Thoughts: prayer.

Wildflowers on my walk.

For all of my life until last year I didn't want to lead congregational prayer. And then suddenly I enjoy it.

• I give myself a lot of time to write it well ahead of when it's rostered, so that I don't feel pressured. Then I can properly enjoy thinking and writing.
• I noticed in the Valley of Vision prayers that repetition sounds poetic, and when I do that prayers feel better to read than they used to, less abrupt. Very easy trick.
• Instead of quoting large bits of scripture eg psalms, I weave scripture in as phrases all through.
• Bible Gateway and Valley of Vision are my prayer-shaping tools, giving me patterns and phrases to use or imitate.

I now see prayer as the chance to do a lot of things other than pray for upcoming events from the announcements, so I'm never short of content.

• Tell the gospel. Just in case it's not spelled out at other points in the meeting like a song or in the sermon. Just in case it's implied and referred to but not actually explicitly proclaimed. We always have visitors and the lost among us.
• Confess our sins. Related to the above. I think we forget that we don't have to carry them. Or we forget the practicalities of sin and it's an abstract word, so it's good to make it personal.
• Remember the persecuted church. That's my hobby horse, but we should pray globally in some way and not just focus on ourselves. 
• Acknowledge people who are struggling, to make space at church for people who aren't feeling happy.

I find the ACTS structure easy to use. I like to go praise, gospel, confession, thanks, requests, give glory.

It actually hasn't rained as much recently and I find the hay-making quite peaceful, all the browned off grass being rolled up into bales. Not growing.

I've started my next prayer today which isn't rostered until April. Partly because it was already on my mental to-do list so starting it is a relief. And the opportunity was that I'm trying to finish The Cross of Christ by easter and I read a related passage Romans 12-13 and there was some good material to pray! So I pasted it into a doc and started.

Also I'm home alone and a bit bored, and not letting myself watch all the TV, so yay, it's good to fill time with book and prayer and things. I used my willpower to drive to the bathes for some ocean laps, then I washed the car and some clothes, then it's really a matter of doing things that allow for sitting in front of the fan. I am so keen for autumn, except for the loss of swimming and daylight savings. Man I hate short days. But autumn, sweet cool autumn with crisp air, cardigans and unsweaty sleep.

January over. The Year is Happening.

It's 11 Feb and I haven't blogged things from January! Can't find the cable to get photos off phone.

Australia Day I spent at Nelson Bay with JK. I don't think I've been there as an adult, it was completely new to explore. Swam twice in one day so that's a success!

And now it's that time of year where everything has started, and life has that pushing pushing pushing feel. Until Thursday night, because then I've got through all the nights with Jillian, home group and cello, so I can freewheel for the next few days, and plus my 2 favourite shows are on (other than Poirot and Marple which are repeats) New Girl and Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

Last year, one of the things I struggled with was, not having a 10 year plan. Because what is there to plan? 10 year plan worked for the 10 years when I was saving my deposit and living in Sydney which I knew would be temporary. That always felt like a life stage in which to plan the next stage. Moving here, this life, doesn't feel like a stage anymore, it feels like this could be it. I could actually be here for the rest of my life. Work and then death. I decided I could assess leaving my job in 5 years, which was a relief. And also, God is a God of surprises. Good and bad things happen unexpectedly, which shows you that planning or worrying only gets you so far. Planning is a good activity to do sometimes but not a good religion. I don't know in 2016 if I'll meet someone to marry or become a paraplegic in a car crash or lose my job or get transferred or someone will die or someone will let me name their baby. Right now, things are pretty good, so I will enjoy it as long as it lasts.

And I'm trying something this year, trying to not worry about life. I want to still be intentional about it, I'm not wafting, I want to be a good friend and conscientious and trustworthy. I'm just trying not to look ahead at commitments and worry. Just take opportunities. And be a lovelier person because I'm not so wrapped up in myself and I can pay more attention to others. Character-wise, I want to be a lovely person. The sort of person when you talk about them you're like "they're so lovely" because they have a cheerful smile and listen to you and don't bitch or complain. It's attractive, it's godliness. I touch base with the Lovely Person concept regularly, like a WWLPD? thing. Keep mouth shut? Gentle rebuke? Apologise? Spend time with?

A recent highlight is my new mattress. It has really helped my back in the mornings after my twisty sleeping positions. Still doing something wrong but at least it's not exacerbated by the old soft mattress. Down to slight discomfort when getting out of bed, instead of pain when stepping into pants.

Another highlight is a new skirt. Skirts are my shoes/handbags/scarves/lipsticks, the thing that I would love to buy every pretty skirt I see. I have some lovely skirts. I wear skirts often. I bought too many so at one point I decided not to buy any more, and the only exceptions have been op shop purchases THE WREN IS BACK! FAIRY WRENS IN MY GARDEN!!!! I really need to plant more plants! Anyway, I've bought 2 op shop skirts in like 5 years, all my skirts are old. Three date from Bowral. One is from 10 years ago when I worked at Tocal out of uni. I love them and they spark joy, so I haven't really felt the need to buy new ones anyway. Except the two Colorado skirts with pockets I wear to work a lot are unfortunately starting to look shabby, and so I have my eye on a sensible black skirt with pockets from Sportcraft when there is a sale. Anyway, prelude to an impulse buy. When I saw a gorgeous skirt at the Olive Tree Markets on Saturday, for $110, I overcame my habitual ban. I tried it on. I realised, I have gone a very long time without buying a skirt; I'm not poor; It's a unique, beautiful piece of hand-made hand-printed clothing. I have hung it on the wall and I plan to wear it on Saturday night to the Galentine's dinner.

An anticipation! A new friend at church has invited me to visit her parents farm at Tamworth when she next goes up, to do "sheep work". It sounds delightful and scary.

Prayer 1b.

Prayer Feb 2016. Rehashed prayer from a year ago. Note for next time, Maddie suggested I smile at people when up the front :)

Ps 67 says,

May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

We have come here tonight to praise you, read your word, remember your goodness and love. Your power, your faithfulness, your plan for the world and each one of us.

Because of your love, not our good works, while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. The death of your only son brings us from darkness to life, from death and eternal separation, to life for eternity. 

Please help us to remember Christs death, remember that we are forgiven through it, and remember that we are not slaves to sin anymore. Help us to trust in Jesus, obey him, give our whole lives to him, and love him. Help us also to love others. Help us to put others first, to be generous, to be forgiving, and to love like Jesus loved us.

We pray for the church in the world. Please help all Christians to know your word the Bible and submit to it. We pray for Christians who are persecuted for following Jesus, whether it is in the form of bullying at school or work, the real threat to life that many Christians in other countries face. Give our brothers and sisters courage to persevere. Protect them from harm and grow their faith through these trials. 

We also pray for people in the conflicts of this world. We know they will end one day, when Jesus returns and all wars will cease, and every knee will bow before him. Bring on the day, we pray.

Father thankyou that we live in a peaceful and secure country. We thankyou for the resources that feed us and make us rich. We pray that our politicians will be wise and generous, and remember that the blessings we enjoy are given by God and are not ours to hoard selfishly.

Now we pray for our church. Thankyou for those who teach us your word here at church and in our home groups during the week. Thankyou for the many ways people serve you and each other in both public and hidden ways. Protect this church from Satans attacks, from false teachers, and from the temptations of this world. Keep us standing firm in the gospel, in unity and in love.

We pray for our partners in ministry in other parts of the world. We pray for the X in Darwin. As X returns to work full time at the prison, we give you thanks that the family had a restful holiday over the break. We pray for all who come into the prison to conduct church services and help at the prison that they would be faithful to God’s word, and we ask for some younger people to get involved in that ministry. We pray for X in France, and her time of intensive language learning so that she can build relationships and feel at home in France wherever she ends up working with the local church. Please keep her spirits up if she feels tired or discouraged and misses her family and friends, after 6 months away from Australia. We pray that you will prompt us to consider what we can do to serve you in the wider world and take the news about Jesus to gospel-poor people groups, and get behind our partners in those places.

We pray for your Holy Spirit to work in us for your purposes. Change our hearts by the power of your word so that our lives are changed and we shine like stars in this dark world. Give us also the strength to persevere when our lives feel repetitive, mundane, small and un-valuable, or when we face suffering or struggles. Help us to get to know each other over supper so that we can encourage each other. Be in every word that we speak, to bring you glory.

In Jesus name we pray all these things, amen.