As my husband and I make our backyard garden a hospitable place for creatures, pollinators, and people … I watch the bees on flowers (like in these photos I took). The bees inspire me by the goodness of their work: They seem to remind the plants to produce, and the blooms and blossoms respond by flourishing. Honeybees pollinate and gather nectar within about a two-mile radius, reminding me of the interconnectedness of nature and of us all. They risk the journey of flying out to forage, then back to the hive laden with pollen and nectar, despite the perils of nature’s predators and humans’ poisons. Thus they store up honey that will feed the hive in winter as well as the people who respectfully extract and enjoy the delicious, surplus honey.
As I watched a “bee doing good” this week, I was reminded to “be doing good” myself.* And this poem came to me:
Be(e) Doing Good
As you buzz about (many things)
are you singing, bringing out
the fruitfulness of life?
As you wing from place to place
do you cherish each colorful face
in the garden of life?
As you pollinate far and wide
are you ever calling forth
the Creativity of Life?
As you gladly sip secreted nectar
will you with honey feed
both the world and the hive?
– Poem © Catherine Lawton
*”Jesus … went about doing good.” (Acts 10:38)
Explore the wonderful ways that God and God’s story are revealed through the rhythms of planting, growing, and harvesting. Spiritual insights, practical advice for organic backyard gardeners, and time for reflection will enrich and deepen faith–sign up for 180 days of access to work at your own pace and get ready for your gardening season.
God has spread out for our delight a banquet that was twenty billion years in the making. A banquet of rivers and lakes, of rain and of sunshine, of rich earth and of amazing flowers, of handsome trees and of dancing fishes, of contemplative animals and of whistling winds, of dry and wet seasons, of cold and hot climates. But it is a banquet that works, this banquet called creation, the human planet. It works for our benefit if we behave toward it as reverent guests. (Matthew Fox Original blessing 112)
I have not been able to get these words out of my head this week. Every time I looked at a cloud formation, gasped in awe at the beauty of Mt Rainier or wandered my garden exclaiming at the beauty of the flowers, I thanked God for this incredible banquet twenty billion years in the making. Then I looked up at the stars, reminded of the incredible NASA photos of the place where stars are birthed. This banquet we call creation is incredible, if only we will look around and admire the mystery of it with all our senses – looking, listening, tasting, smelling, touching – eating and drinking of the wonder around me.
Fox goes on to explain another stunning aspect of the hospitality of God – in the Eucharist God then becomes the banquet for us. When we share communion together we share the life of Jesus. The bread and the wine given from the earth, made by human hands to be shared with love and generosity are part of the banquet of God’s hospitality, and the sharing of them is an incredible opportunity to thank God for the amazing banquet of our lives. It is also more than that, however. It is a sharing of Christ’s life, and a commitment to live as followers of Jesus. As we share communion together, we are reminded of and celebrate together the life that Jesus shared among his community throughout the centuries and shares with us today. We are reminded and give thanks for Jesus the banquet feast of God who nourishes and sustains us in all that we do.
Last but certainly not least, according to Fox, God does not stop here.
God not only plays the host for us and becomes the banquet for us; God also has become guest for us. This is one of the deep meanings of the incarnation, that God let go of hosting long enough to become guest as well. It is as if the human race could understand the hosting side of hospitality, but the guesting side, was becoming more and more difficult to grasp. Love is not just setting the table and going out food; love is also the receiving end of the banquet. And for this the human race begged an incarnation, a fleshy enactment of the guesting side of God, of holiness and of hospitality. Jesus is an excellent guest, a true revelation of God’s guesting side. (Matthew Fox Original blessing 113)
Jesus is the guest who waits to be invited into our hearts and into our lives, inspiring and transforming us so that we long to become like him sharing our lives and our resources with those at the margins, those who need healing and those who need to see the love and generosity of our incredible God.
What is the appropriate response from deep within the human person to this banquet of blessings spread before us so lavishly? Fox asks, “True holiness, full hospitality, lead to gratitude.” Thankfulness and gratefulness bubble up inside us when we consider the wonder and mystery of a God who is both host and guest in this world. It is a thankfulness that seems to fill the whole universe and reverberate through every part of each ancient yet fresh day creation in which we find ourselves.
Take time today to get out and feast on the incredible banquet God still spreads for us. Feast your eyes on the wonder of cloud formations, listen to the wind whistling in the trees and the melody of birds around you. Stop and inhale the fragrance of the air after rain, run your fingers over the lavender and inhale its wonderful aroma and taste the fruit and herbs around you.
After your walk, sit in a quiet place and contemplate the wonder of a creation banquet feast that was twenty billion years in the making. Is there a response God is asking of you?
You might like to share this prayer:
Thank you God
for the wonder of creation,
a gift of delight
Twenty billion years in the making.
Thank you God for the gift of Christ,
The guest who waits for our invitation.
May we welcome him into our lives
And be transformed
Into caring, sharing, loving followers
Seeking to change the world,
Bringing refreshment and renewal.
If you have time watch last week’s Facebook live session where Lilly and I talked about hospitality and the gift of life.
Digging Deeper: The Art of Contemplative Gardening
“My healing garden inspired by Digging Deeper has been a comfort to me in this time of transition.” – M
Christine Sine’s latest book is packed full of contemplative wisdom and inspiration for creating your own meditative focus. Click for more details!
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756.
“La Ténèbre” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Shepherd Song” Words adapted from John 10:11-18, Music by Kester Limner , Creative Commons copyright–free to use with attribution (CC-BY)
“Nothing Can Ever” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé, Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756.
“Parable Song” Music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers, text by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
photos and writings by June Friesen
SEPTEMBER 12 – NATIONAL ENCOURAGEMENT DAY
The above sign was on a wall in a large shopping mall in Virginia a few weeks ago when we were there visiting. I was immediately focused on it and stopped to just let it resonate with my spirit and then took a photo. When I got to thinking about National Encouragement Day I immediately thought of this sign – what if we had a sign like this on our door and saw it whenever we left our home? Or maybe have it on the dashboard of our vehicle and see it as we are out and about in the world? Kindness is always in fashion – what a great way to be an encourager in our world today. We know that there is indeed much unkindness, even hatred present in our country and even in the world … one way to begin to change or curb that would be through encouragement.
How and why did we get a day set aside known as National Encouragement Day? I have to admit that the phrase captured my attention and I wondered, “Is it really such a struggle in our country for people that we have to be told by the government to encourage each other?” The second question that came to my mind was this: As a country that is referred to as a Christian nation why do we struggle so with encouragement for/of each other as it is actually a concept that is taught in the Scriptures?
In 2007 some teenagers were given an assignment as to their needs and what may be done to help: What is the biggest problem for teens today (2007)? The teens said that lack of encouragement was one of their biggest issues. Second, why was September 12 chosen? This day was selected as September 11 is a day of darkness for our country because of what happened on September 11, 2001. Since that day it has been a time to honor and memorialize the many who lost their lives that tragic day. What better anecdote than to have the day after be one where we are reminded to reach out and encourage one another.
National Encouragement day actually started in the state of Arkansas in 2007. In August 2007 the mayor of Searcy Arkansas signed it into a local law/observance. In September 2007 the governor of Arkansas signed it into law as a State holiday and a short time after that President George W. Bush signed it into law as a national observance.
Some questions that enter my mind are: 1) If this is a Christian nation, the Scriptures tell us to encourage one another so why do we need to be told/or have a particular day to remember it? 2) Since this has been set as a National observance how come so few of us are really aware of it? One may respond: It should just be a given that we encourage each other. While that is indeed true the question that comes to my mind is: Then how come we hear so many negative words? How come so much complaining about what one does or doesn’t do? And how can we turn those things into positive encouragements?
Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
Paul wanted the people to not lose hope because of the struggles in their lives. He definitely encouraged people who were followers of Jesus to remember the great blessing of being one of God’s children and that should be the source of their ability to encourage each other. I love Paul’s confidence that the people were already encouraging one another so he said just keep on. This should challenge as well as spur you and I forward to be those who are encouragers as we have been gifted with God’s peace and hope not just for today but for eternity. So what might encouragement look like today? How might you encourage others? I am going to share something that I have learned especially since the pandemic and I would challenge you – why not get creative and step out and begin to reach out as well.
Over the past 2½ years many of us have struggled with discouragement, sadness, possibly depression etc. wondering when will my life get better or when will things be ‘normal’ again, or will I ever be able to just relax and live like I want to do without having to take precautions. I am sure if we talk to people from our past about epidemics and pandemics they would be able to relate to our feelings as well. I found that people were looking to me for answers, encouragement, possible solutions, etc. As I considered how to shepherd and encourage people in spite of the pandemic I found that the technology of today was a great tool. I decided to combine my gifts of writing and photography and every morning I sent out a text message to those who looked to me for spiritual leadership and encouragement. Then there were a couple who I messaged via messenger. Word of mouth has grown my list and the messages are not just to local people anymore but go all over the nation and even further. Another means of technology that I have used is Facebook and I try to post daily words there for encouragement. Again, that opportunity extended as I was invited to post these daily words on a blogspace. So, the challenge I see here is that for each one of us, we need to possibly think outside the box that we have been trained in or grown up in. I am going to share what an encouragement message might look like as well as some ways photos also encourage people.
Here are three photos of flowers, each one unique. Yes, I admit the one is photoshopped. Let’s consider each one of these photos separately as I did recently as encouragements and I also am going to try to make them relevant to the subject matter.
In the first photo, the flower looks tired. It may be a lack of water, too much water, or its life span is nearing the end. As I ponder this flower I think that it might also be bowing in reverence to its Creator for the opportunity to grow and not only bring beauty to the space but it also has given pollen to the insects as well as it now can provide food for the birds as well as some insects. Some people also enjoy the treat of sunflower seeds and oil so I see this flower as an encouragement even with its ending of life. So too it may be in our lives – there is sadness as some things are changing and some things may be coming to a close in our lives. It was that way on September 11, 2001 – there was great sadness and still is sadness for the great change that it brought to so many people. Today we find ourselves in different places and spaces – how might we be an encouragement to others today who have been affected by this or any tragedy?
In the second photo, the flower is standing very straight and very tall. In fact, this rose had managed to grow through the dense branches of a tree, stretching up tall to find the sun so it could grow a bud and bloom there among the tree leaves. Yes, it kind of looked out of place but it gave such a gift of hope. For me I share this as an encouraging reminder that there are times in our lives when life seems full of darkness, gloom, and sadness. It seems as if our hope has been grabbed away by all the tragedy, all the problems, and all the pain in the world and our lives. Yet, God encourages us to hold strong to our faith in Him, remembering to hold hope out to others. As our faith is placed in God we can stand strong in the dark times and in the dark moments. We too can be like this rose and give hope to others.
In the third photo, again a flower, there are a couple of lessons. A hollyhock begins with a bud or two beginning to bloom. That stem continues to stretch and grow and slowly adds one more bud after the other. As one blossom dies another opens and this particular stem on this plant has been now blooming for about five weeks and continues yet to add buds.
In our lives we continue to grow each day. Some things need to also die in our lives and let new things begin to take their place. We need to be willing to embrace this growing and changing process just as the hollyhock. The second thing here is that I added something – some beautiful song notes. One person responded back that they loved the dancing, singing flower. Yes, we too should be accepting of the things that God wants to add to our lives to share hope with the world.
My final photo is a collage of clouds – the beauty of clouds continually brings my spirit to give praise to God. May this photo encourage you to remember as you look heavenward – God is in charge and He is watching over all of us, collectively as well as individually.
It is my prayer that you will have first of all been encouraged just reading through this writing. Second, it also is my prayer that you will accept the challenge and begin today to practice encouragement on a regular basis. Maybe you are not a photographer or a writer; maybe you are a baker – you can share some cookies, bread, or cake. Maybe you have a flower garden – you can pick a flower or two and share it with someone. You have a broom, a shovel, a mower and someone needs help with cleaning up their yard – you can volunteer. Maybe someone just needs a hug in silence. The sky is the limit on ways we can reach out and help someone. Let the Spirit be your guide and let’s begin to encourage those around us with the love, joy and peace of God. Amen.
Look to the skies and see the many gifts of God’s light, colors, and clouds. I find the skies/heavens a reminder of Jesus’ return to this earth. That alone gives me great encouragement to live in the moment and every moment for His glory. May God bless you and yours today with the gift of peace and hope. Amen.
Research obtained from website on National Day of Encouragement. Scriptures references from The Message Translation.
We are collecting recipes across our Godspace community for our first-ever cookbook. Send your recipe written in your own words, where it came from, and why it’s special to you to godspacelight@gmail.com – if you send 3 or more recipes in, you will receive a FREE digital copy of the finished cookbook! For more information check out this post: https://godspacelight.com/2022/08/03/the-great-godspace-cookbook-gathering/
Editor’s Note: The following reflection has been excerpted from Hospitality – Open Doorways To The Kingdom With Us. The accompanying recipe is from Hunza Pie – Great Way To Use Greens. We hope you enjoy this series of seasonal hospitality reflections and recipes!
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2 NIV)
These words revolve in my mind today as I remember rich hospitality we have experienced in the last couple of months and anticipate the hospitality to come. Easter is over and we have entered a season that beckons us to be hospitable to friend and stranger alike. One of Christ’s first appearances after his resurrection is as the stranger on the Emmaus road, His true nature is recognized only when he breaks bread together with his fellow travellers. This is the first Eucharistic celebration of the new kingdom. He also comes as Christ, the friend by the sea of Galilee, preparing breakfast for his closest followers.
Through the doorways of hospitality to friend and stranger, those first disciples were welcomed to the banquet feast of God. Today too, the purpose of God’s people is to invite stranger in and offer hospitality by breaking bread together, sharing the Eucharistic feast. By so doing we both welcome Christ and represent Christ.
~ ~ ~
Hunza Pie
A great vegetarian dish for a picnic or camping trip. the vegetable mix can be adapted depending on what vegetables you have available and what you like.
INGREDIENTS:
– 2 cups whole wheat flour
– 1 cup wheatgerm
1 cup golden flax meal
– 6 ounces margarine or butter
– 1/2 cup milk or water (I sometimes use whey left over from making yoghurt)
– 1 teaspoon vegetable salt
– 25 stalks Swiss Chard or other garden greens ,leaves coarsely chopped
– 2 1/2 lb potatoes
– 1 1/4 lb cottage cheese
– 1 teaspoon mixed herbs (I like Italian herb mix)
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 large onion, chopped
– 1 teaspoon dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 cup mushrooms, diced
– 1 cup squash (e.g. zucchini), chopped or 1 cup broccoli
METHOD:
1. Pastry:
2. Sift flour and salt into bowl. add husks in sifter to flour fold in wheatgerm and flax meal. Rub in margarine until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix with enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead lightly. Cut pastry into 4 pieces. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Roll out 1/4 of pastry on floured surface and place in base and up sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Do same with second pastry section. Spoon over cold vegetable mixture. Brush edge of pastry with water. Roll out remaining pastry in 2 pieces and place over pies. Trim edge with a sharp knife. Make slits in top. Bake in a hot oven (400) for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 375 and cook further 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown.
3. Filling:
4. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Cook in salted water until tender. Drain.
5. Cook onions in a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon oil until brown. Add chopped mushrooms and squash. Cook a further 5 minutes. Add chard, garlic and herbs. Cook a further 5 minutes. Add cottage cheese and salt. Allow to cool.
SERVINGS: 12 from each pie
We love to eat it with hot sauce together with a tomato, basil, squash and mozzarella salad or with a quinoa salad.
Next Facebook Live!
Join Christine Sine, Randy Woodley, and Edith Woodley for a discussion on Hospitality and the Land. Wednesday, September 21st at 9 am PT. Happening live in the Godspace Light Community Group on Facebook – but if you can’t catch the live discussion, you can catch up later on YouTube!
Tom and Christine Sine are looking for a new on-site assistant. This job is based in Seattle; while some work can be done remotely, our most pertinent needs and vision for the assistant requires on-site interaction. In addition to financial compensation, we pride ourselves on hospitality while our assistant is on-site – including sit-down lunch, garden goods, coffee, tea, and treats as we have them. Not to mention sharing the sweetest coworker – our dog Goldie. Compensation is $25/hr.
Based on the variable requirements, we are looking for someone who is able to do 20-25/hrs per week. This job is quite flexible; some weeks will have more to do and others less. Good communication is key, and we do ask for some consistency in hours week to week. The job is quite varied and includes editing and posting for the Godspace blog, updating resource pages, producing weekly emails through Mailchimp, basic bookkeeping and the opportunity to hone your own creative skills by writing and working on design and editing for new products – and more, but this is the basic overview of what we are looking for.
While having experience working with the following is a plus, it is not necessary: Wordpress, Mailchimp, social media, office suite/apple suite, iMovie or other video editing software, Canva or other graphic editors, amazon kindle editor, financial software such as Quicken or Banktivity, and more. Each program we use is simple and quick to learn and only requires minimal skills. We will teach you!
We look forward to hearing from you! Email godspacelight@gmail.com to apply
Feature Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
by Jamie Noyd, via Lilly Lewin
Editor’s Note: Lilly is on vacation this week, and her friend Jamie Noyd generously contributed this reflection for her Freerange Friday! Jamie Noyd lives in Northern Kentucky and serves with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship on the national Faculty Ministry team as an Associate Director and Director of Via Divina for Faculty developing and directing pilgrimage experiences.
When I consider living into the practice of hospitality, I think of creating lovely, tidy spaces. Whether it was my dorm room in college or bedroom at home, I have always enjoyed selecting items that would tell my story even as the space welcomed friends to gather. I have since transferred this energy to a small home that I’ve redecorated over the past decade. Each space is comfortable, coordinated, and connects to passions for literature, pilgrimage, and beauty.
One thing these spaces aren’t – they aren’t messy. The order provides a sense of peace into which I can invite others, but maybe this tidiness also includes a bit of control that inhibits fully welcoming them. When I first set up my home, I pictured many groups of friends and family gathering here. Hanging out. Having deep conversations. Feasting over meals cooked together. But that didn’t happen for years.
At some level I wanted to manage the relationships as I managed the home, just as I had seen my parents do. During my growing up years, my family presented safe, neat images of our lives whether at home, at church, or with friends. That is, stories with little conflict and little mess. Though the messes existed, I learned early on that it was best to cover them up with a pleasant exterior. When people came over to visit, life and spaces needed to be in order. Not having experienced many other types of hospitality, I followed the family way.
I thought such tidy stories and places would welcome people and they did to an extent. However, the type of community I longed for didn’t develop. At first I wondered if I hadn’t shaped the places and the image of myself just right. I had assumed that if I, like my parents, kept out the messiness, then people would want to come. So I tried harder to create the right space and the right story. But, it seems, that the lack of deep connections wasn’t because I didn’t shape the space or times well, but because I tried to shape them too much. The tidy images of how I wanted a dinner to go or a conversation to progress often superseded what was actually happening. In this mindset I missed connecting with people in what was taking place right before me. I missed community.
Over the past couple of years I’ve been learning that nourishing, soul-filled hospitality that brings about deepening relationships isn’t about shaping a flawless space or conversation. It’s about showing up messy and allowing unfinished stories to bump into one another. But before I could invite others along this new path, I first had to show up messy with myself. I had to tear apart the boxes that held those safe, neat images.
One of those boxes is that of scholar. For decades I strove to be thought of as a scholar in a tweed jacket, professorial sort of way. However, I’m more of an unconventional learner, passionate about pilgrimage and literature, but not drawn to the rigors of the academy. I wondered if people would listen to what I had to share if I veered from that traditional path. Another box is that of single woman. It seemed that people were (or maybe I was) most comfortable with my being either a contented and strong woman not desiring male companionship or someone in a committed relationship. However I don’t want to sit in the first box anymore, nor can I make the second happen. As I started questioning the images of the scholar and the single woman in which I had packaged myself, I felt lost.
These are scary places. They hold both tears and laughter. There’s a lot of fear. And quite a lot of hope, in an uncertain sort of way. I was scared about sharing these messy stories with others. Scared that people would turn away when I left the boxes.
But . . .
They have stayed. And they have even stayed longer than I had expected in this messy way of being. This shouldn’t have been so surprising. In the gospels, the people who open up fully in all their mess to Jesus are the ones who fall deeper into community with him. I think of the Samaritan woman at the well and see Jesus’ hospitality as he sits with her in the questions and discomfort of her situation. In this space of welcome, she draws closer to Jesus and eventually to the rest of the village. I also think of Peter walking with Jesus after the resurrection. Jesus steps into the mess of Peter’s denial by asking three times if Peter loves him. As Peter stays with this conversation in its pain there comes an even deeper relationship with Jesus. This pattern is repeated over and over. Those who open up their messy lives find a community — those who stay in their boxes, end up walking away.
Now I see hospitality not primarily about creating those tidy spaces. It’s about sharing and walking with one another in our messes. I still have those well-ordered gathering areas in my home. Not sure if that will change. But in those spaces I’m not neat. The items I love are all around: travel photos, teapots, books, desks, pottery. However, they no longer represent finished stories in my life. Now, they are ways to open up renewed stories in all the pain, joy, and mess of life. As I gather with others laying out desires and passions, fears and griefs, I’m seeing God show up and shaping surprising stories. It’s a rich hospitality of messy community.
What are your stories of hospitality that welcome messy community?
Did you know that alongside Christine Sine’s book The Gift of Wonder, we have many resources available to you? The free downloadable bonus packet or beautiful prayer cards featuring prayers from the book, for example – something to hold and behold! Or perhaps you’d like to journey through the book alongside a retreat – we have that too! You can check it all out in our shop!
As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small amount for purchases made through appropriate links.
Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
When referencing or quoting Godspace Light, please be sure to include the Author (Christine Sine unless otherwise noted), the Title of the article or resource, the Source link where appropriate, and ©Godspacelight.com. Thank you!