Poem and images provided by Gilbert George 2021, All Rights Reserved, used with permission.
I turned in my path, glancing
towards the lake, while walking
behind two dogs, one still learning
about walking with humans on
that strange leash contraption.
I saw the white and pink starbursts
of water lilies in full bloom.
Their patterned beauty lent an extra
stillness to an unnavigable nook
of a lake formed by the collapse of
a sand dune blocking the flow of
a stream to the sea.
The dunes eventually give way
to the roaring of the sea
pounding the rocks of today
into the sands of tomorrow.
Nestled in the rocks are pools of life
filled with crabs, starfish, anemones,
and sea urchins of a purple so radiant
as to arouse envy in even
the most powerful of emperors.
This beauty, found near the
basking of the seals and the
salty tang of the sea spray
creates a soul stilling feast
of the senses, instilling wonder
once again into this cynic’s heart.
Reflection:
- What are some things in nature or your home that instill awe and wonder for you?
- Think about how you obtained that item or how the particular thing in nature got there for you to see. Thank God for the encounter with creation or for the item that you own.
- How can you continue this awe when you think about people in your life? Who are you grateful for? Who needs prayer? Who needs justice and love?
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by Christine Sine,
Welcome to Meditation Monday. This week I am trying something different – I am sharing the meditation both as a video and as a written meditation. Last year when I created my Psalm 91 meditation garden and shared it as a video I asked if people would like to see more videos and the resounding answer was yes. It wasn’t possible at the time but finally I am able to plan to make this a more regular practice so please let me know what you think of it.
Today, I want to talk to you about Psalm 1. It is one of my favorites and in the aftermath of the intense heat we experienced last week, it has taken on new meaning.
Psalm 1:1-3 The Passion Translation
What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways!
He won’t walk in step with the wicked,
nor share the sinner’s way,
nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.
His passion is to remain true to the Word of “I AM,”
meditating day and night on the true revelation of light.
He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree
Planted by God’s design,
deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,
bearing fruit in every season of life.
He is never dry, never fainting,
ever blessed, ever prosperous.
Red River Gum – PR Pomroy
When I think of a tree planted beside a stream, I think of this painting with an Australian red river gum prominently in the foreground.
Red river gums are common in Australia, especially in the dry interior. They always grow along the banks of water courses some of which dry up periodically and then are inundated with flooding waters. Red river gums can withstand both drought and flood – being able to stand up to 9 months of emersion in the flood waters.
This tolerance is because of their extensive root system. In drought, they reach down, sometimes 30 to 40 feet, to the subterranean water systems. Some of their roots also contain a spongy air-filled tissue that accumulates and transports oxygen in waterlogged soils.
Red river gums grow huge and can live up to 1,000 years. They often provide shelter from the heat for both animals and humans and one of my childhood delights was to come across a herd of kangaroos lounging in the shade under their canopies.
Their roots really do go down deep.
Heat damaged hydrangea
My hydrangeas on the other hand, have shallow roots that probably remain in the top 6” of the soil. They do better in shade than in direct sun and as you can see, these ones did not do well when the heat hit. Such a vivid contrast to the trees in my painting.
We all need deep root systems like the Australian red river gum. We need to be able to survive in times of drought as well as flood when we feel inundated by the world’s problems and the challenges of our own lives. In Australia, drought is often followed by flooding rains so being able to survive in both situations is essential.
This last year has flooded all of us with downpour after downpour of rain and in its aftermath, we feel dried out as though we are in the middle of a drought.
Red River Gum – PR Pomroy
So as I sit here today contemplating this painting, I wonder, “What helps build my root system so that it goes deep into the hidden sources of God’s water beneath me? What within me stores oxygen for those times when I feel flooded by the challenges both of my life and of our world?”
Three things come to mind that I do on a regular basis and you are probably sick and tired of me talking about them, though I feel we can never remind ourselves too often.
- Morning contemplative practices like breath prayers, and meditating on my contemplative garden. I never get tired of sitting in my sacred space in the early morning drinking in the presence of God in the stillness around me.
- My awe and wonder walks both around the garden and through the neighbourhood. Absorbing the beauty and wonder of God’s created world enables me to worship God with all my senses both growing deep roots and storing oxygen for those torrential rains.
- Regular retreats. Nothing is as soul renewing for me as the quarterly retreats that Tom and I take. Like most of us, I lead a busy life and the busyness alone can flood my soul with negative thoughts and emotions that dry me up inside. Without these retreats, I would not survive.
I love to see the scriptures come to life as I examine them with real life examples from God’s created world, as I was able to do with Psalm 1 today. I love the imagery of a tree deeply rooted by a stream where it can grow down to the deep subterranean water sources. Whenever I see a red river gum on my trips to Australia, Psalm 1 comes to mind. It is such a wonderful connection that helps deepen my faith in surprising ways.
What about you? What have you seen, or heard, or touched or tasted this week that connects you to the imagery of the Psalms or other scriptures? In what ways has this experience strengthened your faith and your connection to God? What kinds of practices do you perform on a regular basis that encourage you to strengthen you faith in this way?
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A contemplative service with music in the style-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:
“Christ Be With Me (Prayer of St. Patrick)” – Text from the Lorica, or the Prayer of St. Patrick. Song by Ruth Cunningham, used with permission. All rights reserved. www.ruthcunningham.com; www.youtube.com/ruthreid/;
Instagram: @ruthreid11
“Aber Du Weisst, “Nada Te Turbe,” and “Kristus din Ande” are songs from the ecumenical Taize community in France. Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé.
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
by Tom Sine,
“From TikTok dances to fashion statements to old-fashioned public service announcements, teens are doing their part to encourage other young people to sign up for their COVID-19 vaccine shots.
In Springfield, Illinois, 15-year-old Aliyah Hashmi created a line of ‘vaccinated’ T-shirts for people to show off their vaccination status and also remind everyone that we’re all in this together.
The high school freshman told TODAY she was inspired to do something after seeing the toll the pandemic was taking on her mother, a doctor working on the front lines. ‘My family and I were talking about ways to help stop the spread,’ Hashmi said. ‘And with the vaccine coming out, I wanted to do something to help bring awareness.’”
As I have been reminding readers, Gen Y and Z are the good news generations. As the first digital generations, they are not only more aware of the huge pain and loss that COVID-19 is causing, but many of these young people want to motivate their peers to get the vaccine this summer. We urge all those in the good news generations to encourage their peers to get the vaccine. Even though the young are not likely to die from contracting the virus, it could cause lifetime disabilities for some of them. Most concerning is that infected young people can also easily infect those they care most about who may not be able to survive contracting COVID-19.
“Hashmi herself isn’t old enough to get the shot — Pfizer has requested clearance to expand use of its vaccine to people aged 12-15, but it has not been approved yet — yet she knows that vaccinations are the key to returning to some semblance of her old life.
As 17-year-old Journey Butler put it, the best people to influence young people are other young people. Butler, one of the students in the PSA, told TODAY that she’s noticed some vaccine hesitancy among her peers, but said that it’s usually because they simply don’t know enough about the vaccines.
Rachel Kabala, a 16-year-old in Detroit, had seen similar misinformation spreading at her high school… Kabala told TODAY, “The vaccine means us going back to in-person learning… the vaccine will mean we get to resume activities… The vaccine will mean that we’ll get to travel to places.’”
“What these teens are doing is more important than ever, since vaccine interest among young people is dropping. Twenty-six percent of Gen Zers, defined as born between 1997 and 2012, said they do not plan to get vaccinated…that’s a sharp increase from a poll done a year earlier when only 5% Gen Zers said they would not get vaccinated.” “Dr. Anthony Fauci stressed the importance of people getting vaccinated, even if they are young and healthy.” “’Even if you don’t get the symptoms, you are propagating the outbreak because it is likely that you… may inadvertently and innocently infect someone else who could really have a problem with a severe outcome.’”
PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH MEMBERS OF THE GOOD NEWS GENERATION!
The original article was posted on NewChangemakers.com. This article excerpt taken from TODAY: Gen Z is getting creative to encourage other young people to get vaccinated
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by Lilly Lewin,
“You cannot keep pouring out from an empty cup”… one of my favorite things to remind people of… and to say to remind myself that I need to stop, pause, and refill my cup!
I’m taking a lot of time off to rest and refuel this summer. I know this is a privilege and a gift. I am very grateful for time to heal! I realized my cup was empty and this pandemic has depleted many of my inner resources.
What helps you fill your cup?
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by Rev. Brenda Griffin Warren,
It took a village to save a sea turtle on Father’s Day which was also the Summer Solstice on Sunday, June 20, 2021, at McFaddin Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula on the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast. My husband Harvey and I love to go seashell shopping on the beach and I was hoping in the rays of early dawn to discover some beautiful treasures from the sea.
As we drove down this rather secluded beach, instead of locating a lovely seashell, Harvey and I spied a very large (over 3 ft. long) sea turtle looking distressed as the tide pushed her onto the beach. We immediately called the Sea Turtle Information Network line that is sponsored by the Turtle Island Restoration Network and sent photos via text of her to them. We spoke with a Representative that thought she might be trying to get to the dunes to lay her eggs. We soon discovered that she didn’t seem too interested in doing that.
After looking at the photos, the Representative determined that the sea turtle might be hurt or sick and asked us to put her in our SUV and told us how to gently pick her up and bring her to a certain location. Problem was, our beloved old Land Cruiser that we named “Sandy” died right there on the beach as the tide was rising. As I fervently prayed for help, several kind men stopped by to try to help us start Sandy to no avail and one generously handed us several bottles of water.
We called our beach neighbor Sid and his daughter Tiffany and granddaughter Hayley who said they would come to help us. I also called another couple, Gary and Louise, that also like to go beachcombing to see if they were anywhere near McFaddin Beach and fortunately they were close by. Between Harvey, Gary, and Sid under the watchful guidance of Louise, they tugged us in in our broken-down SUV with their new heavy-duty pickup truck and a very sturdy chain and rope three miles to the highway through the loose, dry sand and mud holes to enable us to call the tow truck.
In the midst of all this, Harvey stayed in touch with Turtle Rescue and the gigantic beautiful girl was tenderly placed in the back of Sid’s big black pickup truck with Louise’s towel soaked in saltwater covering the turtle, and Tiffany and Hayley kept her calm and made sure she had water on her. It was surprising how serene and patient this big girl was around us humans as we petted her head. We later learned that sea turtles will stay calm if you gently pat their shell.
We all arrived at the designated location beside a gigantic cross that resides at the ocean’s edge, several miles from where we had discovered the turtle. Of course, this big, beautiful sea turtle was an instant rock star when families at the beach saw her in the truck bed. Amidst many “oohs and aahs,” there were lots of photos and a video taken of her. Two Sea Turtle Rescue representatives arrived very quickly in a van to take her to sea turtle rehabilitation at the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) on Galveston Island and these two were quite surprised at how large she was. It truly did take a village and four hours to save this sweet girl! It was a Father’s Day and Summer Solstice to remember!
We received a reassuring text later that afternoon from the Turtle Rescue Representatives that relieved our concerns. They were thanking all who had been involved in saving the sea turtle and stating that her journey in the van down the 26 mile long, two-lane Highway 87 and then onto the ferry that crosses between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island went well and that she arrived at the NOAA in Galveston just fine.
Yes, it did take a village of human angels and probably some heavenly ones also to rescue this gentle giant sea turtle of God’s magnificent creation. Harvey and I are grateful to have had the privilege and honor of discovering her and that so many wonderful, kind folks joined in with hands, soul, and vehicles to rescue her. We all sensed that we had been part of something very special and almost mystical, a Celtic triune kind of human, animal, and divine experience. Perhaps we were all getting a glimpse of what the new heaven and new earth will be like when all of creation, all of God’s universal and eternal village is at peace with one another once again.
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by Jenneth Graser,
“Imagine…you hold a key in the palm of your hand. Turning it over, observe the weight of it, the designs worn to a smooth bronze through the passage of time. You walk towards a high stone wall covered with tapestries of wisteria, virginia creeper and ferns. Under the waving foliage, you can just make out the edge of a door…”
Just over a year ago, a book started coming into being even though I didn’t know it at the time. We were forced into lockdown here in South Africa just like everyone else around the world due to the global pandemic. I began writing daily for a while to help me through those initial stages. The secret garden of the heart was calling out to me and so I wrote from out of this place of prayer and imagination. These writings then formed the foundation for what eventually, over a year later, became a devotional released in June 2021 called, Unlocking the Secret Garden: 100 Days of Imaginative Prayer.
Each day of Unlocking the Secret Garden, you are invited into a retreat to be enjoyed from the sacred space of your own home, or with your family and friends as you may like to explore the prayer activations together with others. It’s a journey filled with self-discovery, healing, and imaginative prayer, where you will also be encouraged to design your very own secret garden. Each of the 100 devotions takes you on a journey into your secret garden within, and as each day unfolds, themes come to life in a garden with no containment. By allowing the child in you to be present, you will experience new ways of praying with your imagination. You are invited into the secret garden, where you will encounter yourself and Jesus afresh.
“Your inward life is now sprouting, bringing forth fruit.
What a beautiful paradise unfolds within you.
When I’m near you, I smell aromas of the finest spice,
for many clusters of my exquisite fruit
now grow within your inner garden.”
“Awake, O north wind!
Awake, O south wind!
Breathe on my garden with your Spirit-Wind.
Stir up the sweet spice of your life within me.
Spare nothing as you make me your fruitful garden.
Hold nothing back until I release your fragrance.
Come walk with me as you walked with Adam in your paradise garden.
Come taste the fruits of your life in me.”
The following is an excerpt from the book, a reading from Day 1 with video to follow:
Day 1
You are standing before the threshold of an intricately carved wooden door surrounded by a mystery of hanging creepers, moss and ferns. Take note of your feelings, of everything you can hear and see around you, as you turn the key to unlock the door and walk straight into a green cathedral of trees, light and a carpet of flowers. It is time to enter the secret garden within.
Pathways branch out in a variety of directions, but you see footprints in soft grass leading you towards the unknown places of the garden. You look ahead and see Jesus waiting for you. His presence is an atmosphere of calm and eternity. There is no line of worry on his face, only lines of kindness and joy, profound strength. When you look into the eyes of Christ, fear melts and burdens begin to loosen from off of your shoulders, where you have been carrying them for what seems long ages.
What is this season going to reveal? It is time to follow your Good Shepherd, as you place your feet in the ways he is opening for you and move forward, together.
Prayer activation:
Light a candle. Become present to the Light of the World. Allow the warmth of Spirit to fill your heart as a flame, enlivening your prayers as they rise in God’s presence. Focus on the burning candle and your oneness with God.
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
St. Francis of Assisi
A video of Day 1’s reading:
I invite you to subscribe to my YouTube channel where you will find more readings from Unlocking the Secret Garden, prayers on different themes and other poetry and devotional readings: https://youtube.com/user/jennblog.
Unlocking the Secret Garden: 100 Days of Imaginative Prayer is available in paperback or Kindle e-book!
I’ve just released this free PDF download Unlocking the Secret Garden Small Group Guide for those who would like to make use of the book in their church or small group.
Bio for Jenneth Graser
Jenneth Graser lives in a seaside valley of the Western Cape of South Africa with her husband, Karl and three daughters. She is a writer, contemplative pianist, homeschool Mom and the author of devotional and poetry books. Jenneth loves her library of second-hand books, practicing the presence of God in nature’s cathedral and flying in airplanes on her way to new adventures.
She believes in the healing power of heart conversations, centering prayer, and the constantly transforming journey of the inner life. Jenneth is part of a community of writers for the Godspace blog and a collaborator at Being Human. You can find out more at http://secretplacedevotion.weebly.com/
Want to learn more about summer practices and connecting with God through summer symbols and experiences? Check out Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin’s Making Time for a Sacred Summer Online Retreat. This course allows you 180 days of access for only $24.99!
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