I have just finished reading Sybil MacBeth’s book Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God. Its message really resonated with me, partly I am sure because I am having fun painting on rocks and discovering the joy of play as a focusing point for prayer.
This is a remarkable little book. I would highly recommend for anyone who becomes distracted when they pray, can’t sit still for more than a few minutes, or who finds the use of words alone restricting when they try to draw close to God. Doodling, drawing and colouring are all creative acts that can help us to move beyond multitasking to achieve a laser focus on the people we want to pray for and the God we want to pray to. Giving our creativity free reign like Sybil suggests is a liberating way to enrich our prayer life and strengthen our faith.
I love Sybil’s comment A clipboard turns any place into a prayer corner. It is not where we are that determines the effectiveness of our prayers but our ability to find a quiet place in which we can zero in on what really matters. So get out some paper and coloured markers or pencils and start praying in colour. Follow the simple directions Sybil gives on her website and discover the joy of praying with all your senses.
A couple of weeks ago, in my post Thinking Beyond the Resurrection, I talked about the garden I was creating to help me focus during the Easter season. It has worked even better than I expected. The “standing stones” I wrote on draw my attention each morning and I often find my eyes drifting to them throughout the day as well. In a world of multi tasking they encourage me to pause and single task by listening for what God might say. Sometimes I rearrange them as different words catch my attention, inviting me to respond.
Yesterday my meditations gave rise to the following prayer which I thought you would appreciate:
Listen to what the heart hears,
Beauty for ashes,
Joy from pain,
Freedom through forgiveness.
Let God’s love speak to you,
Do not lock away what is broken,
Nor leap over your suffering.
Discover humanity in the one who has hurt you.
Joy comes in the morning,
Death gives way to life.
Have you ever wondered what’s in your soil? How many organisms really reside in that precious topsoil that we so take for granted when we garden? This is the time of year I spend a lot of time thinking about this. I have just been outside picking greens for our evening salad and repotting tomatoes ready to go in the soil next week. And if you are wondering, for those in Seattle yes I do have tomato plants available for purchase again – this year guaranteed organic and herbicide free.
Yesterday I checked out the Home Grown Edible Landscape website and this article entitled What’s in a Teaspoon of Soil caught my attention. The results might astound you. In a teaspoon of soil there is:
- 1 million to 1oo million bacteria
- 150 – 500 micrograms of fungal hyphae
- 10,000 to 100,000 protozoa
- 15 – 500 beneficial nematodes
- a few to several hundred thousand microarthropods
Wow I thought – this is amazing and as the article commented It’s crowded in there. The complexity of our planet’s ecosystems is awe inspiring and the deeper we dig (no pun intended) the more complex it seems to be. The complexity of a teaspoon of soil is incredible but the amazing thing is that every teaspoon of soil is different. Different structure and different life. And then just when we think we have it all figured out we go and add some compost and the life and structure changes. It is enriched and nourished by what we have added and as a result is able to give birth to more life.
God’s first love is the soil. This is how it has to be, because without healthy soil and the fertility and food it makes possible, there would be no terrestrial life of any kind. God’s love for us – described definitely in John 3:16 as God’s giving of his son to us – only makes sense in terms of God’ love for the earth that sustains us.
Thinking about that, not surprisingly started me thinking about the God who created it. God too seems more complex the deeper we dig. And when we try to place a part of God under the microscope as we can do with a teaspoon of soil what we find is incredible.
Unfortunately our microscopic examination of a teaspoon of God makes us feel we undertand all about God. But of course we don’t. Every teaspoon of soil is different just as every teaspoon of God is different. And every teaspoon nourishes different kinds of life. Some of us grow well in sandy soil, others in rich loamy soil. What nourishes you may not nourish me. In fact the more we know about God the more complex God seems to be and the less we feel we understand. And then just when we think we understand compost gets added and the very nature of our understanding changes. It becomes richer, nourished and enlivened just as God.
Imagine what it would be like if we could place all the soil on the planet under a microscope at the same time – the complexity would blow our minds & the calculations of how much life existed would freeze our brains. Of course it would be impossible to build a microscope big enough for that to happen. So why do we try to do that with God? We think that we can place God under the microscope and understand all of who God is and what God is capable of. Yet really we are only looking at a teaspoonful of God.
A blessed Earth day to you all. This seems like an appropriate time to post some info about the upcoming Spirituality of Gardening seminars that I will be doing over the next couple of months.
The first is in Denver with Kathy Escobar at the Refuge May 30th. If you are in the area I hope you can join us. You can sign up on the Facebook event page or contact Kathy Escobar (kathyaescobar@gmail.com) for more details
The second is in Calgary Alberta, with Denise DeNeve at the FCJ Christian Life Center, June 13th. I am really looking forward to this and hope that some of you can join me there. If you have friends in the Calgary area please let them know.
The third will be at A Rocha Canada in Surrey British Columbia on September 19th so if you are in the Vancouver, Abbotsford or Mission area this is the event for you – save the date as we will soon be posting more details.
And don’t forget it is also time to sign up for our 24th Annual Celtic retreat August 7-9, to get the early bird special rate.
This post is out of date. Please visit our updated resource page.
A couple of days ago I was asked for a resource list for Earth day and so thought it was about time that I posted on this topic. Here are some of the best that I have found to add to the prayers and liturgies I have already posted on this blog
Prayers and Liturgies
Let All Creation Praise has links to a number of great resources.
An array of great resources from A Rocha Canada which celebrates Good Seed Sunday April 26th.
A range of prayers from Earth Ministry
Green heart education has some good Earth day prayers from different religious perspectives.
Catholic Climate Covenant posted an excellent list of resources last year.
A downloadable prayer resource compiled by the Committee for Social Justice and the Office of Religious & Family Life Education
Prayers from St Francis and Hildegard von Bingen on the Web of Creation
Evangelical Environmental Network also has a variety of creation care resources.
And a wonderful garden reflection from MSA colleague Andy Wade
Earth Day Resources on Godspace:
Here is a compilation of all the resources I have posted for Earth day over the last few years:
Earth Day Prayers for 2015
Native American Prayers for Earth Day
A Garden blessing for Earth Day 2013
Earth Day Liturgy – probably my favourite
A Liturgy for Celebration of Creation
And don’t forget our FREE DOWNLOAD – Creating a Faith Based Community Garden.
A Few Books to Read
It is impossible for me to list all the books that make good reading for Earth day from a faith perspective. Here are a few that I have read in the last couple of years that I recommend:
Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology by Daniel Brunner, Jennifer Butler and A.J. Swoboda. A great resource that is biblically rooted and historically informed. It enables us to deepen our witness on behalf of creation.
A Climate of Hope: Church and Mission in a warming world. by Claire Dawson and Dr Mick Pope. A well thought out Australian perspective on climate change and our Christian responsibility. Lots of good stories from Australia and abroad.
Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling and Community by Leah Kostamo. I love this little book. Easy to read with lots of delightful stories. Leah works with A Rocha Canada.
Onward and Upward in the Garden: Katherine S White. This is a timeless classic. Written in 1958 it is a refreshing collection of essays about gardening, writing and the inspiration we receive.
Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry. Another classic from one of my favourite authors challenging us to become more conscious of the lives of those who produce our foo and the world from which our food comes.
To Garden with God by Christine Sine. A collection of reflections on faith and gardening. I am amazed at the ways that people have used this book to help them connect their faith and their time in the garden
Resources for Kids
Several downloadable prayer services for kids from Green Bookee
A couple of great Earth day videos for kids
Collect your journal, a pen and a coloured crayon.
Take a walk outside into the garden or your neighbourhood park and take a few deep breaths in and out. Stand for a few moments and savour the beauty of God’s creation.
Look around you at the trees and their different leaves. Admire their shape, feel their texture, inhale their aroma. Choose for yourself a green leaf that you like the shape of. Find a comfortable place to sit down and examine it closely. Trace the fine lines of its veins with your finger. Feel its texture and rub it against your skin. Smell it and sit for a few moments in quiet contemplate of its beauty.
What is your response?
How would you describe your leaf? Is it strong, fragile, think or brittle? How is it different from the leaves of other trees, or even from the other leaves on its own tree?
What does this small piece of God’s creation tell you about God’s creation.
What does it tell you about the Creator?
Write down what you are sensing. Take time to express your reflections and discoveries through a prayer to God.
Place your leaf behind a clean sheet of paper in your journal and create a rubbing impression of your leaf by shading with your coloured crayon. Be gentle, but press hard enough that you begin to see the outline of your leaf’s shape, stem and veins.
What is your response?
What does this aspect of God tell you about yourself as a created being? Consider writing a poem or taking some photos that express what you are sensing.
Now watch this short reflection from the naturalist artist Andy Goldsworthy.
or if you have time watch the full length video about Andy Goldsworthy’s life and art.
What is your response? How does it inspire you to care for God’s creation in new ways?
April 22nd is Earth Day so keeping that in mind, I thought that I would focus on a craft that draws us into reflection on God’s good creation. I came across this creative cool craft project from poopscapecom (love that name don’t you?).
Collect and decorate humble river or garden rocks with gold leaf to create a beautiful decoration for your desk, home, or backyard, a wonderful and enduring reminder to pray for the earth and very simple for those that have a black thumb.
You will need:
- a selection of river rocks (should be smooth), thoroughly washed and dried
- gold leaf
- Graphix double tack mounting film
- a small brush
- small sharp scissors (for making those dainty cuts) or an x-acto knife
Step by Step instructions are available at poopscapecom. Photos above by poopscapecom.
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