by Christine Sine.
As American Thanksgiving approaches, my heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings of my life.
I think of those who have no food or shelter at this time and I am grateful for a warm house and a plentiful table.
I think of those who live in the midst of war and violence and I am grateful for peace where I live.
I think of those who are ill and in pain and I am grateful for health and vigour.
I think of those who are full of fear and worry and I am grateful for a soul at rest.
I think of those who cannot see and I am grateful for eyes to see the warm smile of friends.
I think of those who cannot hear and I am grateful for ears that hear the laughter of children.
I think of those who live alone and I am grateful for loving community.
So much to give thanks for and my heart overflows.
by Christine Sine
It is the second week of Celtic Advent for me and my focus this week will be What do I do for self care that enriches my joy in God? With American Thanksgiving only a few days away, my mind is focused on gratitude and thanksgiving, a pretty good focus as I think about how to nourish what gives me joy. Self care, is an important foundation that helps us set boundaries, increases our self awareness and encourages us to strengthen the vulnerable places in our lives. So the question that I am asking myself is, What in the circle of my life gives me joy and how do I express that with gratitude?
As I thought about this over the last couple of days, I was reminded of the circling prayers that Celts loved. Circles were significant to the Celts. It was felt that a circle with no break was a symbol of eternal life, a complete whole affording no access to the devil. It was a symbol of unity, togetherness and purity. Of course, Celtic crosses incorporated the circle at their heart in a unique and special way and I think that the circling prayers provided that same sense of completeness and protection from the devil. They helped set boundaries, sometimes in the form of an imaginary circle, sometimes as a real circle, like the ring of crosses that might be planted around a monastery.
As we move towards Christmas, I think we all need the type of boundaries and strength that the Celtic circle and the circling prayers it inspired, provide. I have blogged about this in the past and the prayer and image above were part of the response, but I know that I needed to refresh my memory and thought you might want to as well. So I have been drawing circles in my journal and using the exercise below to guide me.
The following circling exercise is adapted from a traditional CAIM. You might use it to encourage restful pauses throughout the day and use it to focus your attention for a couple of minutes, or you can use it as a more relaxed, longer exercise to focus you for the day or even for a season of your life.
Sit with your eyes closed and take a few deep breaths in and out. Imagine the circle of God’s presence surrounding you, your neighbors and God’s creation. Repeat the words Circle me Lord, Circle me with joy several times and allow your spirit to rest.
Extend the forefinger of your right hand and draw an imaginary circle around the place in which you sit. Envision God enfolding you in a cloak, and ask God for peace to hear the divine voice. Repeat the words Circle me Lord
Imagine Christ standing at the centre his arms outstretched as on the Cross, binding together the elements of the natural world and the built world of your city or dwelling, into a sacred circle of wholeness. What stirs in your mind as you do this?
Open your eyes and draw a circle in your journal or on a piece of paper to represent the encircling presence of God. What is embraced by the circle of God’s wholeness for you? Where, in this moment, are you aware of God’s wholeness and the completion of the healing both of creation and of all humankind that the circle represents?
Contemplate your circle and remind yourself of the attributes of God you want the circle of your life to embrace in this moment and in the place where you sit. Write them around the inside, add the words circle us Lord, and envision that enfolding cloak of God around you.
What do you want to keep outside the circle? Outside your circle write the emotions and feelings you want excluded from God’s enfolding cloak. Are any of these currently inside your circle but needing to be pushed out?
Who stands within the circle with you? Contemplate who stands with you at this present moment in your circle. Is it your family and friends? Is it your colleagues and workmates? Is it the homeless and dispossessed, the hungry and unjustly treated? Write their names, in the circle you have drawn.
Who stands outside the circle that you would like to bring inside? Perhaps you feel distanced from a colleague or your spouse. Perhaps you are suffering from compassion fatigue. What could you do to bring others into the loving circle of God’s embrace? Write their names outside your circle.
How is God’s creation bound with us within that circle? God’s loving circle doesn’t only encompass people it encompasses the creation too. What of God’s creation does your circle encompass at this particular moment? Write down what comes to mind.
Write your own circling prayer as a response to this exercise. Use the template
Lord circle me, keep ….within and ….without as a template. Read through your prayer. What other inspiration comes as you meditate on it?
Have Some Fun With Friends
Get together with some friends to look for circles and create circling prayers. Go for a run or a walk around your neighborhood or even just around your house and see how many circles you can find. Take photos or make a list of the circles you see. When you get together compare your lists and talk about the circles you noticed.
Now work on a circling prayer or exercise. You might like to use the template above or you could create a work of art with your circle. Here are some suggestions:
- Get out a large piece of paper and place it in the center of our table. Get everyone to doodle in a circular motion, with their eyes closed for 30 seconds. Open your eyes and create a pattern out of the doodle. Write words of encouragement inside the circles.
- Create a tree of many colors. Have your best artist sketch a tree skeleton on a large piece of paper. Have each person in the group draw and then color a circle to paste onto the tree. Write words that express what you would like to see inside the circle of God’s love on the colored circle then hang it on the tree.
- Alternatively, encourage people to gather rocks as they walk and when you come together get a large piece of construction paper to lay the rocks out in a circle. Get each person to write inside the circle the attributes of God they want embraced by God’s love and the names of those they want in the circle with them. Write outside the circle what you want to be excluded. Talk about the image you have created. Thank God for the circle of love that surrounds you.
- Go for a walk on the beach. Create circles in the sand. Make sure your circles overlap Write love at the center of the circles where they all overlap. Recite a circling prayer and a prayer of thanks to God.
Prayerfully watch the video below. Is there any other response that God is asking of you?
I love that our theme for November and December is Joy to the World! With all that is going on globally I need the reminder that Joy does exist! And I need to actually PRACTICE finding joy in my daily life. Sometimes it’s hard to descibe how we find Joy. So it helps to think of the opposite of Joy.
I think it also helps to identify what takes away our joy. What things pop right into your head when I ask “What steals your joy?” For me it’s things like traffic, Too Much Noise, Too Much TV especially news, lack of sleep, and Paper work!
So for Advent I need to plan ways to avoid these things. And to notice when these and other things are stealing my joy! What are your Joy Stealers? And How can you and I plan ways to avoid JOY stealers this holiday season?
Step 1: Identify your Joy Stealers. Make a list!
Step 2: Make a plan and choose to lose the Joy Stealing actions and activities in the days ahead!
Step 3: Identify what brings you Joy and start practicing these things!
Step 4: Start watching for Joy! Notice when Joy happens! Document JOY sightings!
Where do you find Joy? What things naturally bring JOY to you?
I find JOY in hanging out with children. Their curiosity and sense of wonder remind me that I need to be more curious and more wonder seeking! I spent some time in a third grade classroom last week, and even though it was late afternoon, they were still curious and still saw things I wouldn’t normally see. We were talking about why the trees lose their leaves in the fall and about photosynthesis and one boy noticed that a leaf seemed to be hanging off the tree all on it’s own, no branch in site! It was hanging by a spider web thread being gently blown by the wind. That’s the gift of noticing! Finding joy in the small things and taking time to notice them!
Which leads me to a second way I find JOY, being out in Nature. What things in Nature bring you JOY? Watching Sunsets are one of my favorite joy sources! The fall colors bring me joy too. And I absolutely love snow! Maybe watching a squirrel climb a tree or your cat investigate your briefcase or shopping bag can bring you joy and make you smile. Maybe plan some out door adventure or cook some s’mores over a firepit. Take time to notice the beauty of Creation and take time to be thankful.
If you have children at home or friends with kids, take time to ask them what makes them smile and this can help you catch Joy too! Volunteer in a classroom or take a walk with a child and notice what they notice, like the leaves, the bugs, the faces and shapes in the clouds.
Maybe you find joy when you take time to create something. It could be baking something or making something with your hands. Perhaps you could choose to turn off the TV or step away from the computer or phone and make or do something that brings you joy. Dust off your bicycle or get your sled ready for that first snow fall. Shoot hoops, Swing on a swing, plant something. Make a new play list with songs that bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face and listen to them regularly. Share that play list with a friend to pass along the JOY! I love baking chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffins from scratch. The process of baking is joyfilled. And giving them to my neighbors adds to that joy.
What about you? What are your Joy Sightings? As a practice for Advent take time to Notice the things that bring a smile to your face. Document Joy Sightings! Write them down or take a pic with your phone to help you remember. We could even start a hashtag for Advent and share these joy filled things with each other to help spread the JOY to the world.
Please join me in Joy and #Joysighting this Advent!
by Christine Sine
As I was praying this morning this prayer came to me. I have printed it out and plan to use it to start my prayer times each morning over the next few days. I thought some of you might enjoy it too.
by Christine Sine
Welcome to Celtic Advent. I cannot remember when I have had more fun getting ready for Christmas. Starting some new practices has stirred my creative juices in new ways providing a wonderful sense of closeness to God and expectation for the coming season. The photo above is of my completed Advent garden – at least as complete as something that will continue to grow can be. It is set up on our dining room table and will provide a focus for both Tom and I as we celebrate the season each day. As I mentioned in my Monday post, I purposely chose to recycle on of my existing gardens, choosing a circular bowl to remind me of the circle of my life (a symbol so important to the Celts… but more of that next week). I also found that pulling out the old plants, dividing some of them, and replanting all of them in fresh soil was a great reminded that everything in my life is recycled too. I am constantly needing to replant and rearrange what is in the circle of my life to give me greater joy.
The photo below is of the altar I have set up for my personal morning devotions. An ancient icon of the annunciation that belonged to a relative who was a Greek orthodox priest, a “stained glass” image of Jesus and Mary, given to me by a friend who died shortly after of cancer, some of my favourite heart shaped rocks, my air plants and other living plants all on an “altar cloth” of a tea towel with designs from the Book of Kells. I love combining items that have sentimental value with some I have made, others that are repurposed and still others that are living. It is a great reminder to me that as we move towards the birth of Christ we move towards the One who renews and transforms all things, the One for whom nothing is ever lost or abandoned. 
Tom and I are still discussing exactly how we will celebrate each day, after all this is a new practice for us, but at this point we intend to light the appropriate candles in the Advent garden, read a short Celtic meditation each morning and then a prayer. We are also both setting reminders to pause at certain times during the day for a short “rest in the moment” break, a time to refocus and remind ourselves of what really matters in our lives.
Forgive any reluctance
we might have to engage
fully with this new day.
Replace our detachment
with expectation,
for all we might achieve
if we put our trust in you
and your confidence in us.
WAKE UP TO THE TECH REVOLUTION!
The tech revolution didn’t begin with the I-phone in 2008. It began 500 years ago with the creation of the printing press. That innovative technology transported people all over the planet into this new modern world.
WAKE UP TO A 33 YEAR OLD RADICAL UNLEASHING THIS NEW TECH!
This year we are celebrating the radical action of a 33 year old named Martin Luther. Martin not only broke away from the Catholic Church he used this remarkable new technology to make the bible available to all people not just the clergy.
As a consequence young Martin Luther became one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. This movement spread the gospel all over the world teaching believers how to study the Bible for themselves to follow in the way of Jesus.
In order to faithfully pass on their faith to the next generation many of these new protestant denominations created sets of doctrinal propositions. Too often these doctrinal statements were placed on the same level of authority as the scripture itself.
Today church planters report that young people, who were raised in churches that insisted that they “pledge allegiance” to a set of doctrinal statements, are looking for something more. They are looking for a more personally engaging approach to scripture to learn more about how to authentically follow the life and teaching of Jesus in their entire lives.
WAKE UP TO ACCERATING GROWTH OF NEW TECH IN CENTURY 21
All our lives have been forever changed by the creation of new technology from the internet, the IPhone and coming soon Virtual Reality. Young Christian innovators today, like Martin Luther, are seeking to use this new tech to share the story of Jesus. Even the American Bible Society is using the internet to share biblical resources more broadly so people can read and study the Bible for themselves.
However, in spite of this growing access to scripture globally we are seeing Christians in America “spending less time with the Bible and ascribing less authority to it than they used to.” According to Barna Research. They added “Led by millennials, 19% of Americans see the Bible as ‘just another book.’”
Roxeanne Stone, Barna’s Editor in Chief states, “It can be hard to have a sense of the Bible being an authority when you have a universe of knowledge at your finger tips.” With accelerating influence of the new tech we do indeed have access to not only to a new “universe of knowledge” but also a broad range of competing world views.
This new reality will increasingly challenge not only the leadership of new church planters, but also Christian educators and increasingly Christian families who want to raise their young in the way of Jesus.
WAKE UP TO THE 24 HOUR CONNECT TO TINY SCREENS
I can remember in the 70s and 80s when parents attempted to control their children viewing one screen in the living room with varying degrees of success. In the 90s we started to see multiple screens in families for the first time…including teens with their own TVs in their rooms. Parents began to lose screen control.
In 1995 I remember parents in the Temescal Community in Berkley California who found a successful way to regain control of media in their family. Bill and Cherrie had two pre-teens. They decided to have only one screen in their home which they used primarily as a video play back unit. They took their two kids to the library once a week to select the videos they wanted to watch in the coming week. Other families in their community supported this initiative supported this form screen stewardship.
However, today young parents tell me the only sense of influence they seem to have is how early to let them have their own screens. Many parents tell me that once their young master their tiny screens they feel an increasing sense of a loss of control.
I honestly wonder, with a growing number of church leaders, how much influence can 45 minutes of bible stories on Sunday have when Pew Research tell us kids are on their screens 8 to 9 hours a day. Do any readers know of parents that are finding ways to not only control screen time but to also take family time to share about the way of Jesus every week?
I am told by leaders in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship have college students put their I-phones away in their back packs at the beginning of their prayer meetings.
I heard of one church plant group which has a bucket in which everyone deposits their I-phones before they study scripture together…focusing singularly on their Bibles and their conversation. How does your community steward the use of the tiny screens you carry with you?
PLEASE RESPOND TO 2 QUESTIONS SO WE CAN SHARE THEM ON THE V3 SITE:
- WHAT ARE THE CREATIVE WAYS YOU ARE ENABLING MEMBERS IN YOUR CHURCH TO ENGAGE SCRIPTURE TO BECOME AUTHENTIC FOLLOWERS OF JESUS?
- WHAT ARE THE IMAGINATIVE WAYS AS PARENTS YOU NOT ONLY ENABLE YOUR KIDS TO RESPONSIBLY RESPONIBLY STEWARD THEIR SCREENS BUT ALSO LEARN TO FOLLOW IN THE WAY OF THE SERVANT JESUS?
SEND YOUR EXAMPLES TODAY TO: twsine@gmail.com
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