Carve out time today for prayer and quiet contemplation.
Read this poem as part of your devotional time.
Sometimes,
While the sky is still dark,
I slip sock feet into tennis shoes and go for a walk.
Step by step
I ask my deepest questions,
While the sky lets go of its deepest dark blue.
Am I doing enough?
Ink to indigo.
Does my brother know how much I love him?
Indigo to navy.
Will my friends keep showing up?
Navy to royal blue.
Will we ever know peace?
Royal blue to gold.
And after a while, my pilgrimage must end,
So I turn apologetic feet toward home
And walk my repentance back toward the sun.
And once again, while I stand in sock feet and tennis shoes,
God takes my breath away.
For once again,
The sky’s deepest void is now a watercolor of light.
And I am reminded
That like the sky,
God touches everything.
And I am reminded,
That like the sky,
Nothing is so broken that it can’t be painted gold.
In the morning light, there is peace.
Prayer by Sarah Are
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Sabbath Can't Wait
What can wait? On this day of Sabbath, identify one thing in
your life that feels urgent but can actually wait in order for
you to rest. Commit to one of the activities below, or spend
- Go for a walk outside.
- Sit quietly and meditate.
- Plant something indoors or outside.
- Try cooking or baking with a new recipe.
- Spend time with a friend or loved one.
- Dance or play music.
- Explore a new area of your town or city.
- Take a nap.
- Draw or create something.
- Write a poem or a song.
- Play a board game with friends or family.
- Read a book.
your life that feels urgent but can actually wait in order for
you to rest. Commit to one of the activities below, or spend
time doing something else that centers and recharges you.
- Sit quietly and meditate.
- Plant something indoors or outside.
- Try cooking or baking with a new recipe.
- Spend time with a friend or loved one.
- Dance or play music.
- Explore a new area of your town or city.
- Take a nap.
- Draw or create something.
- Write a poem or a song.
- Play a board game with friends or family.
- Read a book.
Friday, December 6, 2019
Love Surprises Us
Read MATTHEW 24:36-44
promptly tell her that nothing was good. There were zero positive
moments. However, my patient mother would not accept that
answer. Before I could sleep, I had to name at least one thing worth
celebrating. This ritual taught me to look for the good in my days,
and in many ways, I think that is what this text is inviting us to do.
For years people have wondered how to interpret this particular
scripture. Is it implying that God will come and some will be left
behind, or that some are being called forward into new lives with
new vocational callings? How do we understand verbs such as
When I read this scripture, the thing that stands out is how love
surprises us. Throughout scripture, God’s love for this world and for
humanity shocks the system. Tables are turned, people are healed, the
outcasts are seen, children are welcomed, and boundaries are broken.
In this Advent season, I think we are invited to look for God in our
midst—to look for the surprising places that love shows up. We are
challenged to stay awake so that life and the divine do not pass us by.
The repetitive language of fields and water led me to create the line
drawings around the text. As I began to draw, I was able to see the
worker’s fields described in the text, as well as the Shepherd’s fields,
and the scenery Mary and Joseph may have passed on their way
to Bethlehem. These simple lines serve as a reminder that God’s
Prayer: In quiet contemplation, print out and color in the picture below, reflecting on how the imagery illuminates what you find in the scripture and
artist’s statement. Conclude with a silent or spoken prayer to God.
FROM THE ARTIST | SARAH ARE
When I was a little girl, my mom asked me to recount the best
part of my day every night before bed. If I had a bad day I wouldpromptly tell her that nothing was good. There were zero positive
moments. However, my patient mother would not accept that
answer. Before I could sleep, I had to name at least one thing worth
celebrating. This ritual taught me to look for the good in my days,
and in many ways, I think that is what this text is inviting us to do.
For years people have wondered how to interpret this particular
scripture. Is it implying that God will come and some will be left
behind, or that some are being called forward into new lives with
new vocational callings? How do we understand verbs such as
“taken” or “keep awake”?
surprises us. Throughout scripture, God’s love for this world and for
humanity shocks the system. Tables are turned, people are healed, the
outcasts are seen, children are welcomed, and boundaries are broken.
In this Advent season, I think we are invited to look for God in our
midst—to look for the surprising places that love shows up. We are
challenged to stay awake so that life and the divine do not pass us by.
The repetitive language of fields and water led me to create the line
drawings around the text. As I began to draw, I was able to see the
worker’s fields described in the text, as well as the Shepherd’s fields,
and the scenery Mary and Joseph may have passed on their way
to Bethlehem. These simple lines serve as a reminder that God’s
surprising love and grace shows up in ordinary places along the way.
artist’s statement. Conclude with a silent or spoken prayer to God.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Peace Without Your Walls
Read PSALM 122
FROM THE ARTIST | LAUREN WRIGHT PITTMAN
We all desire peace and security for ourselves, our families, and
our communities. It seems, however, we often disagree about how
to achieve peace and security, and about who is deserving of such
well-being. Often, those who have realized even a baseline sense of
peace and security quickly forget what it was like to be without. Fear
creeps in and we separate ourselves with walls and isolate ourselves
within towers. We worship and exist with people like us because it
feels safe. We hoard peace and security as though they are finite
resources, and elevate our own peace and security above that of
other nations. We pray for ourselves, even if our answered prayers
result in our neighbor’s harm. This self-focused, defensive ideology
is becoming increasingly pervasive in the United States, and it’s
finding strongholds in other countries too. Powerful people appeal
to this inward-turning gaze, stoking fears and encouraging division.
This text celebrates refuge. As we know well from the news and the
growing volatility at our borders, there are many who have become
refugees—those seeking security and peace—while those within their
walls and towers seek the good of themselves.
When I began to paint this piece, I kept wondering how walls and
peace can coexist, but if I’m honest, if true shalom were to be
realized, there would be no need for walls or towers. For me, peace
looks like open doors leading out of the confinement of stone walls
and into a field of poppies. For me, peace looks like flowers scaling
walls, weakening the strength of stone foundations, and over time,
bringing the barriers down. Peace looks like open arms—open to
the difficult work of welcoming peace, and open to receiving the
boundless gifts of a truly peaceful world.
Prayer: Breathe deeply as you gaze upon the image below. Imagine
placing yourself in this scene. What do you see? How do you feel?
Get quiet and still, offering a silent or spoken prayer to God.
FROM THE ARTIST | LAUREN WRIGHT PITTMAN
We all desire peace and security for ourselves, our families, and
our communities. It seems, however, we often disagree about how
to achieve peace and security, and about who is deserving of such
well-being. Often, those who have realized even a baseline sense of
peace and security quickly forget what it was like to be without. Fear
creeps in and we separate ourselves with walls and isolate ourselves
within towers. We worship and exist with people like us because it
feels safe. We hoard peace and security as though they are finite
resources, and elevate our own peace and security above that of
other nations. We pray for ourselves, even if our answered prayers
result in our neighbor’s harm. This self-focused, defensive ideology
is becoming increasingly pervasive in the United States, and it’s
finding strongholds in other countries too. Powerful people appeal
to this inward-turning gaze, stoking fears and encouraging division.
This text celebrates refuge. As we know well from the news and the
growing volatility at our borders, there are many who have become
refugees—those seeking security and peace—while those within their
walls and towers seek the good of themselves.
When I began to paint this piece, I kept wondering how walls and
peace can coexist, but if I’m honest, if true shalom were to be
realized, there would be no need for walls or towers. For me, peace
looks like open doors leading out of the confinement of stone walls
and into a field of poppies. For me, peace looks like flowers scaling
walls, weakening the strength of stone foundations, and over time,
bringing the barriers down. Peace looks like open arms—open to
the difficult work of welcoming peace, and open to receiving the
boundless gifts of a truly peaceful world.
Prayer: Breathe deeply as you gaze upon the image below. Imagine
placing yourself in this scene. What do you see? How do you feel?
Get quiet and still, offering a silent or spoken prayer to God.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
God's Promised Day Can't Wait
JOURNALING & REFLECTION
Isaiah 2:1-5 speaks of God’s promised day—a day when wars end, swords
are beaten into plowshares, and spears become pruning hooks. In a journal or on a sheet of paper, write what God’s promised day looks and feels like to you.Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Hope Can't Wait
ACTION PROMPT:
Practice hope today by believing that your actions—even
small ones—make a difference. Donate time, money, or
resources to an organization that is helping create God’s
promised day where all are cared for and all are well.
Practice hope today by believing that your actions—even
small ones—make a difference. Donate time, money, or
resources to an organization that is helping create God’s
promised day where all are cared for and all are well.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Swords into Plowshares
Read ISAIAH 2:1-5
What is God’s view of the world? What does God plan for this world?
This text is all about God’s vision for the earth becoming a reality. It’s
all about beating swords into plowshares. It’s all about building peace.
How does this vision come to be? In this image of hands, I imagine
I listen to Christian rock because it is the only station I can play in the
car that doesn’t play curse words for my children to hear. I change the
station, however, when the radio personalities come on because the
statements are often slanted heavily to a viewpoint that is judgmental
at its root. I find this to be an intriguing dichotomy. The music is
preaching the gospel, God’s vision; the commentary is perpetuating
There’s a song that often plays on my Christian rock station from
Matthew West’s album, Into the Light. The song is called, “Do
Something.” The songwriter sees the pain of the world and asks God to
do something. “I did, I created you,” God responds, suggesting that with
our hands and with our words, God has created us to act in God’s name.
Here, in acrylic on canvas, a man wields a grinder, burnishing the
edges of a sword that has been reformed into a plow. Growth, not
death; care, not fear. The simple analogy of the sword transformed
into the plowshare reminds us that peace is at the heart of all that
Prayer: Breathe deeply as you gaze upon the image below. Imagine
placing yourself in this scene. What do you see? How do you feel?
Get quiet and still, offering a silent or spoken prayer to God.
FROM THE ARTIST | HANNAH GARRITY
This text is all about God’s vision for the earth becoming a reality. It’s
all about beating swords into plowshares. It’s all about building peace.
How does this vision come to be? In this image of hands, I imagine
how we might actually make God’s vision come to life.
car that doesn’t play curse words for my children to hear. I change the
station, however, when the radio personalities come on because the
statements are often slanted heavily to a viewpoint that is judgmental
at its root. I find this to be an intriguing dichotomy. The music is
preaching the gospel, God’s vision; the commentary is perpetuating
division. Why do we do this? There must be another way.
Matthew West’s album, Into the Light. The song is called, “Do
Something.” The songwriter sees the pain of the world and asks God to
do something. “I did, I created you,” God responds, suggesting that with
our hands and with our words, God has created us to act in God’s name.
Here, in acrylic on canvas, a man wields a grinder, burnishing the
edges of a sword that has been reformed into a plow. Growth, not
death; care, not fear. The simple analogy of the sword transformed
into the plowshare reminds us that peace is at the heart of all that
God envisions for this world.
How might you make God’s vision come into reality?
placing yourself in this scene. What do you see? How do you feel?
Get quiet and still, offering a silent or spoken prayer to God.
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