By Jean Andrianoff —
At this time of year in the Pacific Northwest, wild rhododendrons are blooming in the woods. As we drive along the highway, I find myself watchfully scanning the evergreen forests for glimpses of the soft pink of rhody blossoms. When I see clusters of pink, I feel so rewarded. Why do these fleeting glances of beauty hold such an attraction for me?
I believe it has to do with God’s purpose in creation. As the first chapter of Genesis tells us, He has created things that He perceives as good. And He has created us in His image to share that pleasure in the goodness and beauty of His creation.
In Psalm 27, the writer expresses his one desire of God: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4 (ESV).
The Psalmist wants to dwell eternally in God’s house “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Do we have any concept of the beauty that is God? While I suspect that God’s beauty is far beyond anything we have ever seen or can imagine, I believe that God gives us glimpses of that beauty through His created world. Little gives me deeper pleasure than to spend time enjoying God’s creation in a natural setting. That beauty resonates with me, filling me with a sense of joy and calm. Imagine feeling an even deeper sense of such perceptions through eternity!
The Japanese have a practice called “forest bathing”—time spent simply being in a natural environment, not necessarily hiking or jogging or even sketching or journaling, but simply being. Some studies have found that not only does such a practice improve one’s mood, it can have health benefits as well. Could this be because creation gives us a deeper connection with the Creator? He has made us to love and appreciate the beauty of His creation and through it, to glimpse His beauty and to enjoy His goodness.
If I’m in a car traveling along the highway, I catch only glimpses of the nearly hidden beauty of blooming rhododendrons. If I park the car and walk into the forest, I can enjoy their loveliness more fully. And through that beauty, in turn, I catch a glimpse of the Creator’s beauty that I hope to adore more completely throughout Eternity.
by Lynne M. Baab—
As a young adult I was taught the model of ACTS prayer. Pray this way, my mentors said. Begin with (1) adoration, because you’re entering into the presence of a holy God. Then (2) confession will come naturally because God’s holiness will make you aware of your own sin. After you confess your sin, you’ll be aware of God’s great mercy in redeeming us in Jesus Christ, so you’ll want to spend some time (3) thanking God. Only after all of that should you engage in (4) supplication, asking God to meet your own needs and the needs of those you love and care about.
I found ACTS prayer to be very helpful for both group and individual prayer. I have also found that it’s a bit limited. When I compare ACTS prayer to the psalms, often called the prayer book of the Bible, I find numerous ways the psalms are different than the pattern of ACTS prayer. So, let’s get creative and use the ACTS model as a springboard.
1. Let’s try TATATATA. Psalm 136 models this pattern. One way to define thankfulness prayers is that they focus on what God has done, in contrast with praise prayers that focus on who God is. Praise and thankfulness are very closely related with lots of overlap, but it’s still helpful to try to do both. Here’s an example of TATA prayer:
Thank you, God, for the food on our table today. You have provided for us so generously. In fact, you are a generous God, whose bounty overflows into our lives, and we praise you for your abundant love and generosity. Also, I want to thank you, God, for the people in my life who love me. I’m thinking especially of Francis, who helped me with my project at work yesterday. You are a relational God, and I praise you for the love between Father, Son and Spirit, and that you call us to enter into your love.
2. Let’s try CATS. Psalm 51 models this pattern in part. The psalmist comes into God’s presence with deep sorrow for sin, begging for forgiveness. By verse 15, the mood shifts to praise: “O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.”
3. Let’s try TSTSTSTS. I believe prayers where we spend most of our time asking God to meet our needs or the needs of others can merge into a kind of consumeristic approach to the Christian faith: give me what I need and want. This tendency can be moderated by generous applications of thankfulness. Being thankful requires that we pay attention to what God is already doing. I like to begin my prayers of request with some thankfulness for God’s work in the situation that I already see. An example of TSTS prayer:
Lord, thank you for helping us in the first leg of our long trip. You kept us safe, you helped us sleep on the plane, and you gave us an interesting person to talk to in the airport lounge. For the remainder of the trip, please help us not to be anxious, help us to trust you, help us to arrive safely. As we travel we’re thinking about our friend, Jane. Loving God, thank you for all you’ve done to make Jane’s surgery go well. Thanks for the surgeon and the recovery room care that was so gentle. Now we pray for the remainder of her time in the hospital. Help her to heal well.
4. Let’s try adding statements of commitment to our prayers. ACTS doesn’t provide a structure to do that, but statements of commitment are a big part of the prayers in the psalms. Psalm 130 provides an example. The psalm begins with words of pain: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!” By verse 5 the psalmist is speaking out words of commitment: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than those who watch for the morning.”
Also missing in ACTS are silence and lament, which provide even more options for creativity with ACTS prayer. Maybe you’ll be able to think of other ways to get creative with ACTS. Whatever we do in prayer, God welcomes us warmly as we bring our praises, confessions, thanks and requests.
Today is Memorial day in the United States, when we remember those who have died in military service. It was first celebrated to remember Union soldiers who died in the American Civil War but now provides a memorial for those who have died in all the wars that have been fought since.
Though I struggle with any ceremony that seems to glorify war, I grieve the loss of life in war and the devastation it causes to families and society. And my prayer for this day is that in the midst of all our celebrating we may remember that those who died did so believing they were providing a peaceful and secure place for their families to live.
I find it is not so much those who have died that are in my mind but those who have survived. On this day I particularly struggle with the plight of those who have been injured as a result of war. Many of them end up on the streets because of PTSD symptoms they cannot cope with. There are so many ads on T.V. these days for organizations that try to help disabled vets. It makes my heart ache. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. (read the article). Why I wonder doesn’t the government see their lives and their health as part of the cost of war? Why do organizations like Wounded Warrior have to raise money for their support? Isn’t this something that the government should include in their defense budget? And the plight of other victims of war – refugees, raped women, tortured and maimed civilians – confronts us in so many ongoing conflicts.
The cost of war is so high, and though I think it is important to remember those who have died, I think it is more important to remember and help those who have survived. And in keeping with that our focus needs to be on peace rather than war.
What About Those Who Have Died in the Faith?
Then I wonder: Why don’t we have a Christian celebration that commemorates the lives of so many through the ages who have died for their faith and through their efforts brought glimpses of God’s peaceable kingdom of justice and abundance into being? Yes I know there are days to celebrate the lives of prominent saints, and we do have All Saints Day but there is little that really celebrates the life of ordinary believers who died to keep the faith in Christ alive and I am a strong believer in the fact that we should take the celebrations of our society and transform them into celebrations of our faith.
On my first trip to Ireland 20 years ago I was overwhelmed by the graveyards filled with crosses around many of the ruined churches and monasteries. Just as the military graveyards are a reminder of those who have died in war, these church graveyards were for me a reminder of the many who have died in the battle against evil and corruption. Most of them are unknown, yet their faith has provided foundations through the centuries on which our faith today is grounded.
Perhaps today as you celebrate those who have died in war you should also spend some time reflecting on those soldiers of Christ who have gone before you too. Say a prayer of thanks for the rich heritage they have provided us all with. Remember those that were martyred, those that were persecuted (and in some countries still are) and those whose lives and families have suffered because of their faith.
Let me finish with 2 prayers – one a responsive prayer that reminds us of the saints that are with us, the other an ancient Celtic prayer that I think reflects well the awareness of the sacrifice that so many have made for their faith.
With saints of all ages, we come to God this night,
With those who were, who are, and who will come,
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in God the creator,
The one who is, who always was, and who is still to come,
The one who calls us to be salt in a world that has lost its flavour.
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in Christ our Saviour,
The first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the nations of the world,
The one who calls us to be light in a world that is mired by darkness.
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in the life-giving Spirit,
The seal of our inheritance the guarantee of what is to come,
Who calls us to glorify God through our words and actions.
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in God’s kingdom coming,
A new world breaking onto ours, eternal world of wholeness and joy,
Where the poor will be fed and the prisoners set free.
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in God’s kingdom coming,
Where justice and righteousness will have no end,
Where the sick will be healed, the blind see and the deaf hear.
With saints of all ages,
We believe and trust in God.
Let us go forth,
In the goodness of our merciful Father,
In the gentleness of our brother Jesus,
In the radiance of the Holy Spirit,
In the faith of the apostles,
In the joyful praise of the angels,
In the holiness of the saints,
In the courage of the martyrs.
Let us go forth,
In the wisdom of our all-seeing Father,
In the patience of our all-loving brother,
In the truth of the all-knowing Spirit,
In the learning of the apostles
In the gracious guidance of the angels,
In the patience of the saints,
In the self control of the martyrs,
Such is the path for all servants of Christ,
The path from death to eternal life
by Christine Sine
According to Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, God created the world by imagination, yet for many of us imagination and creativity are rarely associated with our faith. Our playful imaginative selves often get buried in the adult world where we are encouraged to get a job, find a partner become responsible citizens. Yet God’s creative energy is still alive and well. In Isaiah 48: 6, 7 we read: I am telling you new things, secrets hidden that no one has known. They are created now – brand new, never before announced, never before heard.
In the last ten years my faith has been enriched, inspired and nurtured by creative exploration which believe it is this power of God’s Holy Spirit within me, creating new, never before announced things. I wanted to share some of what I have learned with you.
Creativity begins in silence – not the silence of an absence of noise, but the silence of a soul at rest, an internal intentional attentiveness toward God. This silence makes space for, and takes time for the One who desires our full attention. Yet it is hard to enter this silence. So much distracts us.
I love begin each day by sitting in my sacred space each morning, quieting my soul, drinking in the wonder of eternal presence. Sometimes I just take a few deep breaths in and out. At other times I read a centering or breathing prayer. Or I might look out my window and contemplate the beauty of God’s creation around me. At other times I read a scripture or a selection from a devotional book. This slows my heart and soul to that I can attend to God.
Creativity takes notice of what resonates in your soul – In these quiet moments I often find that a word, a phrase or an image comes to mind. I sit still allowing that thought or image to resonate and grow in my awareness. I give it my full attention until the image or word takes root in my soul. I sit with it for a while allowing it to grow and take shape.
Creativity finds expression in many ways: Most often, what stirs in my mind takes wings and the words flow freely until a prayer or a poem springs into life. At other times I write down the skeleton of a prayer knowing that it needs to be refined and fleshed out. Sometimes the words prompt me to pick up a rock and some of my paint pens to create a decorated rock that can form the focus for my meditations over the next few weeks. Or I might be prompted to create a meditation garden ore even just to pick flowers and arrange them in a vase. Whatever the creative impulse that stirs within us is, we should not limit it. This is not a time to feel self conscious or embarrassed. Perhaps God is asking us to dance, or sing or laugh.
Creativity is an ongoing process: God continues to create and so do we. No work of art, music or other form of creativity ever feel complete to the creator. As often happens, my prayer/ poems, painted rocks and meditative gardens continue to be reshaped and revised, sometimes in response to the seasons of the year, or of life events. Sometimes my prayers are reshaped in response to my concerns for the world around me, or by my passion for sustainable living. The prayer above has taken several forms, been imposed on different photos, and been used in different settings. I always rejoice when it takes new shape
Creativity has no rules. When I wrote my first liturgies, I asked a friend who had been doing this type of writing for years, what the rules for writing liturgies were. There are no rules: she told me. It was the best advice I ever had. Creativity has no bounds. Whatever we can imagine is fuel for creation. And it can be expressed in a million ways – words, images, material objects even ideas are all creative expressions that spring from heart of God.
For me there are no rules to creative expression, except to listen in the presence of God, giving our whole attention to the eternal One who is always with us waiting to be heard.
What Is Your Response
Watch the video below. Sit still in the presence of God. Ask yourself: What stirs your imagination and gets your creative juices flowing? How is God asking you to respond?
by Lilly Lewin
Opening Prayer
Lord, I know not what to ask of You.
You alone know what my true needs are.
You love me more than I myself know how to love.
Help me to see my real needs, which may be hidden from me.
I dare not ask for either a cross or a consolation.
I can only wait upon You; my heart is open to You.
Visit and help me in Your steadfast love.
Strike me and heal me; cast me down and raise me up.
I worship in silence Your holy will.
I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice.
I put all my trust in You.
I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will.
Teach me to pray. Pray Yourself in me. Amen.
A Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (a Russian Orthodox Priest)
This summer, I am introducing Parable Walks to our thinplace community here in Nashville. Parable Walks were a part of our Spiritual Practice in our days living in Cincinnati, Ohio and this practice is a great way to connect with God out in nature and/or in your own neighborhood. You can do a parable walk on your own, or with a small group, youth group, with friends, roommates or even an entire parish.
The way we traditionally did a Parable Walk with our Cincinnati community was set up a time to meet a local part on a Saturday or Sunday morning before it got too hot or too crowded. We got bagels and coffee from Panera Bread and ate together as people arrived at the park. Then we gathered for an opening prayer and a “Lectio Divina” of a passage of Scripture. Sometimes we used the gospel passage from the Lectionary of the week, and sometimes we chose a parable to consider as we walked.
Remind the group that this is their time to be with Jesus. Do this walk in silence. Remind them that cell phones should be avoided except as a timer/clock. If you have children doing this, they can and should go with a parent or in small group for safety, but everyone else should be encouraged do this practice on their own.
We had the Bible passage printed out and we’d told people that they could bring their journals and water for the walk. We had three people read the passage from the Bible invited people to listen to the passage and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to them in both words and images.
The hand out also included these directions:
Jesus used the lilies of the field and the stuff along the path where he walked to teach his disciples about the kingdom of God…Allow what you see on your walk, to be the teaching tool of Jesus for you! Let the beauty of Creation speak to you!
Walk in God’s Creation, or, you may
prefer to sit somewhere where you have an expansive view of God’s creation.
Keeping in mind God’s invitation to you in our scripture reading, invite the Holy
Spirit to speak to you through Creation and the things you see along the way.
Be open to noticing the beauty around you.
Listen to the sounds you hear.
What is God talking to you about today?
What does God use to speak to you? It might be a bird, a tree, a stone, a crack in the concrete….the Holy Spirit can speak to you through anything.
Watch for symbols of what God is doing in your life…
Or what God longs to do in your life.
Spend time reflecting on how God is speaking to you through this view or symbol.
Consider writing in your journal about what God showed you. Describe how Jesus revealed Himself to you today through creation.
In a half hour or when the signal calls, please gather with the group.
You can decide how long you want the walk to last. 30 minutes, 45, an hour…
And let people know when they are to meet back together.
When the group is back together, take time to process and share what the Holy Spirit showed people along the way. We would open the time for anyone who wanted to share, but NEVER require people to share.
You can end your time together with a prayer or a song, like the doxology. You might even take communion together, whatever fits your group.
Here is a way to practice doing a PARABLE WALK this in your neighborhood
As you begin your walk, open your hands to receive the gift of the Parable that Jesus has for you today.
As you take a walk around your neighborhood.
Ask Jesus to give you eyes to see and ears to hear.
Ask Jesus to speak to you through the things you see and hear.
Notice the colors around you.
Notice the weather, the clouds, the sky, the trees, plants, birds.
What if you live in an urban neighborhood or where there is lots of construction?
What is God constructing in your life right now?
What is might God be building or remodeling? What needs to be remodeled in your life?
Talk to Jesus about this as you walk.
What about the noise? Is your life feeling too noisy right now? Are you in need of clarity or quiet?
There might be trash, or garbage on your path, or on your walk…what garbage is in you way right now? What junk needs to be removed to make you clean?
Who has been throwing trash on your path recently? Do you need to have healing in this relationship? Do you need to forgive them? Do you need God’s help to forgive them?
Have you thrown trash on your own path? Have you been doing things to hurt yourself?
Spend some time talking to God/Jesus about this.
In a more suburban area…
Notice the toys in the yards, swings, bikes, basketball hoops. Kids know how to play and find joy in simple things. How are you doing with play or a playful spirit?
Talk to God about this.
How can you add play into your life?
What things bring you joy in you life? Talk to God about this.
Wild flowers, flowers planted …What is God growing in your life? What is being planted?
What would you like Jesus to plant in your life? How does the soil need to be turned, what weeds need to be dug up, what new things do you want to grow?
Do you notice the wind? Do you feel the breeze? Stop and notice the direction of the wind. Ask the Holy Spirit to open you up to new things. Ask the Holy Spirit to revive you as you walk.
What else do you notice on your walk? What else does the Holy Spirit highlight for you?
What else does Jesus show you as you spend time with him on this walk?
As you end your Parable Walk, spend time thanking God for what you’ve seen and heard. Allow this time of noticing to continue in the rest of your day, allowing Jesus to speak to you in the stuff along the way!
Prayer is waking up to the presence of God no matter where I am or what I am doing. Barbara Brown Taylor An Altar in the World.
There is a difference between prayer and prayers. We are called to co-create with the living God yet often feel that expressing our creativity is discouraged. What stirs our creativity to pray without ceasing? Here is a list of the best books we have found.
Bill, Brent and Booram, Beth: Awaken Your Senses: Exercises for Exploring the Wonder of God
Benner, Juliet: Contemplative Vision: A Guide to Christian Art and Prayer
Brazzeal, David: Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul
Brookes, Mona: Drawing with Children
Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann: Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life
Cameron, Julia: The Complete Artist’s Way Creativity as a Spiritual Practice
de Mello, Anthony: Wellsprings: A Book of Spiritual Practices
Edwards, Betty: Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain
Fox, Matthew: Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet
L’Engle, Madeleine: Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
MacBeth, Sybil: Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God
Sark: Make Your Creative Dreams Come Real; Journal and Play!
Sine, Christine: Return to Our Senses: Reimagining How We Pray
Smith, Mandy: Making a Mess and Meeting God: Unruly Ideas and Everyday Experiments for Worship
Stanley, Kelly O’Dell: Praying Upside Down: A Creative Prayer Experience to Transform Your time With God
Scandrette, Mark: Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love
Taylor, Barbara Brown: An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith
Tutu, Desmond and Mpho: The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World
Valters Paintner, Christine: Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice; Lectio Divina: the sacred art: transforming Words and Images into heart-Centered Prayer; The Artist’s Rule; Illuminating the Way;
Wolpert, Daniel: Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices
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