Forest Lake Talks

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6

These days can be challenging as we watch the news or hear of friends and family who may be ill. It is hard to live into a world of 'social distancing' when it's the norm to greet one another with a handshake or hug. So how do we live into this "New Normal" and maintain our Walking in the Way of Jesus as God's loving community?

First, I usually tell the children as we begin a lesson, to pause and BREATHE. Take a deep breath and feel God's breath fill you up. When exhaling, let go of all the worries, concerns, and cares of the world. Take another deep breath and try again. Sometimes our group has to do this a third time to feel God's peace fill us up.

Using the words of the hymn, Breathe on Me, Breath of God, can be a way to facilitate feeling God's peace. "Breathe on me, Breath of God; fill me with life anew, that I may love what thou dost love, and do what thous wouldst do."

Second, there are apps available to facilitate prayer on a regular basis.

• The PC(USA) Daily Prayer App provides brief services for Daily Prayer based on the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, including: psalms for the day, readings from the daily lectionary, and prayers of thanksgiving and intercession. (Available for both Android and Apple from the store.)
• The d365 daily devotional site, written especially for youth and young adults, seeks to provide reflections on themes that impact our faith journey.
• Pandemic Hope Devotional – An amazing family resource for life while maintaining social distance from Faith 5.  Devotional readings and activities are prepared for the next 8 weeks for use with those you are isolated alongside.  If you live alone, call a friend or journal.
• Another way to stay connected to Forest Lake is take a Prayer Walk around our facility. Pray for the people, activities and ministries that take place through our congregation.

Praying for one another and laying all our cares and concerns before God is a blessed way to stay connected to each other and to God. We are all in this together and remember.......

1 Peter 5:7 (CEB) Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you.

Amen and Amen.                                                                          -written by Andrea Paschal