by Kim Balke,
Active Pass
We came by ferry to Mayne Island
entering by the narrow gate of Active Pass
with its quick-changing currents, deep waters,
ship traffic,
with dear friends, all of us aging,
more aware of aches in body,
minds churning with the waves,
souls deep breathing, belonging, hidden,
sleek as cetaceans.
Two dogs, our companions—
Bonnie at 13, with her own discouragements,
Simon at 4, leash-bound from leaping wildly into waves,
nip at real live snake-seaweed critters.
We returned here
instead of other possibilities—
Europe, an Alaskan cruise
or visiting family and friends back east.
We returned here—
to this scruffy welcome mat to brush off muddy shoes,
to easy-going conversation over this bacon,
this spicy wine,
this Mayne Island corn and tomatoes,
bread from the bakery,
this beachcombing solace,
we reach up and through to the surface,
a puff of mist, a breath from a blowhole.
Kim Balke
The excerpt below is taken from the introduction of Driftwood Dreams:
Poetry is a powerful force that resonates from one heart to another, transforming both the writer
and the listener. It helps us slow down and breathe deeply. It encourages us to listen and
notice, and grants us the privilege of passing through the eyes of the poet to their very soul.
That is what I think of as I read Kim Balke’s beautiful collection of poems. It is full of imagery that pulls at our heartstrings, drawing us into her experiences of pain and anxiety, of grief and remembrance, of gratitude and celebration. Her words beckon us to listen, to be healed and cleansed as we drink in the joys and agony of her experience and the struggles of coping with the highs and lows of her recovery.”
~Christine Sine
About Kim Balke and Driftwood Dreams
I have been doodling and writing for most of my life. When I started to work as an expressive arts therapist, I discovered that mind/heart/sensory experiences came to the forefront of my writing and work with children. This reflective practice of listening to my body has been a source of strength and a place to discover resilience during this time of pandemic and my unique health concerns.
On September 27, 2019 I had an emergency heart transplant at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC. This was a pivotal event in my life, which has deepened my gratitude for each day. I am forever thankful to the heart donor and their family.
Thanks to the doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, dieticians, lab technicians, and staff of St. Paul’s, Royal Columbian, Holy Family, Delta Hospitals, and my family doctors, – I am here – alive and able to share this collection of poems with you. My hands were very swollen for about two and a half months and shaky for some time after that. The combined efforts of my care team have made it possible for me to write again!
Some of these poems date as far back as 1998. Most were written at home or while in hospital. Where possible, I have included the date and background information about each poem. Join with me as I wander through life themes including belonging, anxiety, rhythms of return, grief and remembrance, heart postures, gratitude, soul seasons, and celebration.
Thank you, friends, for entering my Driftwood Dreams.
Kim Balke, May 2021
Driftwood Dreams is available for purchase on Amazon.
For more of Kim’s work, download a free copy of Colourful Me from our store.
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 June Friesen,
Jeremiah 17: 5-8 (The Message)
5-6 God’s Message:
“Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight.
He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie, out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing grows.7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.”
At times in life, one struggles with the seasons of nature as well as the seasons of one’s life. So often the human tendency is to wish for warm weather when it is cold and when it is warm, we wish it would be cold; when it is rainy, we wish it would not rain for a while and then when it does not rain, we wish it would rain. I for one have been known to be a bit like this although in the last number of years, through a practice I gained in the 1990’s of gratitude, I have changed to embracing the moment. Yes, there are times when I wish for something else, but then I realize I need to be thankful to God for where I am at the moment. As I came upon this space above, I could not help but notice the plant in the center that has the light shining through the leaves. I am not sure what gave the coloring or the light as it was but I realized that God was putting on a grand display of extraordinary color here and this plant was embracing it to the fullest and sharing it with the world. And so I am challenged in my life – if God chooses to use me for a grand display of His wonder, beauty and work, that I may not even fully know how to embrace, will I be available for His work of glorious wonder and grace?
HERE I STAND
Here I stand today, Lord….
In this world of wonder, beauty and grace
Wondering what display You are at work to show me
Wondering what beauty You are going to create where I see ‘not much,’
Wondering and marveling at the power of Your grace at work.
Beauty is said to be in the eye of the ‘beholder’ –
As each one of us seems to have a somewhat personal definition of beauty –
Yet in the summer beauty of your sun and nature’s creations
The earth is dressed beautifully with splendid apparel.
Grace is a gift to humanity from Your hand, O God,
And as I observe and also ponder the gift of Your splendid creation
I see Your presence displayed in so many ways,
Reflection, shadows, transparency, colors,
New beginnings of buds and petals unfurling,
As well as the edges drying, curling, dying,
With the promise of new beginnings once again as the seeds form and scatter
Falling to the earth to wait for their opportunity to embrace life.
Here I stand today, Lord,
I, too, am a person amazingly created,
A person with so many capabilities that You designed just for me to use
To fill the world with amazing love, hope, and nurturing,
Yet it is for me like the rest of nature –
I, too, need to embrace the presence of Your Son in my life,
And as I embrace the presence of Your Son it is then that You, O God,
Are able to be that light of hope to the hopeless that walk my way,
You are able to show forgiveness to those who feel bereft of any hope,
You are able to offer a new beginning as Your hand is extended through mine,
You are able to really be alive and real on this earth and in this world today.
Lord, today it is my prayer that my heart will be open to receive Your presence but also open to letting Your presence flow out of it to others. It is my prayer that as I walk through the world today, on the sidewalks, through the stores, in the fields, hiking in nature, through the prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, – wherever my feet may go – that my words will be your words, that my eyes will see as your eyes see, that my ears will hear as your ears hear, and that people will truly know that it was Your presence that touched their life today. Amen and amen.
All photographs are by June Friesen taken at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona, 2021. Used with permission.
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 Christine Sine,
Last week, I found myself re-reading a portion from Return to Our Senses about learning to listen to silence and spent the whole week trying to immerse myself in silence. I asked my Facebook followers: What sounds draw you into silence? Then came Lilly Lewin’s inspirational Freerange Friday – The Gift of Silence. I think God is trying to say something here and not just to me.
Sixteenth-century John of the Cross called silence God’s first language. Not so much a silent place which is almost impossible in our noisy world, but a silent soul, almost as difficult to accomplish with our wandering minds, noisy hearts, and perpetual inner chaos. But once again, I pose my question of a few years ago: Are We Deaf to Silence?.
St Benedict uses 2 words for silence: quies and selentium.
Quies is the silence that comes with the absence of noise. The silence that comes as we turn off the TV, disconnect from the internet and discard our cell phones. This is an external silence. It is an extremely important form of silence that all of us who live busy, urban lives crave and yet find it difficult to enter into. And it is one aspect of the silence that I always appreciate during our quarterly retreat times.
Silentium is an internal and intentional posture of complete attentiveness towards God. It is the silence of making space for, taking time for, and paying loving attention to the One we proclaim to be our beloved God. This kind of silence is often expressed in contemplative prayer. It is often more difficult to enter into than quies because it doesn’t just mean finding a quiet place, it means establishing a quiet attitude. It requires us to set aside the distractions of our minds and hearts, draw from the stillness that is within us, and communion with the spirit of God in a very special way. It is this kind of silence that I think Elijah experienced in the wilderness as related in 1 Kings 19:11-13 (adapted from Return to Our Senses 53, 54).
I suspect that we are even more deaf to the silence of silentium than we are to the silence of quies.
Richard Foster suggests that the reciting of poetry is one way to help enter into this kind of contemplative silence as it invites us to slow down and listen. The reciting of Psalms is obviously a good place to start, but I am increasingly finding that contemporary prayers written by others provide a marvellous pathway to silentium. One of my favourite prayer writing inspirers is John O’Donohue. His book, To Bless The Space Between Us, is one that I come back to time and again. However, over the last couple of weeks, I have also been invited into silence by poetry written by some of our own Godspace authors. Kim Balke’s Driftwood Dreams has had me in tears at times and has the added advantage of inviting me back into physical spaces where I have found silent refreshment in the past. Ana Lisa de Jong‘s poetry is particularly inspirational and I love how Jenneth Grazer reads her poem Alchemist from her book, Joy Instead of Mourning: Words For Winter. Talk about drawing me into silence!!!
I don’t find that it is just reading poetry that draws me into silence, it is also writing it that touches my soul in a way that nothing else seems to. As you know, I write a lot of poetry these days, much of it revolving around garden imagery. Not surprising as the garden is one of the places where I most frequently encounter the silentium of God. I hope you enjoy this poem which bubbled up from within me as I contemplated silence this week and particularly as I thought about what invites me into silence. You might like to take some time to reflect on what invites you into silence too.
There are sounds
That call me into silence,
That invite my soul to rest
And sit in the Holy presence of my beloved Jesus.
There are sounds
that still the chaos of my mind
that quiet my wandering heart and center my distracted spirit.
The melody of birds in the early morning hour,
The soft fall of water in my desktop fountain,
The whisper of my breath
As I turn my thoughts inwards,
Towards my beloved One.
Here I sit in reverential stillness
At peace within and without,
Surrounded by the gentle embrace,
Of the One who is my all and in all.
© Christine Sine – June 2021
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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!
So sorry I did not get last week’s service posted – too much trauma with a sick puppy. Hope that you enjoy this one twice as much.
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
by Tom Sine,
In my last post, I celebrated the reality that all churches love their young people. However, I also confirmed the fact that Pew Research’s prediction a decade ago is coming to pass in most churches in the US… a high percentage of both Gen Y (ages 25 to 40) and Gen Z (ages 9 to 24) are choosing not to affiliate with churches.
As many of us are slowly returning to our sanctuaries this summer, many congregations are disappointed to discover a concerning reduction in the number of returning members. Many more are disappointed that they are seeing virtually no Gen Next young people as well.
I want to emphasize again the very good news about Gen Y & Z that few church leaders seem to be aware of. Since the young people in these two generations are the first two digital generations, they are much more aware of the issues of environmental, racial, and economic justice and a high percentage of them really want to make a difference.
The very good news is that a high percentage of the Gen Next in most of our neighborhoods would value connecting to those in your congregation who are working in neighborhood change-making. Many of these young people would value being asked about their ideas for ways to make a difference in your community. Do consider finding ways to empower these young people to launch their most promising ideas.
However, we urge those who want to enable Gen Next to invest their lives in serious change-making to explore a broader range of housing options to help them more successfully launch their lives and their change-making ventures.
Many young people in middle-class families have been raised to expect to buy a house 20% nicer than their parent’s house with closets the size of small bedrooms. Many parents and others in our churches, who want the best for their young people, don’t realize, in many housing markets, that dream is no longer economically feasible. Young people who pursue housing that is too expensive could wind up not being able to save enough to send their own children to college.
The Atlantic explains that Gen Y, the millennial generation, got hammered by the 2008 -2009 recession. The average school debt was $33,000 and they had difficulty finding work as that recession ended.
Young people today, who pursue a four-year degree are being saddled with much higher school debt than prior generations. First of all, many of the families of the Gen Next young have been hammered by the pandemic recession. Numbers of their parents have lost their jobs. So there may not be money for college tuition let alone money for a down payment on a home. Reportedly, many Gen Z students average school debt is $37,000 and a growing number are sleeping in their cars because they can’t afford to pay for dormitories.
“Many Gen Zers appear to reject the traditional values of the Boomer generation. For example, Gen Z is less likely to value buying a home…”. “Gen Z is also highly motivated by affordability.” This article by a real estate magazine added co-living could be a desirable option for Gen Z. “Co-living may appeal to the convenience and affordability motivators for Gen Z.”
Co-housing is a rapidly growing movement in the US today because it significantly reduces costs for renters and buyers and it also increases relationships which many in emerging generations value. For the Gen Y & Z young innovators that want to invest their lives in serious programs to help empower neighbors, it could be a very smart choice. Clearly, if they can reduce their living costs they will have more time and resources to invest in serious change-making.
There may well be older members of your church that would prefer creating an intergenerational housing option with young innovators. Imagine you were investing your lives in creating social innovation projects designed to empower people who are attempting to find a way to move from languishing in the pandemic recession to become self-reliant.
In fact, I suspect that there are denominational leaders that could imagine repurposing church properties to create intergenerational co-living communities. These new co-living communities could not only create new forms of shared housing that would provide reduce costs for both those young launching their lives and change-making ventures and seniors that could offer support for the young innovators in the turbulent 2020s. If this stirs your interest, email me.
Let’s all create innovative ways to move pandemic languishing to intergenerational flourishing in this decade of accelerating change that reflects the ways of Jesus!
Christine and I are not just advocates for intergenerational living. We purchased an older home here in Seattle over 25 years ago that has three separate flats that is idea for intergenerational living which we call the Mustard Seed House.
We invite young Christians to join us for this opportunity to try out intergenerational living. We offer them reduced rent, share a meal once a week where we share what is happening in our lives, and have a time of prayer together.
Christine and I are always grateful for what we learn from the younger members of the Mustard Seed House. We enjoy gardening together and entertaining friends.
Above is a picture of us painting pots together to get ready for planting some colorful summer flowers. Christine and I are in the center. We enjoy growing and sharing everything from strawberries to tomatoes. We encourage Christians of all ages to consider intergenerational living to help a new gen launch their lives in the turbulent 2020s!
Adapted from the original post on NewChangeMakers.com.
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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.
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