all photos and writings by June Friesen
Wonder…..wondering…..wonderful…..
The challenge is to discern wonder as we step into 2022. As one thinks back over the past 22 months – well that is interesting…22 months since our lives were totally changed worldwide by Covid and now we step into the year 2022. Wow, as I just wrote these two sentences I am even more in awe and wonder than when I researched material for this writing and started putting thoughts together. Paul’s words in Philippians 4 are so on target for me as I prepare to challenge myself to walk into this year with a new awareness of seeing God present in my daily activities as well as in the events and opportunities presented as we embark on this new journey. Paul writes:
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
When I think of the word ‘wonder’ all kinds of images pop into my mind. Today I share two images that indeed hold wonder for me. Consider first the oyster lying in the ocean finding itself dealing with an annoyance of a minute piece of something in its being. It begins to secrete a substance to cover this irritant and eventually the substance forms into what we identify as a pearl. For many of us owning a pearl or at least a genuine pearl that is not manmade is more of a dream than a reality. I have no idea whether a sea person gathering oysters has any idea or even thought about whether and/or how many pearls they may find. One thing I am sure of is that the oyster has little to no thought of that irritant as being of any value; for them it is an annoyance and problem they wish would just go away.
Second, there is the wonder that a rosebud holds. The rose unfurls its petals gently and delicately until it is open and then it reveals an exquisite beauty, often a beautiful fragrance as well as a delightful place for the bees to tumble about in and gather pollen for honey. In the photo below one can see the intricate design of the petals as well. So much wonder…..in the world around us, within our own bodies, relationships, families, nature – just everywhere….O to take the time to observe and enjoy.
Today I was challenged to replace my worry with wonder….now that is quite a stretch for sure. It is especially a stretch for someone like me who tends to capitalize on worry rather than trust. One way that I have learned how to cope more effectively with worry and turn my worry into wonder is through gratitude. Taking time to develop a lifestyle, yes, I said lifestyle on purpose, of gratitude tends to turn worry into wonder – it causes one to see how much God has given and gifted us within our lives. For many of us we tend to worry more than we wonder – or if we wonder we tend to have a negative side to our wonder. Let us ponder this beautiful rosebud that I happened upon a couple weeks ago. Now I take many, many photographs but never do I ever remember a bud with such intricate texture on the petals themselves. And the delicate blending of the colors is another wow here for sure. In my inquisitive mind there are many running thoughts here – how big will this flower be when it is open? Will the colors blend together throughout the entire blossom? What color will the center of this rose be? Will it have a strong or delicate scent or possibly no scent at all? Will the bees come and roll in the pollen and then make some sweet, sweet honey? How long will it take until this bud opens? And the questions could go on but I think by now you have also been captivated by the wonder of one rosebud. What an incredible Creator God we have!
So how is it that I can replace my worry with wonder you may ask? How can I really pray to God to handle a problem and then ‘let go and let God?’ Again, I am reminded of another couple verses in the Scriptures:
Matthew 6:27-29 (The Message) “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
Yes, again we are encouraged to let go….to embrace the wonder, the creativity of God as well as the capability of God. This has all lead to an acrostic I have entitled:
Discerning the Wonder & Beauty of the Year 2022
Tis the beginning of a fresh new year –
Wonderful treasures are wrapped neatly in 365 days –
Eventually each one will arrive to be embraced and lived –
New experiences, new adventures, new people to meet –
Trying to navigate each part of the daily path –
Yes – step by step, moment by moment, I will live to glorify God.
Trying to embark on a new year, a new day, a new beginning
With relished excitement and wonder
Entails a conscious effort and choice on my part –
Not feeling the certainty and predictability
That life once seemed to offer –
Yet choosing to embrace the present as a gift – – –
This is where the Almighty Creator God comes into focus –
With His invitation once again to trust and walk with Him
Onward on the path He has mapped for me – for you – the path through twenty-twenty-two.
God: help us to embrace the gifts of this year we have just begun. Some of them may well prove as irritants but give us the grace to allow them to develop into beautiful gifts we may offer to others along the way. Some of them will take a while to open into fulness but give us the patience to allow You to unfurl the moments, hours, days, weeks, and months into beautiful gifts with which our lives can then bless others in this world. Thank you, God, for the opportunity of sharing our lives with Your creation. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
“You can infuse your life with joy, even right in the middle of winter when you need it most…”
Join Christine Aroney-Sine for a series of five inspiring conversations, based on her book, The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God.*
Wednesday nights from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m on Zoom
- January 19 – The Awe of Wonder (Introduction)
- January 26 – Wonder & Trauma
- February 2 – Play!
- February 9 – Reminiscing
- February 16 – The Joy of Gratitude
* We will mail you the book with your $10 registration. If you already have the book, the series is free.
poem by Ana Lisa de Jong
I’m just glad I got through another day
with a little bit of beauty.
It’s like patching a quilt.
You choose the swatches of fabric you wish to keep.
You select the thread.
You carry on with immortalising it.
The memories you hope to retain
made predominant,
the colours made from feeling.
At night you pull it up to under
your chin, or over your cheeks.
Who can be cold or without comfort
with the best kept.
Turned into the things we’ve
chosen to recall.
The rest discarded to the pile
of cloth for which there might
be a place one day,
a reason why.
In the meantime
a ‘comforter’ needs the things to
which our heart leans.
The softness of a safe embrace.
The enfolding swell of down,
the cool of cotton.
The colours of the feelings that feel best.
Yes, to get through another day
is just enough,
with beauty in it to retain.
Enough of which
to make a keepsake.
The rest against which
we can close our eyes.
Discard to the floor,
anything which doesn’t fit,
or disturbs the vision.
Thank God we have a mind to choose,
a heart to discern,
what it is our lives are made from.
Ana Lisa de Jong
photo by Dinh Pham on Unsplash
Prayer cards are available in the shop for many occasions and seasons–from everyday pauses and Lenten ruminations to breath meditations and Advent reflections, enjoy guided prayers and beautiful illustrations designed to delight and draw close. Many are available in single sets, sets of three, and to download–even bundled with other resources!
by Rodney Marsh
“Whenever we come to an end of something, including life itself, we are not left with understanding but only with wonder.” – Charles Ringma, Hear the Ancient Wisdom: A Meditational Reader for the Whole Year from the Early Church Fathers up to the Pre-Reformation
This Red Tingle tree, in a National Park in South Western Australia, has been given an appropriate name: “The Sentinel.” The tree, according to the notice nearby, has a very impressive 12m circumference at its base. In common with other Red Tingles in the area its core has been burned out creating a small shelter. This ancient tree looked to me like one of the ‘living’ trees out of The Lord of the Rings. I saw this tree while walking the Bibbulmun Track in November last year, and when I recently read John’s words about his vision of a “New Jerusalem… coming down from God…” and a voice shouting “ God’s home is now with his people… he will wipe away all tears from their eyes,” I remember the Sentinel. Here is a New Year poem inspired by this Red Tingle tree.
The Sentinel
For hundreds of years
This living giant
Has stood guard
Over each new year.
Winds have torn at her limbs
Fire has eaten at his heart
Thirst has wilted her leaves
But the Sentinel still stands and speaks.
The Sentinel speaks from experience:
“This year will be no different
Our limbs will be torn
Our hearts will be hollowed out
We will thirst,
But, I bear witness, and I know,
‘God’s home is now with his people
The end of tears is near.’”
The Sentinel stands guard
The Sentinel speaks
Can you hear?
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Join Christine Sine and special guest Tom Sine in the Godspace Light Community Facebook Group as they discuss commitment to a whole life faith and a rhythm of life that flows out of it.. Happening every other Wednesday–join us for the next one on January 19th, 2022 at 9am! Can’t make it live? We post them after on our youtube channel, so you never miss the fun!
Everywhere I turn at the moment people are talking about grief and the work that needs to be done to enable us to establish a “new normal” in the reality that confronts us. As I think about this I am reminded of the Wise Men whose arrival in Jesus’ life we celebrated last week. They were warned by a dream to go back home another way and it seems to me that 2022 is beckoning us to do the same. We too are being told to go back by another way, a way that I feel lies through the valley of Baka (the valley of weeping) but it is also a valley that in Psalm 84 God promises can be made into a place of springs.
My current read – The Wild Edge of Sorrow – reminds me that grief is sacred. It calls us back to deeper ground, to the roots of our life. If we treat it with reverence, recognizing the important work it yields in our lives it becomes a place of learning and strengthening and renewal.
COVID made us aware of the grief resident in our souls, the grief we ignored for a long time that will no longer remain silent. There is the grief of our abuse of the earth and the amazing brilliance of a world without pollution that we caught a glimpse of again in the months of lockdown. There is the grief of our abuse of neighbours who look and think differently from us. There is the grief of the abuse of our bodies that cry out for the rest and refreshment that many of us found over the last couple of years. I think there is also the grief of our abuse of God who receives only a cursory acknowledgment of our commitment.
In the midst of this grief, I hear people calling for renewed commitment to a rule of life; a rhythm of life with love of God at the centre. I thought it was a good time for me to challenge all of us (including myself) to think about this and how we develop and live out such a rule.
Discerning a Shared Rhythm of Life Together
I see rules and rhythms of life being adopted both by individuals wanting a more intentional structure for their faith practices and by churches and communities encouraging their leadership and staff to deeper levels of shared commitment.
Most of us, however, still tend to associate a rule of life with monastic or neo-monastic communities that are on the fringes of church and society. We don’t really understand what value a commitment to a common rhythm or rule could possibly have especially in the context of leadership. Some of us think it sounds a bit legalistic. I find however that a rule of life is very freeing. It reminds us of who we are, what God calls us to be and do, and how God calls us to live. It can provide wonderful guidelines that enable us to come together and stay together in unity.
What is a Rule of Life?
A rule of life is a set of practices we commit to that enable us to continue growing closer to God, to each other, to God’s good creation and to the mission God calls us to. In the words of St Benedict, it is “simply a handbook to make the radical demands of the gospel a practical reality in daily life.”
Celtic monasteries centred around the formation of communities in which members followed a certain lifestyle and maintained a regular discipline of prayer and worship. Monks mixed manual, intellectual and spiritual labour, maintaining a balance between engagement in the world and withdrawal from it. These communities provided a focus for the life of the surrounding non-monastic community whose members made different forms of commitment and adhered to a variety of rules that acknowledged and affirmed their gifts and ministry.
A number of contemporary churches and organizations have rediscovered the value of a rhythm of life. Ian Mobsby in his book The Becoming of G_d explains: “As people encounter Christians living out profound expressions of the faith through God’s love, they encounter the depth of a loving Christian community and experience God as their ‘ground of being’ through worship, mission and community… It is in these participative and loving Christian communities that people can encounter the reality of the Christian story of the Holy Trinity not as a hypothetical truth but as a profound reality clueing us in to how we should live.”
A Rule of Life Rooted in Shalom
I spent a lot of time researching shalom when I wrote Shalom and the Wholeness of God back in 2011. Randy Woodley’s indigenous view of shalom expressed in his book Shalom and the Community of Creation was particularly impactful. The above diagram became not only the centre of my beliefs but also the centre for my development of a rule of life for myself and the community in which we live. It’s time for me to revisit this. I am increasingly convinced that we should encourage ourselves and others to develop a rhythm of life based on God’s desire for wholeness – in which prayer intertwines through every aspect of life so that we can keep God and God’s shalomic purposes at the centre of all we are and do.
The current turmoil that bubbles in so many ways around us encourages complacency in those who believe we are headed for an apocalyptic end to the world. For those of us who believe this is a sign of God’s desire for renewal and restoration to the wholeness of the original creation, it is a wake-up call to reevaluate our lives.
As a result, we want to encourage followers of Jesus to live into:
A redeemed (restored) relationship to God, seeking intimacy with God through:
-
- Regular individual prayer & scripture study
- Regular corporate worship balanced with times of listening in solitude – (meditative and contemplative prayer)
- Repentance and confession of sins both personal and societal
- Commitment to personal healing of wounds from the past that create barriers between us and God
- Development of disciplines that encourage a balance between spiritual and secular, community and solitude, work and rest. “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace” (Matt 11:28 The Message)
A redeemed (restored) relationship to God’s worldwide community through:
-
- Intentionally sharing life with others – recognizing that God comes to us in community and that community is essential for Christian faith, actively seeking support and accountability
- Hospitality and celebration – “let everyone be received as Christ” celebrating the in-breaking of God’s resurrection world with others
- Simple living – uncluttering our lives to focus on participating in God’s resurrection life in both local and global community – give me neither poverty nor riches (Prov 30)
- Solidarity with the marginalized – “act justly, love mercy” (Micah 6:8)
- Recognizing all we have belongs to God, becoming whole-life stewards who practice generosity that encourages mutual care – “where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21)
- Humbly examining the ways culture and history have shaped our values, discarding those that are counter to God’s kingdom values and embracing and celebrating those that reflect God’s kingdom values
- Service in the broader community – not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others (Phil 2:4)
A redeemed relationship with God’s creation through
- Responsible ecological stewardship – responding to the fact that “the earth is the Lord’s & the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1)
- Connection to the God revealed through creation
- Enjoyment of God’s creation and creatures
- A commitment to “live lightly on the earth” and do what we can to restore the polluted and devastated world in which we live
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I hope you enjoy today’s beautiful contemplative service from St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Seattle.
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 with additional notes below:
“This is my Fathers World” Alternate arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Public domain lyrics by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, 1901
“Down in the River to Pray” Traditional American spiritual, public domain
Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Kristus Din Ande (Jesus, Your Spirit in Us)” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Kyrie” Text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” Public domain hymn, arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
by Tom Sine, originally published on NewChangemakers.com
As we race into a very troubled and divisive 2022, wouldn’t be great if someone created “Innovations to Unite Us”?
I have to confess I am not a fan of all the new tech where many of our young are on screen 6 to 12 hours a day and many adults are seduced by new forms of Instagram envy. I am particularly concerned at the number of good people who have been seduced to buy into a range of different conspiracy theories they have come across on new tech sites. Many of these good people have become agents of division not only in their communities, but also in their churches and even their families.
Shira Ovide wrote, “We need creative ways to make connections with others.” Which I think is a great way to launch this new year don’t you? “It is worth rooting for ideas that bring us more of that feeling of togetherness” – Shira Ovide, The tech I want in 2022
While there are indeed a disturbing number of sites that propagate fear-mongering that are not only dividing communities, families, and even churchgoers, some of these angry tech clubs are creating dangerous divisiveness. Thank God there are also groups still working to bring our very polarized country together.
Here is my invitation to invite people you are connected to make a commitment to make 2022 an “Innovations That Unite Us” year to provide a positive alternative to the angry dividers:
I will post some of the best examples that are designed to use technology to come together in 2022 to work for the common good. Send us either models that are already using technology to bring people together in 2022 or send us your new innovative ideas.
EMAIL twsine@gmail.com Let’s Show People What is Possible when we create That Unite Us in 2022!
Photo by Valiant Made on Unsplash
“You can infuse your life with joy, even right in the middle of winter when you need it most…”
Join Christine Aroney-Sine for a series of five inspiring conversations, based on her book, The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God.*
Wednesday nights from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m on Zoom
- January 19 – The Awe of Wonder (Introduction)
- January 26 – Wonder & Trauma
- February 2 – Play!
- February 9 – Reminiscing
- February 16 – The Joy of Gratitude
* We will mail you the book with your $10 registration. If you already have the book, the series is free.
by Carol Dixon, photo © GT Photos Alnwick
Recently I watched a tv programme which was made at the end of December 2016 – only 5 years ago yet it looked like a different world. No masks, no social distancing, strangers hugging each other to wish each other a happy New Year. Above all there was no worry behind people’s eyes.
My hope and prayer for the coming year is that the freedom and joy we experienced before the Covid pandemic will return, and the lessons of sacrifice and service we have learned will stay with us so that the world becomes a more compassionate place.
As we step into this new year many of us may be feeling nervous and uncertain. I know I am as I learn to live a different kind of life while I recover from my colostomy and I wonder how I can continue to serve God in the way I used to as a lay preacher serving the churches in our area. Perhaps I have to discover new ways of ministry and service and need a new vision of bringing God’s grace to those I am called to serve.
One of my earliest posts for Godspace Light featured my hymn ‘Give us the Vision‘. I wrote it many years ago when I was feeling daunted about the coming year. I awoke one morning from a dream where I was standing on the threshold of a door of frosted glass. I could only see strange unclear shapes and I was afraid to turn the handle and walk through. In my prayer time God gave me the words and the music to sing:
1. Give us the vision
for the coming year,
as we look to the future –
to overcome our fear,
and boldly take a stand
as we seek to make each land,
a kingdom fit for you.
- Give us the vision
for the church, your bride,
to be pure, strong and holy –
to overcome our pride,
and humbly understand
we receive with open hand,
the pow-er from you.
- Give us the vision
for our exploited earth
as we watch our planet suffering,
and see the peoples’ hurt;
spur us on at your command
until each and every land
gives glory to you.
©Carol Dixon 1988 (altd 1998) A modern arrangement of the music is in ‘Songs for the new millennium’ available also from Methodist Publishing House
May God give each of us the vision in 2022 to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and share his love, hope, and joy with all we meet.
A New Year Prayer:
May your path be smooth
May the weather be fair
May your journey be light
And may Jesus be your Companion on the way.
(based on an old Celtic prayer)
New Year blessings to you all.
The photo above is dawn over the river Aln in Alnwick, Northumberland, the town where I was born and brought up, taken by my friend George Taylor © GT Photos Alnwick.
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Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
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