Week 2
June 9
Week 8
July 21
Week 14
September 1
Week 20
October 13
Week 26
November 24
Week 3
June 16
Week 9
July 28
Week 15
September 8
Week 21
October 20
Week 27
December 1
Week 4
June 23
Week 10
August 4
Week 16
September 15
Week 22
October 27
Week 28
December 8
Week 5
June 30
Week 11
August 11
Week 17
September22
Week 23
November 3
Week 29
December 15
Week 6
July 7
Week 12
August 18
Week 18
September29
Week 24
November 10
Week 30
December 22
Circle of Prayer Volume 26
The latest volume of the Circle of Prayer devotional booklet is now available for download from the Fellowship of the Least Coin website
WEEK 1
2 June 2021
I knew exactly where I was and where I wanted to go!
I went out one night to buy a television, but I had trouble with the Portuguese road system. I couldn’t get myself onto the road I wanted to go to; the roads wouldn’t let me get there. I could see the shopping centre from my front window but seeing it was not going to get me there. It was a ten-minute walk from my home.
For 39 years I had driven on the left-hand side of the road, and now I was confronted with driving on the right-hand side.
I have to admit that early on in my life in Portugal, there was one time when I turned into a freeway on the left-hand side of the road. My secretary was sitting in the passenger seat and he not only screamed, but I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Fortunately, this was not near a built-up area and there were no other cars about, so I just did a U turn and got back on track. I soon got used to driving on the right-hand side of the road.
The book of Proverbs has signposts to help us beware of wrong turns on the road of life.
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 4:27
Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.
WEEK 2
11 November 2020
I was in a bit of a pickle. I couldn’t go to the doctor without proof of my citizenship.
To get my visa I needed to get a doctor’s certificate to say I did not have an infectious disease. I didn’t have any infectious diseases, but I needed my visa to get a driver’s licence. I also needed a certificate from the local council to say that the house I was living in was suitable. It sounded like some sort of mystery tour. My secretary tried everything to get this done.
I had to go to Seville in Spain to get my visa, and I made three visits over several months. The day arrived to pick up my visa, but that day in Seville my passport was stolen.
All’s well that ends well, and when I arrived back in Portugal, I went to the Australian Embassy and told them the sorry story. They contacted the office in Seville, and the next day I got a phone call to say the passport had been found.
Was I pleased? You bet.
Back to Seville for the fourth and, fortunately, last time in the visa saga to pick it up.
Thank goodness it does not need all this effort to be a citizen of heaven.
John 3:16 says:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 July 2021
Romans 12:3
(NRSV)
PRAYER
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for grace. Your grace is endless, and I understand that I often don’t deserve what I receive from you. Your grace has saved me, and lifted me over and over again. Without your help I can do nothing alone. Your grace makes me feel so grateful and loving, not only for you Lord but for all your people that I am privileged to meet from day to day. Let everything I do give you glory, honour and praise.
AMEN
18 July 2021
Romans 12:4–5
(NRSV)
PRAYER
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
We praise and thank you God for the diversity of gifts and graces within the body of Christ and the beautiful variety and variance of the characters, personalities, peoples, interests and activities that are represented throughout the whole Church of God.
Thank you, Jesus that in the body of Christ we all belong. We all have a place and a purpose in that body. If we feel unsure about what our function is, we pray that you will reveal it to us so that we might serve with meaning and with Joy.
May all who call you Lord, be of one mind and united in spirit and humble in heart, having the same love, and working together with one intent, united in purpose.
In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN
19 July 2021
Romans 12:8a
(NLT)
PRAYER
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV)
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.
As we pray let us give thanks for:
Peacemakers, comforters, healers, relief workers, the generosity of ordinary people, and for selfless love wherever it is shown. Lord bring a blessing to their lives.
AMEN
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today”, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Walnut tree (Juglans regia)
I
went down to the grove of walnut trees and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.
Song of Solomon 6:11 (NLT)
Image by Helga Kattinger from Pixabay
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Image at https://www.loc.gov/resource/matpc.00663/ No known restrictions.
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Cinnamomum verum (synonym Cinnamomum zeylanicum, also called true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon) is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka. The inner bark of the tree is historically regarded as the spice cinnamon, though this term was later generalized to include Cinnamomum cassia as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_verum#cite_note-:0-4
Chinese cassia is a close relative to Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), Saigon cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi), Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmannii), and Malabar cinnamon (Cinnamomum citriodorum). In all five species, the dried bark is used as a spice. Chinese cassia's flavor is less delicate than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark is thicker, more difficult to crush, and has a rougher texture than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is the most popular variety of cinnamon sold and consumed in North America [and probably Australia].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_cassia
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It
October Plant of the Month
Walnut (Juglans regia)
Start sending in your tips for this plant now
Please send your items of interest and gardening tips on the walnut tree, so we will have plenty to share on this plant during October.
Please send all contributions to donna.bryan@salvationarmy.org.au
and use subject heading Gardens of Praise.
Image is AI generated.
References:
Books
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John Hutton Balfour, The Plants of the Bible, Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1885, pp. 30–32. Available from: https://archive.org/download/b28065219/b28065219.pdf
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Larousse Gardening & Gardens – English Translation, The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, London, 1990, p. 361.
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Lytton John Musselman, A Dictionary of Bible Plants, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 38–39. Available from: https://archive.org/details/a-dictionary-of-bible-plants
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HB Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1898, pp. 340–341 and 346–347. Available from https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00trisuoft
Websites
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_verum#cite_note-ncbi-3
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https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/world-s-top-cinnamon-producing-countries.html
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https://agric4profits.com/how-to-process-package-and-export-cinnamon/
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https://vietlinhagrimex.vn/standards-for-exporting-cinnamon-to-foreign-markets/
Wikipedia sites:
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License
Please send all contributions to donna.bryan@salvationarmy.org.au
and use subject heading Gardens of Praise.