A Morning Prayer

Posted on January 5, 2008 by Jason Bandura

From St. John of Kronstadt…

I just may have needed to read this on this particular morning.

A morning prayer, O God!

Creator and Master of the world! Mercifully protect Thy creature, adorned with Thy Godly image, in these morning hours: Let Thine eyes, millions and millions of times brighter than the rays of the sun, vivify and enlighten my soul, darkened and slain by sin.

Deliver me from despondency and slothfulness, grant me joy and vigour of soul, so that with a glad heart I may praise Thy mercy, Thy holiness, Thy boundless greatness, and Thy infinite perfections, at every hour and in every place.

For Thou, Lord, art my Creator and the Master of my life, and to Thee Thy reasonable creatures every hour ascribe glory and praise, both now and for ever and to ages of ages.

Amen.

So go, my friends, and start your day on those notes.

Time and Space

Posted on December 23, 2007 by Jason Bandura

No, this is not an attempt to build on Einstein’s theories or to finally get my time machine repaired.

Just looking at the holidays and thinking…

I’m grateful for the time and space they provide.

But I’m forced to confess something.

I’m a waster.

What I mean is that I hit these spots in life where I feel the need for time and space. I’m pretty sure that more of those two things will lead me to renewal and refreshing. Then I’m provided with that time and space, and I spend it in ways that take me nowhere.

And then the hole feels a bit deeper than before.

Shannon and I have been thinking lately how funny people are… I mean humanity as a whole, rather than specific people… though I do plan to name names in a future post!

But the funny part is that we’re created in God’s image, capable of sheer genius and creative power that stirs hearts. (THAT wasn’t the funny part. Wait for it!)

And right beside that capability, we have a knack for coldness, shallowness, and stupidity that would make even Darwin question most of evolutionary theory… as in, has anything evolved at all?!

That paradox… that’s the funny part. And I often laugh or shake my head at the whole thing.

I often stop laughing and shaking my head when I arrive back at myself, and my dealings with time and space.

Random thoughts as I wake up on a Sunday morning…