Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,
    and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
    up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God, I will extol you.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever. (New Revised Standard Version)

Today, take some meditative time to connect with the Lord. Allow yourself some space and grace to meaningfully get in touch with God and your own deep spirituality.

Make yourself comfortable… either sit down, stand outdoors, or recline in your favorite easy chair…. whatever posture helps you relax and relate to God.

Take several deep breaths in and out…

Give yourself permission right now to focus on your relationship with the Lord…

Make God and you a priority…

There is nowhere else you need to be…

You are deserving of this time…

If you get distracted by a thought or sound, simply acknowledge that it occurred and release it. Do not allow it to take you away from this time. For the next several minutes, focus on you and your God….

Imagine you are a kernel of corn, snuggled in the ground…

Although you are small, the Lord has given you everything you need within yourself to become a tall stalk with many ears of corn…

Breathe in, feeling your lungs expand as you inhale… and as you breathe out and exhale, stretch your arms slowly over your head, as if you are breaking the ground…

Slowly bring your arms down…

Lift your face toward heaven…

Imagine feeling the warmth of the sun and the light of God upon you… basking in the Lord’s grace for you…

Feel the refreshment of a gentle rain from heaven falling on you… giving you God’s steadfast love…

Sense your created self and all the potential within coming out… growing… lifting toward the immense sky of the Lord’s favor…

See yourself standing as a nine-foot tall stalk with multiple ears of corn…

Bask in the reality that you are a gift to a hungry world… that you are blessed to be on this earth, and to be a blessing to many… know that you are enough and express your gratitude to God using the following practice:

Look around you. Identify and name:

5 things you see…

4 things you feel…

3 things you hear…

2 things you smell…

1 thing you taste…

Express your thanks to the Lord for each of those things you identified.

End your time by slowly saying out loud with flavor:

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God, I will extol you.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.