Guided reflection:

Now Jesus’ parable is from the kitchen. When I make bread, I mix together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast dissolved in water… and if I allow that little ball of dough to sit in a warm area for several hours – do nothing but let it be… it will rise to more than double its size! The Kingdom is like the yeast (or Leaven) that permeates all the dough and begins to transform and expand it. Do you see a pattern here in these parables? GOD does the expanding, the increasing, the developing… all we have to do is yield ourselves to God’s hands and GOD does the work in us! It is not all up to us! In our church’s budget, we should have a line called “faith factor”… acknowledging that we plan on God doing more through and in us than we ourselves are capable of doing and being on our own! Faith is a thrill to see what God is going to do next! What in your life is going to take God to pull it off?

Guided prayer:

“Transforming God, keep working in my heart and life. Help me to see that it is not all up to me… that you never planned on my doing great things for you on my own… you just want my heart to be willing to be a part of the adventure of faith! What is next for me, O Lord? Melt me, mold me, fill me, and use me. Amen”