Bedside Prayers: Prayers & Poems for When You Rise and Go to Sleep

by June Cotner

Overview

A delightful little nightstand companion to make prayer a natural part of every day.

Greet the day with a celebration of sunrise—and close it with deep appreciation for life's daily gifts and lessons. Here in one charming volume — compiled by the author of the popular gift book Graces — you'll find an uplifting collection of readings, prayers, and poems arranged in specific sections to make the joys of prayer a simple, natural part of each day. Special prayers bring motivation to Morning, and lullabies and musing help us focus on the peace of Nightfall. Other readings offer Inspiration or Comfort, or guide us gently through private Reflections. Bedside Prayers is a lovely little gift book for anyone who would like to make the enjoyment of daily prayer as constant as the rising and setting of the sun.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060933197
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/06/1999
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

June Cotner is the author of the celebrated Graces, Bedside Prayers, Get Well Wishes, Animal Blessings and Family Celebrations. She lives with her husband, two wayward dogs, and two stray cats in Poulsbo, Washington, just outside of Seattle.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Inspirations

In All Endeavors

In all endeavors
Strive to celebrate
The spirit of the warrior ...
Calm,
Centered,
Certain...
Whether tending to the flower garden
Or searching for the heart of the divine.

Jo-Anne Rowley

These Are The Gifts I Ask

These are the gifts I ask
Of Thee, Spirit serene:
Strength for the daily task,
Courage to face the road,

Good cheer to help me bear the traveler's load,
And, for the hours of rest that come between,
An inward joy of all things heard and seen.

Henry Van Dyke
(1852-1933)

Bedside Prayers. Copyright © by June Cotner. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Table of Contents

BEDSIDE PRAYERS

• 1. Inspiration
• 2. Comfort
• 3. Reflections
• 4. Nightfall
• 5. Morning

What People are Saying About This

Jack Canfield

Once again, as she did with GRACES, June Cotner has compiled a beautiful and highly readable book. Let it find a permanent place on your night stand.
— Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Editorial Reviews

Cotner's book may help you sleep.
It's the end of a long day. You're in bed feeling as worn out as your favorite flannel pajamas when you reach for a copy of June Cotner's new book, "Bedside Prayers."

You read a passage from the "Nightfall" section and soon are lulled to sleep by a gentle prayer.

Poulsbo author June Cotner doesn't mind if her book puts you to sleep. In fact, she took special care to find just the right poems and prayers to sleep on and rise by. Her collection includes inspirational poems and prayers that offer comforting words and wisdom.

"Bedside Prayers" includes poetry and prayers drawn from Christian, Gaelic, Native American and ancient Chinese traditions. Cotner feels it can be read by anyone seeking spiritual comfort or guidance, regardless of one's religion or ethnic origin.
— The Sun

Heidi Werber

A nightstand companion for inspiration and comfort.
A book like Bedside Prayers: Prayers and Poems for When You Rise and Go to Sleep is not one to gobble down like a mystery novel or best-seller. Edited by June Cotner, this compact book of poems is better in small bites, savored slowly.

It is also best read in the spirit of those who wrote the poems: On either edge of sleep, the poet (and reader) can drop worldly pretense, momentarily set aside cynicism and through the poet's words take the stance of a child, not embarrassed by outright expressions of wonder, longing, gratitude and devotion.

Divided into sections titled "Inspiration," "Comfort," "Reflections," "Nightfall" and "Morning," the collection draws from a variety of spiritual backgrounds, yet most of the poems are not colored by language associated with a particular faith. Accessible and straightforward, they speak of the universal human experience, often expressing a genuine desire to live more kindly, be more fully awake to the beauty around us and move closer to the divine.

Bedside Prayers includes verses by George Eliot, Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha, Helen Keller and Ralph Waldo Emerson as well as numerous lesser-known poets. Two Santa Fe poets, Penny Harter and Elizabeth Searle Lamb, have works in the collection.

Harter, in particular, provides one of the more original voices in the book, whose poems range from the almost sing-songy to the fresh and surprising. For the reader in a receptive, dawn or dusk state of mind, both kinds have their place.
— The New Mexican

Gussie Fauntelroy