Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and lovingkindness to us, and to all men; [* particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.]
We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
Saturday morning Lindsay called and I was able to go to breakfast with her and Kyler. We chose Argosy and we had a nice leisurely breakfast. After breakfast we drove through that town since they were having a city wide garage sale. We didn't end up buying anything there but it was a wonderful morning.
Sunday was church. The weatherman was predicting a stormy day. Father Burgett handed me a print out of the requirements for a Deaconess. My entire life I've wanted to be a monk or a nun and now it seems that my dream of serving the Lord is coming true. I don't have words for the hope, gratitude, excitement, thrill, fear . . . so many words and so many feelings . . .
During Bible Study Father Burgett mentioned that Priests, Deacons and Deaconess must recite both morning and evening prayers from the Book of Common Prayers. http://www.commonprayer.org/ I began that tonight. Already I have learned of the Apocrypha. I mean, I have heard of it before but I just never got around to checking it out. Now I must invest in a copy. Even though the verses required are included in the study for the day.
I still recall vividly the day in the old abandoned church across from Aunt Eva's house when I was standing in the pulpit pretending to preach while the boys were running around outside and I heard the voice tell me that I was to preach. I ran out of that church like I was on fire. I won't be preaching in the conventional sense but I will do all that God allows me to do while I am here on this earth.
One of the requirements is a 4 year degree. I only have two years at UMKC. So I sent an email to Father Burgett to see if they had a preference of the college.
Life begins at 55. At least for this woman. The life I was called for so many years ago.
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