As I sat with the tangled threads of yarn slipping through my fingers, untangling yet another knot, so that I could roll it into a ball and make something hopefully beautiful out of it, I thought to myself, “This is how God creates.”
God creates by making order out of chaos.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1
As I watched children making mud pies out of the dirt, unafraid to make a mess, unafraid to make a mistake, I thought to myself, “This is how God creates.”
God’s not afraid to get his hands dirty or stoop down amidst the mess.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1 (The Message)
As I pulled out strand after strand of yarn to start knitting a scarf over yet again, I thought to myself, “This is how God creates.”
God’s not afraid to start over.
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Isaiah 65
As I scrolled through my friends beautiful etsy shop, where every stunning product is made from that which had once been discarded, I thought to myself, “This is how God creates.”
And As I walked through a new interactive art exhibit made entirely from trash and watched my son experience each of the senses through things that were essentially garbage, I thought to myself, “This is how God creates.”
God creates by making new vessels from old. God creates by making beauty from ashes. God creates by taking broken people and making them his children.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2
As I lay in the doctor’s office and heard the heartbeat of the new babe within, and contemplate the last time I had heard that strange sound, I think to myself, “This is how God creates.”
God creates by making one flesh from two. God creates in intimate proximity to his creation.
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2
“If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there…For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139
I am created in the creative image of God. So, does my creativity look like God’s creativity?
Do I create order or do I create chaos?
When I create am I afraid to get my hands dirty? Am I afraid to create something that’s “not good”?
When I create am I too lazy or fearful or impatient to start over?
Do I create beauty from ashes or ashes from beauty? Do I use the resources I already have no matter how limited or am I too quick to throw things away?
Do I create unity or division when I create?
Do I fully enter into the creative process, getting to know and love my creations intimately, as a mother birthing a child?
Do I create in the image of my creator?
Rejoicing in the journey –
Bethany Stedman
by Lilly Lewin
by Lilly Lewin. All Rights Reserved
The Celtic Christians had prayers they prayed for daily tasks like: starting the fire in the morning, making the beds, prayers as they walked to the fields to work, etc. I follow their lead and pray as I do daily tasks around the house. I am someone who hates to do housework! So I had to make housework a prayer practice starting with my kitchen. We lived in a house in Cincinnati that had a horrible kitchen, it really was stuck in 1985; dark wood cabinets, geese stenciling and no dishwasher. Let’s just say I detest doing dishes, but since Rob is the chef dishes are my duty. I decided to turn my kitchen into a prayer room. First I made a prayer window using colorful post it notes to write down prayer requests and people I was praying for and I stuck them on the windowpanes.
As I did dishes I would pray for these friends and family members. As people asked me to pray for them I added them to the window. I added a small dray erase board over the sink to add things I needed to pray for that came up while I did dishes. I covered up the ugly wall paper on one wall with a large map of the world and added post it notes to the map for friends and needs around the world. As I listened to the news in the kitchen, I was reminded to pray for places around the globe where the love and peace of God were needed.
My lint filter in my dryer started out as a Lenten prayer practice and now is my daily prayer reminder. When I clean out the lint I ask God what the things are that need cleaning out in my life? It’s an opportunity for confession of the stuff that I need to give up and ask for forgiveness.
Another prayer practice happens when I am out doing errands. I let God inspire me to pray using cars and license plates. When I see the kind of car a friend or family member drives, I am reminded to pray for that person. My son drives a Ford Explorer so when I see one I am reminded to pray for him. My friend Sandy drives a VW beetle so when I see one I pray for her. I’ve also used letters on license plates as prayer reminders. While stopped in traffic or at a light I look around for initials that remind me to pray for people. One year I was having a conflict with a certain person and it seemed like daily I would see a license plate with this person’s initials on it! I was reminded to ask God to love that person I was having a problem loving and change my attitude towards him. Not easy to do! I call this type of prayer practice “praying along the way.” For more ideas check out freerangeworship.com.
This post is part of our September Creative Prayer theme.
Used from pixabay. Click image for source.
What books have shaped your life?
It’s not an incredibly unusual question. When I was recently asked, I rattled off a few of the many titles that came to mind. But the question lingered in my mind, the phrasing of it struck me.
It wasn’t simply, “What books do you like?” Not a question of mere preferences and pleasures.
The inquiry was much more substantial, much heavier. “What books have shaped you?” It’s a question of influence and of what has been important to me.
It’s a question of formation. Which makes it, in a way, a question of prayer.
And the books I listed – yes, they certainly have formed me. Some formed me through providing information that impacts my worldview and actions. Others formed me providing a narrative of adventure or suffering, stories that expanded my compassion and heart knowledge.
But while it’s true that certain books have influenced me, I think it’s more true to say that the act of reading has shaped me —even the unhelpful stuff, the mundane, not-life-changing texts.
Reading is a form of prayer.
Reading gives me the chance to live a thousand lives in the fraction of a century that I’ve been on this planet. Reading shows me the results of various decisions, because of which I haven’t had to make the same mistake myself (although, to be sure, I’ve found plenty of unoriginal mistakes to make as well). Reading puts me in the heads of other people, allowing me to step into their world and value systems and understand what informs their experiences. It shows me who I could have been in a different time or place, or my life if I had made a few different decisions. At its best, reading helps me to really feel what it’s like to inhabit another life.
But above anything else, praying by reading expands my capacity for compassion.
This, of course, helps me better understand how I feel and my own particularity and helps me understand others and respond more kindly than I might otherwise have done.
But what feels more important is that reading helps me to understand aspects of universal human experiences. We all feel sadness and joy. We are all confused and trying to make meaning of our lives and our humanity. We’re all wondering what binds us together and what sets our own lives apart.
Although this thread of the human condition can be found in most writing (I believe that fiction, narratives, memoirs, and biographies are all among God-breathed text), this pursuit of humanity is particularly why I turn to reading scripture.
Many ask what a text written for an ancient community on the other side of the world has to do with us. Christians, too often, seem to read the texts of what they call the “Old Testament” only to demonstrate how Jesus is found in the stories. As though they only became imbued with value once God took on flesh.
But if freed from the constraint of a “holy” pedestal, these texts are freed to exist as stories, the reading of which, like all story-prayers, is meant to shape us. They offer glimpses into battlefields and royal chambers, put us in the skin of both the righteous and the corrupt, and steer us toward compassion for the widow and the foreigner.
As the author advises in the opening of the “secular” novel (as if there is such a thing) The Great Gatsby, “Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Narratives shape us by giving us entry points into otherness. Narratives are important because they remind us that life isn’t an equal playing field, that there is diversity of experience, and also that there is some common thread in humanity that holds us all together.
by Rev. Brenda Warren. All Rights Reserved
Isn’t it interesting how our faith in God often evolves, transforms, and grows richer and deeper over our lifetime? A little over a decade ago, an ancient way of praying and seeking God entered my life that multitudes around the world are also re-discovering.
Ambling through the gorgeous tree-filled and peacock strutting grounds at The Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center in Houston, Texas, I came across a large circular/spiral shape set into the ground with small stones and gravel. I was intrigued. There was a small box on a stand nearby holding pamphlets describing this as a labyrinth that is useful as a method for prayer.
Following the pamphlet’s instructions, with some hesitation and trepidation, I gingerly stepped into my Celtic “coracle” and entered into the circuitous earthy river on this virgin voyage of prayer pilgrimage. Since that initial life-altering spiritual journey on the labyrinth, two other types of labyrinths have been added to my prayer life. A wooden finger labyrinth is kept on my office desk and a labyrinth app has been placed on my smart phone. Both of these offer the opportunity for prayer, peace, and well being wherever I am.
Over the years, it has been a great joy to discover and to pray on labyrinths in a variety of locations. Labyrinths can now be found in places of worship, hospitals, schools, retreat centers, parks, and home lawns throughout our planet. These ancient paths of prayer are drawing people of many different faith traditions and some who struggle with the meaning of faith to experience a renewed sense of the sacred, of healing, of hope, and of wholeness in our lives and in our world.
There are many excellent online resources on labyrinths including:
Labyrinth groups:
http://www.veriditas.org. Dr. Lauren Artress, founder
https://labyrinthsociety.org
facebook:
Discover Labyrinths https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverLabyrinths/?fref=ts
The Labyrinth Society Global Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/TLSevents/
Labyrinth app for smart phones:
ipause (Free. There are several labyrinth shapes and accompanying songs)
Locations of labyrinths:
http://labyrinthlocator.com
http://wellfedspirit.org/U.S._map/US_Map.html
http://www.labyrinthos.net/locations01.html
http://www.mudge.screaming.net/MazeList.htm
This post is part of our September Creative Prayer theme.
Andy Wade –
Creation sings, giving glory to God. It’s easy to imagine this while out hiking in majestic mountains or watching the explosion of color as the sun sets over the ocean. But it happens all around us, every day, every moment, if only we’re alert enough to notice. One way to hone our sense of wonder as we join with creation in praising our Creator is to discover this symphony of worship in our own backyard. The garden is my sanctuary and, in it, God beckons me to draw near. Here are my top five ways to listen, and then join, this ongoing celebration of God.
Lectio Tierra: I described lectio tierra in detail in a post at the end of last month. This is really a simple way to pray that works well in the garden, in the neighborhood, or surrounded by nature in a forest. In the garden I simply wander around asking what God would like to speak to me through. It could be the splashing of birds in the birdbath, a particular flower or vegetable, or a worm wriggling around in the moist soil. The point is to find that element in the garden that seems to catch your attention, observe, try to discern its story, discover the intersections of that story with your own, and sit with this common message from God shared with another of God’s creation.
Star Gazing and Scents: There’s something special about going out to the garden on a cloudless and moonless night. Because of the darkness where I live, the stars seem to pop out of the sky. I always feel so small and yet so awe-struck by wonder sitting under the this bejeweled canopy. But it’s not just the stars that compel my thoughts toward God. Scents from all around the garden flood my nostrils with a banquet of goodness. Head back, eyes fixed on the stars and various garden fragrances rising up around me I’m reminded of a passage from the Revelation to John: “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand”. Indeed, the whole creation seems to join in my prayer, and that in itself fills me with wonder.
Praying Barefoot: If you don’t have bark dust all over your garden or prickly leaves like from a holly tree, this is a fun way to get out of a praying funk. Shed your shoes and socks and slowly walk through the garden. What do you feel? Sauntering through the soft, cool grass you might be reminded to pray for those who live in harsh climates and rarely experience this kind of comfort. A sudden poke by an unnoticed stick might prod you to recall an area of pain or brokenness in your life or a relationship that needs healing. Pray for wisdom and pray for avenues and opportunities to bring healing. What are the textures you feel as you wander through the garden? How do they relate to other areas of your life? Bring these things to God in prayer. If you want a more detailed example of this, check out my earlier post about praying barefoot in the neighborhood.
Releasing Fragrance with Touch: I love to meander the garden touching various plants as I go. Brushing up against the lavender, my senses are engulfed in a wonderful fragrance while running my hands through the hyssop yields a skunk-like odor. The Apostle Paul talks about our lives being an aroma to the world around us:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 2 Cor. 2:14-16
Bee on Hyssop
Personally I’d prefer to smell like lavender to the world rather than the skunky smell of hyssop. “Lord, make my life a pleasing fragrance to those around me.”
While rubbing my fingers over the tomato leaves, a very strong and distinctive fragrance is released. It’s not pleasing, nor is it offensive. It’s an odor that reminds me of the oils in the leaves that protect against aphids and other pests. I’ve never thought of odors as protection and yet in the garden there are many. “Lord, how can my life radiate a sense of protection or peace in my neighborhood?”
There are so many ways one can pray just by paying attention to the bouquet of the garden. Now try it again with taste (but be sure you know what you’re tasting!).
Death and Dying: This time of year in the Pacific Northwest, many of the plants in the garden are beginning to fade. There is a cycle to all of life, and far too often we avoid admitting that we, too, are a part of that cycle. Wandering into the garden I notice at once the sunflowers. Towering over the summer garden like golden-crowned princes, they seem to make the garden glow. But during this season, that brightness is beginning to fade, like the grandfather whose spark and wit still brightens a room even though worn around the edges. Full flowers dazzling in their brilliance is what I want to see. The fading flowers remind me that life, here, has its limits. Many lessons can be found in one plant.
- Why is it that I have trouble enjoying the full cycle of life?
- Is there something in death I need to embrace to be fully alive?
- What does the presence of flowers from a single plant, some just begging to bud, others in full bloom, and still others starting to fade…
- what do they have to teach me about God?
- what do they reveal about the beauty of generational diversity?
- which flower am I on this plant and how do I feel about that?
This is but one example of exploring our own mortality in all its beauty and brevity by intentionally praying in the garden.
These are my top five ways to pray in the garden. What have you tried?
Here in North America it’s the end of summer. Bees are still buzzing in my garden, pollinating the last of the summer crops and the new flowers emerging on the fall/winter crops. MSA/Godspace also continues to buzz.
For those of you that follow our Godspace Community Blog, you’ve probably noticed that, although Christine has officially retired from her Director of MSA job, she has not retired from writing. I’m excited and a bit relieved that Christine will continue writing her Monday Meditations as well as prayers which show up on our various Facebook pages.
Christine and I are also in discussion about how to revamp our two main workshops and find new ways to lead, and co-lead, and bring updated ideas and content to those who attend. We’re still looking for catchy titles for these workshops, so if you’ve attended “The Spirituality of Gardening” or one of our creative spiritual practices workshops or retreats in the past and have some ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Currently our working titles are “Gardening with God and Neighbor” and “Cultivating Effective Spiritual Practices for Personal and Community Transformation”.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Andy and Christine will be in Surry, British Columbia on Saturday, October 15th presenting “Creating Gardens of Hospitality” at A Rocha B.C. From there we head south to Tacoma, where we’ll be presenting at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church’s Celtic Faire on Sunday at 3:30pm. The Celtic Faire is actually going on all weekend, so if you’re in the area, you’ll probably want to check that out.
Tom is busy as ever with his new book, Live Like You Give a Damn! Join the Changemaking Celebration. Two weeks ago he was at the national Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) convention in Los Angeles. Last week he attended the SOCAP (Social Capital Markets) convention and held a “Live Like You Give a Damn!” event at Grace Fellowship Community Church, in San Francisco.
Next month Tom will be at Missions Fest Seattle on October 8th, and then in the Twin Cities at Colonial Church to connect with their exciting program, Innove, a community entrepreneurial competition for young folks to “create social and cultural betterment”. While in the Twin Cities Tom will also be connecting with United Seminary as well as Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.
Praying with Creation
New prayer cards, “Praying with Creation” are ready to ship! This new set is printed on heavy stock with a glossy finish, which really makes the images pop. I love nature, and discovering new ways to focus on creation in giving glory to God has been a fun and exciting adventure.
Looking Ahead
The Godspace Community Blog has been buzzing. This month’s theme, “The Prayerful Imagination: Praying Creatively for More Meaningful Connections with God and Others” has really taken off. We’ve had a wide variety of posts from all over the world including many new prayer practices that really engage the imagination.
“Living into the Shalom of God” is our theme for October. We’ll be exploring what this looks like in a variety of contexts and would value your contribution. If you’ve not joined us as a writer on the blog, take a minute to see what it means on our writer’s FAQ page. You can write just one post, an ocassional post, or become one of our regular contributors.
Featured Authors for October include:
- Leroy Barber and his new book, Embrace
- Brenda Salter McNeil and her new book, Roadmap to Reconciliation
- Soong-Chan Rah and his newest book, Prophetic Lament
Expect great things in October!
Looking Further Ahead on Godspace Community Blog
November is a great time to start preparing for Advent and Christmas — Not preparing by decorating and buying a lot of stuff we don’t really need, but by “Preparing our Hearts and Homes for Advent and Christmas” (our theme that month) so that it doesn’t end up a whirlwind of stress, busyness, and anxiety.
We’re going to take a little different approach on the blog in November, choosing to focus on specific sub-themes for each week. Here’s a little foretaste to whet your appetite and, for you writers, get you thinking ahead about how you would like to contribute:
- Week 1: Overcoming Consumerism — resisting the drive for more
- Week 2: Resting in Chaos — How to create space for rest when the world is whipped up into a frenzy.
- Week 4: Making Space for Hospitality — Ideas for gatherings of welcome and moments of connecting.
- Week 5: The Beginning of Advent…
Our December Advent theme this year is “Entering the World with Jesus: Looking for Jesus in all the right places”. How do we do that? We’re planning to explore what that means, what it looks like, in very specific places. Again, we’ll focus on weekly sub-themes:
- Week 1: …in our home
- Week 2: …in our neighborhood
- Week 3: …in our city
- Week 4: …in our world
As you can see, there are a lot of great things heading our way! What really excites me about all of this is that our little team at MSA/Godspace isn’t creating all of the content from perpsectives limited by our small staff, but we are connected through our ever-growing community of writers from all over the world. And, just in case you missed it before, we’re always looking to expand that community of writers. If you think you might be interested, or maybe just want to try writing one post to see how it goes, please check out our writer’s FAQ page then drop us an email to find out more.
Please continue to pray:
- For our board of directors as they help us walk through this important time of transition and discernment.
- For Gil George’s continued healing following a bicycle accident in July. We’re grateful for healing that’s already come, for new front teeth, and that he’s back editing and posting our blog contributions for Godspace.
- For our upcoming travels and speaking engagements.
- For Christine and Tom as they navigate the changes in their lives.
- And for me as I continue to adjust to my new role as Director.
Together creating pathways of Shalom,
Andy Wade
Director
Mustard Seed Associates // Godspace
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by Kristen Leigh Kludt
Creative Commons licensed from Pixabay.
Picnic Table Nature
The day was beautiful. We sat at a picnic table in the shade of a eucalyptus tree hung with yellow balloons. It was a birthday party, and we ate and laughed and ran around the park with the kids.
There were so many kids. Leah Beth and David had two children, Becca and Andrew another two, Katie and Joey had one and another on the way. We had been trying to become pregnant for a year, but our arms were empty.
The sun was too hot, the park too full, the perfect foil for my empty womb. I joined the kids at the playground a while, talked half-heartedly about teaching with the moms, and finally settled in where I often did in those days—hovering at my husband’s elbow, half-listening to the dads talk about theology and church and family and future. That was easier than listening to chatter about baby food and toddler development or—worse—knowing I was the reason such a natural subject was avoided.
An hour into the party, I could no longer hover next to Dave. The pain gnawed at my belly, and it was spilling out. Hiding my tears, I ran to the bathroom.
The cool concrete structure mirrored my heart much better than the glare of the sun outside. It was empty, quiet. The fluorescent lights were sterile, unflattering, clinical. I liked them that way. I locked myself into a stall, wrapped my arms tight around my chest, and screamed the silent scream of loss. What was wrong with me? Why was my body so broken, so unable to do what I thought God created it to do? I murmured “why” after “why” aloud to the dirty metal walls. The emptiness of my womb burned like fire. I sobbed in that empty bathroom under the sterile lights and let the fire consume me. I surrendered to grief.
I remembered the birthday party. I doused the fire, not yet spent, letting the coals continue to ravage my insides. I wiped my eyes, took a deep breath, and headed back into the sunlight with a smile. I did not want to have anything to explain.
Grief in the unknown: It is baffling. How do you grieve the loss of something that never was? I had so much need in that time. I was ragged, broken, trying to keep it together enough to be appropriate in public, then screaming silently behind closed doors. How else could I function? We have to go on at times like that. There is no choice. So I danced back and forth between grief and pretending.
Where was God in all of this? In my heart, God was distant, angry. I assumed God was disappointed with me and maybe didn’t love me much. In reality, I was the distant, angry one—distant, often, even from my own emotions. What would it look like to lessen that distance? What would it look like to enter the darkness unafraid?
I began, slowly, to make space for grief. I started with a simple practice of welcoming my emotions. That practice led to others, and I became less afraid of my own darkness. One day I would believe, whatever my circumstances, that God loved me and was near. The journey toward hope began with this small step.
An Invitation to Practice
How do we come to know the tender places within us in order to experience God’s love more fully?
- Pay attention. Are you angry today? Do you find yourself more easily frustrated than usual? Did something happen that brought you to tears? Are you overwhelmed with gratitude or pride in an accomplishment?
- Pause. Take some time to allow yourself to feel that emotion. If you can, go into a room alone and be still. Dance if you’re happy or cry if you’re sad. If you are in public, go to your car, or to the bathroom. Welcome whatever it is that you are feeling, allow it to course through you, to wash over you like a wave in the ocean, and to recede.
- Mark this moment. Write a simple poem in your journal. Create a crazy hodge-podge art piece. Copy the words of a Psalm of praise or lament. Throw a rock into the ocean or throw a party. Whatever you do, invite God along.
Adapted from A Good Way Through: My Journey with God from Disappointment into Hope, coming in spring of 2017.
This post is part of our September Creative Prayer theme.
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