by Christine Sine
On Monday our dog Goldie had an operation to remove a tumor on her left thigh. Since then she has been sedated to slow her down, and encased in a “cone of shame” to stop her licking her leg. I was the one who took her to the doctor, and the one who forces pills down her throat so I thought she would see me as the monster creature who causes her pain and discomfort. However it has been quite the reverse. She clings to me and hates it if I leave the room and gets anxious if I leave the house without her.
Yesterday, I read an article about Briton Alex Larenty who lives on a game reserve in South Africa and spends his days giving foot massages to lions. Thanks to this pampering, he has formed a bond with the lions so strong that they lie down, stretch their legs, and smile as soon as they see him approach. It reminded me that often in the evenings Goldie will reach out to me with her paw wanting it massaged. It definitely helps her to relax. I benefit too. So while she is recuperating I am making it a regular part of my evening routine with her.
I am learning much from her during this time of recuperation. Her patience, her acceptance of what happened and her unconditional love towards my husband Tom and me, in spite of what we seem to have inflicted on her, is remarkable.
It shouldn’t surprise me. Humans have kept dogs as pets and companions for thousands of years. Once mere hunting companions, protectors or helpers for farmers, they have now evolved into beloved family members. Pets of all kinds – dogs, cats, pigs, lizards, mice, and even wild animals like lions, can provide a unique bond with their owners by offering unwavering love and support. Research suggests that pet ownership positively impacts mental and physical well-being, including decreased stress, lower blood pressure, and increased physical activity. The stronger the bond, the greater the impact so maybe a little bit of foot massage for all our pets is a good idea. If only we could get them to reciprocate.
Numerous research studies demonstrate that pet ownership significantly benefits heart health. Pets can assist in diminishing the risk of heart disease by decreasing blood pressure and reducing bad cholesterol (LDL). This is because interacting with these furry companions stimulates the production of endorphins and other hormones that alleviate stress, which can help dilate blood vessels and sustain blood pressure levels.
I think that God intended us to live in partnership with animals, not just seeing them as creatures to be slaughtered but as companions and friends.
I love the way that animals are increasingly being used for therapy. A therapy dog is one taken by its owner to schools, hospitals and even prisons. From working with a child who is learning to read to visiting a senior in assisted living, therapy dogs and their owners work together as a team to improve the lives of other people. Then there are service dogs, specially trained animals that can help guide a blind person, alert a diabetic to changing blood glucose levels, assist those in wheelchairs or calm an anxious, autistic or disabled person.
Keeping pets is obviously good for our physical and emotional lives, but how is caring for an animal a spiritual practice? Well if we believe, as I do, that everything God created is good then we can learn from it and connect with it in ways that benefit our souls. We can love and care for pets in a way that helps us love and care for others.
As well as that, pets help us live in the present moment rather than in either the future or the past. They teach us to slow down and live mindfully. They also help root us in our relationship to the world which God created, the world in which we live, the world that God loves.
One of the major themes that appears in the stories of the saints of the early Celtic Church is how intimate they were with animals, and how much they valued the contributions animals made to their lives. I particularly love the story of St Cuthbert monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in Northumbria Northern England. Evidently he would stand waist-deep in the North Sea during his nightly prayer vigils. Afterwards two otters reputedly came and warmed his feet. Then there was Kevin of Glendalough. While praying with his hands outstretched, a blackbird built a nest in it and laid eggs. Kevin stood in trancelike stillness until the eggs hatched and the chicks flew away.
Animals are important for our physical, emotional and spiritual well being. Sit and think about your relationship to animals. In what ways to they enhance your spiritual well being.
And to round this off let me quote a Mary Oliver poem from Dog Songs
How It Is With Us, And
How It is With Them.
We become religious,
then we turn from it,
then we are in need and maybe we turn back.
We turn to making money,
then we turn to the moral life,
then we think about money again.
We meet wonderful people,
but lose them in our busyness.
We’re, as the saying goes, all over the place.
Steadfastness, it seems,
is more about dogs than about us.
One of the reasons we love them so much.
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Summer in America this year is extremely hot. When the temperatures and the humidity rise, I start dreaming of cooler places and checking in with all the folks I follow around the world who are building fires in July and wearing jackets rather than shorts and t-shirts. Even though I grew up in the South, I got spoiled living in the Northwest with it’s cooler summers and in Northern California where it could be really hot in the day time, but one would need a jacket as soon as the sun went down! Despite the heat, I am making an effort to embrace summer and take time to NOTICE the things that bring me joy along the way. NOTICING is a great spiritual practice that takes us out of our worry filled brains into the presence of God.
NOTICING involves stopping and paying attention.
NOTICING involves being curious.
The Practice of NOTICING allows God to surprise us along the way in our regular lives.
How has God been surprising you this week? What have you been noticing along your way that has brought you JOY? Take time to make a list, or paint a picture and/or look back through your photos to help you remember.
This week I was frustrated by how tired and unproductive I’ve been this summer! My husband reminded me that I am recovering from care giving and being on high alert due to my dad’s illness that started in the middle of May. Thankfully Dad is doing so much better that hospice dismissed him for now and we are planning to celebrate his 95th birthday next Saturday! I don’t know about you, but I can forget why I’m exhausted. I can forget why I’m feeling discouraged. I need to take the time to NOTICE my physical body and NOTICE the emotions I am carrying around with me in this body and take the time to process these emotions. I paint to help me process. I go take a walk. I lay in the floor or bounce on my exercise ball or even take a bath to help me get grounded enough to NOTICE what I’m really feeling and experiencing.
This week I’ve noticed the clouds as they’ve blown over our hill. It was actually cooler yesterday and I sat out on my porch and took time to watch the beautiful clouds in the sky. As kids, we used to take the time to imagine and watch for the different shapes in the clouds and make up stories about them, but as adults, too often we just worry about the rain! And speaking of rain, I actually noticed a beautiful rainbow this week when out walking the dog. It was over the city and this rainbow gave me a lot of hope for that day and for our town that has been plagued by white supremacy marches and so much gun violence this year! I might have missed the rainbow if I’d been looking at my phone or listening to a podcast while walking! I really try to practice phone free walks! That helps me notice! and it allows me space to listen to God and pray around the neighborhood!
And speaking of phone free…I’ve noticed just how addicted I am to my phone these days! Rob and I are discussing how to PRACTICE phone free fridays and truly make this a real sabbath practice. And we are wondering how we can host PHONE FREE gatherings for building community and friendship.
What are you NOTICING about yourself this summer? What emotions, feelings, stresses are you carrying around? What do you need to give to Jesus to carry for you?
My favorite author Joyce Rupp in May I Have this Dance says that July should be about PLAYING…and that children know how to NOTICE the little things along the way! She suggests that we take time to use a different sense each day this week. Taking time to NOTICE the smells one day, the sights another, the sounds you hear, the textures and things you touch on another day. Scientists have noticed that we are loosing our senses because we are all so screen focused! As a multi-sensory worship designer, this is frightening to me! I don’t want to lose the ability to notice the wonderful smells after a rain, or the touch and scent of fresh soil when planting flowers, or the feel of grass and gravel when walking barefoot!
watch the clouds
Your homework assignment is to PRACTICE NOTICING this week! And watch for God surprises! Practice NOTICING with all your senses too! notice the colors, the sounds, the little things along the way that are signs of God’s love and the beauty of God’s creation!
What sounds do you hear just right now? I hear the freeway traffic and the birds at my birdfeeder outside.
What do you see? I see all my art mess on the counter, but also the hazy hills across the way and the beautiful brown and green velvety leaves of my magnolia tree right outside my window!
And don’t forget TASTE! Take time to taste your food this week! Notice the flavors and textures and be thankful! If you are in summer where you live, notice how different the blueberries taste. Notice how a ripe peach or a fresh melon from the farmers market can taste just like summer itself!! Today I am noticing all the wonderful flavor in my favorite cup of coffee! And the fresh mint that I put in my water!
And remember that this is a PRACTICE so you will need to practice! Don’t let it be a chore, just let it be fun to notice the clouds, the smells, the tastes and textures. If you need help with the PRACTICE of NOTICING, invite a child over to play! Kids are great at noticing the smallest details of life! They will watch a bug for minutes or play in the sand for hours or just enjoy the feeling of being in a swing or walking barefoot in the grass! Watch the clouds with a friend. Watch the sunset with your partner! Notice the colors and how the light changes in the rest of the sky.
Don’t be afraid to take time to just BE STILL and know that God is with you along the way! Allow Jesus to use the little things to show you his great love for you this week and RECEIVE THE GIFT of Noticing!
To Garden With God + Gift of Wonder Prayer Cards Bundle
Need help getting into your stride with summer gardening? This unique bundle includes our best selling book, To Garden with God, and 1 set of Gift of Wonder prayer cards (12 cards).
“No matter how many challenges there are, nothing can take away from the deep satisfaction of getting one’s hands into the earth, digging, planting and harvesting the bounty of God’s good creation. Nor can they detract from the joy that engulfs as as we experience the awe inspiring generosity of a God who wants to provide abundantly for all of humankind. The garden is a place of healing, of wholeness and of deeply spiritual encounters where God restores our bodies and our spirits in a way that is truly miraculous.” (from To Garden with God)
It has been an exciting and challenging week for us here in Seattle.
The highlight for me was a trip that Tom and I made with our good friends Mark and Lisa Scandrette, to Camano Island. We began, as all such good trips should, with a stop at the Camano Commons to enjoy their delicious pastries and coffee and meet James Amadon, Executive Director of Circlewood. James led us on an excursion to the Circlewood Village site where progress is once more being made. Some of you may remember that this site was a part of Mustard Seed Associates and ten years ago we began work on the first building which was then vandalized twice, bringing construction to a halt. It was a delight to see that construction is once more in full swing. The project is scheduled to be completed by early fall, and will enable Circlewood to expand their onsite programming, focusing primarily on ecological discipleship, leadership, and practical earthkeeping.
As I worked on this part of our newsletter for this morning, I was prompted to revisit the litanies we used for the 24th Celtic retreat we held on Camano in August 2015, just after the vandalism. The week before the retreat my Meditation Monday: Through Broken Glass, reflected some of my thoughts in the face of this destruction. We then used the broken glass from the windows as part of our morning ritual. It was a very powerful symbol and meaningful experience. Here are the three litanies we used during the day, which I thought you too might like to revisit as a reminder of God’s ability to transform all the brokenness in our world and in our lives.
This reflection and litanies were very good ones for me to revisit yesterday as I wrote this newsletter as the temperature soared towards 91F. This is a rare occurrence in Seattle and not nearly as hot as some parts of the continent where it is expected to reach triple digits but still not easy for many who are not used to this kind of heat. My heart goes out to those who still don’t have power in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl and face intense heat on top of the devastation already experienced, not just in Texas but also in Grenada, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. The challenges of climate change are very real and often destructive to lives and property. Our world is broken. It needs healing. Most of us feel both overwhelmed and useless in the face of such trials but it is good for us to consider how God would have us respond and help bring wholeness out of brokenness.
In this week’s Meditation Monday: Connecting Seasons and Celebrations to Our Lives I explored the rhythms and rituals that govern our lives. For most of us these are more associated with the rhythms of the seasons than those of the liturgical calendar. I also commented “The rhythms and rituals of summer are intertwined with the changing weather and its impact on our lives” It is the heat of summer and the cold of winter, the summer hurricanes and winter storms that still shape how we spend our time. I am more convinced than ever that we need to give our liturgical celebrations a local flavour and shape them by giving attention to indigenous wisdom and its contact with the land, waters and sky of each place in this wide world.
I loved Diane Woodrow’s post on Godspacelight yesterday – Walking Away from Oughts in which she talked about writing into her passion rather than doing “What she ought” to be doing. Good advice for all of us who feel compelled to do things we don’t really enjoy.
In her Freerange Friday: Praying For Your Country Lilly Lewin encouraged all of us to pray for our countries. So many of them face momentous change and upheaval at the moment and we need to take seriously our responsibility to pray for them.
Wednesday last week we published our 11th episode of Liturgical Rebels, an inspirational interview with iconographer Kelly Latimore. Make sure you don’t miss listening to this episode. Or the 10 that have gone before it. Also we would love to know what you think of the podcast. I have received enthusiastic responses from several listeners but would appreciate your feedback too. Which is your favourite episode? What kinds of people would you like to hear from? Do you have suggestions for potential guests?
As we look around at our fractured world and consider the brokenness of our own lives, I am reminded of the ancient Chinese philosopher Loa Tzu’s words: “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings…”
In the midst of painful endings,
in the midst of brokenness and heartache,
may we seek to love and not to hate,
may we seek for peace and not for war.
May we see God’s new beginnings emerge,
for ourselves, for this place, for God’s world.
Let us welcome everything that comes to us today.
It is for our healing.
It is for the healing of relationships,
It is for the healing of this land.
Let us release all that binds us.
It is for our healing,
It is for the healing of relationships,
It is for the healing of this land.
Let us open ourselves to God.
It is for our healing,
It is for the healing of relationships,
It is for the healing of this land.
Many blessings on you today
Christine Sine
In Christine Sine’s newsletter to those of us who write for Godspacelight she talked about writing into her passion. This is probably one of the bests prompts I’ve had in ages. I have tried writing what I ought to write. I even set up a Substack account to write about writing for well-being but it’s failed. Why? Because, much as I love free writing for my own well-being, I wasn’t writing into my passion. I was trying to be something I wasn’t. I even tried putting in a regular structure to when I blogged but I’m afraid that isn’t me.
How often do we do that – try to be something we are not? Whether it is in what we write or what we do? I think of many times when I have done something – job or ministry – that is so significant but isn’t me. Too many times to remember. It could even be something I’m good at, have talents in, but it isn’t my passion. I suppose if one jargoned it up I could say it wasn’t “my calling.”
As I’ve got older I’ve learned more and more not just what my skills and talents are but what I am passionate about. I love people, though I need time alone with a book too. If I’m honest my perfect day would be to go for a dog walk, coffee and breakfast with a friend and have a rolling, random conversation that covers deep and meaning as well as trivial and silly; come home and write a blog piece on something that either the conversation has triggered or that was buzzing in my head; and finish the afternoon on the couch to have a read of a good book, then maybe some intense Netflix drama with a glass of red wine to finish the day. Somewhere in that I’d like to ponder writing a short story or flash fiction, though maybe never get to write it; I’d like to email someone I enjoy writing to; run a writing workshop where I encourage others to get the most from putting pen to paper; and probably free write or journal myself.
But I can get into thinking I “ought to” write X, Y or Z; I “ought to” be connecting with a certain person or group and “ought to” be doing something with them. But that is my “oughts and shoulds” and not my passion coming through.
I’ve just read Timothy Keller’s The Prodigal God in which he talks of the older brother attitude being the one that says “it’s not fair” when God doesn’t do as we think they should do because we were “good Christians”. My “ought to” comes, I think, from a place that is where I’ve decided what a “good Christian” or a “good writer” would/should do. It isn’t coming from a place of my passion.
I think for all of us there are times when we do not run with our passions for many reasons; a need to fit in, a fear of missing out, having been told by a parental figure that life isn’t meant to be about fun, or whatever. I’m sure we all, if we allow ourselves to really hear our hearts, can come up with many reasons why we don’t follow our passions in work, in writing, in church stuff, in life in general. All of them have some truth in them but remember the devil goes around like a angel of light. The one who keeps us away from our true selves does it subtly not overtly. If it was overtly we would notice and rise above it. But it is filled with limited truths and comes from people who do care for us and want the best for us. But it is still lies if it keeps us from our passions and our true selves.
I’m grateful to all the healing that I’ve received so I can hear God clearly, hear my heart clearly, and be bold enough to step out into my passions. I’m also bold enough now to walk away from when I’ve try to do something that looks good but isn’t me; when I’ve done an “ought”. But this has come about because I know God loves me unconditionally all the time – not just when I get it right/write 🙂
Summer practices bundle
This summer treat yourself to some supports for the hospitality, gardening, and wonder of the season. This bundle includes Gift of Wonder prayer cards for devotion time, the Godspacelight Community Cookbook for those summer guests and Christine’s book Digging Deeper: the Art of Contemplative Gardening.
by Christine Sine
Summer has arrived with a vengeance here in North America. Canada Day and Independence Day were celebrated this last week not just with BBQs, picnics at the beach and fireworks, but also with preparations for heatwaves and record temperatures. Some are preparing for the first major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season which swept through the Caribbean over the last few days and is now hitting Texas. The rhythms and rituals of summer are intertwined with the changing weather and its impact on our lives and not surprisingly, in the last few days, has made me think about the events that most influence the rhythms and rituals of my life.
Its was the seasonal changes of the agricultural year that led to the development of the liturgical calendar which we still use for our religious observances. Unfortunately these symbols seem to be less relevant for many today.
A couple of years ago I asked my Southern Hemisphere friends what symbols and rhythms gave meaning to the seasons of the liturgical year for them. I thoroughly enjoyed their responses which helped me reimagine the symbols and celebrations I find most meaningful as the world turns and the seasons change.
Evidently when Europeans moved to the Southern Hemisphere they took the symbols and celebrations they were familiar with along because these gave them security and connection. Winter symbols and rituals for Christmas made them feel at home when they celebrated Christmas in the middle of summer. Yet these symbols and the rituals they were encouraged to use didn’t help them connect to their new earthly home and its seasons. This disconnect meant that their faith became more and more disconnected from the world in which they lived. When I wrote about this a couple of years ago, Rodney Marsh, from Western Australia commented:
This will require local, embodied, spiritual practices and symbols to generate the celebration of Christ’s presence and the cycle of the Church year to have a local flavour which reveals Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection and the gift of the Spirit happened ‘where I live’. Jesus died and rose again to establish his Kingdom not only in Jerusalem but also among the “dark Satanic Mills … In England’s green & pleasant Land.” and in “our home … girt by sea”. I think this task will require attention to indigenous wisdom and its contact with the land, waters and sky of each place in this wide world. This spiritual task is vital and fundamental for to stop us destroying the Earth by warming the atmosphere will require not only solar farms and windmills but a change of heart and spiritual practices are the only way (I have found) to change my heart.
I may not live in the Southern Hemisphere any more but I wonder if we suffer from the same disconnect wherever we live. It’s probable that Advent wreaths originate from the custom of removing wagon wheels over the winter – hanging them on the walls and then decorating them with greenery and candles. Now I don’t know about you but I don’t remove my car wheels over the winter and much as I love poinsettias at Christmas and have no desire to let go of them, I know they don’t help me connect to the beautiful Pacific NW where I live. I must confess, as I share in my book Digging Deeper, I soon became bored with Advent wreaths too, and went looking for other symbols and practices to help connect me to where I live. Perhaps part of that boredom related to the fact that I wanted symbols that I could relate too more easily. I have done the same for Easter, and for other celebrations that are important to me. others create seasonal mandalas for the same reason.
Third Church, used with permission
My journey into seasonal contemplative gardens started with me using them to replace Advent wreaths. These gardens first held succulents, but increasing contain local plants and involve seasonal activities, like sprinkling seeds on the soil and watching it germinate and grow at Easter. They also often connect to world events like the bushfires in Australia or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as to seasonal activities like beach combing in summer.
Now I wonder how I can make more of my seasonal celebrations link me to the world in which I live. One of the privileges of living in the Pacific NW is that so much of our Christmas greenery is locally grown. I love walking through a Christmas tree lot at the beginning of the season inhaling the wonderful fragrance of pine leaves One year I even got to go out to a Christmas tree farm and help cut down our own tree – a wonderful way to connect to this part of God’s good earth in which I live.
I don’t want Christmas and Easter to be my only meaningful celebrations. My current summer ritual which I talked about a couple of weeks ago – reciting a prayer to welcome God into my day and then coming for an awe and wonder walk around my garden, certainly help. In fact my awe and wonder walks help me with connect to the land at all seasons of the year. I love to wander our neighbourhood drinking in the beauty of the gardens around me. I notice what has been planted, what is flowering, and in the autumn, which leaves are changing colour. Unfortunately, most gardens contain little local flora apart from pine trees, so I need the occasional good walk in one of our local forests to really appreciate the seasonal beauty of this part of the world.
Looking for sights and sounds and objects that connect me to the four seasons of the year is now one of my favourite pastimes and my list of possible ways to link my spiritual practices more firmly to God’s good earth grows all the time.
Welcoming the day with a short prayer at sunrise and saying goodnight with another as I go to bed is one way, as I shared last week. Collecting pine cones and leaves that fall from the deciduous trees and then decorating them to place around the house in the autumn is another . Some of my friends are foragers – searching for mushrooms or picking local fruit like huckleberries provide wonderful seasonal forays into the natural landscape that help to make us feel at home in the land in which we live. Or like me you might enjoy beach combing in the summer. Listening to the waves and enjoying an oceanside stroll is a wonderful summer ritual. I am also currently investigating how I can introduce more local plants into my own garden as I think this is an important way to anchor ourselves in the place in which we live and its seasonal changes.
We are designed to be linked with the earth, to nurture and steward it and there is no better way to do that than by connecting our celebrations to rituals and rhythms in our natural neighbourhood. This doesn’t mean that we throw out all our established seasonal traditions, but it does mean we should intentionally think about other symbols and rhythms that could connect us to God’s good earth and the seasonal changes in the place where we live.
Wendy Janzen, paster of Burning Bush Forest Church in Eastern Canada, developed an eco-spirituality practice that I also find helpful in this exploration – a Phrenology wheel, which she shared with us on Godspacelight a couple. of years ago. I highly recommend reading about this and applying it to your own life.
This kind of exploration and creative experimentation provides an exciting journey of discovery and I hope you will join me on it.
What are habits and rhythms that help you connect your faith to the place in which you live and to the seasons in which you find yourself?
What could you do to strengthen these habits or create new ones?
Who could help you on your journey?
You might like to listen to the YouTube video session I recorded a couple of years ago on rhythms and rituals and spend some time considering your own rhythms and rituals. I would love to hear the new rhythms or rituals you consider.
It’s July… i am not sure how that’s possible. But here we are. I honestly have dreaded 2024 because of the election. So the fact that we are now in the second half of the year, it’s rather daunting . It’s been hard to get excited about a year that holds so much possibility for trauma.
Back in February, Rob and I escaped to Michigan for some winter weather and water views . We needed a break from the craziness of TN politics and we needed water. While praying for America in frustration & despair, a huge bald eagle flew by the window. Now I’ve never seen a bald eagle in Michigan, the boys have and they call him The General. Jesus used the General, the eagle, as a tangible symbol to remind me that HE IS STILL IN CONTROL! Despite all the craziness, Jesus is still in control and still present here.
So I have decided to make July a month of intentional prayer for America. I have prayed and i do pray for this country but honestly I often have lost hope & gotten angry rather than prayerful. I am going to use all the flags I see around town, as reminders to pray!
Canada just celebrated Canada Day on the first of July, and the UK just had a big election yesterday.
I feel like all of our countries could use our prayers for more love and less hatred, for
compassion, for deliverance from evil! For wisdom & clarity rather than conspiracy!
And for peace!
Lord help us to love our neighbors as you love them!
Lord in your mercy! Hear our prayer!
When you see your country’s flag this month, use it as a reminder to pray!
Be grateful for the things that are unique to your land.
Be mindful of all the gifts and blessings.
Pray for leaders who can lead with compassion and honesty.
Pray for peace and compassion.
Pray for ways to help bring that love and compassion into your world.
And love the people that Jesus has put in your pathway today.
AMEN
PRACTICE 1:Use the flags you see to pray for your country and for us here in America please!
PRACTICE 2: Show God’s love in a practical way! Yesterday, I decided to bake cookies to share with some of my neighbors. It was a practical way to love them on a day when I felt conflicted. What ways can you show love to your neighbors this July?
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