the US we have free public education, is this not the case in Singapore?
    Prayers, blessings, warm hugs and thank you dear UR family

    • Mary Ng Shwu Ling Posted October 16, 2019 8:41 am

      Thanks Julie!

      Tuition means extra lessons outside school. I help my students with their school work and prepare them for their school exams.

      Blessings and amen to all your prayers.

  • Mary Ng Shwu Ling Posted October 16, 2019 8:22 am

    Thanks Robert for your prayers.

    May Erich back heal speedily and completely. May he enjoy his new job and adapt well.

    Arranging flowers to cheer up the sick is one way I can use my creativity to reflect God’s love.

    Amen to Robert’s prayers!

    Blessings!

  • April Posted October 16, 2019 10:40 am

    Thank you to our UR faithful posters and prayers. How wonderful to wake up and see that others have gone before me and offered prayers for our days. As I have had more time to spend praying, I realize how powerful the experience of praying is for the prayer. I feel that I am really “doing something” when I name the person to God. Then the gift from God to those prayed for…perfect in every way. Prayer is a (creative?) expression of love.
    This fall I have been continuing with “letting go” and have replaced this with new things…fun reading, research into financial matters, praying, finding new homes for our garage excess and providing assistance/support to our neighbor who is going through a divorce.
    Jesus often performed miracles around food so that the wedding party could continue, people could return home without fainting, the Last Supper, etc. I am finding that food is a perfect way to connect with our neighbor. He works evenings, so when he gets home, we often have a meal in a sack hanging on his gate. The next morning/noon, there is a text from him and then he walks over to return our dishes. We have a little chat and then go our ways. He works for our city and we all depend on healthy workers to keep things going. When we share food and time, we help to support our neighbor and our community.
    May the Good Lord bless and keep you…whether near or far away….

  • Jill Posted October 17, 2019 3:56 am

    Love covers a multitude of sins. When we are willing to extend forgiveness – what a gift FROM God to be able to do this and what a gift back TO God to be able to do this. Oh, and of course the gift of forgiveness to the other person, as well as the space we open in ourselves when we forgive.
    Through obedience to Our Great Father, an intentional yearning that His will be done – these things open gracious spaces for Him to move in us and in others.
    Grateful for another evening at small group with deep sharing. As I have mentioned before – there are several young…I call them young girls…but they are no doubt young ladies. A few years out of college I would guess. Last night we were prompted by a question regarding God’s providential leading in our lives. One of the girls (see, there I go again) lost her mom to cancer at age 14 – and addressed how hard the upcoming holidays will be. Another girl – she must be fresh out of college, she lost her mom 1 1/2 years ago, while she was still in college. And, I spoke of losing my mom – a little bit more in detail last night. I think my willing to be vulnerable as I shared some things made them comfortable to share – as they shared after I had.
    Yesterday was a true, Ohio Fall day. The sky seemed angry and unsettled. The sun tried to come out a few times, but the winds kept blowing strongly and there was darkness and dampness mostly. Grateful for dependable transportation and the warmth of my home.

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