September 9: Prayer Corner

My bedside table doubles as my prayer corner, and this candle is my latest addition. Given to me by my poet friend Kitty, the Scripture she included is my favorite verse.

July 28: Praying the Book

Sorry I've been MIA for the past week. My chronic illness flared up (and is still flaring), and I have been in too much pain to keep up blogs, Facebook, etc. E-mail has been it.

And lots of prayer from the Book of Common Prayer 2011.

July 19: Praying on the Porch

A quiet day, with Keith and the boys working atop the mountain, affords a lovely Quiet Time of prayer on the front porch with my Book of Common Prayer, my English Standard Version Bible installed on my Kindle, and, a rare blessing, uninterrupted TIME....

Day 69: Retreat, Continued

Our Ash Wednesday Retreat at the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia included a set time for meditative prayer, and I settled in this corner of the courtyard, basically the same place I took the photo for the previous day. I sat on a blanket under this tree and near these flowers.

Such a lovely place to pray and be silent with God....

Day 68: Ash Wednesday Retreat

This was my view from a bench in the retreat courtyard of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, the largest of the California missions. My dear friend Carmen and I attended an Ash Wednesday Retreat at the mission that focused on silence--God's silence and our silence. We were given time to wander the grounds, find a place, and spend time in silence with God. We finished the day with Mass which included the Imposition of Ashes.

Such a lovely day, and such a wonderful way to spend Ash Wednesday.

Day 53: The Book of Common Prayer 2011

Early thisd week, Father Acker received a preview copy of the Book Of Common Prayer 2011 that he revised and his wife and I edited over the last nine months or so. We spotted a few areas that needed work, and the printing company accepted all our changes. This is the exterior of the book....

...and here is a quick peep at the interior. My hands were shaking so much with excitement that I could barely focus the camera! I only took two photos--I was too busy woo-hoo'ing!!!

We hope to have the prayer books available by mid-March. :)

Day 18: Final Edits

I apologize for the boring, home-bound photos of the last few days. But I've been utterly wrapped up in editing this huge baby: a 2011 Book of Common Prayer for the Reformed Episcopal Church. We hope it will be ready to go to the printer this week, so my every non-homeschooling moment today and tomorrow will be consumed with proofing this clean new copy, hot off the press....

Only 358 pages...not too bad. (Yikes!) I'll let you know when I come up for air....

Day 78: Friday Service at Alpine Anglican

A tousled-hair B helps Father Acker prepare for Communion. Worshiping God simply, with prayer, Scriptures, and Communion, is the spiritual highlight of my week. And I love being surrounded by things that remind me of Jesus: icons depicting scenes from His life, candles reminding me that He is the Light of the World, the liturgical colors showing me that this is a season of fasting and repentance. And kneeling before God as I confess my sins is cleansing and brings such an indwelling of His peace that I wish the service went on for hours....

Day 59:

Vespers (Evening Prayer) for the First Sunday in Lent....

Day 57: Lenten Mass

Mass in Victoria House this morning -- with icons, candlelight, the 1928 prayer book on its stand, the wafers and chalice for the Eucharist, and draped over a chair is the purple chasuble used for penitential seasons. And so a dining room becomes a chapel.

Day 56: Lenten Prayer

I adore Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours trilogy that bring me through the entire church year with prayers for Morning, Midday, Vespers, and Compline. I have just started the Springtime volume, having finished the Autumn/Winter one in January. It's mostly Scripture, with a few prayers from the Book of Common Prayer and a few other sources. I love praying from it ... so thanks, Dru, for passing it along to me.

Day 55: Ash Wednesday

Just after getting home from Ash Wednesday Penitential Liturgy....

Day 30: Time for Devotions

Having my morning prayer and Scripture readings at the school table.

Day 2: My Prayer Corner

My "prayer corner" is my bedside table. It's upstairs (only the master bedroom and bath are upstairs in our home) so it's away from much of the noise and bedlam of the house. I have my Anglican prayer beads (different from a rosary with many prayers and Scripture possibilities), and my devotionals: my old 1928 Book of Common Prayer, my copy of The Message, my old favorite in hardcover, The Diary of Private Prayer, and The Daily Book of Common Prayer which has daily selections of Scripture and prayer for the year but different from the Morning and Evening Prayers from the 1928. I love lighting my candle and praying before my icons and pictures of Jesus. Sometimes I kneel to pray and sometimes I sit on the side of the bed. I hope to follow the Liturgy of the Hours this year, praying in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and at bedtime. I'll also be using Phyllis Tickle's three-volume The Divine Hours which has Scripture and prayers arranged for each of the four aforementioned prayer times.