Advent is nearly here. I am preparing my heart, mind, spirit, and manuscript for preaching on Sunday at West End United Methodist Church here in Nashville. On Tuesday, December 1, I’ll lead an Advent workshop here at the United Methodist Center. I appreciate your prayers in the coming days.
Now — are you ready for Advent? Have you found your Advent wreath? Bought your Advent candles? Picked out a devotional booklet of some sort to use? Identified some community to travel with through this season?
Open My Heart – An Advent Prayer Song
I offer you this Advent prayer song I’ve written to help me open my heart to God. Feel free to learn it to sing out loud or in your heart. Or just say the words to yourself as a prayer. Blessings to you as we prepare to enter Advent 2009.
Open wide the doorway to my heart, O God. Fill me with hope.
Open wide the windows of my heart, O God. Fill me with peace.
Open up the corners of my heart, O God. Fill me with joy.
Soften up the edges of my heart, O God. Fill me with love.
Open My Heart written and performed by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2009 by Beth A. Richardson.
Update (11/25/09): Here is a link to a .zip file of the music that you can download and use personally or corporately. There are five files — one for each week of Advent (hope, peace, joy, and love) — and one file that includes all the prayers together. Permission is granted for personal devotional use or for use in local church worship services or study settings. Please include copyright notice whenever the words are printed.
All the Wonders 
Beth,
Thank you for the book and the song … I am looking forward to Tuesday.
Peace as you prepare your heart.
I am so very thankful for the song … hauntingly beautiful and helpful. I will be including it as a corporate prayer (with your copyright info) in our bulletin throughout Advent – as this year our themes are focusing on hope, love, joy, peace. with gratitude, deborah
I love this song! Simple, pure—and says just what needs to be said.
Thank you, friends, for listening to the song. May it bring you hope, peace, joy, and love.
– Beth