Join Me in a Prayerful November!

Oh, oh, oh.....

All Saint's Day.

I'm Catholic and we've always viewed November as the month of remembrance followed by December, the month of anticipation and joy. I don't remember if that was taught to me, or it just made sense because All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day are followed by Thanksgiving later in the month.

Remembering those who've gone home to God is good regardless of denomination, right? And praying for the families of those who've lost someone is also good.

These days, I pray for prayer. I pray that God's people will pray. That we'll all gather physically and spiritually and revive the hunger for prayer in our cities and towns. That we'll take as much time for God and church as we do for shopping or trash TV.

That we reach out every time we see someone down on their luck with whatever we have, even if it's just a smile. An unexpected smile heals a great deal of heartache.

I love prayers. I love sacrifice. I love striving to be less of a jerk.  (That last one is a work in progress, which probably means I'm not striving enough!)

I love going to church because it's a public symbol of unity. It's too easy in our fragmented lives to shrug off that public symbol. I find it heartening to set aside that time. Show up. Pray. Sing. Pray some more. Sure I could pray at home. We all pray at home, right? That's what makes Sunday special. Not just an afternoon pot roast or chicken and biscuits or pizza during the game...

That morning spent in communal prayer.

The world is filled with communal people praying against us. That's a bad scenario. We need to link together through God to be the best we can be. To maintain our country's strength.

Prayer is so easy, so awesome. And this month, a prayerful month, is like the world's very best place to start. And then we can celebrate Thanksgiving together, happy. Prayerful. Joyous.

Join me. I don't care what denomination you are. In Ruthy-world religion doesn't matter because faith ranks supreme. Simple faith. The faith of a child.

Join me in a month of gentle prayer. Many voices, rising upward, hands clasped.

What a beautiful image.