Somgs my Mother taught me # 5

Sleeping time
"I can endure anything if I only can sleep,"my Mom used to say. 
"There's a lot of healing in a good night's sleep," went another of her sayings.
In spite of that, we are a family where the females are affected by insomnia.
"Never think going to bed with cold feet", was rule # 1. 

Warm socks are a good solution. Mom making socks for the entire family Christmas 2011. She used left over yearn and would always knit the heels with double thread.

Hot water bottle, electric mattress heater, or even better; a soft adjustable electric blanket makes the bed inviting.
That is definitely a must. The bed must be a relaxing, welcoming place to be. Soft pillows, a thick feather duvet, a bottle of water, reading glasses and a pile of good books. For harsh nights I have added my own remedy; Astrid Lindgren's videos. They mellow my mind and focus thoughts on happy memories.

 The sleep of the righteous after a long day's work.

My parents would also ALWAYS  read one or two prayers and a homemade one, summing up the day and place it all in the hands of the Lord.
They had a book from which they read one or two chapters before we went to sleep.We got to choose the books.
In Norway in the early fifties there was housing shortage. That meant that we had tenants living upstairs like everyone else in the valley. 
That was a good thing to me. I shared bedroom with my brother till I was 7, and we really had a good time singing, guessing riddles and making noice in general before falling to sleep. 
People need people. I've always pitied babies being placed in a room of their own. Especially when the parents are telling not to go and look after when a baby cry." He's just being difficult, wanting  to get up". 
Goodness, gracious me, little children are not monsters. If they cry, they have needs, and should not be taught, that crying doesn't help.

My Mother taught me that. She practiced learning by doing.
Good routines before bedtime are a must both for adults and children.
No TV or homework the last hour before bedtime. A light meal with a mug of hot chocolate or milk & honey to drink.
Tidying up, folding the day away, half an hour on the bath, circling down to the bed.
Then the songs, the lullabies.  
Funny thing is, in Norway many choose on of the famliar lullabies for funerals too. They are so comforting.

 

This was one of my mother's favorite bed time songs.

Our Father 8

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Jesus, who gave us this prayer, is trying to teach us just how great God is.

King of the Universe.

Power over everything from stars to ants.

His caring and love are beyond our comprehension.

Likewise the glory; for all creation shall honor Him.

Not for a decade or a century, but for ever and ever.

Our Father.

Amen.

Our Father 7

Evil at the foot of the pulpit of St.Mary's Church, Bergen. The woodcarvers of the baroque had a vivid interpretation of how and what the evil was like. It felt right to put him under the foot of the priest .

"But deliver us from evil"...

I know what the evil wants; murder and destroy. Spread conflicts, jealousy and hatred among friends, in families and in the church, and thus tear the good work down.

I sincerely pray God to protect us from all the evil's cunning attacks.
He has promised to do so. "Keep close to him, and he will keep close to you."

There's another even worse trap to walk into; be an evil doer myself. To seek revenge, and be tempted to use testimony and real evidence to hurt a person.
I know I feel tempted, so therefore I whispering pray,
"Deliver me from evil and from being evil or do evil".
.

Our Father 6

Lead us not into temptation,
I don't think the Lord leads us on paths of evil.
The tempter is another name for the devil, he certainly searches in every way to lead us astray.
The Lord has promised to guard us, so that not one of his lambs shall be missing.
Lead me away from temptation, is my prayer.
I am so often tempted to make wrong choices, say wrong things for the wrong reasons; it's a wonder I'm still, by grace, allowed to be among the children of God.
In the old prayer book of the Church of Norway, the phrase went, "You raise us for your Kingdom through Cross and Tribulation."
"It takes a strong back to carry only good days", my grandmother used to say.
I guess that if God hadn't made it crystal clear, I cannot achieve anything without him, I'd be even more obnoxious and smug than I am today.
I certainly need to carry on praying,
"Lead me away from temptations."

Our Father 5

Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.

This is a real hard one. I have a lot of sins on my conscience.
One of them is, I have hard to forgive when I or my family really have been hurt or harmed.
The injustices keep popping up when least expected, and I'm feeling like a looser, because I cannot forget.
Do I have to forgive, when the person hasn't asked for forgiveness?
I try to hide behind that question.
Is remembering and feeling hurt or angry the same as not forgiving?
I mean, I do not wish my evil-doers directly harm. I sometimes think the Lord might let them taste their own medicine. Then I remember my father's warning, "Let only the Lord pass judgement".

Bottom line is; I sorely need forgiveness, therefor I have to try to forgive.
I pray, "help me forgive", when I in my heart know I have not forgiven. One special offense I'd never think I could get past. I prayed this prayer for two years and one day it simply melted away like snow in the spring.

Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.

Our Father 4

Give us today our daily bread.

When I grew up, we used to have a porcelain platter with the gold inscription "Give us this day our daily bread". My mother's homemade bread was placed upon the platter for breakfast and supper.

It took me sometime to realize that we are praying for more than actually bread. We place the responsibility for our entire needs,
in the hands of God, our Father.
Day by day our daily bread. Like the Manna the bread will be provided us one day at a time. We therefore need to return in front of the Lord with the same prayer day after day.
We simply need to stay close to God, all the time, because our needs will change, but God's promises and power are eternal.

We need food for our bodies, food for our thoughts and food for our hearts.
Even if we don't feel and know of famine, like one billion of the population of the world do, we do eat food which poisons our bodies, read and watch material made to seduce our minds and hearts, and lead us astray from our goal.
We may think we are alive, but we are dying, according to the Revelations.

Indeed we need to pray for daily living bread and water.
Oh, Lord, please be the great provider.
"Give us today our daily bread."

Our Father 3

Your will be done.

It has often been tough and self revealing to pray Our Father, and mean every word of it.
Too often I'm sitting in my tiny hole, understanding so little of my life and others, not to mention lacking the great perspective.
When the Lord's will is done, it's for the best for me and for the rest of the world.
So why did Jesus teach us to pray the Almighty "Thy will be done"?
We all belong to him. He sees the entire puzzle from afar.
We are living entirely by grace and we are valuable treasures to him.
Even so, it is necessary that I in my heart and with my mouth submit to his will.
I recommend my self into the hands of my father and say, not mine, but,
"Your will be done."

Our Father 2

Hallowed be your name.
We have a Father with a name that must be held Holy.
My mother used to say that she preferred men cursing to women disgracing God's name.
I wonder why that is a woman thing, "Oh my"?
My language may not be the best, so I shouldn't throw any stone.
I just wish for the ones ill-using God's holy name, that they might learn to know him.
Remember you are dust, remember you are more than dust.
He is our dear, loving, caring Father.
He is also God Almighty, the first and the last, creator of the universe.
Hallowed be your name.

BREAD ON THE WATER

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11

1 Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.

My Norwegian/American friend Sonja, has sent me a priceless gift.
A book about her father Armin Gesswein, a biography and a textbook, a torch and a map.

I got it two days ago and I haven't finished it entirely yet, but I need to say thank you to Sonia and tell about how blessed I feel.

Sonja has told, in modest ways, about her father in her blog bits and pieces.
The truth is he was a spiritual leader of world wide dimensions.
He was a theologian, and minister, a viewer, a preacher, a mentor, but foremost he was a man of prayer. He even founded a College of Prayer.

How I wish my father could have met him, or heard about him.
Where Armin Gesswein was a giant, my dad belonged to the small and silent in the country. Even so, they had one thing in common, convincing of
The Power of prayer, and the need for prayer in every aspect of spiritual and human life.

Even more important; they both in similar ways lived the way they learned. Armin Gesswein's life was his strongest testimony, and the fruits of his prayers cannot be numbered by humans.

The book is titled "Everything by prayer", and the reader is encouraged to read slow, to look up verses and chapters in the Bible, think thoroughly through questions at the end of each chapter, and also discuss it within groups or with mentors.

I shall have to read it that way afterward. Just now I'll have read it from A to Z ,while praying in my chamber.

Dearest Sonja, how can I ever reward you for this gift?
It has already broadened my horizon, and let me expect for much more.

Jeremiah15: 16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart; because Thy name was called on me, O LORD God of hosts.

RUBY GUARDIAN ANGEL

I found this simple, little verse on a Catholic prayer site.
It suits only too well for where I am just now.
A fragile child in need of an almighty God.
I also want to thank the Scarf Sisters for forming this strong ring of prayer,staying faithfully by my friends and me.The angel is hanging in our living room window.

Daily Prayer to Guardian Angel

Angle of God
My guardian dear
To whom my love
Commits me here
Ever this day
Be at my side
To light and guard
To rule and guide.
Amen

Originated by MaryT, check hers for today