Marie...
The Stop Drop and Pray Network
Marie is a vocalist who is frequently called up to add music for bible study and related church services. Marie writes frequently. She travels with her journal and finds our weekly prayer group meetings a productive time for writing. Among other things Marie works with the youth in our parish.
We serve best when we serve as a conduit to the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit that does the work.
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3:00 Hour
The time for sleep begins like every night
The process, the rituals for sleep do not wavier
I fall asleep and like every night my eyes open and it is only 12:30.
Sleep fails me
I stare at the ceiling, toss and turn, there is no release , nothing changes
So I say an Act of Contrition - at one time that would release my body, not
tonight.
Sometimes I grab and hold my Rosary
Sleep fails me
I offer to Jesus anything and everything that is preventing me from sleep
I place it all at the Foot of the Cross. I ask Jesus for sleep, yet
Sleep fails me
Then it begins somewhere within me, the gentleness of peace begins to move through my body. My mind is blank, there are no demons.
I feel my body fall back to sleep and once again as Jesus answers my plea, I glance at the clock - the time this happens does not falter.
It is the 3:00 Hour
Sparkle in the Water
The sailboat glides across the water
The birds flap their wings to the rhythm of the wind
The rays of the sun sparkle in the water like glistening jewels, the leaves sway
Nature is at peace
The quiet surrounds us here. There is no hatred
There are no taunts. There is no fear - no worry
We have peace
I praise your name O Father, in this quiet
I listen for your voice
Creation shows its glory to You and offers praise and worship
Together we are at peace
As I step into the world, it all begins again
The fear, the taunts, the worries
But nature continues to flow, to sparkle on the water, wings flap to the rhythm of
the wind, leaves gently sway, the sun to warm
Nature says yes to You and has peace
So today I learn to breathe, to follow my cues from nature, to sparkle like the water,
to gently sway toward Your voice, to step to the rhythm of the Word.
To say yes
I have found my peace
2/28/17 prayer group- this came to me while the others were resting in the Spirit - I started when the last person closed their eyes and completed when the first person opened their eyes.
The Night Approaches
Every evening I look out the door at the start of the setting sun. Nature will show me another masterpiece. Sometimes the sky is a fiery orange, sometimes traces of pink and sometimes just dark. Tonight the ball of yellow sun changed to white, gold and blue, then gold to red. The colors start to fade.
The night approaches
The birds have settled in for the night, their songs of beauty ceased. They await the still of the night for rest. The crickets start their evening tune and we know
The night approaches.
I find my peace watching rhe colors of the sky change. I praise you Lord for each new masterpiece. I thank you Lord for my eyes to see your Glory, my soul to fell Your presence as I graze at the sky, for
The night approaches,
Why I Write
I pick up my pen and stare at the blank page - sifting through my idea book and find no words to write. If I could only start - a word - a phrase - my pen poised and still no words to write.
Many times the words just flow and I do not recall writing. Of late it has become harder to write - my mind is blank - my heart troubled - my soul struggling.
Asked why I write - it is simple - it is a gift from God to me. The answer is best explained by Mother Teresa when she said :"I am a little pencil in God's hands. He does the thinking, He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more."
So I share with you a part of me that is scared, personal. I share with you my God's pencil.
Parking
As I sat at the red light I noticed a gentleman slowly painting the yellow lines so a driver will know exactly where to park. I could hear God ask me is this how you pray? Within the lines?
Then I pulled into a church parking lot and the lines are barely noticeable. Most of the drivers knew where to park by memory and some parked where they thought the lines were. Again I could hear God ask if there are no lines here how do you know where to park?
Then I pulled into the mall parking lot and most people parked within the lines, a few over the lines and some took up several spaces. I murmured before you ask , why do people park so many ways?
While driving home many thoughts came to mind - some good and some not. Only one point kept repeating- faith.
A driver pulls into a marked space based on experience. Is our prayer life firm? Is it channeled in the right direction?
Or like the unnoticeable lines do we guess where we should be in our faith and blindly move from prayer to prayer without really praying?
My favorite "I have faith, I'm good, God knows me."
Yep can just see God rolling His eyes.
We need to be like the new driver in training- listening to the instructions, listening to the Word. Reflect on what we hear, what we see, how we park.