by Christine Sine
I don’t usually post on a Saturday but this morning I came across these prayers that I wrote several years ago and I thought some of you might enjoy them.
I find that prayers like this are powerful ways to keep the presence of God with us throughout the day. Whenever I get anxious or uptight because there seems to be too much to do, I love to pause and recite one of these prayers while slowly breathing in and out.
This first one I wrote some years ago as a reminder of the fact that breath is something that cannot be held onto – we breathe in and fill ourselves with life, but we cannot keep breathing in unless we also exhale and share it with the world. Breath is life giving when we draw it into our bodies, but it can also be life giving when we share it with someone else as in CPR.
Breathe in the love of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in the peace of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in the life of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in all that is of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
———————————————-
The second prayer is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is the breath of God that breathes life into us and into all we touch. God intends that we are filled with the spirit so that we can breathe out life into the world.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with love for God.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with love for neighbour.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with life renewed.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Breathe on us,
breathe with us,
breathe through us.
by Lilly Lewin
The Lectionary Old Testament reading for this weekend is from Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7. It is what I call the forgotten part of Jeremiah 29.
Many of us love Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
It’s one of my favorite passages and it gives me great hope. But sadly, I learned these verses out of context. For the longest time, I didn’t really look at the verses that come before Jeremiah 29:11-14. I really hadn’t thought about the pain and suffering of being in exile.
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
When I finally did discover the entire chapter of Jeremiah 11, I realized just how much I don’t like feeling exiled. I realized that I too often hear what I want to hear, rather than taking time to listen to what God is really saying.
Where and How are you feeling exiled? in your faith, in your family, in your career, in your life in general? Talk to Jesus about this.
We don’t always like what prophets say to us. It’s much more hopeful to think we are going back home to Jerusalem than to be stuck in Babylon and be told to plant crops and start families…basically to settle in to the new place. Have you been listening to false prophets or true prophets lately? Talk to Jesus about this! Be real.
Are there places you’ve been avoiding making a commitment to because you keep longing to go back to the place you were before? Are you hesitating in getting involved because you’d rather be back in Jerusalem than planting new things in Babylon?
I felt that way for a long time in Cincinnati. When someone asked me where I was from, I would say, ” I’m from Cincinnati, but I used to live in Seattle.” I said this for almost ten years! I thought Seattle was so much cooler than Cincinnati and I just didn’t feel like I fit. I missed the mountains and the water and my computer screen saver was a montage of beautiful shots of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle was the Jerusalem I longed for and Cincinnati felt like Babylon. Thankfully, God got my attention and told me to “PLANT” where I was! and get over this longing I had to be somewhere else! This set me free to be present to the place God had me! I started to see things differently and see all the gifts God had for me in Ohio.
“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.Go find a view of your city or town. You might not feel exiled where you live, but you can still pray for God’s peace to be there and be seen more in your neighborhood. Ask Jesus to show you how to be a peacemaker in your town.
Go where you have a good view of the place. It might be from a park or from a roof top or it might just be a photograph you’ve printed off from the internet. As you look at the view, take time to pray for your town. Pray for the Mayor and city council leaders. Pray for business leaders to practice fairness and be driven by compassion not greed. Pray for reform in the justice system in your area and for hope for people in prison and poverty. Ask Jesus to give you new eyes to see your town. Ask Jesus to show you how to bring God’s love to your neighborhood.
If you’ve been discouraged by the news or the problems you are facing right now, read Jeremiah 29:11-14 again and receive the promise! The Lord does have plans for you and me! Plans to prosper us, and give us a future and a hope. Copy down the verses or draw them out with crayons or markers.
You will seek me and you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart! And I will be found by you! How can you search for the Lord more in the days ahead? What things help you seek the Lord? Make some time to do those things…journal, take a walk, turn off the phone, be still, look at art, create something, take a nap!
What things feel like they are blocking you from seeking? Talk to God about this and give him those things.
Thankfully, we are not alone and forgotten in Babylon! We are seen. We are heard. And we are Loved!
We end our thinplaceNASHVILLE gatherings with this closing prayer. It’s a prayer I am praying more and more in my daily life to keep me grounded when I am feeling exiled.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord!
Give us grace today to love as you love.
Help us to love with extravagance.
Give us hope today for ourselves and others.
Heal our hurts and our hearts today,
So we can serve and help those around us.
Help us to know that you are enough.
And help us live today and everyday in thankfulness.
For all you’ve done, and for all you bless us with.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
by Christine Sine
I am into my gratitude theme, but yesterday came across this series I wrote several years ago that I thought some of you would appreciate me reposting. I have been reflecting on what I said back then and thinking AMEN. I have learned a lot in the last six years but what I say here still holds true. Its a little long because I combined 2 posts together but thought that for a good flow it was better. Hope you enjoy it.
Writing this series on leading spiritually was something of a process of self examination for me. Listening does not come easily to me. I am a great multitasker and can easily get distracted from what I am supposed to be focused on. So I don’t always take the time to give God or others my full attention. In a world that applauds multitasking especially in leaders, I know I am not alone in this but to be good spiritual leaders we need to be able to focus.
Spiritual leadership is about giving full attention to all that is happening in the moment in which we are living. So how do we equip ourselves personally to be good spiritual leaders?
When I think of leadership Jesus style I think of washing feet, hugging kids, embracing lepers, healing the marginalized. I also think of desert retreats, nights spent in prayer, walks with his disciples. The attributes of a good spiritual leader that I see expressed in Jesus life are contemplative, activist, servant, spiritual director, generosity, justice and love. Some of these may sound contradictory but for me they imply balance. Activism should always flow out of a contemplative centre. Spiritual direction should always flow out of a servant heart that is committed above all else to the nurture and fulfillment of others. And a heart full of the love of God will always be generous and just.
This type of leadership places huge responsibility on us as individuals. In fact the more I have written, the longer the list seems to become so I have decided to break it into two posts. Today’s post talks about intimacy with God and seeking our true and authentic self. Tomorrow’s post addresses listening, acknowledging doubts and uncertainties, gratitude and seeking after love of God and neighbour.
1. We must above all else be committed to a journey into deeper intimacy with God. This sounds obvious but I have noticed that I can easily be fully engaged in my regular spiritual practices of prayer and bible reading and still not be moving closer to God. I have mentioned in the past that the chronic randomness of our prayer and scripture study often disconnects us from the presence and purposes of God. It can become more of an intellectual exercise than a journey into intimacy.
What we need most are intentional and disciplined patterns to our prayer life and to our reading and study of God’s word that deliberately draw us into God’s presence and into a deeper understanding of God’s purposes. My blog series last year on Tools for Prayer was an attempt to identify some of the tools that can help with this. If, like me, you like variety you may enjoy experimenting with one tool for a season and then trying another. Just remember however that the goal of this is not experimentation itself but intimacy with God.
2. We must be seekers after our true and authentic self. Salvation is a journey from death into life, from blindness into sight, from solitude into community, from false self into true self. If, as spiritual leaders, our responsibility is to enable others to become all that God intends them to be, then we too must be committed to the process of becoming who God intends us to be. This is often a very painful journey of self discovery in which God slowly brings us face to face with the distorted and dysfunctional being at the center of our being. It is also a very liberating journey that brings healing not only for us personally but often for those we lead as well.
One of the reasons that I see activism and contemplation in balance is because it is often activism that uncovers our dysfunctionality. It also usually births within us a deep craving for the newness of life that God wants us to experience. It is this that hopefully drives us into the secure womblike safety of contemplation where we can be transformed and reborn. One of my guiding passages as I started to allow God to work his transformation in me was Isaiah 58:6-12. Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness. (v10) Reaching out to heal and make others whole is often part of the pathway into our own healing and wholeness.
Contemplative practices like retreats, regular use of the prayer of examen, regular check in times with a spiritual director or soul friend are some of the keys to this journey, but obviously this is a topic that could give rise to an entire blog series on its own.
3. We must never be too busy to listen, never be too tired to pray. This prayer which I wrote a couple of years ago is a good mantra for me to go back to when I feel overburdened, overstressed or aware of another area in my life where I need transformation. Its intent is reflected in Ruth Hayley Barton’s beautiful discussion of Moses’ turning aside to the burning bush. “The practice of ‘turning aside to look’ is a spiritual discipline that by its very nature sets us up for an encounter with God.”(Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership p52).
Encountering God in the midst of heavy responsibilities requires these moments of deliberate turning aside, retreating into ourselves so that God can permeate our being. Often a repeated centering or breathing prayer enables us to retreat in this way without being in a place of physical solitude.
4. We must be willing to listen to all the voices through which God speaks. As a keen organic gardener I know that diversity is an important priority in maintaining a healthy garden. I think that it is also an important priority in maintaining a healthy, spiritually leadership team. Jewish philosophers believe that argument is the highest form of discourse and that we cannot have a true discussion unless there are dissenting voices.
God often speaks loudest to us through those who are different theologically, culturally or socially and if we are not open to voices outside our own little enclave then we will never hear the voice of God clearly. Particularly if we are making major decisions we need to make sure that the voices we listen to are as diverse and varied as possible. This is just as important for personal discernment and spiritual growth as it is for group discernment and spiritual leadership.
5. We must take our faith practices and discernment processes seriously. It is often easier to discern the will God than it is to implement it. I am embarrassed at how often I make the same list of resolutions at my three monthly retreats and then go home and forget about them. Old habits die hard. We get out of a discernment meeting and immediately head back to our busy schedules ignoring completely the implications of our decisions. Unfortunately sometimes there is no one except God to keep us accountable to those decisions.
Keep a discernment journal for both your personal and group discernment sessions and revisit it regularly to see how seriously you have followed the promptings of God’s spirit. What has God said? How has that changed the way you lead? How has it changed what you do and your leadership community do? I suspect that many good Christian ministries and churches fail because they don’t take seriously enough what God is saying in their midst.
Leading from within
6. We must be acknowledgers of doubts and uncertainties. According to Thomas Merton faith means doubt It is our doubts and uncertainties that keep us questioning and learning. They keep us flexible and creative – two essential characteristics of good spiritual leaders. The story of Thomas teaches us that Jesus comes to us in the place of our deepest fears and doubts and reveals himself to us. If we pretend we know everything we stop growing in our relationship to God and to others. We become set in our ways and become rigid in our leadership.
7. We must be seekers after the joy of gratitude. Gratitude opens us to the enjoyment of new aspects of who God is and what God is doing. Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts, comments: learning to live in joy is learning to be grateful in all circumstances even in the midst of pain and suffering. The psalmist says: Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honours me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God. (Psalm 50:23) What is the path that reveals the salvation of God? It is the path of gratitude and thanksgiving. To grow in intimacy with God and move deeper into that loving union we all so desperately crave we must learn to live in gratitude.
Gratitude has other benefits that undergird our spiritual leadership too. It boosts our chance of success and keeps us flexible and resilient. It also increases not only our chance of happiness but that of our colleagues too. It even boosts our immune system.
8. We must be seekers after trust in God. That may sound like a strange thing to seek after, but to grow in our ability to trust God we also need to grow in our knowledge and connection to the deep and abiding love of God for us.
In his book Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, Richard Rohr says:
We will not trust spiritual power until we have experienced a God who operates in the same way, a God who is willing to wait, allow, forgive, trust and love unconditionally. (p89)
Do we really believe that God is trustworthy and wants what is best for our lives? Do we really believe God loves us? If we did we would seek to model that love rather than the critical, taskmaster, threaten God that our hierarchical leadership styles model. Do we really believe that God’s purposes are higher than ours? If we did we would take discernment and direction from God far more seriously. We will learn to relax and allow God to move and like the children of God in the desert we will learn to stay put until God says so.
I think one of the reasons we so often surge ahead with our own ideas and plans is because deep down inside we don’t really believe that God loves us and wants what is best for us. We don’t really believe that God has either the desire or the power to fulfill the dreams he has placed in our hearts. We can easily start to believe that we, not Jesus are the saviours of the world and so we take on ourselves heavy burdens of responsibility that God does not intend for us.
9. We must learn to relax in the limits of who God has made us to be. A person who knows their own limits and those of the people with whom they work lives a life of balance, freedom and productivity. So many leaders leave pathways strewn with burnout for themselves and for others. they stray from God’s path because in their work consumed lives they have lost the ability to listen to the still small voice of God.
To me the best biblical example of burnout is the prophet Elijah as he flees into the desert running away from Jezebel. He has just defeated the prophets of Baal and yet here he is running away from a single woman. I love the gentle way God deals with him. He is fed, given shelter and allowed to rest. Then God gently tries to talk to him, but all Elijah can say is “I have been zealous for God” (1 Kings 19). It seems to me that he is so consumed by all he has done for God that he can no longer hear what God is saying.
10. We must be seekers after the love of God and love of neighbour. Central to our understanding of the Biblical story is the knowledge that God is love. Jesus reminds us that the central commandment is “love of God and love of neighbour”. The epistle of James affirms that God’s royal law is: love your neighbour as yourself. (James 2:8) and Paul confirms that without love we are nothing but a noisy gong. (1 Corinthians 13:1-9) Theologian N.T. Wright says that the language of God’s kingdom is the language of love.
A leader who is not loving towards those he or she works with or lovingly concerned for those in the broader society is not a leader at all. This goes far deeper than just having a kind word to say to our colleagues. It means that to lead well spiritually we must be willing to lead as servants, put the needs of others before our own and be committed to the ways of justice, peace and generosity for all. This means being concerned about issues of inequality, poverty and environmental justice to name but a few.
11. We must be seekers after the promised land of God. In my post on Where are we heading? I talked about the fact that God’s destination for us is his promised shalom world in which we find abundance and peace for all. We are all journeying towards this incredible new world and our central responsibility as leaders is to learn to live into that world and bring others into that world too. Does your leadership draw others towards a place of shalom, abundance and rest? Does it make your leadership community feel fulfilled, rejoicing in the presence of God?
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This post is a contribution to the series on Leading Spiritually.
Check out the other posts:
The Art of Leading Spiritually – An Invitation to a Journey
The Art of Leading Spiritually – Why Are We Leading?
The Art of Leading Spiritually – Where Are We Heading?
The Art of Leading Spiritually – How Do We Do It?
Be Prepared for the Advent & Christmas this year!
Godspace friends, – a big thank you to those of you who have preordered our new Advent cards with or without the Advent devotional books we have available. We posted these orders yesterday and really appreciate these pre orders as they help us know how many cards to order!!! And your orders help us cover the costs associated with keeping Godspace up and running so that we can provide more resources in the future. We also have this available as a pdf download for those (like me) who like to have them on their phone for on the go prayers.
We also offer many other free resources for Advent and Christmas (like the ever popular Advent in a Jar.) Our prayer is that these tools enrich your holiday season and help connect you and your family to God in a deeper way. Visit the Godspace Shop for more and below are links that we would love for you to check out! They also make for excellent gifts for your loved ones!
Advent Prayer Cards
This set of 12 cards will help you reflect on the Advent and Christmas story. They begin with Celtic Advent so there are 6 for Advent, 1 for Christmas Eve, 4 for the Christmas season and 1 for the Eve of Epiphany. Each card consists to a prayer and image on one side and a short reflection on the other. And they are stunning if I do say so myself. Hilary does an amazing job. For more details:
1 Set of Prayer Cards » $12.00
3 Sets of Prayer Cards » $30.00
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Advent Bundle 1 includes the Advent Prayer Card Set and a copy of Waiting for the Light: An Advent Devotional.
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Check Out Our Other Prayer Cards.
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By Hilary Horn —
As we continue our theme, What Does Our Soul Long to Do? I thought that these tools offered from Saint Ignatius of Loyola would be fitting to share on Godspace this week. We live in a world where there sometimes the clarity between truth and fallacy isn’t always lucid. We can easily be enticed by false teachers and the culture of the world. Often it is hard to discern what direction we should go or what God has for us next. We have to recognize that we need to grow in discernment and let the Holy Spirit help us navigate with wisdom.
Ignatius of Loyola
To “discern” means to try to figure out what God wants us to do. It’s not always easy. Sometimes our soul may long for something, but it may not be the right choice. How do we know? Fortunately, St. Ignatius of Loyola offers time-tested guidelines for the discernment of spirits to help us discover what God is calling us to do in the big and small decisions of our lives – including vocational discernment (a place I am currently navigating) – that are extremely practical and helpful for both personal discernment as well as in helping others discern what God is calling them to.
Here’s what Ignatius suggests you consider to ask as you practice discernment:
- Is this decision faithful to scripture and the historical understanding of the church?
- Does this decision manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit within the individual and community?
- Is this decision characterized by a genuine sense of peace relationally with God?
- Does this decision promote reconciliation rather than divisiveness?
- Has this decision process been engaged with integrity and considered/weighed with others we trust?
Here’s a great prayer from St. Ignatius of Loyola if you are interested too!
by Christine Sine
I have been in Chicago for the last few days and this afternoon following my final meeting decided go for a walk. The oak trees lining the street where I am living are magnificent and as I walked I admired their beauty and reflected on the richness of my experiences.
What a week. It is good to take time after an intensive like this not just to reflect back on what has been done but also to give thanks for it, so I thought that I would apply the questions I put together for the gratitude scavenger hunt to help me process the wonderful experiences that I have had.
I am grateful for friends
Grateful for Al and Janice Tizon
I know that this not one of the questions but being a relational person I have to start with giving thanks for friends. I love it when I am able to combine a time of ministry like this with time with friends – on this trip long term friends that have enriched my life over many years, as well as the son of my best friend whom I rarely see. He lives in Chicago and was able to free up time Friday night to be with me.
Name someone that makes your life better.
There are so many people who have made my life better this week that it is hard to select just one but at the top of the list is Lori Neff the marketing manager at IVP who arranged for me to visit their office, organized a podcast interview, made it possible for me to meet the staff and brainstormed ideas for how to continue getting the word out about The Gift of Wonder.
Name something you are particularly proud of.
I am very grateful for and proud of the opportunities I have to share what God has placed on my heart. I loved doing this workshop at Grace Covenant church on Saturday. It was such fun.
Workshop participants
What makes you laugh?
When we went on our awe and wonder walk during the workshop all I picked up was a few leaves, but one of the participants returned with a cognac bottle another with a bag of marihuana. At least that’s what they told us. Evidently there was still some cognac in the bottle when it was picked up but it was empty when it got back to the church…. and we never saw the bag of marihuana at all. It just disappeared. I am not sure if this qualifies for a gratitude moment, but it certainly made me laugh and I think that all laughter qualifies for gratitude.
Name one beautiful thing you are grateful for.
Beautiful tree lined street
I am very grateful for the magnificent trees along the street that I am staying and for the health and resilience to walk admiring the beauty.
What are you grateful for that you would like to share with someone else?
Grateful for creativity in all its diverse forms
I am grateful for the creativity of participants at my workshop. Watching people paint, doodle, whittle and color was fascinating.
What is something unusual you are grateful for?
Drying Linden flower
This was a hard one for me. Unusual or just different, I am still grateful for the fallen leaves splotched with black spots of virus and for the linden flower, now dry but still with its unusual formation all of which show the incredible creativity of our God
What is something unique that you are grateful for?
Unique creativity of each person
I am amazed by how uniquely each person expresses their creativity. We are all different, gifted with unique gifts from God.
This has been a wonderful way to finish off my visit to Chicago. As I back my back ready to fly home tomorrow I am filled with gratitude for all I have done and all I have seen.
What about you? Have you done your gratitude hunt this week?
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by June Friesen
Luke 22: 39-46
39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
Sadness…..pain…….alone…….fear…….wanting an escape…….in need of strength……in need of courage……admitting to His Father how hard it was to move forward and face this journey……a journey that must be completed……a journey where there was no other road…..a journey that would tax not only his humanity but also his soverignity……a journey that would be the only answer to the mistake/choice of humanity in the Garden of Eden…….a journey that is one of unconditional love with forgiveness for every, absolutely every sin humanity could ever concieve and/or commit against God and against each other….hoping someone on earth would care a little bit…..understand a little bit……humanity….so selfish….so self-centered…
Jesus: experiencing life on this earth so that He would be able to relate to our brokenness, sadness, and fears. Yes, He desires for us to remember the brokenness He experienced for us but more than that He wants us to know, embrace and live in the victory of the resurrection power He gives to each one of His followers.
Today as we celebrate with our brothers and sisters world wide as followers of Jesus help us O God, our Father, to be renewed in our walk with You and Your Son. May Your holy Spirit find a welcome home within each one of us but not only a welcome home but a vessel who desires to be truly empowered with godly living. May we bring hope like never before to everyone that we meet and may your healing love flow freely through our being in all our words, actions and expressions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
(This photo is of Jesus in the Garden praying at the Stations of the Cross in Yarnell, Arizona)
June Friesen
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