I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today Through the strength of the love of cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs, In the predictions of prophets, In the preaching of apostles, In the faith of confessors, In the innocence of holy virgins, In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through The strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendor of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me From snares of devils, From temptation of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near.

I summon today All these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul; Christ to shield me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

As I meditate this morning on rest I am struck by the fact that I don’t do it well.

My inclination is distraction. To turn on the television and watch something. To fill my ears with sound. To give my mind a distraction away from whatever is happening inside it. Some turn to drugs or alcohol, for me it’s shows.

Distraction and rest are not the same.

Rest, a true rest, I’m learning is a quieting of the mind and an unburdening of the soul. This can’t be done, for me, with the screen running. I am learning of my need to be present to my story and not simply getting lost in the telling of another’s.

It is amazing what happens when I turn to the quiet the numerous thoughts that fill my mind. The weight of my calling comes fully to bear and a near sense of panic drifts in. If I can press through the initial moments of this and then turn my attention toward the Divine and offering the weight of life to the Divine.

It is in the offering that I experience rest.

How do we respond when the bad thing happens? We explore that in this week’s episode.

March 9, 2023

The post March 9, 2023 first appeared on Daniel M Rose.

Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)“

I have been meditating on it all day.

It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.

Life must lived forward…

We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can seethe child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.

It’s not possible.

Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.

Life can only be understood backwards…

In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.

I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?

Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.

I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.

Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?

The post Life Must Be Lived Forward first appeared on Daniel M Rose.

Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)“

I have been meditating on it all day.

It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.

Life must lived forward…

We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can seethe child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.

It’s not possible.

Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.

Life can only be understood backwards…

In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.

I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?

Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.

I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.

Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?

Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)"

I have been meditating on it all day.

It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.

Life must lived forward…

We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can see the child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.

It’s not possible.

Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.

Life can only be understood backwards…

In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.

I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?

Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.

I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.

Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?

We explore the aftermath of Peter and John healing the man at the gate called Beautiful. Originally recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.

Over the last few years I have become more interested in engaging with the seasons of the Church calendar. I know that as a child our church followed a regular liturgy that included a focus on the seasons. Advent, Lent, etc…were all times of the year that meant something.

I didn’t really notice.

Yet, as I grow older and look around our world, I think there is something critically important to mark the rhythms of life with these seasons.

This year my younger brother, Dave, asked about Lent sharing that he wanted to intentionally engage with it. We are three days in and I’m sitting here pondering the readings from the week and the prayers that I’ve been meditating on and I’m struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I’ve been feeling restless since the Fall when my house was emptied of children. I needed to start again.

Lent, is providing a touchstone for starting again.

Many Christians this past Wednesday went to worship and received ashes on their foreheads. These ashes were from the palms of last year’s Palm Sunday worship. It is a reminder of the death and resurrection of Christ.

I’m struck that Lent is a time to start again.

When we start again, we start with the acknowledgement of death and the fragility of life. I suppose that’s why many give something up during this season. But, I’m finding that I’m more inclined to start something.

I’m starting a new intention of reading and praying and meditating on Scripture. I’m starting a new intention of being more present with my family.

As I meditate on the death of Christ my mind is almost immediately drawn to the resurrection and the hope of starting again.

This week we continue exploring the story of people in the book of Acts. Dan challenges us to consider restoring dignity and removing shame from those in the fringes. This was originally recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.

In this episode we explore together Acts 2:42-47. This message was recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.

What happens when God shows up?

The early church is left in a state of bewilderment and shock. Now what do they do?

We begin our study of the Book of Acts.