Category Archives: prayer

The Blessing of Us

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor

and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

light surrounding a group of worshippers

I’ve been praying the Lord’s prayer for many many years. Saturday morning as I was thinking about how to go about writing this post, I realized something. Jesus was praying in the pleural! He used words like ‘us’ and ‘we’ and ‘our’. I guess I glossed it over because who better than Jesus to use the “royal we?” But then I began to wonder to myself: might there be more to it than merely an editorial turn of phrase? I didn’t even know how to go about searching, so I asked Gemini, Google’s AI. I learned much to my surprise and delight, that our church fathers had been pondering this question long before I ever entered the world, particularly Cyprian and Augustine. Cyprian wrote what is perhaps the most famous early treatise on the subject, De Dominica Oratione (On the Lord’s Prayer). Writing during a period of intense persecution and internal Church division, he argued that Jesus intentionally designed the prayer to prevent self-centered individualism:

“Before all things, the Teacher of peace and the Master of unity would not have prayer to be made single and individually, as for one who prays for himself alone. For we do not say ‘My Father…’; nor does each one ask that only his own debt should be forgiven… Our prayer is public and common; and when we pray, we pray not for one but for the whole people, because we the whole people are one.” — Cyprian, Treatise 4.8

For Cyprian, the plural phrasing is a mandate for solidarity:

One Body, One Voice: He pointed to the three young men in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) and the Apostles in the Upper Room as examples of praying “with one accord”.

Writing over a century later, Augustine picked up Cyprian’s torch in his Sermons on the New Testament, but he placed special emphasis on how the plural pronoun radically flattens human social hierarchies:
“How great a condescension! This the emperor says, and this says the beggar: this says the slave, and this his lord. They say all together, ‘Our Father, which art in heaven.’ … You have begun to belong to a great family.” — Augustine, Sermon 8 & 9

For Augustine, the plural pronouns acted as a theological reset button:

  • Radical Equality: In Roman society—steeped in rigid class structures, slavery, and imperial privilege—forcing an emperor and a slave to use the exact same possessive pronoun (“our”) before the Creator was revolutionary.
  • No Private Monopolies: Augustine emphasized that no individual, regardless of rank or piety, can claim a private monopoly on God. By forcing every believer to say “us,” the prayer abolishes human pride.

Both Cyprian and Augustine concluded that when Jesus gave us this prayer, He didn’t just teach us what to ask for—He taught us who we are when we ask it: one indivisible body.

Who knew? Certainly not me.

The other thing is that in 1st century Judaism, prayer was communal. The Jewish sages argued that a purely singular prayer was spiritually vulnerable to self-centeredness or accusation, whereas a plural prayer carries the spiritual weight and merit of the whole community. Jesus’ model prayer aligns squarely with this core rabbinic principle.

When we pray the Lord’s Model prayer, therefore, we’re joining all Christians throughout the entire world in a prayer for all believers. “Give us our daily bread” is a petition that’s not answered if I’m full but someone else is hungry. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” is a prayer that can’t be ansered if we ask forgiveness from God but hold a grudge against another–or won’t forgive ourselves.

Maybe if we thought more about this prayer, we’d realize that we really are all united in God–Father, Son, and Spirit.

Lord, thank you for the insight you gave that you weren’t just using the “royal we”, that you had a purpose for doing so, which was to unite all Christians w/you & w/each other. Help us look beyond our individualistic thoughts and find consolation that we are truly all brothers and sisters in your family. Amen.

The Blessing of Daily bread

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me

and

Abbie Johnson Taylor

A table with homemade bread, olive oil and butter.

This is the fifth part in my series on the Lord’s prayer, Matt 6:9-13. I’m concentrating on v. 11 “Give us today our daily bread.”

Many of us in developed nations have no idea what it means to be hungry. Seems rather foolish, doesn’t it, to be asking for daily bread when there’s practically a grocery store or fast food restaurant on every corner. It’s like get your butt out of your seat, out the door, & get what you need.

But behind closed doors, even in developed nations, hunger is a daily reality for some. Even more so in developing countries, where it’s often a lifelong nightmare.

Even in developed countries, though, this prayer is applicable. Maybe we don’t really need to ask God for our food, but I think daily bread applies to other areas of life. How often do we think about “how am I gonna do this or that?” or “how am I gonna be able to do x or y?” Maybe it’s get a job. Maybe it’s cope with devastating tragedy or health problems. Maybe it truly is coping with not having life’s necessities. This part of the Lord’s prayer reminds us that His provision occurs daily, sometimes just in the nick of time. God’s with us. He is our father, and he cares for us abundantly beyond all that we think or ask. He will provide. Maybe not on our timeframe, maybe not giving us everything we ask for, but He will give us what we need. God tells us to ask Him even though He already knows what it is we want and require.

It’s often tempting to think that we provide things for ourselves, that we earn it through our work or our cunning or our looks. But the reality is it’s all from God.

God gives us so many things–mountain vistas, azure oceans, ploomed musicians, family, friends, knowledge, and so much more that the blessings are innumerable. But it’s still good to remind ourselves daily that it’s God who provides for our every need.

Heavenly Father, make our hearts grateful and humble enough to accept your provision for our lives. But also give us the desire to be Your hands and feet in helping to show Your provision to others. In Jesus’s name, amen.

The Blessing of the Prayer that Never Fails

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are Abbie Johnson Taylor and Lynda Lambert, who shared the idea with me.

lady kneeling talking to God using tin can

This is the 4th part in my series on the Lord’s prayer, and today I’m going to talk about a subject I think most of us struggle with at one time or another–that of “unanswered prayers. And I’m going to propose a prayer that never fails.

The scripture reference is Matthew 9:10, part b–“Your will be done.”

I first learned about this particular prayer In Jan Karon’s Mitford series books, where an Episcopal priest named Father Tim Cavanaugh talks about it. It isn’t a long, eloquent list of requests. It’s just four simple words: “Thy will be done.”
That prayer never fails because it completely shifts our posture from control to surrender.
Think about human parenting. Our parents didn’t give us everything we wanted. Sometimes they were unable, but often it was because what we asked for simply wasn’t good for us. Parents who accede to a child’s every whim don’t produce healthy adults; they raise spoiled, entitled human beings. Giving in every time often reveals a lack of willingness to do the hard work of loving a child enough to say “no.”
God is not a permissive parent. Because He is all-knowing, He knows what is right for us, even though we can’t see the full picture. A “no” or a period of silence doesn’t mean we did something wrong.
As we look back on 9/11, that posture of surrender becomes even more critical. In the wake of immense national tragedy and unexplainable loss, transactional prayer leaves people broken and confused. But this isn’t just about massive historical events; it hits close to home for all of us.
When I was twenty years old, I lost my mother to lung cancer, even though she didn’t smoke. My family and I prayed fervently for her to be healed, but it wasn’t to be. Decades later, I still have no idea why. I don’t believe God’s perfect will was necessarily done in that situation—we live in a broken world where terrible things happen that prevent earthly outcomes from being what we (and God) would wish. But I strongly maintain that her death was not caused by my lack of faith, nor by God’s lack of love.
When we look at scripture, even Jesus prayed for things that—on the surface—appeared to go “unanswered.” During the Last Supper, He prayed deeply that His followers would be unified as one—yet a quick glance at the church today shows how far we are from that. Shortly after, in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing the cross, He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” The cup remained. The connection was perfect, the line was clear, and the answer was still a painful “no.” And it was the hardest thing Jesus’s loving Father ever had to do.
If even Jesus surrendered His own desires to the Father’s overarching purpose, what makes us think we’re entitled to get everything on our personal wish list?
I say all this because I struggle with it, too. It’s hard watching others get their visible breakthroughs while my requests seem to be profoundly ignored. But Gethsemane and our own personal heartbreaks prove that a “no” isn’t a penalty. The goal of picking up that tin can isn’t to dictate the outcome—it’s just to stay on the line, trusting in God’s love even when we don’t understand His timing or His answers.
Prayer isn’t about making demands or seeking answers. It’s about sharing our heart with our dear Father, and then trusting the results to His infinite wisdom and love.
Maybe the song “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks summarizes it best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dtopRtx0Co
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” — 1 John 5:14
Today and every day, Lord, may your will be done in my life.

Hallowed Be Your Name

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor
and
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

A church w/stained glass windows, a large cross, & tall spiral.

Matt 6:9: This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (NIV)

Last week I discussed the first part of this verse, and today I’ll be talking about the second part–“Hallowed be your name. The definition of hallowed is holy, sacred, revered, respected, honored. The above-pictured church is humanity’s attempt to honor God’s name, and there are so many magnificent churches throughout the world.

Somehow, though, I have this niggling feeling that wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. I’m not saying He rejects these beautiful churches–far from it–but I don’t believe it was a priority of His.

John 13:34-35 NIV says:

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:19 says:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”

The point being is each and every person who calls Jesus their Lord and savior is His church because He lives in us. Our daily lives are our feeble attempt to honor Him. I think God feels His name is more honored by those who obey His commandments than by all the statuary and stained glass contained in the world. For my part I feel my life is pretty mundaine. But it’s precisely there where I can hallow His name. I don’t know who to attribute it to, but there’s a saying that each of us might be the only Jesus someone ever sees. I, for my part, try to take that seriously. Do I measure up? Of course not! That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. I am convinced that there are so many acts performed by people who’ve touched other people’s lives profoundly but who are totally unaware of their impact. I think heaven will have lots of surprises like that for us.

Father, help me honor your name every day this week by how I reflect Your light and love. Amen.

The Blessing of a Heavenly Father

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me
and
Abbie Johnson Taylor

God on His throne Surrounded by Many Children

We say it every Sunday in church. We say it at weddings and funerals. It’s a prayer many have learned from earliest childhood. It spills forth from our lips with almost no thought required. Yet its importance can’t be overstated, for it’s the only time Jesus taught His disciples–which includes us–to pray. It’s what many call “the Lord’s prayer”, though I would say that designation is more suited to the prayer in John 17. But what do I know?

For the next however many Sundays it takes, I’m going to write my thoughts on this prayer. So much has been written regarding it already that I really wonder if I have anything to contribute on the subject that hasn’t been said previously. Then again, sometimes it only takes someone saying something in a different way to catch someone’s attention. So here we go–let’s rock and roll!

Matthew 6 9-13 contains the text.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 
Give us today our daily bread.
12 
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 
And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

Footnotes
a. Matthew 6:13 The Greek for temptation can also mean testing.
b. Matthew 6:13 Or from evil; some late manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I’m going to focus attention today on just four words: “Our father in heaven.”

My first thought when I look at this passage is that this thing called Christianity is supposed to be communal. More than just a community, we’re a family, headed by a heavenly Father who loves each and every one of us so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross so that we could be forgiven and live with Him eternally. Instead of the 613 commandments of the Torah, Christians are given but one:

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if every Christian took that seriously. I think there’d be a lot less misery on this earth–less hunger, less murder, less adultery, less war, and greater love, joy, and peace.

We are members of a great family–our ancestors in the faith who’ve gone before us, our brothers and sisters who share this world with us, and future generations who will walk this earth when we are long since gone. What we have in common is that we’re all loved dearly by our heavenly father.

The word father, as I mentioned in my post on Father’s Day, can be frought. But God our Father is everything a father should be and nothing he should not.

John 1:12 NRSV tells us:

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,”

Lord please help me to take seriously every day the call you’ve put on my life. Help me to love those you’ve put on my path even half as much as You do, enable me to do your will. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

The Blessing of Another Birthday

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor.
and
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

Birthday cake w/so many candles it catches fire

This week I’m about to celebrate another birthday. I will not be lighting candles for fear of a repeat of the picture above. In 2004, however, I was facing life-threatening complications of chemotherapy, and there was some question as to whether I’d live to celebrate my next birthday. I’m still amazed sometimes as to how I ever got this old. I guess it’s just a function of putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m grateful for the 2nd chance I was given. I hope the dear Lord feels I made it worth His while to give me that, and that it wasn’t wasted. I was able to see my beautiful daughter get married, and I’ve got 2 of the greatest grandkids this side of Jordan. I’m grateful to God that he helped me do what I said I’d do when I got my cancer diagnosis, i.e., open up a can of whoop-ass and send it runnin. Husband Karl and Amanda were heroes, and Dr. Wendt was a staunch ally. I will always be thankful for them, as well as for countless other relatives and friends who prayed and sent good wishes during that time. My brother & sister were right up there.

You don’t get through something like that alone. God provided me a whole host of folks on earth to help, and I believe some others in the heavenly realms as well. I’m excited about my birthday present, but even if I got nothing in the way of a physical gift, I have everything I need. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Thank you Lord, thank you family, thank you friends, thank you my medical team, & even thanks to strangers who prayed for me because they heard about my situation from other praying folks. May God bless you richly. & Lord, let me proclaim Your goodness for as long as you give me breath.

2 Kings 20

20 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”
2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,

3 “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ”

This is probably my favorite Christian song–and I have a lot of them. My husband and daughter will probably tell you that my cure for just about everything is Jesus music. This is CeCe Winans official video of her signature song, “Goodness of God.”

I hope this blesses everyone this week.

The Blessing of a Semiquincentennial

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me

and

Abbie Johnson Taylor.

A flag & birthday cake w/happy 250th written on it.

So what in blazes is a Semiquincentennial? It stands for 250. Semi means half, quin is 5, and centennial is 100–thus, half of 500.

Today we observe the 250th anniversary of the declaration of Independence. 56 men put their signatures and their lives on the line by signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. An 8-year war raged, beginning in 1775 and ending in 1783, w/the United States of America being a separate, independent nation at its conclusion.

Throughout the years, America has weathered exhilarating highs and abyssmal depths, but she’s always come through, stronger and better than before. My prayer is this will continue to be the case.

On Nov. 10, 1938, Kate Smith first introduced what would become her signature song, “God Bless America.” She still does it better than anyone else, IMO. Here’s a link. The sound quality is that of an old time radio broadcast, but Kate nonetheless comes shining through.

Kate Smith’s God Bless America 11-10-1938

Here’s to thousands more years of the United States being a bastian of strength and freedom.

Scripture Amos 5:24 NIV But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream!

The Blessing of Friends in High Places

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are

Abbie Johnson Taylor
and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

People looking down from Mt. Everest

In mid April, we were the victims of a scam. Because an investigation is ongoing, I cannot share additional details. I reported it to Bank of America, and, when they denied my chargeback, I filed a complaint w/the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, as well as the AZ Attorney General, and the FBI. I had lots of evidence against the merchant in question.

Following my complaint to the CFPB, I was contacted by a gentleman from Bank of American named Dustin. I’ve been working closely w/him for awhile now. He told me that my chargeback had been denied by the merchant’s credit card holder, but that he wasn’t letting it go. He told me he was prepared to take this one as far as he needed to in order to help us not lose our money. He said he was with us every step of the way.

Sometimes it helps to have friends in high places. In this case, we have 2–one named Dustin and the other named God. I don’t know what will happen in terms of getting our money back. I do know that these 2 friends are with us, and it’s a great comfort. I thank God every day for Dustin and for the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

2 Cor 1:3-5 NIV

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Update: After I finished writing this post, I checked my email to find, much to my surprise, a notification from Bank of America. Obviously I was not expecting that late on a Saturday night. The notification stated that the money will not be deducted from our account, and that this was a permanent decision. There are bad people in this world who want to take things that aren’t theirs. Thanks be to the dear Lord, there are also folks like Dustin who fight hard so that doesn’t happen. The world is a better place because of him and all those like him.

The Blessing of Having a Dad

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me

and

Abbie Johnson Taylor

God's smiling down from His throne at 5 children of diverse races.

The 3rd sunday of June in the United States is Father’s Day. It can be a joyous time, but the caveats I discussed in my post about

Mother’s Day

apply.

The problem, of course, is that God is viewed by Christians as a Father, and He gets all the garbage we project on Him because of our relationship with our own.

I remember once watching an episode of MASH (1 of my all-time favorite TV shows). Drs. Winchester and Pierce were talking. Winchester said to Pierce something similar to: “the difference between us is that I had a father. You had a dad.” Dr. Winchester’s tone expressed pain at how little his father had interacted with him. He was distant. He expressed love only when Dr. Winchester had done something exceptional, and even then only begrudgingly.

I think a lot of us view God that way. Actually, I think many of us look on Him as someone who delights in punishing us, who’ll send us to hell for the smallest of indisgressions,, maybe even like a predator torturing its prey before the final merciful kill.

The Bible says something different. It refers to God as “Abba”, which, in English, might be better translated as Papa, Dad, or Daddy, as opposed to Father, which is how it’s normally rendered.

The image God wants us to see, I think, is that portrayed in Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the lost son. Indeed, He loved each and every one of us so much that He sent His son to die on a cross so we could be with Him.

The late Dr. Larry Crabb wrote a book in 2006 called “The Papa Prayer.” I recommend it highly. In fact, I think I’ll read it again after I’m done with this, because no matter how many times you read it, there’s still something to be learned when you re-read it. The point is that God is our father–no, our Papa or daddy. He loves us so very much, and His greatest longing is that we come to him with everything–our hopes, dreams, joys, sorrows, and fears. No matter what your relationship to your father was, your relationship to God can be deeper and more fulfilling.

God is our very life. In Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28). He wants the very best for us, and, like the old TV show called “Father Knows Best” says, He actually knows what that is. It may not pertain to our earthly comfort, but it will lead to our union with Him if we’ll allow it.

I wish for you a happy Father’s Day. Even more, I wish for you the relationship God wishes to have with you. May He bless you richly.

The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

The Blessing of a Backup

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor.

and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

Book w/missing pages in the middle



Anyone who uses a computer knows the feeling. You’ve been working on a document & you suddenly realize that all or part of it is gone. Absolutely nowhere to be seen. You reopen the original, hoping the missing part will be there, but you saved the damaged document already, so it’s history. Your heart sinks to your toes. The last meal you ate is now headed in the wrong direction. You wanna cry. Maybe you do cry.

That happened to me this last Thursday. Rarely do cybersecurity professionals take their own advice, but I had emailed this particular manuscript to my writer’s group before its dissolution. I had a backup! Yay!

It felt a little like finding a $20 bill in my drawer or something. Truthfully, it felt like a smile of salvation. I’ll be much more cognisant of my backups from now on–until I’m not. I’m surely grateful to the Dear Lord for the help.

Scripture says “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 ESV

He probably will not produce a backup you didn’t make yourself, so make sure you back up often. But if you’ve got 1 lying around somewhere, He’ll bring it to your mind like He did w/me. Do what you need to do, and He’ll take care of the rest.

Many blessings for your week.