by Lilly Lewin,
I have shared before that I believe in the PRACTICE OF SILENCE. We included SILENCE as one of the practices in our SACRED SUMMER KIT because we all need space and opportunity to hear from God. But it is so hard when we are so busy and life is so noisy! Kids, TV, Netflix, News, traffic, appliances, our phones… all add noise to our lives. How do we open the Gift of Silence? Where do we start? First, we need to remember that we aren’t behind! We all are learning, and like any thing worth doing, the practice of silence, TAKES PRACTICE! And the practice of Silence will restore your soul and change your life.
How do you feel about Silence?
When you think of being silent, practicing silence, what feelings or emotions come up for you?
What fears do you have about SILENCE? Talk to Jesus about this.
Jesus was a friend of Silence, and Jesus invites each of us to open this gift so we can draw closer to him!
READ/LISTEN TO THE PASSAGE in three versions. What is God’s word for you today? What is Jesus speaking to you about today? Listen and allow the Holy Spirit to Highlight the passages for you. Be still. Listen. Respond.
LUKE 4
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
MARK 1: 12 -13
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
LUKE 5: 15-16
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Find a space to practice Silence
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: What is God speaking to you about today from these passages?
Use these passages and the GIFT OF SILENCE as your inspiration this week.
Feel free to use these passages in your small groups for discussion and on your own, and response this week. Journal in response to the question and/or the GIFT, write or find poetry about silence, find a piece of art or a photograph that reflects silence. Create a collage. Find a song that helps you practice silence.
What is God’s Word for you today? What do you notice that you didn’t notice before?
What questions come up as you listen to or read these passages?
What do you notice about Jesus and silence?
The Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness where he was tempted.
What temptations keep you from being alone and silent with Jesus?
What things get in your way when you try to be with God? What things keep you from practicing silence?
Often it’s in the wilderness where we have space to pay attention to what Jesus is saying to us. Outside, away from everything inside that distracts us, we can learn to listen and hear form God.
To practice silence plan a time away from your usual daily activities. Where is a place of “wilderness” near your home where you can go and get away with God? It might be a park, a backyard, or somewhere farther away. It might be in your room with the door closed and the phone off. Where can you practice silence this week?
Pick a sunny spot outside. Or a comfy chair away from distractions of TV and other screens. What do you notice around you? What do you hear?
Set your timer and sit in silence for 3 minutes. What do you notice? What sights do you notice? What sounds? Smells?
Create a place or get outside each day this week and practice silence for 5-15 minutes.
When we practice silence our brain is filled with thoughts that get in the way of being quiet with God/Jesus. THIS IS NORMAL! Use paper and a pen and make a BRAIN DRAIN LIST of all the things that come up and distract you as you listen for the still, small voice of God. You will need a BRAIN DRAIN LIST each time you plan to practice silence. Just keep that notepad nearby!
Read the quotes below. How do they help you understand why we all need silence?
“God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Teresa
How might silence help you have space to love others?
“Each of us needs an opportunity to be alone, and silent. To find space in the day or in the week, just to reflect and to listen to the voice of God that speaks deep with us. Our search for God is only our response to his search for us. He knocks on the door, but for many people their lives are too preoccupied for them to be able to hear. “ Cardinal Basil Hume (Benedictine monk, England 1923-1999)
REMEMBER Jesus is with you right now. The Holy Spirit is here with you. Allow space in your day for Silence. Start with five minutes and add a few minutes each day this week. You might start in the shower or the bathtub. Or begin the day in silence rather than looking at your phone or turning on the news. You could drive in silence or intentionally take a walk in silence and listen instead of talking. Use your BRAIN DRAIN LIST to help you!
Start with the simple prayer: “HERE I AM LORD, I AM LISTENING.”
Sacred Summer Kit
For more help with opening the Gift of Silence, going deeper practices, and experiences you can do with your small group, your friends or with your family, check out the Sacred Summer Kit.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
Want to experience more of the awe and wonder that God offers us? Check out the Gift of Wonder Online Retreat by Christine Sine. This retreat allows for 180 days of access for only $39.99 so you can move through the sessions at your own pace.
by Christine Sine,
A friend of mine emailed me this article: Awe makes us happier, healthier, and humbler. I love the part where it says:
“… researchers who study awe say the emotion shouldn’t be associated only with rare events. Daily experiences of awe, they argue, should be a regular part of the way we engage with the world.”
This sparked my thinking about the ways that our Godspace resources really do help point others to notice the awe and wonder of God’s created world not as a special occasion, but in daily life. One of the newest resources that we have added this past week is the Making Time for a Sacred Summer Online retreat where we took the live webinar that Lilly Lewin and I hosted and turned it into a course that you can purchase for only $24.99 to have 180 days of access to move through the retreat at your own pace. The unique benefit of this course is that it includes the video clips of other participants during the live session so you can see their creativity, their ideas, and their reflections on the activities that we facilitated them through. We looked at symbols of summer that connect us to God, a journaling time to reflect on what a sacred summer could look like and it’s impact, as well as creating a sacred summer kit or centerpiece to use throughout the season. If you haven’t taken a look at the new course yet, we highly recommend that you do!
Our first course called Gift of Wonder Online Retreat that we produced last year was based on my book, The Gift of Wonder, which uses awe and wonder as the premise to find God and experience joy through the wide-eyed wonder of a child. I really enjoyed putting together the slideshow presentations and video sessions with interactive activities to foster awe and wonder.
The Spirituality of Gardening Online Course material brought me so much delight to not only record my sessions but to also partner with other guest gardeners during the uncertainty of the pandemic last year. The biblical metaphors and implications of gardening come alive in this course and truly connect us with Creator God. Each module contains an activity to bring you closer to God and closer to creation whether you have one house plant or a whole garden in your yard. This too is an exploration of awe and wonder for me.
What is your response?
I have been surprised at how many people have contacted me in the last couple of weeks with requests for podcast interviews, weekly discussion series and book clubs revolving around The Gift of Wonder and awe and wonder themes. I think there is a growing recognition of our need for awe and wonder in daily life. What are ways that you experience awe and wonder on a daily basis? Have you taken notice of the symbols of summer that connected you with God this week? Please share with us, we would love to hear from you.
More Awe and Wonder Posts
- Meditation Monday: Walking with Awe
- A Reflection on Awe & Wonder
- Meditation Monday: Awed by Providential Encounters
- Awe and Wonder – What A Creation!
- Meditation Monday: Awed by Uniqueness
- A Season of Awe and Wonder
- Meditation Monday: In Awe of Creativity
- Awe & Wonder in the Eyes of a 7 Year Old
- Awe and Wonder Sightings
Thank you to Benjamin Davies on unsplash.com for the feature photo.
by Lisa DeRosa,
Father’s Day weekend growing up was celebrated by camping at the Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton. Military families like ours would set up tents and grills right there on the beach. My family brought everything including a portable kitchen sink. We were serious about this camping experience. Sizzling pancakes and bacon, excited screams of kids running away from waves crashing on the sandy shore, crackling wood in fire pits, and palm trees swaying in the breeze are sounds of summer for me.
What are your sounds of summer?
I grew up in the desert of Southern California. Summer temperatures would climb to 110 degrees F (or about 43 degrees C) or more if there was a heatwave. As someone prone to heat exhaustion, it was challenging to find ways to stay cool when the ambient air was so hot. My family started with a small, round plastic pool, then a little larger pool as we grew until eventually, my parents decided it was time for an above-ground pool. Our four-foot-deep pool was the saving grace of desert living. In the summer months, we spent hours caked in suntan lotion and gripping tightly to our pool floaties while Dad grilled dinner in our backyard. Chlorine from the pool, SPF 50 Coppertone suntan lotion, grilled meat and corn on the cob, and backyard pink jasmine flowers are the smells of summer to me.
What are your scents of summer?
Family picnics at the local park where we could get our energy out on the playground included homemade sandwiches, creamy potato salad, fresh-cut watermelon, juicy strawberries, and a tall pitcher of tart lemonade. Sometimes we would buy popsicles or ice cream bars from the ice cream truck that frequented the park.
What are your tastes of summer?
Sunlight peeking through my window around 5 am and staying brightly shining in the sky until 10 pm indicates summer for me. I wake up earlier with the sun and tend to stay up later too. This was a nice perk when I had summers off from school because it felt like I could maximize my summer vacation. During the day, the sky’s blue shades appear differently than during other seasons of the year. Maybe that is subjective, but I love summer blue skies. Times that I could stay awake long enough to see the stars come out, I enjoyed stargazing with friends in college because it is warm enough to be outside even after the sun went down. We found a secluded spot with minimal light pollution and would lay down in the truck bed away from the bugs on the ground.
What sights indicate that it is summer for you?
Laying out on a big, fluffy beach towel while reading a book with the sun’s warmth on my skin feels like the first sign of summer. The slippery feeling but also protection that suntan lotion provides is another tactile indicator of summer for me. I love feeling the grass and sand beneath my feet when I can walk barefoot. Since it is either too cold or too wet to walk barefoot in other seasons, summertime is the perfect opportunity to touch the earth as I walk.
What do you touch or feel that tells you it’s summer?
I never thought about these summer senses as a spiritual experience. As a kid, I enjoyed all the fun, family times that summer brought. But in reflecting now as an adult, and after hearing Christine and Lilly share about symbols of summer during the Making Time for a Sacred Summer Retreat (which is now an online course!), I realize that these are gifts from God! Using my senses to take me back to these memories elicits gratitude and thankfulness to God. They are ways to connect with the Divine through the season and are even opportunities to pray for myself and others in the world! Lilly shared an incredible prayer exercise of putting on sunglasses and praying that we would have eyes to see the world as God does as we wear our sunglasses throughout the summer. What other items could we use for this type of spiritual practice? Take time to ask God to speak through your symbols of summer.
I put together this collage after thinking about my symbols of summer. I was surprised that the very few magazines I have would provide this many relevant pictures and phrases for my collage.
How can using your senses this summer help you connect with God? Can your symbols of summer invite a deeper sense of the immense love and care that God has for you? How? We would love to hear your responses if you would share them with us!
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!
Thank you Ivan Torres for the tent photo from unsplash.com. Collage photo by Lisa DeRosa.
post and photos by Rodney Marsh,
Pentecost and Trinity Sundays mark the beginning of winter where I live and, like Christine, I photographed the above flowers on Pentecost weekend. These flowers are two of many local flowering plants, like many types of wattles, that begin to flower March to May, when the rainy season starts. Their flowering season will last through to December. This Pentecost it was the eucalypts that spoke to me.The flowers above (E. caesia & E. macrandra) form on small trees (2-3 metres, 6-9ft).
This Silver Princess is in our front garden and it flowers most of the year. The photo at the top of the page shows one bud of the Silver Princess yet to shed it’s cap to reveal the beautiful red flower. The cap looks rather plain beside the flowers that have shed their caps to reveal their brilliant red stamens. Many varieties of honey eating birds love these flowers. The adjacent photo shows the beautiful nuts that hang on the branches all year, whilst other branches are flowering.
The right hand photo at the top of the page shows a flowering moort (E. macrandra). The photo was taken in local bush and shows one of the buds yet to shed its ‘long fingered’ cap to reveal its yellow stamens. The adjacent photo shows the buds of the flowering moort before flowering. They may look nondescript but remove the cap and the brilliant lemon flower will burst forth. These buds were removed by one of the many parrots who feed on the seeds within the large nuts.
These flowers tell me that despite what Gerard Manly Hopkins calls the ‘crushing’, utilitarian exploitation of nature, he says, “nature is never spent; there lives the dearest freshness deep down things”. Wherever we live in the world, flowers and all things, shine forth, giving praise and glory to God by their beauty. Observing nature, and all created things, is a spiritual practice, and it requires attention to these ‘deep down things’. This means we must remove our attention from our thoughts and feelings and direct our senses to the ‘other’ where God is found.
The word ‘eucalyptus’ means ‘beautiful cap/hat’ and refers to a unique characteristic that all trees in the genus Eucalyptus share – the presence of the ‘flower cap/hat’. Look again at the hats on the buds of E. caesia and E. macrandra on the topmost photos. When the ‘hat’ or ‘cap’ of the flower falls off, the beautiful stamens are revealed. In the season of Pentecost the shedding of these hats became for me, a metaphor for the gift of the Spirit. So, on the day of Pentecost, when the ‘cover’ of the Spirit was removed, the beauty and power of the Spirit burst forth. In secret, the flower of the Spirit was forming when Jesus was with his friends, then the cap was removed and the ‘the grandeur of God’ flamed out ‘like shining from shook foil’ (Hopkins). At last the ‘freshness of deep down things’ became visible, if you have eyes.
The flower colour and size of the genus Eucalyptus is enormous and the trees range from small shrubs to the tallest flowering plants in the world (the world’s tallest trees, Redwoods, are conifers). There are over 900 Eucalyptus species in Australia and that number is still growing. Nearby where I live, a botanical survey on the Ravensthorpe Ranges discovered ten new species of eucalypts. It seems astounding that these plants remained unknown to Science until 2019! This diversity of trees within the genus Eucalyptus reminded me of the great range of Pentecostal gifts given by the Spirit. The Pentecostal Spirit brings an infinite (yes ‘infinite’ in the real meaning of the word) palette of beauty within each human and between humans. Oh that we could really see.
Observe also how alike and different the flowers of E. caesia and E. macrandra are. Alike and different, as are all our friends, neighbours and enemies. Oh so different. Oh so alike. Alike because all life comes from one God and and different because all manifestations of God’s life is a unique manifestation of the life of the one God. Oh that we could see with the Spirit and uncover the beauty of all that is human and discover each individual’s unique beauty. Oh that we could see the as yet unseen and unrealised beauty within and without us. The way to discover the new and beautiful of the Spirit, within and without us, is to pay attention to what is.
This vision of beauty is both a miracle shown to us, and a miracle performed within us. The summer flowers of the Northern lands and the winter flowers of the Southern lands, both shine forth to us and in them we see a vision of God’s grace in all things. By the gift of Jesus’ Spirit within us are we able to see the world (and our neighbour) in this way. When the Spirit is given we begin to see Christ in all things and all things in Christ. When the Spirit comes all things become new (“if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new ” 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV). Both the gift of sight and what is seen, are precious God’s gifts of love. These gifts enable our joyful participation in the life and love of God.
It is the gracious gift of God’s Spirit that makes observing flowers, birds, walking in nature and gardening spiritual practices. The Spirit opens our hearts to both see and dwell in the presence of God’s love in nature. Nature can only mediate God’s presence in this way because all created things share in God’s gift of life and we, too, can only see this beauty because we, too, share in God’s gift of life. To directly experience God’s beauty we need to pay attention (as my Primary School Science text title advised “Stop, Look and Listen”) to what is, then the beauty of what is will shine forth. If we are inattentive we will ‘have eyes but will not see and ears but will not hear.’
Spiritual Practise:
Thomas Merton (Journals, May 1965) writes of the novices he mentored, “…many of them are concerned with questions. Questions of liturgy… psychology… history. Are they the right questions? In the woods the whole world is naked and directly present, with no monastery (world) to veil it” (Journals May 1965 V241-42 From A Year With Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals). The woods, like God, will often remain silent when we ask the questions which concern us, but, when we are still and silent and attentive to nature (the Kentucky woods, in Merton’s case) then the wordless healing of the Word becomes directly present to us, the importance of the questions we bring will fade and other questions will be asked of us.
Be quiet and still in the presence of a flower (or nature). Pay attention to the flower. Don’t analyse the flower, just be with it. Time yourself (2 mins? 5 mins? 10 mins? 60 mins? you choose) and be disciplined. If you are nowhere near a ‘nature place’ and cannot be with nature, you can still be still and present wherever you are and you can pay attention to what is. You are there, so God is there. You can choose to attend to your breath or any part of your body. Do not give your attention to your thoughts or feelings for these are your creations, not God’s creation. Remove your ‘cap’ and find your own special place in God’s beautiful world.
Embark on this healing journey with Christine Sine, Lilly Lewin, and Bethany Dearborn Hiser with the Time to Heal Online Course. Each session is lead by one of our instructors and allows you 180 days of access for only $39.99. The goal of this course is to provide time, space, and tools to work toward healing.
by Christine Sine
On Friday, I walked around our local reservoir park with its impressive view of Mt Rainier for the first time since the COVID pandemic began. Wow, Wow, Wow, was all that I could think as I drank in the beauty of this magnificent mountain. One of my fellow walkers commented: “I have lived here for 30 years and the wow factor never fades.” Amen to that I thought. I, too, have lived in Seattle for 30 years and the wow factor is a vibrant now as it was when I had my first inspiring view of our mountain.
Asiatic lilly
Refreshed by this awe experience I ambled home reflecting on what else I could think of where the wow factor never fades. I walked around my garden photographing my lilies and roses and even some of the pesky invasive plants whose flowers are incredibly beautiful.
Invasive alomestria lilly
I chuckled to myself because I photograph these same flowers every year. The wow factor really doesn’t fade! And throughout my tour, there was the soothing melody of bird songs and the buzzing of bees. The awe factor of these never fades either. Then I came inside and turned on my desktop fountain – the sound of water cascading is another wow factor that never fades either.
Bee on Lavender
“Where else does the wow factor never fade for me?”
As I sat at my desk that morning that was the question that kept revolving in my mind. I grabbed my Bible Gateway app and looked up Psalm 65, my favourite awe and wonder psalm which graphically shows where David was constantly wowed by God’s creation too. I suspect the enduring wow factor of this inspiration kept him going through some of the tough times of his life.
My favourite verse is Ps 65:8:
O God, to the farthest corners of the planet
people will stand in awe,
startled and stunned by your signs and wonders.
Sunrise brilliance and sunset beauty
both take turns singing their songs of joy to you. (TPT Ps 65:8)
What a wonderful energizing start to the day this reflection gave me and throughout the day, I found myself thinking, “Where else does the wow factor never fade?”. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, the taste of berries straight out of the garden, the warmth of the sun on my back, the delight of a friend’s welcoming smile. The list goes on and on, and to be honest, it has taken me twice as long as usual to write this post because I kept getting distracted by something else that caught my attention for which the wow factor never fades.
Sadly, I also realized how rarely I ask myself this question. It is easy for all of us to go through the day without taking notice of the things with an enduring wow factor. After all it does tend to mean that everything takes twice as long to accomplish when we stop to take notice of the wow factor, the awe and wonder factor, of everything around us. But it is worth it. I have been devastated by some very bad news from a good friend this week and it can easily pull me down and distance me from God; focusing on the wow factor changes that. It doesn’t make the bad news go away, and it doesn’t mean that I disconnect from the impact of it but it does make it easier for me to cope and stay close to God and walk through the day with a spring in my step in the midst of challenging circumstances.
What about for you? Where does the wow factor never fade? I hope that you will take time to reflect on this today too. Maybe you will come up with a response like this prayer that bubbled up within me, or some other form of creative expression.
When the wind blows through the trees,
And the flowers bloom in the spring,
When the birds sing in the air,
God is present here.
When the sun awakens the day,
Ands the moon glows in the night,
When the stars shine as a million dots of light,
God is present here.
When I see only beauty in God’s world,
And dance in delight and rejoice,
When the trees clap their hands and shout for joy,
God is present here.
When my path twists and turns,
And mist shrouds the way,
When dark clouds gather with foreboding,
God is present here.
On right and on left,
Behind me and before me,
Always leading, always following,
In each step I take,
God is present here.
(© Christine Sine June 2021).
Want to experience more of the awe and wonder that God offers us? Check out the Gift of Wonder Online Retreat by Christine Sine. This retreat allows for 180 days of access for only $39.99 so you can move through the sessions at your own pace.
text and photo (used with permission by the women photographed) by June Friesen,
13 After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.” 14-15 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
Refugee defined is a person(s) who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. A few years ago, I was preaching on the text quoted above and as I read the passage a couple of hands went up in my congregation which is about 80% refugees. Jesus and his parents were refugees, they said. As Jesus’ parents fled to Egypt because of King Herod’s anger it was to protect Jesus’ life. For Mary and Joseph, they went to a country that they likely had never visited and quite likely they did not know anyone there either. In this story in Matthew, we know that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were sheltered there safely and were able to safely return to their country within a few years, however, we are not sure of an exact date of their return.
In our world today, we have millions of refugees from several countries and for different reasons, however, most of these people literally are fleeing for safety of their lives either from persecution and/or starvation, the first one being the main one. It has been my privilege to work with several refugees over the past sixteen years. They are people who have fled from persecution of many kinds, of abuse, and imminent death. They are people who have traveled at night through the jungles with numerous dangerous animals as well as guerrilla warriors. At times they had to appear as if they were dead in order to survive. For some there were injuries along the way that left them with PTSD. For others, they had to sometimes leave behind a friend/family member as they were in the midst of fleeing because of death, severe injury, and/or illness. For others, there were diseases that they acquired either in the jungle fleeing and/or in the refugee camps. Some of these diseases led to premature death either in the camps or after they arrived in the United States. For some of these people, not only were they as adults affected but they saw their children affected by the complications of the diseases/injuries that they met along the way. Once they arrived in a refugee camp, there was protection as well as some medical help but was not always able to cure the issues completely. The adults did their best to get adequate care medically and physically especially for their children. In the refugee camps they await the day that they will see their family’s name on the list which says they can prepare to leave for another country – that country may be the USA, Canada, some areas of Europe, etc. Sometimes, it depends upon what country you lived in previously. Not always were they assured of what country would be their final destination but they knew it would be a haven from their past.
One family I have been privileged to be a part of from their arrival was a lady with two young boys with medical needs. She was single, she had to work, so what was she to do? There was a rather large settlement from her country already present and somehow, she connected with them and a young man stepped in and said he would care for her children when she was working as he had a different shift. I picked the lady and children up for church every Sunday. A few months after she was here, her settlement person had found better housing for her so we as a church showed up on a Saturday morning with several people and three pickups to move them. The man who was helping with her children asked who we were – he could not believe what was happening and that there were mostly Americans but also some other Africans. On Sunday morning, after the move, I picked her family up for church. When I brought them home, this man was there. He asked, “Where were you?”, and she said, “To church. This is the pastor.” He then told me that I would no longer need to pick them up as he would make sure they got to church and from then on, he attended as well. This couple were then married and have added two more boys to the home of their own. This man together with this lady have owned a home for several years now; they both work; he has completed a college degree and the two oldest boys have graduated from high school.
I celebrate Refugee Sunday (June 20, 2021) as it means so much to me to see opportunities given to people for life that is able to be lived in safety and with basic needs met. I celebrate as I see the resolve these people have to pay back others for what they have been blessed with. I celebrate refugees because I realize that Jesus, the Son of God, along with His earthly parents were refugees. However, in the midst of what I celebrate my heart is also grieved for the many refugees who are still dying because of persecution, starvation, etc. My heart cry today is for the many refugees who will never make it to a better opportunity. May we who say we are followers of Jesus, who, too, was a refugee, see the need to work towards helping others in need whether here in our own country or in the countries around the world. May we be willing to be good stewards of our resources that God has blessed us with in so many ways. I assure you that sharing our resources will yield great blessings. It will also bring great honor to the God we love and serve with our lives.
Today, June 19, 2021 is Juneteenth. We want to highlight our post from last year to celebrate.
Tomorrow, June 20th, is also Father’s Day. Please see our resources below:
- A Prayer for Father’s Day
- Look at Me! A Father’s Day Poem by Catherine Lawton
- God the Father Reimagined.
- Lets Get Creative For Father’s Day
- The Father Heart of God
- VIDEOS: by Sheila Hamil
The Spirituality of Gardening Online Course is available for 180 days of access for only $39.99. This interactive course includes video sessions with Christine Sine as well as 8 other guest gardeners. Visit our store page for more information.
By Lilly Lewin,
Spent the last few days curating worship and being a part of the Episcopal Young Adult Campus Ministry Conference via Zoom. Our theme was based on Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message).
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11: 28-30 (The Message)
DAY 1: We focused on the invitation from Jesus in this verse: COME TO ME...
Are we willing to RECEIVE and OPEN this INVITATION from Jesus? To actually follow Jesus and actually REST?
Come to Me
DAY 2: We focused on the BURDENS we’ve been carrying this year and our need to take the time to acknowledge them and actually GRIEVE and PROCESS these things.
The Rev. Dr. Altagracia Pérez-Bullard talked to us about the “LAYERS of PANDEMIC”… Covid-19, political division, racial injustice, and the realization for many of us that our country is a lot more broken than we thought. And the cracks we all see, the systems of inequity starkly revealed by Covid in health care, education, child care etc. There is SO MUCH TO GRIEVE!
The Rt. Rev. Diana Akiyama invited us to put all these things in the COVID WHEELBARROW and allow Jesus to have them and carry them for us.
covid wheelbarrow
Today was DAY 3: and our theme was THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS of GRACE…
We had the honor to hear from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry who reminded us that our main job is to FOLLOW JESUS! To love God and love others, and love ourselves! He and Rev. Blake Woods talked about Peter walking on the water and how the Church is like the Boat… it feels safe and we want to stay in the familiar, but we need to get out and FOLLOW JESUS and keep our eyes on him! We only sink when we look at the waves instead of at Jesus! And The Rev. Becca Stevens reminded us that we don’t have to do this work alone! WE HAVE COMMUNITY! We even need community to help us REST! A member of one of the small group times I was a part of says we all need to find a Jewish friend who has a real sabbath practice to help us develop our own practice of REST! I closed our time with a Celebration of Bubbles…. Actually blowing bubbles as I prayed…
We are invited by Jesus to… to COME TO HIM.
To Draw the Circle Wide!
To let Jesus have our heavy loads.
To do our own work and pursue justice.
To take time to heal, so we can help others heal.
We are invited by Jesus to… Grieve and Mourn. He promises us comfort and he weeps with us.
We are invited to remember that God holds all our tears.
We are invited by Jesus to Rest and Restore and find Rhythm again!
Celebrate the invitation to come to Jesus!
Celebrate the gift of REST!
Celebrate that God holds all our tears and weeps with us!
Celebrate the opportunity to seek justice and healing!
Celebrate the wide circle!
Celebrate the invitation to hold hands with Jesus… His Yoke is LOVE!
Celebrate not having to do it by yourself! We have Jesus with us and we have community!
Celebrate the power and refreshment of the Holy Spirit and
Embrace the Joy of God’s unforced Rhythms of Grace!
We celebrate today!
In the Name of the Father
The Son & The Holy Spirit
And all God’s people said Amen.
I invite you to take the time to REST and PROCESS this summer… to not overfill the calendar just because you can! To embrace and learn the UNFORCED RHYTHMS of GRACE! Take time this weekend to plan and process what rest would look like for you and your family, you and your housemates, or your community this summer! How different would we be in September if we all took the time to REST?
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
Sacred Summer Kit
Check out the GIFT OF A SACRED SUMMER and start with the practice of REST! also check out last week’s FreerangeFriday to begin your REST PRACTICE!
We also just released our Making Time for a Sacred Summer Online Retreat course available for 180 days access for only $24.99! More information and details on our product page.
Making Time for a Sacred Summer 2
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!