Scripture

James 1:17 (NRSVUE)

Every generous act of giving,

with every perfect gift,

is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights.

Refrain

It's all a gift.

Quote

Julian of Norwich, from Revelations of Divine Love

"And in this he showed me a little thing,

the quantity of a hazelnut,

lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed.

And it was as round as a ball.

I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding

and thought, 'What may this be?'

And it was answered generally thus:

'It is all that is made.'

I marveled how it might last,

for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness.

And I was answered in my understanding:

It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it.

And so have all things their beginning

by the love of God."

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Scripture

Genesis 15:5 (NRSVUE)

He brought him outside and said,

"Look toward heaven and count the stars,

if you are able to count them."

Then he said to him,

"So shall your descendants be."

Refrain

Hope returns when I look up.

Quote

J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Return of the King

"Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while.

The beauty of it smote his heart,

as he looked up out of the forsaken land,

and hope returned to him.

For like a shaft, clear and cold,

the thought pierced him

that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing:

there was light and high beauty

for ever beyond its reach."

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Scripture

Psalm 19:1 (NRSVUE)

The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Refrain

The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.

Quote

Wendell Berry, from The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

"The Bible is best read and understood outdoors,

and the farther outdoors the better.

Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible,

outdoors seem merely natural.

This is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders;

we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary

but the common mode of existence."

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Scripture

Romans 13:13–14 (NRSVUE)

Let us live honorably as in the day,

not in reveling and drunkenness,

not in debauchery and licentiousness,

not in quarreling and jealousy.

Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and make no provision for the flesh

to gratify its desires.

Refrain

I want to spend my life knowing you.

Quote

Brian Zahnd, from Unseen Existences

"Lord, as much as I can mean anything,

I mean this prayer in this moment:

I want to spend the rest of my life

seeking to know you as you are revealed in Christ. Amen."

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Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (NRSVUE)

Hear, O Israel:

The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your might.

Refrain

Even here, the prayers hold.

Quote

Jürgen Moltmann

"When we encounter insoluble problems and despair,

we must remember

that the Shema of Israel

and the Lord's Prayer

were prayed in Auschwitz."

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Scripture

John 1:50–51 (NIV)

Jesus said,

"You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree.

You will see greater things than that."

He then added,

"Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open,

and the angels of God ascending and descending

on the Son of Man."

Refrain

God is nearer to me than my own soul.

Quote

Julian of Norwich, from Revelations of Divine Love

"God is nearer to us than our own soul,

for he is ground in whom our soul stands,

and he is the means that keeps

the substance and the sensuality together

so that it shall never depart.

For our soul sits in God, in true rest,

and our soul stands in God in sure strength,

and our soul is naturally rooted in God,

in endless love."

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Scripture

John 1:47–49 (NIV)

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,

"Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit."

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered,

"I saw you while you were still under the fig tree

before Philip called you."

Then Nathanael declared,

"Rabbi, you are the Son of God;

you are the king of Israel."

Refrain

I was seen before I was found.

Quote

Rabbi Johanan bar Nappaha of Tiberius

"Why were matters of Torah compared to a fig tree?

Just as this fig tree,

whenever a person searches it for figs to eat,

he finds figs in it,

as the figs on the tree do not ripen all at once,

so too, with matters of Torah.

Whenever a person meditates on them,

he finds in them new meaning."

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Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NRSVUE)

Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus for you.

Refrain

Prayer is keeping company with God.

Quote

Mother Teresa

"Prayer is not asking.

Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God,

at His disposition,

and listening to His voice

in the depth of our hearts."

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