Month: April 2017

Great Prayer Book Online Resources

Published by

During Lent, I (Amanda) started a practice of knitting while listening to the Cradle of Prayer, recordings of the 1928 Prayer Book daily offices. I was surprised by how much joy and peace this practice brought to my days.  (And, I found my three year old would sometimes even quietly play and listen!) The possibility of listening to the Daily Offices — though it seems so obvious, like “why haven’t I always done this?” — has been rather revolutionary for me. So, we’ve put together a list of some great online resources and apps that may help you to “dwell richly” in the Scriptures through prayer, by means of the wise ordering of the Prayer Book. The Cradle of Prayer The Cradle of Prayer uses the 1928 Prayer Book (for those of you who aren’t Anglican, this is the version that sounds like the KJV Bible — “vouchsafe,” “succour,” and lots of “beseeching”). The best thing about the Cradle of Prayer is that they include a hymn and the canticles are sung (she cycles through the …

Holy Week Hymns (Or, When Nothing Else Gets Through)

Published by

If you, like me, are struggling with what it means to observe Holy Week as a parent, if you have little time to meditate in silence and find most of your observances to be hijacked by whiny toddlers, I was reminded today of the power God has given to music to reach and shape our souls (even when we are annoyed with our kids and foundering in Holy Week intentions). We sang the following two hymns during our Spy Wednesday service today and both managed to get through to my not-particularly-soft heart. Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel the tempter’s power; Your Redeemer’s conflict see, watch with Him one bitter hour, Turn not from His griefs away; learn of Jesus Christ to pray. See Him at the judgment hall, beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned; O the wormwood and the gall! O the pangs His soul sustained! Shun not suffering, shame, or loss; learn of Christ to bear the cross. Calvary’s mournful mountain climb; there, adoring at His feet, Mark that miracle of time, God’s own sacrifice …

Prayer Habits for Parents

Published by

Thank you to Erica Jarrett for contributing to our BCP in Daily Life series. Erica Jarrett is a family doctor and mother of one daughter. She currently works with Trinity on the Border, a non-profit ministry of the Anglican Church in North America which she and her husband Michael founded in South Texas. She blogs at liturgyoflife.com. My daughter was born one year prior to me finishing my residency as a Family Medicine doctor. I remember well those foggy nights, driving home at midnight to nurse her before returning to the hospital to work till morning. Under the strain of constant exhaustion, I tried to reach out to God but wasn’t sure how — my old habits of prayer and quiet time seemed to be impossible to maintain in my new life as a working mom. For many, like me, spending time in personal devotion is what may define our faith. But juggling the realities of childrearing or fast-paced careers (or both), often eliminates any routine which requires extended time at the table sipping coffee, or focus enough to read …