by guest Margery Tate via Carol Dixon
Summer Song
Summer suns are glowing …
Prayer
Loving God, we praise you for this beautiful season of summer.
We praise you for the gift of this day and for the beauty all around us.
We praise you for buttercups and wildflowers in the meadows, sparkling streams and blue skies.
We praise you loving God for summer.
Thoughts of summer…
“Spring flew swiftly by, and summer came; and if the village had been beautiful at first, it was now in the full glow and luxuriance of its richness. The great trees, which had looked shrunken and bare in the earlier months, had now burst into strong life and health; and stretching forth their green arms over the thirsty ground, converted open and naked spots into choice nooks, where was a deep and pleasant shade from which to look upon the wide prospect, steeped in sunshine, which lay stretched out beyond. The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green; and shed her richest perfumes abroad. It was the prime and vigour of the year; all things were glad and flourishing.” Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
“Summer gathered in the weather, the wind had the proper touch, the breathing of the world was long and warm and slow. You had only to rise, lean from your window, and know that this was the first real time of freedom and living; this was the first morning of summer.” Ray Bradbury
Hymn – Morning Has Broken (Words: Eleanor Farjeon; Music: Bunessan – Scottish melody)
“Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12 v 27
“If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow won’t he more surely care for you?”
Guided meditation in a summer meadow
Picture yourself in a beautiful summer meadow, surrounded by wildflowers, you can hear birds a little way off and you know that you are completely safe.
You can feel the warmth of the sun on your face and body. Just lie here for a moment and enjoy this wonderful place of peace and calm. Notice the scent of grass and flower. Hear the gentle hum of insects and bees. Feel the texture of the grass. As you lie gently on the soft grass and feel supported by the earth and warmed by the sun, know that you have everything you need.
Be still in God’s presence
Companions Prayer (by Brother Lawrence)
O God here we are all devoted to you, make us according to your heart.
In Christ make us one that the world may believe, mould us according to your heart.
Name your friends and family and picture them sitting in the summer meadow and Jesus speaking his words of wisdom and comfort….
Pray for our fellow Godspacelight writers… giving thanks for the spiritual substance they bring in their varied reflections….
Prayer for others…
Pray for those for whom summer hasn’t come and whose days are hard and living a constant struggle. Picture Jesus, coming to each of them, to enfold them in his love.
Call to mind scenes of devastation then, recall the scene from the Chronicles of Narnia, when Aslan flies over the frozen earth and as he passes, life springs up anew in all its wonder and beauty.
Give thanks to God who says I make all things new.
Thoughts of Brother Lawrence Day 21
“There is not in the world a way of life more sweet nor more delightful than continual converse with God.”
Hymn – In Heavenly Love Abiding
1 In heavenly love abiding,
no change my heart shall fear;
and safe is such confiding,
for nothing changes here:
the storm may roar without me,
my heart may low be laid;
but God is round about me,
and can I be dismayed?
2 Wherever he may guide me,
no want shall turn me back;
my shepherd is beside me,
and nothing can I lack:
his wisdom ever waketh,
his sight is never dim;
he knows the way he taketh,
and I will walk with him.
3 Green pastures are before me,
which yet I have not seen;
bright skies will soon be o’er me,
where the dark clouds have been:
my hope I cannot measure,
my path to life is free;
my Saviour has my treasure,
and he will walk with me.
– Anna Laetitia Waring (1823-1910) 7 6 7 6 D
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