Are you in the Seattle area or know of friends and family who are? Would you like a fresh perspective as we enter into the Lent and Easter seasons? We would love to have you join us on March 28th, 2020 at the Mustard Seed House in Seattle, WA for the Gift of Wonder workshop led by Christine Sine! This interactive workshop is full of creative opportunities to reawaken your inner child with fun exercises. Click on the workshop page below for more information and to register. We are offering students a discount for this workshop as well!
Want to help us spread the word? If you have a blog, go to church in or near Seattle, or just want to share our flyer with others, please download our Gift of Wonder flyer.
By Keren Dibbens-Wyatt –
Do you remember difficult anniversaries? In a couple of days it will be 24 years since the last day I was able to work. That night I took myself off to a GP’s appointment, hoping to be signed off for a two weeks, so that I could rest and get rid of the crippling tiredness that had been gaining ground on me for nearly a year. But a fortnight later I was no better, nor a month, nor a year. Nor a decade. Nor two. Even the eventual diagnosis of M.E. made no difference, as no-one knew how to treat it. And so being permanently sick and exhausted gradually became my “normal” and I forgot what it felt like to have any strength or energy. Anything left in the battery went on fighting this disease, and mostly failing. Have you ever asked, as I do, whether God is here, in such immense lack?
Weakness is part of who I am now. I am constantly drained, live most of my life sitting up in bed, playing with words and colours when I am able, dealing with headaches, pain, exhaustion and various system failures as they arise. Can God do anything through or with this wreck of a human being?
The answer to both my questions is yes. Whilst we have the breath of life in us, we have the breath of God in us, flowing back and forth. Whilst my heart continues to beat, albeit weakly or in fits and starts, God is pumping holy life-giving oxygen through my inert body. And whilst these places are no longer part of the world and its hustle and bustle; they have become something different, like an old ruin off to the side of the road, beautiful in its own crumbling way. Soft sandstone revealing fool’s gold in the fading light, a way of being that is not mindful of appearance or achievement, but that sits and listens and waits.
And I hope it encourages you when I tell you that this displacement, this calling out to a quiet, dreaming place, where I have learned to root myself in order to survive, is now my home. I am ill, but I do not feel ill-at-ease. I still have many worldly problems that I need to deal with. There is a great amount I cannot do, and yet I have been shown gifts and talents that were hidden away deep in my heart and soul that I would never have discovered if I had not been coaxed and wooed by God into this most spacious confinement.
Don’t imagine it was easy, or that my ego didn’t have to fall away (is still, and will always be falling away) like the cascading edges of icebergs, or that letting go of everything I thought I was and everything I thought I would be didn’t feel like very real deaths. I am still grieving those things. I am heartbroken that I did not have children (though I have a lovely stepson) and miss the freedom of walking more than I have words for. And don’t imagine I went willingly. I dragged my heels and gritted my teeth and man, did I sulk. But there is a but.
But… Saint Hildegard, Doctor of the Church, tells us that she felt like a feather on the breath of God, and she too suffered from chronic illness.
It is true that I am sustained and carried by his sweet, warm breath, his life-giving words. But if I am indeed a feather, then I have got stuck on barbed wire, like a piece of stray sheep’s wool, and no amount of prayer or pleading has freed me. Maybe this is because I am learning gentleness, brokenness and stillness, watching the flocks in the field. Maybe I am coming to know my own vulnerability and softness, dealing with the harshness of cold winds, of feeling unprotected, of encountering other waifs and strays.
One day perhaps, that warm wind might appear again as if from nowhere and blow me to a new sanctuary, but for now, I am where I am meant to be; learning all kinds of lessons, and praying all kinds of prayers, writing all kinds of everything. I am learning to breathe in and out with God, one moment at a time, and though it is often deeply painful, both physically and emotionally, there is nowhere I would rather be.
By Donna Chacko—
“For the spirit of God made me,
the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive”.
Job 33:4
Nestled on the couch, I watched the fire dying low. I finally dragged myself from my cozy nest and opened the fireplace screen doors. I nudged the logs, rolling one over, and creating a little space between the logs. I didn’t even have to blow on the logs because very quickly the flames started rising, first flickering and then twisting higher until all the logs were blazing. What a vivid demonstration of how just a little more access to oxygenated air can inflame a fire.
As a doctor I saw how important oxygen is. We pay very close attention to the oxygen level in the blood, especially for very sick patients. We are all sadly aware of the catastrophic results a prolonged low oxygen level, known as hypoxia, can have on a human brain. Fortunately, we can often add supplemental oxygen if needed during a major illness or a chronic lung condition. This doesn’t cure the underlying problem, but it sustains life.
Athletes also pay close attention to their breathing. Even if they don’t specifically think about or measure their oxygen level, they are keenly aware of their breath. Breath control and breathing techniques are reported to increase performance. And, it’s not just in athletics. Breathing practices are well known and taught to enhance performance in public speaking, acting, and singing.
I was particularly fascinated to learn how stress is reduced by a form of breathing called deep belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing.
This type of breathing elicits physiologic changes in the body known as the “relaxation response. “ This reverses the “stress response,” which is the physiologic cascade of hormones and chemicals in the body that occur when our mind registers a threat. Most of us have personal experience with this relaxation response. Recall how it feels when you are tense or stressed and you slow yourself down enough to take a couple of slow deep breaths. You feel your body soften and your head clear.
I ponder the relation of breathing with a type of prayer known as Centering Prayer, a meditative prayer strongly based on Christian tradition. This prayer involves resting in the presence of God without words or feelings. When I practice Centering Prayer, I am aware of my in-breaths and out-breaths. Sometimes my mind wanders. I wonder—is it possible that my in-breaths are welcoming the spirit of God in and my out-breaths are expelling the detritus from my life?
Christine Sine’s Meditation Monday is a moving blog called Breathe in Yahweh, including a prayerful breathing meditation video. Yet another beautiful way to conceptualize breathing.
We value healthy air, like the fresh air from windows flung open on a spring day or a deep breath as we pause on a mountain trail or at the beach. Words like air, spirit, breath, breeze, and wind conjure up images of energy, power, cleanliness, and health. Nowhere do these words have more power than in the Bible, starting with Genesis.
Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
Job said:
So long as I still have life breath in me,
the breath of God in my nostrils. Job 27:3
The Psalms beautifully speak of the spirit.
By the LORD’s word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host. Psalms 33:6
Send forth your spirit, they are created
and you renew the face of the earth. Psalm 104:30
Finally, the New Testament:
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the holy Spirit”. John 20:22
We are still alive even if we ignore or close ourselves to the Holy Spirit. God is always within us, the ember of unconditional love. But we are certainly not living our God-given life to the fullest if we neglect that ember. I write this message for me as much as for you because I have neglected the Holy Spirit by praying predominately to God the Father and to Jesus. So, how can you and I let the Spirit in so the flames will burst high and wide?
We can give space and time to God and practice opening ourselves by listening, by waiting, and by relishing sacred silence. We can stand up tall, smile, and then take deep breaths so as to consciously draw in the Holy Spirit. Whether we do this in dedicated prayer time, walking, or while washing the dishes matters not. The Spirit is always ready for fire power.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle
in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Amen.
I hope my words tickle your brain or your heart in some way that stir you to open yourself to the Spirit! It would be a joy to hear your story of being filled with the spirit.
By Carol Dixon —
Cocooned in God’s eternal love,
With confidence I face this day,
Uplifted by the peace of Christ
Within me as I rise and pray.
God’s power holds me as I wake,
God’s spirit blesses as I bathe,
Christ sits at table while I eat
And walks with me upon my way.
My Lord is in each daily task,
In every person that I meet,
In random thoughts and idle chat,
He comes to me in all I greet.
God’s presence warms each shop and home,
With each kind word Christ welcomes me;
Should I forget that he is there,
Then signs of God around I see.
I see him in the rolling hills,
In drifting clouds across the sky,
In snail trails on the city streets,
In sound of raindrops, raven’s cry.
In children’s laughter, old man’s smile,
In work-worn hands I glimpse God’s care,
In tear-filled eyes, companion’s kiss;
In all creation, God is there.
Cocooned in God’s eternal love,
I lay aside my cares this day;
Christ’s peace will keep me through the night,
Within me, as I rest and pray.
For me, the heartbeat of God transforms everything in life. As a Companion of Brother Lawrence I try to practice the presence of God in everyday life as Brother Lawrence, the 15th century Carmelite lay worker in a monastery in France did. As you can imagine seeing God in all things doesn’t always work for an earthbound person like me. Sometimes though I do hear the heartbeat of God in the ordinary and when I do, I want to sing about it. I am delighted to say a few years ago God gave me a hymn that I revisit from time to time when I need to tune into God during the course of the day (music below).
Sometimes I hear the heartbeat of God in the beauty of creation, in the lovely countryside around me in Northumberland. At other times it comes to me through the love of my family, especially my grandchildren. I heard it loud and clear when I saw the photo of my 2nd granddaughter holding her baby sister.
Today you might like to think what kind of extraordinary ordinary things draw you into the heart of God and listen to the comfort of God’s heartbeat like the baby in the womb hears the heartbeat of its mother so that, whatever circumstances you find yourself in, you can face the day in tune with God.
by Christine Sine
I am getting ready for Easter. Lent is just the pathway of preparation. And I am not getting ready for Good Friday, which often seems to mesmerize us and demand our attention. I am getting ready for Easter Sunday and the celebration of new life, new creation and resurrection living.
As we get ready for Lent it is easy for us to forget why we observe this season of penitence and self examination. I wonder if we place too much emphasis on the cross and not enough on the kingdom. Jesus came to show us how to live – passionate for justice, caring for those at the margins, compassionate, loving and humble. The cross was the consequences of this way of life, but it was not the end, it was the beginning.
My symbol for Lent and Easter this year is the butterfly. and as preparation I have created my first ever origami creation. I excitedly placed it in my contemplative garden, lit my candles and immediately singed one of the wings. My first thought was Must make another! but then I remembered that the resurrected Christ bore the marks of crucifixion, the life of new creation is in some ways marred and made beautiful by the scars of death.
Waiting for resurrection
Butterfly resurrection begins with the death of the old caterpillar self and the embrace of a cocoon. I wonder if the old caterpillar resents the process just as we do. Or is it impatient for change.
The new birth must not be hurried, it looks painful but oh what magnificence emerges.
We enter Lent like caterpillars – unattractive, slow, vulnerable. This is a time for patience, for allowing the process for transformation to take place and preparing for the magnificence to come.
What is your response?
What types of transformation do you think God wants to accomplish in your life this year?
What is God giving birth to in you?
What Lenten practices would most encourage this new birth?
Why don’t you make your own origami butterfly. Think about resurrection and process of new birth Lent is preparing you for.It is very simple
All you need is:
A piece of 6×6″ colored paper: I used this one. Some in the pack are colored on both sides, some are white on the back which gives this beautiful 2 colored butterfly.
Liquid glue
String or yarn .
Watch this tutorial – it is very simple. Once you have made one you wil want to make lots more!
This version of The Lord’s Prayer was written by vintage blogger Andrew Jones way back in 2002. However I feel there is still a lot that makes it worth adding to our series for all of us to meditate on… not just if we are bloggers.
Our Father who lives above and beyond the dimension of the internet,
Give us this day a life worth blogging,
The access to words and images that express our journey with passion and integrity,
And a secure connection to publish your daily mercies.
Your Kingdom come into new spaces today,
As we make known your mysteries,
Posting by posting,
Blog by blog.
Give this day,
The same ability to those less privileged,
Whose lives speak louder than ours,
Whose sacrifice is greater,
Whose stories will last longer.
Forgive us our sins,For blog-rolling strangers and pretending they are friends,
For counting unique visitors but not noticing unique people,
For delighting in the thousands of hits but ignoring the ONE who returns,
For luring viewers but sending them away empty handed,
For updating daily but repenting weekly.
As we forgive those who trespass on our sites to appropriate our thoughts without reference,
Our images without approval,
Our ideas without linking back to us.
Lead us not into the temptation to sell out our congregation,
To see people as links and not as lives,
To make our blogs look better than our actual story.
But deliver us from the evil of pimping ourselves instead of pointing to you,
From turning our guests into consumers of someone else’s products,
From infatuation over the toys of technology,
From idolatry over technology
From fame before our time has come.
For Yours is the power to guide the destinies behind the web logs,
To bring hurting people into the sanctuaries of our sites,
To give us the stickiness to follow you, no matter who is watching or reading.
Yours is the glory that makes people second look our sites and our lives,
Yours is the heavy ambience,
For ever and ever,
Amen
By Lilly Lewin
I’m on my annual silent retreat this week at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. It’s the monastery of Thomas Merton and Father Matthew Kelty and the place that has taught me the value of silence in my busy life. It’s also the place I first discovered Father Edward Hays and his Lenten Hobo Honeymoon, that is still in the guest library I am happy to say! And since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d add to a post from last year about falling in love with Jesus for Lent this year.
It was Father Hays who introduced me to the concept of using the 40 days of Lent to fall more in love with Jesus rather than the sack cloth and ashes stereotype or tradition of Lent. It was also Father Hays who said that giving up chocolate for Lent never helped anyone get closer to Jesus, it just made them grumpy and angry…so he’s my kind of guy!
So in honor of Valentines, and since the season of Lent is fast approaching (Ash Wednesday is February 26), what if we choose to spend the 40 days of Lent falling more in love with Jesus? What would that look like?
When we fall in love with someone we often get a little crazy and we do things to show just how much we love the other person. My first real boy friend was in 8th grade. I went to an all girls school in town and he went to the all boys school. We met at church and were in youth group together. I was smitten! And since I am an artist, I expressed my love for him with a hand crafted Valentine. I took a piece of cardboard and collaged it with words and phrases and pictures cut out of magazines glued on to a piece of card board. I even used my mom’s “pinking shears” to cut out the heart and give it a special edging. And since i was too young to drive, I had to get my dad to drive me across town to the boy’s house to give him this created treasure! I’m not sure he really appreciated the time and effort but for me it was an act of love to create something special. My husband expresses his love to me through amazing meals and fun cards. I have friends who write songs for one another. I know friends who go on hikes together and even take retreats to plan together and reflect on their lives. There are just as many ways to express love to someone as there are people!
Consider how you express love and how you experience love yourself. How have you shown someone you loved them in the past? How do you show some one you love them now? How do you show love to your friends? Your family? Your co workers or teammates? How do you like to experience love? Is it through Time, Gifts, Conversation, Creativity? Something else? Take some time to think about this and make a list.
Years ago, I created a sacred space prayer experience based off Father Ed Hay’s book The Lenten Hobo Honeymoon. Father Hays and I are kindred spirits when it comes to experiencing God and practicing our faith in touchable, tangible, symbolic ways. This book is still my all time favorite Lenten devotional. After hosting this Sacred Space for my church and youth group, I was invited to do something at the near by convent. Since it was still Lent, I didn’t create anything new, I just set up the same Sacred Space and sent nuns on a honeymoon with Jesus!
What if we saw Lent as a honeymoon with Jesus? How could this help you focus your time and Lenten practices? What would a honeymoon with Jesus look like for you? Where would you go? What would you do? How would you spend time together and get to know each other better?
Like in any relationship, you have to start small. Usually you date awhile before you get married and go on a honeymoon. So since we have a couple of weeks before the beginning of Lent, let’s start! What will your date with Jesus look like? I’d love to hear about it! Mine definitely will involve chocolate!
Plan a date with Jesus. What do you do? Do you go out for a walk? Do you get out in nature? Do you go out and have coffee and take your journal? Could you find some old magazines and create a collage Valentine with words and phrases and pictures expressing your love to Jesus? or cook dinner for someone who is lonely? Bake some cookies for the neighbors or take flowers to friend who is sick?
Think about Being a Bride. What about being the Bride of Christ…what does that mean to you? Consider how much love Jesus has for you just as you are! Consider all the things brides do these days to plan a wedding. Planning, prepping, pinning on Pinterest! Do we put that much effort into our relationship with Jesus? Can we plan and be more intentional in how we fall more in love with Him between now and Easter? 
What if we planned to focus on how much Jesus loves us this Lent? What things would you add into your daily life to help you remember and receive that love? Maybe eating a chocolate heart or a hershey kiss as a reminder. Or posting a Valentine on your mirror to remind you that you are greatly loved by Jesus. Or carrying a heart around in your pocket as a tangible reminder of His love for you! What would be the reminder that you need? 
Maybe you could set the alarm on your phone at 2:14pm each day to remind you that you are greatly loved by Jesus! or find special candle to light daily to help you remember. Or listen to a favorite song that will keep you close to Jesus and help you know that you are held in his great love! Listen to one of my favorites here ” I am Held” by Pat Barrett
We have entire season between now and Easter for experience more love and fall more in love with Jesus. Let’s give up hate, and blame, and self criticism this year and add Love instead!
And if you’d like a resource to help you practice love this Lenten Season, or any season for that matter, check out the 40 Days of Love prayer kit that is for individual use or the one for small groups, youth groups and entire church communities. It’s a kit that involves praying with prayer hearts daily and practicing love in your neighborhood.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
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