I hope you'll find a way to mark the days of Lent in a meaningful way. I'm intending to join my friend, Pamela Hawkins, in exploring "The Awkward Season." She'll be leading us through these days at her blog: http://www.TheAwkwardSeason.org.

Whatever your path, may your steps be guided in the light of God's love.

Blessings,

Beth

Prayer

Ever-loving God, thank you for the gift of this pilgrimage of faith through the days of Advent and Christmas. Send me out into your world surrounded by Epiphany light, that I may be your mind, heart, and hands in the world. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

Let me be Christ's hands, heart, and spirit in the world.

Today's Picture

I want to thank you for walking with me on this Advent/Christmas journey. It's been an honor and a pleasure. If you have not already, I hope you'll take a moment to fill out the survey on The Uncluttered Heart. If you are interested in an ongoing online devotional, I recommend Daily Reflections from The Upper Room. Also, you can keep up with my work, writing, and new projects at my website: http://www.betharichardson.com. Let's do this again sometime! Many blessings to you on this day of Epiphany.
-Beth A. Richardson (BTW -- that's me and my camera in the picture.)

Question

Share the prayer of your heart today. Share your prayer, thoughts, and final words.

Book of the Day

A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People
Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck

Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck's Guides to Prayer have been spiritually helpful and inspiring to many people, including me, through the years. The original book was A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants. This second one, All God's People, includes daily prayer, scripture readings, quotes, and an outline for monthly personal retreats.   More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Great God of life, your Spirit flows around me and over me every moment. Help me open myself to your presence, that I may join with you and be carried along in the steady flow of your Spirit. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

Carry me in the steady flow of your Spirit.

Today's Picture

This is Calypso Cascades, a mountain waterfall in the Wild Basin area of The Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Sometimes being carried along by God's Spirit is a wild, cold ride like this stream. Other times, the God's Spirit is more like the calm meandering of a broad river.

Question

We've nearly come to the close of our journey. What has gone well for you? What has been challenging? Share your thoughts on the question or on today's entry in the book.

Book of the Day

Wrestling with Grace
Robert Corin Morris

The subtitle says it all: "A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life." This is Morris' first book with The Upper Room. In it, I learned a lot about Robert Morris; I learned even more about me. This is a book for ordinary Christians who want to learn to be better -- more connected, quieter inside, facing the internal challenges of depression and anger. I'm grateful to Bob Morris for this gift in the pages of a book. More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Creative and creating God, thank you for creating the universe with its vast galaxies. And thank you for creating me, infinitely tiny in comparison but precious in your sight. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

The God of 150 billion galaxies cares about me.

Today's Picture

This was the moon rise in a Washington sky last summer. It reminded me that I'm not the center of the Universe (thank goodness!).

Question

How would your life change if you were able to keep God at the center rather than other things? Share your thoughts on the question or on today's entry in the book.

Book of the Day

Spiritual Preparation for Christian Leadership
E. Glenn Hinson

I got to study under Glenn Hinson a few years ago when he was a presenter at my Academy for Spiritual Formation. I had always loved this book, but hearing him speak brought the pages of the book more alive for me. In this book, he examines the spiritual preparation of the ordinary people who were invited to become Christian leaders and saints. The quote from Spiritual Preparation that we used in The Uncluttered Heart is one of my favorite Upper Room gems. (Today's words for the day come from that quote.) More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Jesus, keep prodding me to follow you, and all else will fall into place. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

Jesus, you are the one I want to love and follow.

Today's Picture

This is the labyrinth at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California. It was in this place that I attended the Academy for Spiritual Formation. I regularly found myself at this labyrinth, walking, meditating, trying to hear what God was saying to me.

Question

How are you being called to follow? Share your thoughts on the question or on today's entry in the book.

Book of the Day

The Way of Transforming Discipleship
Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant

This book is part of the Companions in Christ series published by The Upper Room. Trevor Hudson has been in the Methodist ministry for over thirty years, spending most of this time in and around Johannesburg, South Africa. I've gotten to know him through his work with The Upper Room. Most recently, I had the honor of introducing Trevor to the strange American tradition of Halloween when he had dinner at my house this past October 31. Trevor is a powerful writer and a humble, authentic leader. More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Thank you, God, for your gift of presence that sustains me today. If I am too weak or broken, lift me up and carry me as you did in the days of old. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

God lifts me up and carries me.

Today's Picture

God's gift of presence -- through friends, through our faith community, through the Eucharist. I took this picture last summer at Lake Junaluska -- at the SOULfeast conference.

Question

How is God present to you today? Share your reflections.

Book of the Day

The Africana Worship Book
Sherrie Dobbs Johnson

Discipleship Resources published a series of three Africana Worship Books. Each book takes the scriptures of one of the lectionary years (A, B, or C) as the inspiration for prayers written by a group of talented writers. The litanies and prayers in each book speak with the truth of the African American experience in the world. And they call out the human experience as brothers and sisters who stand before our God in worship. I'm honored to have been able to use one of these prayers in The Uncluttered Heart. More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

God of new beginnings, guide me through the seasons of the coming year. Whatever joy or hardship I face, let me face it standing with you. Whatever building up or tearing down that I encounter, let me take action under your care. For you are the creator of every season. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

Loving God, journey with me this year.

Today's Picture

This sunrise picture over the beach made me think of this day -- New Year's Day. New day, new year, new possibilities.

Question

As you think of the coming year, what are the goals or changes you seek in your spiritual life? Share your reflections.

Book of the Day

Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer
Larry James Peacock

I used this book for several years in my morning devotional time. Each day includes a saint, a psalm (along with some reflections on that psalm) and information about a prayer practice. As I moved through the book, Larry introduced me to some ordinary people whose lives became blessings to others (saints). I learned more about ways to deepen my prayer -- from breath prayers to lectio divina to discernment. Each morning, I sat in my chair in the corner of the living room, lit a candle, and followed Larry's gentle leading into my day. More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

God of all, guide me as I journey into a new year. Celebrate with me the progress I have made in becoming a person of love. Give me strength to right any wrongs, to keep growing into the person you would have me to be. Guide me into this new year, filled with hope, optimism, compassion, and love. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

God dwells at the center of all.

Today's Picture

I took this picture of the Colorado sky near dusk. I was sitting in the backyard of the cabin and happened to look up, only to see this beautiful scene. God dwells at the center of all creation.

Question

Reflect back over the past year. What in your spiritual journey has pleased you the most? Has been your greatest challenge? Share your reflections.

Book of the Day

Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God
J. David Muyskens

My copy of this Forty Days is heavily highlighted. It is a book about Centering Prayer, the practice of contemplation, being open and silent before God. Each day's reading moves the reader deeper into the practice of prayer. My favorite part of the book is a daily "Prayer Practice" that helped me actually experience what the earlier content was talking about. This  is another "must have" for my spiritual development shelf. Learn more about this book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Ever-present God, thank you for your gift of standing-with-us. In happiness, in grief, in loving, or in pain, you are our constant companion. You are with us. We are not alone. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

God is with me wherever I am.

Today's Picture

One winter morning in South Carolina, I took this picture of a bike rider getting early morning exercise.

Question

Share the prayer of your heart today. Share your prayer or your thoughts on today's reading in the book.

Book of the Day

Child of the Light
Beth A. Richardson

I guess this particular listing comes with the warning, "Shameless self-promotion follows here." Child of the Light was my first Advent book for Upper Room Books. In this book, I focus on the music of Advent and Christmas. Each week of Advent takes its inspiration from a different Advent hymn. Daily meditations are written about the themes from that week's hymn. Once Christmas day is reached, there's a hymn or carol, along with a meditation, for each day. The title of the book comes from the hymn, "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light" by Kathleen Thomerson. It's one of my favorites. Learn more about this book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.

Prayer

Creating God, you created the birds, the mushrooms, the sea monsters of the deep—and you created me. Open my eyes, my ears, and my senses today that I may become one with your living mystery. Amen.

Carry These Words in Your Heart Today

I will greet the hidden, living mystery in today.

Today's Picture

This mushroom was gracing the forest floor in Wisconsin in early April. I was there on a farm helping to make maple syrup.

Question

Where have you seen "the living mystery"? Share your thoughts.

Book of the Day

Prayer, Stress, and Our Inner Wounds
Flora Slosson Wuellner

This is one of my favorite books by Flora Wuellner. She guides readers to a place where we can look at our wounds and begin to, little by little, offer them to God for healing. Wuellner says, "God does not send us pain. God is not a wounder or punisher. This is important to understand as our trust in God grows. But neither does God let our wounds be wasted. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will not remove the lines of hard-won experience from our faces. A new power of light, the light of the divine passionate compassion, will shine through those lines on our faces." More about the book.

Sing Your Prayer

Open My Heart - All four verses. Listen.