Prayer for Colorado Shooting Victims

Dear God, please be with the victims of the Colorado Theater Shooting and their loved ones. Heal their bodies and their emotions. Comfort those who have lost loved ones. Help us all to know that you are still a God of love and peace. A-men.

New Year 2012 Blessing/Poem

To 2011 we bid adieu.
I hope the year was kind to you.

The old we now release,
Allowing any regrets to rest in peace.

Again we take out a page of white,
On it our hopes and dreams to write.

Anything is possible in the coming year.
May health, wealth and love in your life appear.

May 2012 be your best year yet,
Fulfilling all desires on which your heart is set.

Diagnosis of “Terminal Illness” (Affirmation)

I firmly believe that miracles can happen as the result of prayer/affirmation. At the same time, I don’t believe that we should use our prayers/affirmations to force someone to stay here, especially when they are in a great deal of pain. As a loved one, the situation can create a sort of paradox as we pray for a healing, but at the same time allow for a higher good to place, that may or may not involve the healing of the body. Yesterday, I was talking with my friend Nancy, whose brother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Words are difficult at times like this, but here is a try. (Note, because this is such a difficult topic, I would be especially interested in any comments that readers feel might be helpful for me as a writer or for others who are dealing with the illness of a loved one.)

I let go of all belief in diagnosis and prognosis. Instead I see ______ [my loved one] as a child of God, surrounded by God’s presence. [You may want to visualize white light or a group of angels surrounding your loved one. I like the image of placing the person in the heart of Jesus.] God’s love and healing fill every cell of ______’s [my loved one’s] body. God’s peace fills ______’s [my loved one’s] heart and mind. God’s wisdom is guiding the actions of ____’s doctors and healthcare providers. God’s joy knows no bounds, and I know that moments of joy are still possible in the life of my loved one. I know that just as God is always with ______ [my loved one], God is always with me. I know that God’s wisdom guides my words and action when I spend time with ______ [my loved one]. I recognize that God’s power is infinite. I also allow God’s highest good to be done, whether it is a healing into renewed health, unexpected time together, or a healing into the next phase of God’s eternity.

Prayer for Somalia

Dear God,
Please be with the people of Somalia today. Send your power so that relief comes to them quickly and easily. Supply them with more than enough food to sustain their bodies. Fill them with your life so that they can be healthy, strong, and thrive. Spread your protection over them so that they can be safe. Spread your love over them so that they can feel hope. Spread your comfort over them so that their hearts can heal.

Please be with those of us around the world who watch, sometimes feeling helpless. Guide us to know how best to help.

Lastly be with the leaders of government and business, with scientists and entrepreneurs, and with others who can be agents for positive change in the world. Help them to make decisions from a place of wisdom and compassion. As the climate of our planet changes, guide them in creating a world where all people can be safe and healthy. A-men.

The Blessing of Fertility--Baby

The next blessing is FERTILITY, which I have decided to separate into two blessings. (I’ll post a blessing for mental fertility in an upcoming blog.) I was born after my parents had been married fourteen years. My mom had a number of miscarriages before my birth and a still-birth a few years later; I am an only child. I know how desperately she wanted a child. In retrospect, I see how that experience shaded her whole life.

May you soon hold in your arms the child you have for so long held in your heart.

May you be helped by health professionals who are compassionate, knowledgeable, and adept.

May your body be your friend and may you send it loving and peaceful thoughts.

May you easily conceive and easily nurture a developing life within you.

May you know the joy of giving birth to a healthy baby.

Blessing for Losing Weight

This blessing goes out to the many people who have made losing weight one of their New Year’s resolutions, myself included.

May to your health and self-esteem you be kind
And hold your ideal weight in mind.

May in the mirror you see a beautiful person
Speak supportive words to yourself, not a harsh sermon.

May you find others who support your goal
Who in your motivation play a role.

May high calorie foods lose appeal
And temptation your eyes now conceal.

May your emotions no longer lure you to overeat.
Instead to positive activities may you retreat.

May exercise now give you much pleasure
And you do it often in good measure.

May you easily lose inches and pounds
Fit into slim jeans and beautiful gowns.

As you go through the coming year
May “you look great” you often hear.