Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Jollyville
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Our neighborhood apartment complex in Austin was built in 1980, and sometimes almost fifty years later it seems to be held together by paper and string. Most of the doors are slightly akimbo, the pool is showing its age, the circular drive through the apartments needs patching in many spots. And much more.
However, both the manager and assistant manager are hands-on friendly with everyone and together with resident chef-maintenance manager Scott figure out a Friday party every few weeks with free food and fellowship.
Lots of folks walk their dogs every day, and they do a pretty good job of picking up poop. Smiles are readily available when we smile first. Our upstairs neighbor spends an hour every morning working out on the stairs and sidewalk in front of our place, often playing music to work out with. He enjoys conversation, though he is quiet otherwise. We know each other’s names and sometimes share stories.
We’ve been here since December 2020 and really have no reason to leave, or better place to go, so we’re likely to be here another year. Two years ago someone told us about the “Bless Every Home” app, and each morning those of us who signed up at our apartment address are given a prayer to pray for our neighbors. We’re in apartment #153, and it turns out we’re virtually surrounded by folks in other apartments next to ours and very nearby. Today the apartments who have signed up to pray for their neighbors include #152, 153, 159, 162, and 165.
Here are today’s prayer and Bible verse:
Gracious Father, I praise You for the gift of forgiveness, which restores relationships and unites us in Your love. Soften the hearts of my neighbors to embrace the freedom that comes through forgiveness, releasing them from anger and bitterness. Help me to be an example of Your grace, showing them the beauty of reconciliation. May Your love flow through us, breaking down walls of division and allowing us to experience the peace that comes when relationships are restored in You. Let our community reflect Your healing power.
Colossians 3:13-14
The web of prayer spun seven days a week over our apartment houses adds immeasurably to the physical security and emphasis on relationship that trickles down from the management. We’ll be getting back there this week after a few weeks in Illinois, and these prayers prayed by our neighbors are a palpable invitation.
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God.
And lo and behold, the weather forecast has at last left the middle 90’s. Next week will be 70’s and sunny every day. November through April, the days in Austin are a joy to walk around in. What better time to add that activity to my rule of life: Read, write, listen, pray … and walk … every day.
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
I think I’m beyond my mountain-climbing days, but not the prayer part. My friend John, who died during covid, often walked neighborhoods in Champaign-Urbana praying and walking, praying and walking, claiming the neighborhoods for God. He was a warrior and I admired him for it. His body might be gone, but his spirit carries over into many of us who appreciated his dedication to this kind of fighting prayer. Let me follow in his footsteps.
(Ephesians 2, Psalm 19, Luke 6)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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