A Prayer For Staying Spiritually Centered
Gracious God, it seems that what most holds my attention are those things and people that I can see, touch, hear, and feel.

Yet, in the moments of my day when my mind is still, my soul is quiet, and my breath is slow and even, I can almost detect a whiff of your presence.

These precious times are all too fleeting; they slip away almost as quickly as they come. The phone rings, my child cries, a colleague needs my assistance, or my mind just simply gets distracted.

Help me know, O God, that you are still present with me, even in my distractions and interruptions. But also help me savor those spiritually centered moments so much that I will make room in my life for more of them.

When I am impatient because I can't see, touch, hear, or feel you, let your love seep surely into me until my heart turns back to you in surprise and delight. Amen.

from "Prayers for Living"

Because faith is a mystery, we will find ourselves from time to time experiencing doubt, and questioning the very things we have been taught are true.

Some religious traditions try to keep doubt from ever reaching the surface, because there is a concern that it will not only lead people to question the institutional faith they have been given, but will also steer them into unhealthy and dangerous belief systems. ...

by Renée Miller
from "Your Spiritual Coach"

Bar mitzvah literally means "son of the commandment" in Hebrew, and bat (pronounced like jot) mitzvah is "daughter of the commandment."

In Jewish tradition, these terms refer to a child who has come of age ... It is a state of being, not an event. ...

Christian kids are oftentimes invited to their friends' bar/bat mitzvah celebrations, and, not surprisingly, many of these kids want their parents to throw similar parties for them.

But Christians need to be careful about adopting Jewish ceremonies toward Christian ends. ...

by Jon Sweeney
from "In the News and ON OUR MINDS"