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I have been writing the Praying in Color blog for over a dozen years. The entries include theological musings, memoir, reflections on life and Scripture, and hundreds of posts on ways to incorporate Praying in Color into your prayer and spiritual life. In the search bar you can type words like “Scripture, Advent, Lent, calendar templates, intercessory prayer, mourning, gratitude, forgiveness…” or other topics of interest to find related posts. I hope you enjoy exploring this site.

The “O Antiphons”–December 17-23

The “O Antiphons”–December 17-23

The expression “O Antiphons” was new to me a few years ago. But to my surprise, I have been singing the “O Antiphons” for most of my life in the Advent/Christmas carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The antiphons are descriptors of the expected Messiah and express the...

Gratitude Gobblers Revisited

Gratitude Gobblers Revisited

This coming Sunday, November 27, is the first day of Advent. See the previous post, November 1, for Advent Calendar templates and ways to use them. Happy Thanksgiving! This post is a reprise of last year's. If I could offer something other than a turkey template, I...

Advent Calendar Templates 2022

Advent Calendar Templates 2022

Using an Advent calendar is my favorite way to pay attention and pray during the four weeks of Advent. Unlike the store-bought versions, my calendars have no doors, just blank spaces for the days of Advent. Each day I write a name or word and surround it with doodles...

Leafy Autumn Prayers

Leafy Autumn Prayers

Trees on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are busy transitioning from their full-spectrum-of-green cloaks to their rich red, orange, and gold autumn wardrobe. In response to this magnificent change, the conversation as we drive along the edge of Lake Superior and on US...

O Christ, Heal Us

O Christ, Heal Us

“You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.” Eighteen of us, pilgrims on a Palestine of Jesus course, are on a bus headed to Caesarea Philippi,/Banias in northern Israel. Caearea Philippi, one of the three places of the springs of the Jordan River, is the site...

Cold Shower–Hallelujah, Alleluia!

Cold Shower–Hallelujah, Alleluia!

I stepped into our cozy, dorm-room shower this morning anticipating its usual, wonderful solar-hot water. By the time I was head-to-toe wet, it soaked into my brain: "This water is COLD!" Then I started my familiar rant: "Nothing is predictable here. Things are always...

With the Eyes of the Heart

With the Eyes of the Heart

Lent almost always surprises me. I choose the book/s I'll read and the Lenten calendar template I'll use with the book. I have the forty days well-planned; I am in control. Then I am spun around and led in a different direction. I often describe my doodling as "a line...

Valentine Prayers

Valentine Prayers

The pressure to send or not send Valentine's Day cards looms heavy for some of us. As a terrible gift giver, I am not a fan of the romantic weight of the holiday. If someone doesn't send me a card, does that mean they don't love me? If I don't send one to them, do I...

Lent 2022 Calendars–Desert, Heart, Stained Glass, Circle….

Lent 2022 Calendars–Desert, Heart, Stained Glass, Circle….

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.   (Luke 4, 1-2 NRSV) After almost four months in Jerusalem and the land of the Holy One, my idea...

All the Way Down

All the Way Down

Folk tales from traditions around the world posit that God created the Earth on the back of Mother Turtle. Why would God choose a turtle as the earth-bearer? (And who knew there were turtles before the world was even created?) The resumé of turtles makes them better...