Fulfil / Fill my longing


Three’s company  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
As a songwriter, it’s such a privilege to write songs inspired by our shared faith in Jesus. And it’s such a joy to share my songs in my local church and beyond, also on this platform.

For a few seasons now I have taken part in the 12-song challenge organised by resoundworship.org. It has kept me writing songs on a regular basis, even when I barely had the time or energy.

This month’s challenge was to write a Taizé type song. My song is based on two lines from the Call to Worship from our Advent service on “Longing”. Here is a recording I made yesterday, with some harmonies and counter melodies to give it something extra. Enjoy.

 
My soul thirsts
by Irene Bom


My soul thirsts for the Living God
Come, Lord, fill my longing
Living God, come fill my soul.
 

Call to worship

inspired by Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Come to us, Lord, and fill our longing.

from re:worship  (adapted)
 

From the blog
When hot and bothered
3 Prayers for wayfarers
Theme: Sharing in Jesus’ ministry [prayer sheet]
 

All my longings


 

All my longings lie open before you, Lord:
      my sighing is not hidden from you.

 

A prayer

My God,
I pray that I may so know you and love you
that I may rejoice in you.
And if I may not do so fully in this life,
let me go steadily on
to the day when I come to fullness of life.
Meanwhile let my mind meditate on your eternal goodness,
let my tongue speak of it,
let my heart live it,
let my soul hunger for it,
and my whole being desire it,
until I enter into your joy.
 
by St Anselm (1033-1109)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #85
 

From the blog
United by love
Not deserted
Holy moment beneath the stars
 

Longing for his appearing

 

This past Sunday I got to preach on the topic of “Longing” as part of our Advent series, Waiting, longing, hoping and praying for the Day of the Lord.

May God increase your longing for Jesus’ return as we move through Advent and on to another Covid-coloured Christmas. According to Paul, there is a crown of righteousness awaiting “all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

 

Prayer

In the promise which is everywhere about us
Hold us, God

In the longing for a new world and new living
Cradle us, God

In the need to see advent’s revelation in our world
Direct us, God

In the silence of memories that haunt us
Comfort us, God

In the hunger for justice that aches in us
Feed us, God

In the yearning for love in each of our days
Reassure us, God

In the setting out of truth in our political world
Aid us, God

In the call for peace in our crazy world
Hear us, God

In the search for healing in our broken world
Find us, God

In the gathering round the table
Gather with us, God

In the breaking of bread and spilling of wine
Share with us, God

In the community of faith
Reveal yourself, God

 
— from the archives of the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website, posted on re:worship.
 

 
Resound Worship Podcast: One of my songs got mentioned

For a sample and review of the theme song I wrote for our Advent series, Waiting, longing, hoping and praying for the Day of the Lord, check out the Resound Worship Podcast, episode 91 (from 40:35 to 45:30).
 

Considering considerate


 

James tells us the wisdom from heaven is – amongst other things – considerate (James 3:17).

 
Here’s a quote from a recent sermon I preached entitled Be wise in God’s eyes that references this verse:
 

What does genuine wisdom look like? James spells it out for us in v. 17: ‘the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.’

True wisdom, the wisdom that comes from heaven looks like Jesus: Pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

The more we let Jesus shape our lives, the wiser we will be. Pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

 

A prayer

Lord, help me to understand what it truly means to be considerate of others and put their needs above my own. May I recognize the little things I do that reveal I am thinking more of myself than of others. Help me to see the blessing that comes from putting others first.

May I see that everything I think doesn’t need to be said. May I understand that an affirmative smile is better than speaking my mind. Please give me insight into where others need to be lifted up and encouraged in you.

Putting others first means that I listen to others and hear what they say even if I don’t agree with them. If you would have me speak truth then enable me to do it with gentleness and compassion, not with antagonism and force. In all things, remind me to examine myself first to see if there is any wrong way in me.

Lord, teach me to keep my words few and my heart full of you. May my mind be aligned with your mind and may I see into the souls of others and know what you know. May I recognize that all people need you and may the words I speak to them reveal a little of who you are and all that you have done for us.

Lord, at the heart of putting others first is the dying to self. It isn’t important what I want and think. What is important is what you want and that should be at the forefront of my mind. Lord may my thoughts and words be considerate of others and pleasing to you. May I learn to speak as you speak and love as you love. May all that I do be done in your name and bring glory to you.

Amen

 
~ written by Marty Elwell, posted on www.ultimateoutcomes.org
 

Consider their splendour

 
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.” (Luke 12:27)
 

A prayer – for splendour restored

inspired by Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10

For the speechless tongues of those oppressed
For weak hands, feeble knees, widowed, spirits
Made lame, we pray

For those orphaned from war, violence, fear
Parentless children, silent, stifled cries. For the
Hungry, we pray

For wives, beaten, abused, trampled, shot
Spirits abandoned, imprisoned by fear. For
Women, we pray

In the dry land of desert wilderness, parched
Stranded spirit, a deer that cannot leap. For the
Broken, we pray

Blessed are those whose help is God
Happy are those whose hope is God, for the
Good News, we pray

For the Good News of God, born human, who
Comes to live and love us, as us, be glad, rejoice,
Singing, we pray

For hope, like blooming flowers in a dusty desert
For hope, compassion bursting forth, be strong!
God is with us.
Amen.

 
~ written by Terri C. Pilarski, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. Originally published in a prayer resource for Sixteen Days of Prayer Advocating for the End of Domestic Violence, 2010.
 

Amazing to consider

 
Those who were at the October 2021 Presbytery meeting might recognize this verse from Isaiah 40:26, which I posted in the chat to encourage us.
 

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 147)

Celebrate God’s grace!
How comforting it is to know God always accompanies us.
Approach God in awe!
How amazing it is to consider that God has created each of us
      and each star in the heavens.
Praise the living God!
How good it is to sing praises together.

~ written by Ana Gobledale, and posted on Worship Words.
 

 
The story behind the card

I made this card towards the end of a two-week stay at Dutch L’Abri, returning home in time for our October 2021 Presbytery meeting (via zoom). This card is one of a whole pile of cards I made on my last full day at L’Abri, to give away to the staff and guests. I took photographs of all the cards I made, but I only kept this one, and happened to have it on me during our Presbytery meeting, tucked into a notebook.

In our discussions around the future of our Presbytery and the different charges, it seemed a timely reminder, worth sharing: If not one of the stars is missing because of God’s great power and mighty strength, surely we can trust ourselves and our congregations to God’s care and sovereignty too.
 

Inspired by trees


 

A poem

 
Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

 
by David Wagoner, from Traveling Light: Collected and New Poems
 

Also inspired by trees

The children’s book, The Boy Who Grew a Forest (based on a true story).

Youtube video on how to make paper growing trees (from illustrator of The Boy Who Grew a Forest)

Article from themarginalian.org about Ursula K. Le Guin’s Love Poem to Trees, also featuring some stunning artwork.
 

From the blog

Winter = long nights
Flowers fall, but …
Tree of life
 

Big strong tree

 
One of my early children’s song was inspired by a verse from Hosea 14 where God likens himself to a tree.
 

“Israel, have nothing to do with idols. I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers and watches over you. I am like a green pine tree; your blessings come from me.”

 

The original Hebrew word for “pine tree” is sometimes translated as fir tree, cypress tree or juniper. And the word “green” is variously translated as “evergreen”, “luxuriant”, “flourishing”, “growing”, “glorious”.

What a beautiful picture for God, who watches over us and makes our lives fruitful, if we put our trust in him.
 

 
BIG STRONG TREE
by Irene Bom (from Shepherd King Project)


 
Chorus:
Lord, You are like a big strong tree
And You help us live fruitfully
Lord, You are like a big strong tree
And You help us live for You.

1. You are like the dew
You make us all blossom like the lilies
You are like the dew

(Repeat chorus)

2. You are like the vine
We will grow if we live in You
You are like the vine

(Repeat chorus)

3. You are like the stream
You fill us up with life-giving water
You are like the stream

(Repeat chorus)
 

Thank you. For fruit-bearing trees


Apples ready for harvest  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so.

 

Thanksgiving Litany

For summer’s passing and harvest home —
we thank you!
For autumn’s splendor and winter’s chill —
we thank you!
For seed that has fallen, the promise of spring —
we thank you!

As a part of nature’s wondrous cycle
of new birth, growth, fruitfulness and death
we rejoice in the creation of new life.

May our lives blossom as the apple tree in Spring
May we become fruitful in thought and deed
And may the seed of love that falls to the ground
Linger beyond our time on this earth.

 
~ posted on Third Space blog (excerpt)