Almighty and merciful God,
It is the day after the election in this country whose motto is “In God we Trust.”
Help me and every citizen in this country to step back and reflect what it means
to truly trust in You. Help us to rely on your wisdom and to depend on you for
strength and hope to get through this time of waiting. May your love conquer our fears
and draw us closer to you, the source of all goodness and grace, and to each other.
Forgive us of our pride, our selfishness and lack of compassion especially for the weak
and vulnerable among us. Restore and heal our land, O God and raise up leaders
who are humble and willing to serve with sincerity and empathy. Help us not to look out
for our own selfish interests, instead renew our minds and hearts that we may look
beyond ourselves and see those in need, and realize that in caring for them, we are caring for
You. In the name of Jesus, who came to serve and not to be served. Amen.
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Carla Romarate-Knipel
Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed reading and writing. Perhaps it was because my parents were great storytellers and voracious readers. As soon as I learned to write (yes I did it in cursive like everybody else did then!) I started a diary. When I was nine years old I sent a letter to my Dad who was an overseas contract worker in Guam. I wrote it in a form of a comic book and illustrated it myself. As a student at the Central Philippine University Elementary School, I was the Filipino literary editor of our school paper, the Mini Echo. To this day I was baffled by that because I was not that good in Filipino! In highs school I served as literary editor in the Central High Herald. I began to write poems and short stories that unfortunately I don't have any copies saved because we didn't have computers and flash drives then. II joined a short story writing contest sponsored by Central echo, CPU's college paper some time in the 1980's. I joined because I needed money to buy a new pair of sandals. My short story was titled, "Leaves," and it won first place! The chief judge was Prof. Alfredo Q. Gonzales, author of the classic essay, "The Will of a River," one of my favorite reads of Filipino literature in English. I did a lot of writing in college/seminary and graduate school but the most fun I had was when I was writing poems and short stories. Fast forward to the 21st century, I now write sermons every week and articles for our monthly news letter. Currently I serve as Senior Pastor of Central Baptist Church of Woodbury in Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S.A. This is my twelfth year at CBC, where my husband and I served as co-interim pastors from 2010 through 2012. We have a 19-year old son who is a college freshman, and my technical adviser in all things digital. In this continuing writing adventure I am thankful to God for giving me the inspiration to write and the joy that goes with it. I hope that my poems, prayers and prose inspire joy in my readers.
View all posts by Carla Romarate-Knipel
Choose Joy: Poems, Prayers and Prose 
Wonderful prayer.
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Thank you!
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Welcome 🙂
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