Supplication Sunday: Word is a Prayer

Jamal (Beauty), 7 ‘Izzat (Migh), 171 BE - Sunday, September 14, 2014 about 1:15 pm Pacific Daylight Time

Work is a prayer

performed in the attitude

of joy, praise, and gratitude.

Dear Lord,

Please help me to perform my daily chores with an attitude of prayer, thanks giving, and praise.

Please help me worship you as I perform my daily labors with joy.

So Be It

A poem is a prayer

inscribed in stanza and line

by the poet's soul.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this beautiful late summer day. I look out  my window and see the sun reflecting off the apartment building across the street. I watch the palm fronds and smile because they look as if they are hands raised in prayer and thanksgiving.

Thank you for the blessing of hearing a rooster crow every morning at first light. He intones his gratitude for another day of joy and happiness. I am grateful for the beauty of this Sunday and for the sunshine that enlightens my life everyday of the year.

Thank you for another day of life. Thank you for another chance to worship you through my daily labors. Thank you for all that you have given me. Thank you for the chance to proclaim my gratitude through all eternity.

So Be It

Supplication Sunday: Prayer for Dealing Childhood Memories of Buillying

Jamál (Beauty), 5 Asmá’ (Names), 171 BE - Sunday, August 24, 2014 about 6:39 am Pacific Daylight Time

Dear Lord,

Please help me
deal with the childhood memories
of being bullied
because I wore glasses.

Please help me
spread the message that,
even at 67,
the hurt remains
a thick jagged line
of fibrous tissue
across my soul.

Amen.

Supplication Sunday: On the First of Five Sundays in August

Jamál (Beauty), 3 Kamál (Perfection), 171 BE - Sunday, August 3, 2014 about 7:14 am Pacific Daylight Time

On the first of five Sundays in August,
I give thanks for the rooster I heard crowing this morning,
for the cloudy skies that foretell rain,
for the cool summer temperature
that encourages me
to open my apartment door
so that I can listen
to the mysterious neighborhood noises.

On the first of five Sundays in August,
I praise the beauty
of a cloudy morning in Las Vegas
by writing poetry
and giving thanks to the Lord
for four more summer Sundays.

On the first of five Sundays in August,
I inhale the beauty of dawn
before I whisper
a prayer of thanksgiving and praise
to the Creator of the Universe.

Supplication Sunday: Prayers Resonate

Jamál (Beauty), 15 Kalimát (Words), 171 BE - Sunday, July 27, 2014 about 4:20 pm Pacific Daylight Time

Prayers resonate
ascend from the contrite soul
to the throne of God.

I have Remembrance of God, a book of scriptures, resting beside my keyboard. It is there because sometimes I have to stop in the middle of whatever I am working on to say a prayer or read a scripture verse. When I am stuck for a word or do not know where a story or blog entry is headed, I stop to say a prayer or read a scripture. Prayer also helps when I find my mind wandering and am unable to focus.

Prayers resonate:
smoke rising from a campfire
merging with white clouds.

Remembrance of God is on the left side of my keyboard. On my right side, and sitting on a wooden T.V. stand, is a cup of coffee or tea. Sometimes I have a container of soda or bottle of water on stand instead. The refreshment I have there depends on how I feel and what I am working on at the time. These two things, the book and the refreshment help me write.

Prayers resonate:
music reverberating
across mind and soul.