Author Archives: karbly

Looking Back-Going Forward
Jeanne Murphy, Glen Carbon, IL, USA

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
 he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
 he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
 because they take refuge in him. -Psalm 37:39-40

The videos of the death of George Floyd are heart-breaking, as are videos of senseless looting and destruction.

Each of us can try to right the wrongs we see around us. One opportunity came two years after my husband Barry and I moved to Granite City, Illinois, in 1965. Apostle Alan Tyree came to the St. Louis area out of concern for the church’s lack of ministry among the black community. In 1967 there was a call for people to staff a week-long Vacation Bible School in East St. Louis; Barry and I volunteered. The effort was so successful we decided to hold a Bible school-type activity every Sunday afternoon.

A year later the East St. Louis Community Camp (formerly Camp Personality) began. Barry and I were enthusiastic supporters of this new adventure. Until the end of his life in 2012, Barry felt this work was one of the most significant parts of his life’s ministry. In November 1975, the St. Louis church leaders knew that the East St. Louis Congregation needed a pastor who was experienced in leading integrated groups; Barry said, “Yes!” and became the pastor.

Our hearts had always been with our many friends in the East St. Louis Congregation and we continued to take part in the work. For Barry, that work was heavily invested in making East St. Louis Community Camp a place where young people learn to value themselves, grow, and learn peace and mutual respect.

I have heard the East St. Louis Community Camp described as one of the church’s best-kept secrets. We have an opportunity going forward in the coming months to let the St. Louis community learn about the camp as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Right now, our country is in desperate need of good news, and we are Good News!

Prayer Phrase

God, help me seek peace for me, peace for us, peace for everyone, and peace for our planet. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

The International Community

Find (or imagine) a globe or map of the world. Look at all the nations and find a country other than your own. Notice the geographic distance between your homeland and this one. Picture a person living there. Pray for this person. Sense God’s love connecting you just as the oceans connect the continents. Thank God for the spiritual connection you have with all of God’s people around the globe. Ask a blessing on the church as a community sharing Christ’s peace, drawing all into the family of God.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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An Act of Charity
Lela Ayers of Mesa, AZ, USA

There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
  Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart
  more than when their grain and wine abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
  for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. -Psalm 4:6-8

The women in my family have had a “Zoom” party every Saturday. It is usually eight women from California, Arizona, Missouri, Chicago, and London. Half of them are young people in their 20s; three are in their 50s, and me-Grandma.

Every week we take turns giving everybody an assignment for the next Saturday. Assignments range from wearing your favorite pajamas to baking cookies you’ve never baked before. Recently we were to perform an act of charity that we had never done before. That made it very challenging. It would have been easy to give money or donate to Feed My Starving Children, but it had to be something new. How do you do that when you can’t leave the house or interact in the normal way?

I thought about it all week and what I finally did was to simply invite a friend over to our patio. With masks on we exchanged books. I’m not sure that it was an act of charity, but I hope the social, face-to-face interaction benefited her as much as it did me. Isn’t that what happens in an act of charity? In the process of discipleship? When we support each other, we also benefit from the interaction. Wasn’t that what Jesus did when he came to us in a human form to teach us new ways of interacting with each other?

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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Thirst for the Lord
David Brock of Redmond, OR, USA

The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” -Exodus 17:2-3

The scene is a desert. Sun scorches. Dust rises with every stirring of air, every shuffle of person or beast, then settles on every surface. There’s no water. None. Final hoarded drops are now gone. Children are crying. Goats and sheep are bleating. Youth are complaining. Adults are arguing or tending the weak in silent fear.

And everyone has questions. Everyone.

• The people interrogate Moses: Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?
• The whole congregation quarrels and cross-examines God: Is the LORD among us or not?
• Moses, trying to lead from strength, but wavering, also queries God: What shall I do with this people?
• Maybe God questions as well. Maybe God borrows Moses’ question: What shall I do with this people?

Can we blame them or judge them-the throng of recently enslaved? The reluctant leader? The God whose infinite patience is being sorely tested? I hear my voice in there as well. I am a congregant filled with complaint, panic, doubt, and fear of abandonment. I am an ill-prepared and frustrated leader of the fickle and fragile.

But, somewhere midst the grumble and moan, I hear prophetic words:

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
  and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
  and the thirsty ground springs of water…-Isaiah 35:6b-7

I hear Moses’ staff striking rock.
I hear water gurgling, water flowing, water streaming, water splashing.
I hear children laughing, youth suddenly gone silent, adults repenting of doubt and giving thanks.
I hear Moses praising, Moses affirming, Moses assuring.
I hear God saying, “…but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The    water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

When Did You First Learn about God?
Julian Franklin of Lamoni, IA, USA

When your willingness to live in sacred community as Christ’s new creation exceeds your natural fear of spiritual and relational transformation, you will become who you are called to be. The rise of Zion the beautiful, the peaceful reign of Christ, awaits your whole-hearted response to the call to make and steadfastly hold to God’s covenant of peace in Jesus Christ. -Doctrine and Covenants 164:9b

As I read the Daily Bread for June 20, the reflection questions caught my attention. I found I couldn’t answer the question: How did you first learn about God? I contemplated but couldn’t pinpoint a moment. So I sent my mother the following text:

So reading the Daily Bread for today, the question was posed: When did you first learn about God? It got me to thinking, and I can’t think of a time of not knowing who God is. I know some of my earliest memories are Sunday school with the Anderson brothers and singing while they played guitar, the lady who gave us raisins while she told Bible stories, the Vacation Bible School where I spent the first half of the day in the first and second grade class until we passed the nursery and you saw me. Leaving the Atherton Congregation to “Redeemer of Israel” and going to an auction in the basement of the Odessa Congregation and Charlie Robison holding me on his lap and letting me bid for him while you took care of Ben. And all those memories happened when I was a year-and-a-half to four years old. But I already knew who God was. So my thought then was when did you start teaching me? How young was I when I first understood who God was?

Her response:

Teaching in some form began the day you were born. When you came home from the hospital, you struggled so much with sleeping that I’m sure hymn singing for lullabies began then. Your daddy and I read stories to you long before you were a year old. Prayer over meals began when you were old enough to sit in a highchair to be fed. I don’t remember now when we started bedtime prayers. As to how early you understood God, I have no idea. It was the same for me. I don’t ever remember not knowing about God because my parents taught me so young.

This made me think of Alma 26:52-62 and how blessed I am to have a mother like they did.

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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A Memory
Shirley V. Remmenga of Fort Collins, CO, USA

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. -2 Thessalonians 3:16

With the COVID-19 lockdown, I have had time to go places in my mind that I don’t go often. For instance, I have a diamond-coated fingernail file that belonged to my mother. She died in 2006. As I picked it up to use it this day, a thought came into my mind: “Your mother held this nail file as you are holding it and used it as you are doing. Can you feel her touch?” I could. I connected with her in a very personal way as tears of remembrance and love ran down my face.

She blessed me with her presence for those few precious moments. I am thankful for these little things, these little moments that connect me to happenings of days gone.

Memories! Are these not a part of eternal life?

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Never Take Manna for Granted
Miriam Sander of Rockwood, TN, USA

Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil,
  but those who counsel peace have joy. -Proverbs 12:20

“Heaven help me should I ever take this for granted,” I thought to myself as I took the final bites of the finale of a seven-course meal. I was finally eating the meal I had booked long in advance. Should I return, my chances of getting back to this restaurant anytime soon were minimal. I certainly would not have a five-star chef personally visit my table before I returned. I wanted to savor not just the food but also the moment. Some things, like my once-in-a-lifetime (for me) meal, should never be taken for granted. Yet, it happens.

Imagine a chef bringing you a delightful loaf of bread; each bite melts in your mouth. Your senses light up. The smell is incredible. The taste is delectable. Sweet hints of heaven’s goodness please your tongue as you realize the king of the universe, God himself, prepared this for you. You never had to book appointments months ahead. You only had to wake up and manna from heaven poured right to the breadbasket on your front porch. These things don’t happen. They’re not mundane experiences. I can say I’ve never needed a manna umbrella.

However, after years of their wilderness journey, the Israelites were done with manna. They were ready for their other courses. They murmured and complained even though every morning they experienced miracles others have never seen.

Miracles are only as good as our appreciation of them. The things we once prayed and thanked God for can begin to feel stagnant when we lose our appreciation for them. Today, I want to challenge you to recognize beauty and resist complacent attitudes towards God’s provisions. Take time to savor God’s love and gifts given to you.

Lord, help us never take our manna for granted.

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Embodied Prayer
Sheila Kunzweiler of Dayton, OH, USA

“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
  we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

My morning meditation involved imagining what the day before me might look like before even getting out of bed. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day, so I threw on some hiking clothes, grabbed the dog, and headed for the woods. As we began our hike, I felt like the woods were electric and vibrant. “It feels like a deer day,” I whispered. No sooner had those words fallen from my lips, I turned to my right, and my eyes fell upon a doe in the bushes staring at me. I stood in silent awe of the gift before me, and then thanked her for the opportunity to share in that moment with her.

We moved on hiking through a wooded trail that would eventually lead to the creek. We began to approach the water, me thanking God for the gift of the deer, when I heard a thrashing in the woods to my right. There another deer was before me. She bounded away in slow motion it seemed, as if to show off her agility and beautiful white tail. Wow, God! Two in one day! Dylan got his drink from the creek, and we moved on.

I came upon a turn to the right that led to a pond in the clearing. I decided not to leave the shade, but as I turned to the side I saw yet another deer, chewing and eyeing me intently. It provided another opportunity for me to stand still and gaze at the beauty before me. What an extravagant God to shower me with these three gifts. I was reminded of the Trinity blessing my life.

I have been studying the body’s role in spiritual practices. In my meditation that morning, I had envisioned being a part of God’s glorious creation. My body played a major role in this coming to pass. My prayers became embodied on my walk, and I witnessed with my eyes the three deer. I was richly blessed for taking time to feed both body and spirit.

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Sharing in Prayer
Steve Bolie of Clive, IA, USA

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. -Psalm 85:8, 10-13

Spontaneous, public prayer has never been one of my skills. With preparation I can offer an appropriate prayer for a sacrament, but I usually avoid spontaneous prayers. As to personal, private prayer, Mavis, my wife, and I have relied on thoughts and concepts rather than trying to construct complete sentences. This practice has served well except in developing fluent, public prayer.

The increasing acceptance of written sacramental prayers-ordination, confirmation, and blessing of children, and for worship-has been freeing. In a past age when work was more manual labor than it is now, people may have had time to meditate and pray while doing routine work (think of a farmer doing field work for hours a day). In contrast, much work done today is less routine and requires mental rather than physical effort. Writing out public prayers has allowed busy people to devote time and energy to preparing a coherent prayer without the necessity of memorizing the prayer or relying on words to come on the fly.

Another way this development has helped me is in writing prayers for peace for our congregation and for the daily Prayer for Peace service at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. For the first 23 years of that daily service, I only considered writing prayers for peace when I was envious of a friend’s prayer being used. In recent years I have submitted several prayers that have been used.

Often, when I start to write a prayer for peace, I don’t know what I will say. Just as often, I’ve decided on a descriptive word for God-Creating God, Revealing God, for example. The prayer has developed quite easily from that beginning and I have been blessed by the Holy Spirit providing thoughts and words.

The take-away for this experience: you, too, can write and submit prayers for peace. You and the church will be blessed, and peace will expand in the world.

Editor’s Note: Follow the link for guidance to submit a Prayer for Peace https://www.CofChrist.org/submit-prayer-for-peace

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Peach-Colored Seatbelt
Ruth Andrews-Vreeland of Albuquerque, NM, USA

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
  the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
  and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
  the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
  the majesty of our God. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
  and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
  they shall obtain joy and gladness,
  and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. -Isaiah 35:1-2, 10

We bought an extremely nice, gently used minivan with lots of “extra trim” in 1988 when our kids were all very young. We enjoyed taking it all over the country on trips. As kids often do, our three had to find something to squabble over during our family excursions, and their “weapon of choice” was who had to sit in the seat with the peach-colored seatbelt! All the other seatbelts were tan, just like the van’s interior. Lots of tears were shed by the child who lagged getting into the van, as they ended up getting last choice of where to sit. Oh, the horrors of having to end up with the peach seatbelt!

Mark and I never understood why our kids made such a fuss over it. But the answer was that they were kids, very young, immature, and a bit self-absorbed, with that characteristic “me-first” attitude, like so many children. Eventually, it became the funny story about their childhood that still makes all of us laugh uncontrollably. It was absolutely ridiculous!

The current, tragic situation in the United States reminds me a bit of our old peach-colored seatbelt. People who believe that the color of anything-for instance, someone’s skin-makes another person superior or inferior, are immature and self-absorbed with that characteristic me-first attitude. I wish everyone could just grow, get over themselves, and laugh at how silly their childish thoughts on that subject used to be.

As an artist, color is one of my favorite words in the English language. I love all colors equally (OK, so maybe purple is at the top of the list!) but the variety of shades of skin color is so endless, so amazing, and all of them are so beautiful! God outdid Himself creating this planet with such diversity, and people are going to squabble like small children over which skin color is best. Really? Is a color worth all the hate, all the violence, all the mayhem, and the taking of lives? Grow up, world! Learn to recognize and see the worth of all human beings! We are all God’s creations…God’s children…God’s coloring book!

Prayer Phrase

Help us see beyond our dark places and find our way closer to your loving light.

Spiritual Practice

Healing for Broken Spirits

Begin with quiet prayer. Ask God to help you detect some “sore places” in the body of Christ and God’s creation. Become aware of people who feel separated, wounded, or left out. Reflect on or write a short journal entry of healing words to at least one person who comes to mind. Ask God for words that will touch this person’s broken spirit like healing ointment. Keep this person in your heart and prayers today and act on any ideas that come to bring blessing and wholeness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.