call me hephzibah [010]

heavenly father, pull us near to you this morning.

 god, we confess that we often forget that the scale is broken.  that you broke the scale by which we measure ourselves.  and we confess that we often choose not just to measure ourselves and our worth by that scale, but we choose to measure our neighbor by it.

 god, we also confess that we have done it again.  the thing we know you don’t want for us.  that which was not ours to do.  the thing we promised we’d never do again.  that which we know does not align with your love.  and god, we confess that we have allowed that thing, that act, that thought to drive us away from the people you have placed in our lives--the people you know we need.  

 but lord, it is not about what we have done--what we have done well, or what we have done poorly, or even about that which we have left undone.  instead, it is about the fact that you have chosen us, and you love us, and you are with us--shaping us and using us to bring your kingdom near.

 father, the hope of your promise springs from the very ground you made.  the ground from which you formed us, when you gathered the dust and breathed your breath.  your breath, which you breathed into each and every person we meet, regardless of where we would rank them on the scale you have broken.

evidence of your power and grace and beauty is all around us, and we praise you.  we pray that paul’s words, this morning, would not fall on unhearing ears and hardened hearts, but that we would be the people who seek to bring your kingdom here on earth.  we pray this is jesus’ holy and lovely and enduring name.  amen.

call me hephzibah [009]

god, you love us.  you love us so much.  you would go any length to bring us near to you.  that is an amazing truth--that, despite all the ways we fall short, you love us.  and nothing else should matter, but your love and the power that truth holds.

you are our great father, and you have offered us the most boundless love throughout all our days.  you loved us on the day we were born.  you loved us on the day we took our first steps.  you loved us on the day we spoke our first word.  you loved us on the day we told our brother we hated him.  you loved us on the day we acted out of jealousy.  you loved us on the day we won the race.  you loved us on the day we graduated.  you loved us on the day we took what was not ours.   you loved us on the day we were afraid.  you loved us on the day we doubted.  you loved us on the day we got the promotion.  you loved us on the day we lied.  you loved us on the day we hurt her.  you loved us on the day we hurt ourselves.  you loved us on the day we felt near to heaven.  you loved us on the day we gave birth.  you loved us on the day we confessed our love for you.  you loved us on the day we gave up.  you have loved us on all of our days.  you have loved us from the very beginning, with the same incomprehensible love you offer us now.  nothing we have done or will do can possibly change that, and so the scale is broken.

we find ourselves enveloped in the mess of this world.  we listen to the voice that prompts us to climb, that tells us our worth is tied to our finances, our grades, the number of children we have, the places we travel, the size of our waist, and the size of our house.  this voice--it tells us to keep climbing, to keep seeking, to chase after things that have no worth in your kingdom.


but these things, lord.  these things we consider means of measure offer nothing and hold nothing.  your love is beckoning to us, and we want to listen.  father, we pray that [      ] would speak words of truth and life into this place, and that we would leave here a shaken and changed people who seek to do your will and live in light of your love.  order our lives according to your will, and form us into people who love as you love.  amen.

call me hephzibah [008]

father, you made the world and said it was good.  you formed us from the dust and your breath, and you said we were very good.  you saw us fall, and sent your son to raise us.  you came to us as a baby who cried in solidarity with us, and grew into a man who offered his life for us.  you have made a way for us.  out of the darkness we chose, you have made a way.

god, you are the king above all kings.  you shake the earth with holy thunder.  at your word, mountains crumble.  at your word birds fly.  at your word, the storm settles.  and at your word, we are set free.

in all of your perfection and power, and in all of our unworthiness, you have chosen us and you go to battle for us.  in the darkness we have loved, the brokenness we have clung to, and the pain we can’t seem to escape – you are with us, and you have always been with us.

let us not forget this, lord, let us not doubt this – the mightiest of truths – that you love us and you have made us free, as none else can.  so let us order our days, lord, according to your amazing grace.  let us be kind to one another, offer love to our enemies, and let us be generous with that which you have given us.


god, we pray you would form our lives to align with your will.  that you would shape us into the people who not only do your will, but who want to do your will, the people who want to bring your kingdom near.  embolden us, as we seek to be lights in this world, as we strive to live and love more like jesus.  amen.

call me hephzibah [007]

heavenly father, some of us woke up this morning, gathered here with good intentions, but we sit here on empty.  we are tired, we are weary, and we’re not sure if we have anything else to offer in the coming week.

to you, lord, we call.  you are our rock.  hear our cry as we lift our hands toward your most holy place.

let us not speak cordially with our neighbors, while harboring malice in our hearts.  keep us mindful of that which you have done for us, so we may act in our lives according to that which your sacrifice deserves from us.

praise be to you, lord, who has heard our cries for mercy.  you are our strength and our shield. our hearts will trust in you, and leap for joy on your behalf.

your voice thunders over the waters, the mountains, the hills, and the streets.  let us not forget your power and might, which is not separate from your grace and your love for your children.  lord, you are king for all of the days.  we praise you, and seek to do your will in bringing heaven near.


lead us in the way that is pleasing to you, and make us into the people who live and who love more like your son, jesus.  amen.

call me hephzibah [006]

father, we gather this morning as your children, seeking truth.  lead us into your truth.

god, you are a refuge and you are strength.  you are ever near to us, and you are gentle with our aching hearts.  let us not forget, though, that you are also mighty and powerful beyond comprehension.

though the ways of this world often lead us to believe otherwise, we are a weak and broken people, so deeply in need of a powerful and perfect god.

lord, we are grateful that, in all your might and glory, you choose to fight for us.  you are with us in the dangerous and dark and painful seasons of our lives, when the only hope we find in this world is that you, jesus, are coming back for us.  and you call us into those places where we can learn of your power and learn to be still within it.

gracious god, we pray this morning that, in light of this knowledge, we would become the people who not only do your will, but who want to do your will.  we pray that we would become the people who crave your kingdom and seek to bring it near.  let the truth we find this morning linger throughout the coming days, so that we may be a part of your force in this stormy and lovely world.

call me hephzibah [005]

lord, we are a people deeply in need of you.  though we do not always know it, our bodies and our souls, our hearts and our minds ache for you.  we want more of you.  we want to know you more and we want to be different people as a result of that knowledge.  we want to live your love--your love that is gracious, that is gentle, that is patient, that is generous, that is mighty, and your love that is faithful.

father, we pray that you would pattern our days according to your will.  we pray that how we choose to spend our days and devote our time would be in correlation with the truth and the life you have offered us.


this morning, we pray that our lives would be open to the words [     ] will speak.  that, when we leave this place and these walls, we would not forget you.  we pray that we would be a changed people who live and love more like jesus.  amen.

call me hephzibah [004]

father, we gather this morning as people with various realities.  each of us carries a different burden.  each of us has tried to manage our burdens, our messes, our flaws, and each of us has come up wanting.

but lord, you know us and you know what burdens us, and you have made a way for us.  we pray for the words [     ] would speak over our lives this morning, that they would lead us to know more fully, your truth and your freedom.


we pray that, in gathering together, we would be formed into people who live and love more like jesus.  we pray this in your holy and enduring name.  amen.

call me hephzibah [003]

lord, we gather this morning as a people in search of you.  we come to you as people who have been deceived, and who have allowed ourselves to be deceived.  we come as people in need of the gift of discernment, as people who are deeply in need of you.  come near to us.  father, we pray you would allow us to see our neighbors not just as ourselves, but as you see them.  as intricately designed, lovely, complex humans worthy of love and respect and dignity.  guide us to do justice through acts of generosity and offer love that is self-sacrificial, because we know that those are the ways of the kingdom, and we desire to bring your kingdom near.  we pray for the words [      ] will offer this morning, that they would do work to shape us into the people who live and love more like your son.  we pray these things in jesus’ name.  amen.

call me hephzibah [002]

god, this morning we lift our hearts to you.  we pray that you would make us eager to pursue your will and patient as we gain a truer understanding of what that is.  we pray that the words [       ] speaks to us today would not fall on unhearing ears, but that they would have weight in our lives and that they would mobilize us to actively bring your kingdom near.  we pray this is jesus’ name.  amen.

call me hephzibah [001]

heavenly father, we are grateful for your mighty, creative,

refining, and loving spirit which is ever at work in our lives.

be with us as we seek to honor you in all things, and we pray

that you would create in us more generous hearts, which

recognize that nothing could be of greater value than

relationship with you.  we pray for the words [         ] will offer

to us in your name today, that we would have ears to hear,

that we would have eyes to see you in this place.  we pray


these things in your son’s enduring name.  amen.

the thing about mondays

In Ghana, you are given a name based on the day of the week you were born.  If anyone asks you what your birth day is, they aren’t looking for the date but a “Wednesday” or a “Saturday.”  They are asking for your name.  People look forward to their name day each week similarly to the way many look forward to their birthday each year.  They look forward to the day not because they will have a party or receive gifts, but just because it is their day. 

My sister-in-love and I in Cape Coast, Ghana

My name is Adwoa [ODD-JO-UH], which means I am a female who was born on a Monday.  The thing about Mondays, for me, is that I generally hate them.  And not in a small way--I dread the beginning of each week like primetime television viewers dread campaign season.  I mourn the end of the weekend like my newly-non-dairy-consuming mama mourns ice cream.  I beg for snow days even on beautiful spring days, such as this.  (Disclaimer:  It's not just Mondays, but they always seem to be the hardest.)

Last Monday I was offered a diagnosis which confirmed what I believed/feared for over a decade: depression.  In some way it’s affirming, to be able to have a name for my demon.  To have a concrete explanation for all the areas I feel painfully inadequate.  In another way it’s like “what do I even do with this?”  So I have the diagnosis, but that doesn't change my situation.  It doesn't ease the struggle.  It doesn't make the day-to-day any less messy.

One significant season of my life (student-hood) is drawing to a close, at least for now.  And a new season of my life (real-world-hood) has been fading in.  It is just as horrifically scary as it is exciting, but I have one main goal as the transition takes place.  Aside from keeping a roof over my head and growing in love, my most practical goal is to embrace Mondays.  

After all, I came into the world on a Monday--the universe made room for me on a Monday.  God chose me to be among the sisterhood of the Monday-borns.  My mother worked really freaking hard to let me join this world in time for lunch on a Monday.  The least I can do is celebrate that, even in tiny ways.  

What might that look like?  Heck if I know.  Maybe I'll wake up a little earlier to make a fantastic breakfast.  Maybe I'll drop some confetti in my backpack so I can carry a little party with me everywhere.  Or maybe I will simply whisper to myself in an effort to fight the impending gray: "Hey.  This is my day."  So call me Adwoa.