Be Blessed: Be a Blessing

Stewardship Emphasis for 2008-2009

I’ve been thinking about how our giving to the annual budget forms the foundation of the life of our congregation. It is easy to overlook but it is our giving to the annual budget that makes everything else possible.

Our annual budget at Queen Anne Christian Church is like a three legged stool made up of pledged and unpledged giving, fees from building use, and money from our endowment fund.

Each leg of the stool helps us support the ministry of this congregation.

At this particular time it is to our advantage to strengthen our pledged giving. Increased pledged giving will help decrease our dependence on our endowment fund and give us needed breathing room to make decisions about our future with grace.
—Pastor Laurie

For reflection:

You are
the Still Purpose.

You come down
as snowflakes onto
the tops of the mountains.
You flow through the world
as streams and then
as mighty rivers rolling
toward the great ocean
of Your Love.
You sow seeds
of Your purpose
throughout the world
in all nations and peoples
and gather them up again
in Your due season.

You are Still Purpose
We begin in Your name
and end in Your name
Amen.

—Mary Jo Leddy
Radical Gratitude

Every generous act of giving,
with every perfect gift, is from God.
– James 1:17 (NSRV)

Be Blessed: Be a Blessing

Stewardship Emphasis for 2008-2009

The word stewardship implies that we have resources to "steward." It implies that we have been given gifts to care for, to watch over, to give away.

Like many other congregations we frequently pair stewardship with our financial support for the annual budget of the church. This pairing is important but it narrows down stewardship to a relationship between us and our checking accounts!

As we begin the process of New Beginnings we would do well to reflect on the nature of all God’s gifts to us as individuals and as a community of faith.

What if in the week to come we made a list of all our blessings? What if we looked closely at the smallest things that bring joy to our lives? What if we came together and compiled our lists? Can you see it?

So many blessings stacked upon one another: would not this community truly be over-flowing with goodness and grace and gratitude? And then what?

Well, then we probably would have plenty to give away.

Once we know we are blessed then anything is possible.

For reflection:

We give You thanks
for You sustain us
with real food
and real drink.
You nourish us
with friends as real as food
with joy as clear as water
with love as good as this meal
this is enough.
We do not ask for more.
This is more than enough
reason to bless Your name
Forever.
Make us always mindful of those
who do not have enough
food and friendship
water and love and joy.
Give them enough
that they may be thankful
Amen.

—Mary Jo Leddy
Radical Gratitude


Every generous act of giving,
with every perfect gift, is from God.
– James 1:17 (NSRV)

Seeds of Compassion

A number of us connected to Queen Anne Christian Church attended some part of the Seeds of Compassion event in April which featured, among other world religious leaders, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Desmund Tutu.

The event was inspiring and invigorating. Here are three reflections—

blessings + peace, Laurie

Maria Drury—
Attending several session of Seeds of Compassion touched me deeply in ways I am still discovering. Our community has been deeply blessed to host such a gathering, as its effects will continue to ripple through each person and our very geography for a long time to come. As I sat in the sessions, I witnessed national and international “experts” in dialogue with wise people — in the form of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and youth who spoke wisely as they offered reflections and asked questions that many adults struggle to answer for ourselves.

I heard information and wisdom that I perhaps know already on some level, but it had renewed impact as I heard these ideas spoken with compassion in a space I had set apart from daily routine. I experienced community in the friends and family I sat with, and in the sense of a larger community brought closer together by gathering in witness to the importance of practicing compassion in its many facets — towards self, towards other, towards community, towards the world in which we live.

Just today Peter and I read a story in the sports section of the Seattle Times, in which two college baseball players carried an opponent around the bases after she injured her leg while responding to the only home run she would hit in her softball career. They ensured that team’s victory, but touched many more lives by displaying ultimate sportsmanship in such compassion. Whether or not those young women knew about the gathering in Seattle, their choice is linked in my own mind with what I witnessed at Seeds of Compassion.

I feel truly blessed by this incredible gathering.

Sarah Swanson—
I am still feeling inspired by the Seeds of Compassion and am hoping to incorporate some of what I heard to my everyday life. Laurie, after you pointed out the pennies for peace [this program supports the work of Central Asia Institute to bring school supplies to children in Afghanistan], I brought Julian, Tyler and Mia up to put some pennies in.

I was amazed how they responded with basically how come these children don’t have what they have and how can they help. I really underestimated how they would understand this concept because of their age, but what I am feeling now is that the time is now for my children to learn compassion and being socially responsible. Hearing from these great public figures that they learned compassion from their mothers was empowering—and I am ready to commit to do more.

Amy Graff—
I was struck by the first question to the panelists: When do you remember the first time you experienced compassion? Many of the answers were incredible; especially the woman who remembered that she was three when she first knew she made a difference in her family—she could make them laugh.

Another question they answered was when you have had a tragedy in your life, how did you deal with it and go on? One panelist suggested we draw on the infinite strength we have in ourselves.
The Dalai Lama explained that if there is sadness in our lives—and he took his fingers to twist a dial 180 degrees—then we need to create more happiness.

I found the news coverage of the simmering controversy about Barak Obama's pastor, The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to be disturbing on a number of levels.

Then I read Ruth's Good Friday Reflection. I commend it to you as her writing and thinking reflects many of my concerns.
—Laurie

Good Friday Reflection

by Ruth Fletcher
Regional Minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Montana

I am not a big fan of Jeremiah Wright. He’s loud. Shouting loud. When he spoke to us at the Ministers’ Breakfast at the General Assembly a few years back, I had to put my fingers in my ears just to make out the actual words he was saying.

And the man has no tact. I think there are times for a minister to be tactful—to use softer language for the sake of getting a better hearing when it comes to controversial subjects. But when Jeremiah Wright has a choice between being diplomatic and being strident, he seems to always opt for the most inflammatory expressions he can find.

In that way, he stands in the long tradition of the Biblical prophets who didn’t mince words when it came to naming the idolatry of pledging allegiance to that which was not God, who named the sins of the nation and spoke of God’s judgment for the prideful who had lost their ability to blush.

This last week, the media has repeatedly aired a few selected sound bytes of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons taken out of the context of a lifetime of preaching. I was exercising in the gym when one of them was played for the umpteenth time on the TV monitor above my head. The snippet was followed by an outraged commentator asking the rhetorical question, "Should children be subjected to this kind of preaching?"

"YES!" I answered aloud, much to the surprise of the people on the exercise machines on either side of me.

If we want our young people to grow up and confess that Jesus is Lord, then somewhere along the way they will need to hear the voice of a preacher who will warn them to beware of the gods of materialism, violence and greed that will compete for their loyalty. They will need to hear sermons that will inform them that being a Christian is not just about the power of positive thinking but about confessing complicity with sinful systems of oppression such as racism that still plague our country.

As members of God’s beloved community, they will need to learn that they have a responsibility, not just to themselves, but to the "least of these" who go without health care and food and shelter in this wealthy nation. They will need to be taught how to discern the voice of falsehood from the voice of truth, the voice of fear-mongering from the voice of wisdom, the voice of sensation from the voice of fact.

The scriptures we have heard on this Good Friday remind us that following Jesus is not always easy—discipleship often puts us at odds with popular opinion, principalities and powers. May we have the courage to continue walking the path that leads to new life.

Have a blessed Easter.

Manudy Thursday Reflection

Matthew 26:17-23

one of you will betray me . . .

In The American Heritage Dictionary
on the opposite page you can find
a picture of a "bevel gear"
and a map of Bhutan

on the same page there is a photo
of Mary McLeod Bethune
who lived from 1875 to 1955—
an African-American educator
who sought improved race relations

There is no picture, no map, no photo
for the word betrayal—just a definition:
to give aid or information to an enemy
to commit treason against
to deliver into the hands of an enemy
in violation of a trust or allegiance

to be false or disloyal to
to divulge in a breach of confidence
to make known unintentionally
to reveal against ones’ desire or will
to lead astray, deceive

in other words:
rat on, stab in the back,
let the cat out of the bag,
blab, blurt, let slip, bamboozle,
pull the wool over one’s eyes,
abandon, forsake, leave behind,
walk out on . . .

As readers of The Gospel of Matthew
we already know that Jesus will be betrayed
and that the disciples remain clueless
so when Jesus drops the bombshell word betrayal
everyone scatters for cover
talking over each other to gain assurance
from him that they are not the one

It’s a peculiar scene:
we might assume that the disciples
know their own hearts
that after all this time with Jesus
they are rooted in his teachings
that they possess an inner compass
orienting them
toward the work of God in the world
but that is not the case

On this night self-doubt and anxiety
shoot around the table
and ricochet off Jesus
who remains cool as a cucumber
centered in his purpose

The Sufi poet Hafiz writing in the 1300’s puts it this way:
The subject tonight is Love
And for tomorrow night as well,
As a matter of fact
I know of no better topic
For us to discuss
Until we all
Die!

So what is love in the face of betrayal?
What is Jesus like as he sits at table full of knowing?

Anthony DeMello tells us that in India
the poets and mystics say that
a holy person is like a rose.
have you ever heard a rose say,
I’m going to give my fragrance only to good people
and deny it to evil people?
No it is the very nature of the rose to spread fragrance.

or, a holy person is like a lamp lit in a dark room.
can a lamp say that it is going to shed light only on good people
and keep from shining on bad people?

or, a holy person is like a tree
giving shade to both good people and bad people.
the tree gives its shade even to the person cutting it down.
and if it is aromatic, it will leave its smell after being cut.

so perhaps around this table of betrayal
after the bomb has been dropped
after the denials die down
there exists a strange kind of calm
and other words begin sing in their minds:
God makes the rain to fall on the good and the evil
the sun shines on the just and the unjust

the days ahead will take their toll
all disciples will betray him
but in the air there lingers
the earthiness of bread
the sweetness of wine
and a scent called love
given freely to each of us
purifying basest intentions
releasing us from our worst actions
and placing us here and now
ready to begin again

- Laurie Rudel

Hafiz peom translation by Daniel Ladinsky
Anthony DeMello, Walking on Water, The Crossroad Publishing Company, NY, 1998, p. 64-65.

Your word is a lamp for me steps, for the path just ahead of me.
- Psalm 119:105

Our congregation’s Lenten Meditations consist of a small envelope containing forty different words: patience, direction, openness, healing . . . The instructions are simple: draw a word each and live with it, do with it what engages you.

Okay. There are forty words. Since Lent began on Ash Wednesday, February 6, I have drawn nine words. Five of them are the same word: love.

I’ve been thinking about this, praying about this and the word that keeps coming to mind and my heart is curiosity; that in some profound and powerful way love and curiosity are linked.

Imagine for a moment that you are entering a new situation, you are not sure what is expected and you don’t know anyone. In these kinds of settings I often find that my first reaction is one of narrowed vision - of being physically unable to take in information that surrounds me.

Usually this occurs when I have some fear of the future. When I can relax into the situation and engage my curiosity, I find that colors pop out, more detail can be observed, and that a sense of friendliness takes over.

Curiosity can be inner directed and other directed: humm . . . I wonder why I needed to eat absolutely everything on my plate and eat dessert when I was full after eating the dinner salad; or, I wonder about the person sitting next to me – what makes their heart sing with delight, what do they love more than anything else . . .

When I can relax (another word here could be trust) and engage my curious self, life becomes full of light and small details shine with unexpected grace. Really, this is how I want to live each day – curious about what will unfold; aware of the undercurrents of the Holy Spirit; noticing the presence of Christ; following the leading of God.

May you be blessed with a curious day!

Prayer
God, open my heart to trust each step.
Let me not jump ahead of myself or of your leading.
Fill me with wonder, curiosity, and love.
Amen.

- Laurie Rudel

Ash Wednesday, February 6

Thomas Powers tells this story: The composer Stravinsky had written a new piece with a difficult violin passage.

After it have been in rehearsal for several weeks, the solo violinist came to Stravinsky and said he was sorry, he had tried his best, the passage was too difficult and no violinist could play it. Stravinsky said, "I understand that. What I am after is the sound of someone trying to play it."

While this conversation took place between an musician and a composer it could have taken place between God and a disciple.

Disciple: I’m sorry but the part you have given me to play in life is much too difficult. I’m doing my best and it isn’t good enough.

God: I understand that. What I am after is the sound of someone trying to live the life I’ve given them.

What I know about living the spiritual life is this: we do our best. We stumble. We try again. We fail. Our best seems insufficient. We stop.

We may turn to God and ask that another life be given to us, or more commonly, we sink deeply into the couch and with remote in hand search the channels for someone else’s life that we imagine we will like much better than our own.

Of course this makes us lethargic and maybe even cranky—after all, how can it be that with hundreds of channels there still is nothing on TV that fills our souls, nothing that tells me who I am?

Lent is the time of year that asks particular, focused questions: Will you come and follow me to the very end? What is the sound of your heart beating at one with the heart of God? When as a community our hearts beat together as one heart what does God intend for us to do?
Again and again, we may say it is too difficult. We cannot live this life of full-hearted love: it is impossible. I am not Jesus!

And God says: "That is precisely the point! You are not Jesus, you are _______ (fill in your name): a child of mine in whom I long to dwell. So show me the sound of you trying to live the life I’ve given you."

Lent. There is a wildness hidden in here that whistles through our hearts and calls us by our true name: Love incarnate. Listen. Listen.

Meditation for January 29

In my meditations over the past few months I have leaned heavily on two thoughts. The first is: Don’t fret. Be peace.

The second one is: there is nothing that needs to be changed. It is this one that really caught me up short: there is nothing that needs to be changed.

Like a blow to the gut this simple phrase gets at my tendency to fix, to meddle, to want something other than what I have in this moment in time.

I found myself repeating it throughout the day. As I laid these words out in my heart over and over I could feel a sense of calmness, an inkling of the words of Julian of Norwich: and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

As I look around our community of faith I confess that at times I get very caught up in wanting things to be different: more people in worship, more shared leadership, more time for pastoral care, more hours in the day to do difficult reading and thinking. And yet moment by moment this is true: there is nothing that needs to be changed.

What this meditation is allowing me to do is to dwell with a sense of quietness—the noise in my head decreases significantly when I remember this truth, and trust—God is in this moment, the next one, the next . . .

blessings + peace, Laurie

Tuesday, December 25

O God return to us—let your face smile on us, and we will be saved!
(Psalm 80:3)

Dr. Allen Lee
General Secretary of the Disciples' World Convention
(1924 – 2004)

Allen Lee was born in Yakima, Washington, and grew up as an active member of the Yakima First Christian Church. As an ordained minister, he served seven Disciples congregations, and in 1971 was called to be the General Secretary of the World Convention of Churches of Christ, with headquarters in New York City.

In that position for more than two decades, he traveled all over the globe--a truly worldwide pastor. Wherever he went, which might be to a struggling little congregation meeting in Poland one day and to the Vatican for an audience with the Pope the next, Dr. Lee moved among people as though God were smiling on them all--and his faith and joy were infectious.

In 1999, when King Hussein of Jordan died of cancer and was being eulogized as a beloved ruler and a calm force for peace in a turbulent region, Allan Lee recalled how he had been on a trip to the Holy Land in 1960 while serving as pastor of Seattle First Christian Church.

At a passport check on the Syrian border, he and his fellow travelers paused, and an official with the Jordan tourist bureau came in and asked if anyone was from Seattle. The official asked Dr. Lee to help a Jordanian student get to America. Allan Lee promised his assistance, and, true to his word, helped the student eventually enroll in the University of Washington.

Dr. Lee later included a chapter about him in his book, Under the Shadow of Nine Dragons, a copy of which he sent to King Hussein. In response, Dr. Lee received a letter of gratitude on behalf of the palace, stating that they were "encouraged by the efforts and support of people such as your good self."

After that, Dr. Lee began receiving an annual holiday card signed by King Hussein himself. Because of that simple gesture, Dr. Lee thought of the King as a "warm-hearted leader" and a great stabilizer in the world's least stable region.

Prayer
O God, my world parish is SO big and needs SO much care.
My prayers, letters, calls and cards go out to churches and people around the globe . . . .
Oh, that I might have the vitality to listen to her cries, to heed her prayers,
to bind up her wounds, to encompass her with the ties of fellowship and faith.
God, give me strength to serve my parish. Amen.
(Dr. Allan W. Lee, 1974)

- Doug Dornhecker

Monday, December 24

O God return to us—let your face smile on us, and we will be saved!
(Psalm 80:3)

St. Nicholas
Bishop of Myra
(4th Century)

Admired beyond the power of words, patron of Russia and Greece, of children, sailors,pawnbrokers, and prostitutes, it is hard to reconcile the influence and appeal of St.Nicholas with the scarcity of facts about his life.

His transfiguration into Santa Claus has been traced to Dutch Protestants in New Amsterdam. In America and England, whereon Christmas Eve young ears are attentive for the sound of reindeer’s hooves, we are further removed from the original bishop. However,linking the hopes of children with the memory of St. Nicholas does echo ancient stories.The image of childhood reflected in them has little to do with “sugar plums”.

In one story St. Nicholas rescued three young girls whose father, for want of a dowry, was about to sell them into prostitution. He tossed three bags of gold through an open window, enough to pay the dowry of each. In another story, these three bags of gold became the heads of three little boys who were murdered. The bishop uncovered the crime and restored the boys to life.

He might be remembered not only as the jolly source of toys but also as the protector of those whose lives and innocence remain threatened today by violence, poverty, and exploitation. Well does he deserve to be the patron of children.

Prayer
On this eve of the Christ child’s birth the stars collect themselves,
inhale the hopes and fears of our small and precious lives,
and breathe light into the dark corners of the world.
Glory and Amen.
We pray for children everywhere.
Deliver them from evil.

- Joan Dennehy

Sunday, December 23

O God return to us—let your face smile on us, and we will be saved!
(Psalm 80:3)

Wangari Maathai
Environmentalist
(1940 –

Growing up in Nyeri, Wangari Maathai was able to pursue higher education in the United States, a rarity for girls in rural areas of Kenya.When she returned to Kenya, Wangari Maathai worked in veterinary medicine research at the University of Nairobi, and despite the skepticism and even opposition of the male students and faculty, was able to earn a Ph.D. becoming head of the veterinary medicine faculty, a first for a woman at any department at that university.

She started the Green Belt grassroots movement after planting seeds for nine trees in her back yard. In 30 years the movement planted 30 million trees in Kenya and 12 other countries in Africa, empowering women in the process.

A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 Wangari says, “When our resources become scarce, we fight over them. In managing our resources and in sustainable development, we plant the seeds of peace.”

Wangari observes, “All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet. . . . It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees. . . . We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind.”

Prayer
O God, help us see the little things right in front of us.
Through your Spirit give us courage to move forward
that peace and goodwill might flourish on earth.

- Laurie Rudel

Saturday, December 22

Say to those of faint heart: Take courage! Do not be afraid. (Isaiah 35:4)

Eliza Davies
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Lay Leader
(1820 – 1880)

"There comes the great Mr. Campbell,” the man beside her said to Eliza Davies as she sat in the church in Paisley, Scotland. She had attended out of sheer curiosity. Most of the Christianity she had experienced in both her native Australia and in Scotland had been unpleasant and unhappy. Departing from his usual practice, Alexander Campbell preached on one verse that day, 'So faith, hope, love, abide . . . but the greatest of these is love' (I Corinthians 13:13).

He made no gestures and never raised his voice, but Eliza had never heard a sermon like it. She said, I saw creation in a new light. God's love permeated the universe. I felt a great desire to do something for my fellow-beings, to show my appreciation of God's love for me. This sermon was a pivot on which my destiny turned. Eliza followed Campbell back to America.

Mrs. Campbell and the girls called her Our Little Dove as she nursed the sisters through their terminal illnesses. When a school for orphans was opened in Kentucky, she went there as dean of women. Later, at the pleas of her family, she returned to Australia and operated schools in the most primitive districts and gave the Bible to the people. Eliza Davies was not ordained, and no one commissioned her as a missionary. Yet everywhere she went, education flourished, the church of Christ grew, and the Bible was distributed.

An independent woman, she is honored each year as two women at Midway (Kentucky) College receive the scholarships she endowed from her meager means."

Prayer
Gracious Spirit, give us eyes
to see creation in a new light,
to see your love permeating the universe,
and to see in the faces of those whose needs are great,
your smile reflected in theirs.
Through Christ our Savior, Amen.

- Doug Dornhecker

Friday, December 21

Say to those of faint heart: Take courage! Do not be afraid. (Isaiah 35:4)

Thomas Merton
Monk and Author
(1915 – 1968)

After a rambunctious youth and adolescence,Merton converted to Roman Catholicism while at Columbia University, and on December 10th, 1941 entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of Trappist monks. The twenty-seven years he spent in Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding which impelled him into the political arena, where he became the conscience of the 1960’s peace movement.

Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called “certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States.” For his social activism Merton endured severe criticism, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who assailed his political writings as unbecoming of a monk.

During his last years, he became deeply interested in Asian religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, and in promoting East-West dialogue. After several meetings with Merton during the American monk’s trip to the Far East in 1968, the Dali Lama praised him as having a more profound understanding of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known.

It was during this trip to a conference on East-West monastic dialogue that Merton died, in Bangkok on December 10, 1968, the victim of an accidental electrocution. The date marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of his entrance to Gethsemani.

Prayer
Be good,
keep your feet dry,
your eyes open,
your heart at peace
and your soul in the joy of Christ.
(Thomas Merton)

- Laurie Rudel

Thursday, December 20

Say to those of faint heart: Take courage! Do not be afraid. (Isaiah 35:4)

St. Agnes
Virgin and Martyr
(d. 304)

It is said that Agnes was born to a rich and noble family of Rome, and that at a young age her beauty attracted the interest of many prosperous suitors which she rebuffed. Her suitors, denouncing her choice to be a Christian, brought her before a magistrate.

He tried various forms of persuasion, ranging from mild entreaty to displaying instruments of torture, but nothing would compel her to worship other gods. She was condemned to a house of prostitution where every man might have free use of her. It is said no one could lay a finger on her because she exuded a powerful aura of purity. The judge then ordered her to be beheaded.

If she would not be one man’s wife, she might as well be every man’s whore—failing these options, she might as well be dead. At the time of her death she was thirteen years old. This is a conflict between a young woman’s power in Christ to define her own identity versus a patriarchal culture’s claim to identify her in terms of her sexuality.

Agnes did not choose death. She chose not to worship the gods of her culture. The God she worshiped set an altogether different value on her body and her human worth. Espoused to God she was beyond the power of any man to have his way with her. Virgin in this case is another
way of saying free woman.

Prayer
We pray today for young women and men who are coming of age.
We pray for those who are defiant in the face of oppression and violence.
Help us, Holy One, to have the courage of our convictions.

- Joan Dennehy

Wednesday, December 19

Say to those of faint heart: Take courage! Do not be afraid. (Isaiah 35:4)

Clara Celestia Hale Babcock
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Minister
(1850 – 1924)

Born in 1850 in Fitchville, Ohio, Clara Hale Babcock "was reared in the Methodist Church, an eager, faithful, and willing worker in that tradition. When Disciples evangelist George F. Adams conducted a series of meetings in Sterling, Illinois, Clara, age twenty-five, attended some of them. She was so impressed with the teachings and method of baptism practiced by the Christian Church that she decided she wanted to be baptized by immersion like her Savior. Clara and her husband, Ira, were baptized . . . [and] united with the Sterling congregation.

In 1888 she was ordained into the Christian ministry, being the first woman in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to have that honor. She served the Erie, Illinois, congregation for fifteen years, was very active in the WCTU in Illinois, and served as county president in the Sterling area. Clara was a good evangelist as well. By 1917 she had conducted twenty-eight very successful meetings, made 1,400 converts, and baptized 1,000 of them herself.

Clara's mission in this life ended in 1924. Her faith was strong and through her long labor of preaching and evangelizing, she won many to Christ and helped organize several new congregations—truly led by the Spirit of God."

Prayer
O Gentle God,
when I am afraid
to move outside the boundaries of my own expectations,
or tempted to remain inside the barriers of my own fear,
pour out your Spirit upon me
and lead me into a life of fearless obedience to Christ.

- Doug Dornhecker