Funerals and prayers

Good morning Trinity Tribe!

I hope you are well on this rainy morning! I have signed up for the NC Conference walking program this morning. They will be mailing me a pedometer that you hook up to your computer. They will be tracking the miles walked by NCC pastors. I think we are competing against the other districts. So, if you see me, ask me how much I have walked! ;-)

The other day the girls were playing outside. They were in the field next to the parsonage playing softball. They stumbled across a carrot, several pieces of coal and some buttons. They found the remnants of our snowman. In the way that children do, they decided to have a funeral for Frosty. They prepared the grave…got a flower from inside the house…made a grave marker…and planned a funeral. They invited me and Kenya outside and we began our service. We had a solemn procession while singing "Frosty the Snowman" in a solemn and sad fashion (think funeral dirge). We then buried the remnants of our friend, Frosty.

That is the way that worship should be for us…part of everyday life. Worship isn't supposed to be separate from our lives, it is to be part of our lives, every part of our lives. I took a class on Jewish prayer during seminary. I was impacted by how worship is inlaid within the normal and every day. There is a prayer that a devout Jew will say after waking up…after putting his/her feet on the floor…before eating…after eating…even after things like burping. Prayer and thanksgiving is a part of everyday life.

Here is a prayer for washing hands before a meal:

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al netilat yadayim.
Blessed are You L-rd our G-d King of the universe Who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us on the washing of the hands.

And one for eating food that is not bread:

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei minei mezonot.

Blessed are you L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who creates various kinds of sustenance.

[From http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/278543/jewish/4-Mezonot.htm ]

Where can we add a sense of worship to our lives? We may pray before eating and perhaps as we crawl into our beds. Where else can we pray? Where can we weave a spirit of worship into our everyday lives? Can we pray before we drive to work? Can we pray when we arrive there safely? Can we pray as we type? Can we pray in all that we do?

Prayerfully yours,
Mary Frances