our prayer

We thank you, Our Father
For life and love, and the mystery of existence
We thank you, Our Father
For all the simple joys of life, and for the world of beauty that surrounds us
We thank you, Our Father
For good friends who think well of us despite our sins, and for the glimpses of innocence and goodness in a sinful world
We thank you, Our Father
For all common and uncommon responsibilities which enlarge our souls, and for the pains and sorrows which chasten us so that we be not exalted over much
We thank you, Our Father
Above all, we thank you for every ministry by which your judgment and mercy is brought home to us
We thank you, Our Father
We thank you that in Your presence all our brothers are the more surely present with us; for knowing them to be included in the breadth of Your love, we may feel their claims and needs upon our conscience. We give thanks that you have tied us together in this bundle of life and have ordained that none of us should live to himself alone.
O Lord, look with favor upon this congregation of your people, gathered together from many parts of the world, called into service and seeking to know your will more perfectly. Instruct us in your work, inspire us by the cloud of witnesses which compass about, the seers and prophets, the saints and martyrs, of every age, and above all, by Your Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. Give us grace to learn of each other in the spirit of humility, to pursue our several tasks with diligence, to bear with each other in patience, so that our love may grow in all knowledge and discernment.
To the praise and glory of our Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit- now and forever. Amen.

to prevent flaky-ness

so, I have been noticing that I don't really commit to anything. I say "if I can make it" "I will see" "sounds like fun" and never- sure! It's on.
So, I am thinking...it is not a rule yet...of adding "must commit to something every week." This may sound weird..but I am not sure I commit to something every week and that is definitely a "flaky" single thing to do.

the first few rules

there are only 3 rules that I can now tell you...more to come
1. Live in community
It is too easy for us single girls to bottle up and make our tvs our number one companion. We never have to change our schedule and can get pretty stuck pretty fast. Living in community takes away all of those challenges.
2. Must forgive- really
This is something that singles often pretend we do, but often we just say "I forgive you" and then quietly write those people out of our lives. This rule asks that you truly forgive without making the person pay the consequences.
3. Hang out with people you don't like
this is true in marriage...you have to hang out with your partner even if you don't particularly care for them at that moment. Singles have the option of just not going.
But this rule helps give a bit more of the "commitment" factor to our lives.