This prayer was in the Christmas devotional I read Monastery Journey to Christmas. Something for us all to think about as we head towards Lent and Easter too. What makes it possible for us to keep a Christmas heart.
Lord let me keep a Christmas heart,
That, mid the tumult of the throng,
Still hears the echo, clear and sweet, of angels’ song!
Lord, let me keep a Christmas heart,
That hears and sees another’s needs,
And strives each day to follow Thee in word and deed!
Lord, let me keep a Christmas heart,
To light with joy the children’s eyes,
And know the Christ Child, though he come in humble guise!
So may I know the joy within
The wise men, coming from afar,
Knew, when at last, o’er Bethlehem
They saw thy star!
So may I keep thy birthday, Lord!
In ll I say, in all I do!
A Christmas heart of faith and love
The whole year through!
Poem by Grace Bush.
Advent and Christmas are over and we are now into the season of Epiphany but Lent and Easter are not far away. It is time to get ready for our annual Lenten blog series.
For Lent this year we have chosen the theme A Journey Into Wholeness which will compliment the publication of our new Lenten/Easter devotional A Journey Into Wholeness now available for pre-order at a special discount price from the MSA website. As many of you know this book arose out of my frustration with the triviality of most peoples’ commitment to Lent – giving up chocolate or lattes for 40 days just does not seem to cut it.
So lets help people to not only take Lent more seriously but to take the journey of God and the purposes of God more seriously. A recent emailer commented: I appreciate your very “earthy” spirituality, which, of course, translates into heavenly readings! That is a tribute to those of you who regularly write for these blog series. Your reflections help people take their faith more seriously and often establish new disciplines and ministries in their lives.
In the book, A Journey Into Wholeness, each week of Lent has a different emphasis and it is my hope that the daily reflections will help draw people more fully into those themes. In fact it begins a few days before Lent with reflections on preparing for Lent and Easter.
The five weeks of Lent and Holy week emphasis are:
A Journey into the Brokenness of Our Inner Selves
A Journey into the Brokenness of Hunger
A Journey Into the Brokenness of Homelessness
A Journey Into the Brokenness of Creation
A Journey Into the Brokenness of God’s Family
A Journey from Palm Sunday to the Cross
The daily reflections in the book are drawn from previous blog series and I appreciate those of you who have contributed these. Each contributor to this year’s series will receive a free ebook as a thank you for their contribution. It is our hope that this year’s reflections will provide the foundations for a future Lent/Easter devotional. People are looking for practical resources like these that help them get engaged in God’s hurting world. We want to continue to provide creative resources that move them closer towards God. This also provides a creative outlet for those of you who want to get published – contributing to something like this is a small step in the right direction.
So here is your assignment should you choose to accept it:
Choose one of the themes above and write a 600-800 word blog post. If possible include one practical suggestion of something that the reader could do to make this discipline more concrete. Let us know ASAP which theme you have chosen so that we make sure all themes are well covered.
Submit your post by March 5th – If you would like to contribute but do not think you can meet this deadline please let us know when your post will be available.
Provide photos of yourself, a short bio and any links that you would like in the post. Attach jpegs of any other photos that you would like included in the post.
Help us spread the word:
For everyone even if you don’t contribute a post:
Before Lent begins let your friends know that you are participating in A Journey into Wholeness and send them a link to this post. If you would let friends know about the Lenten book A Journey Into Wholeness that would be appreciated too.
If you do provide a post, when your post goes live share the link to your post with your Facebook, twitter and other social media networks.
For those of you that blog:
Before Lent begins do a short post letting people know about the series and that you will be contributing or following. (We will do one in the next couple of weeks that you might like to repost). If you would mention the Lenten devotional that would be much appreciated too. On the day your post goes live please post a paragraph from the post on your own blog and then link to the post on godspace.
A couple of times during Lent we will do a “the series so far…” post. Please post this on your blog too.
As the popularity of what we publish and post increases I realize the increased responsibility that goes with what we do. I hope that you will continue to participate and invite others who may be interested to do the same.
This prayer came to me in the middle of the night last night when I could not sleep. Visualizing God within and without me relaxed and calmed me so that I was soon able to fall asleep.
One of the comments on this post mentioned Dan Schutte’s song Christ Circle Round Us, which I just listened to on you tube. It is beautiful and well worth the listen.
We are pleased to announce that our new resource A Journey Into Wholeness: Soul Travel From Lent to Easter is now available for pre-order at a special price. E-book will also be available early February. This book is based on our popular Lenten guide A Journey into Wholeness but incorporates daily reflections, updated resources and weekly litanies.
Keith R. Anderson, D Min President , The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology says:
Devotional texts are often hard to take because they lack substance or range of thought or depth of writing. The title of this writing, A Journey into Wholeness, makes a bold claim. To offer daily reflections into wholeness will require substance, range, and depth, if it is to be richly whole itself. The readings in front of you now offer all of that in an accessible way.
Al Tizon, Co-president of Evangelicals for Social Action adds:
Journey is not spirituality for spirituality’s sake, as if to encourage some kind of evangelical-mystical navel-gazing. On the contrary, we’re invited to go deep within ourselves where Christ transforms us in order to become agents of transformation in a desperately needy world.”
We hope that you will join us on this exciting journey through Lent and Easter.
Create Your Best Life in 2014
Our first workshop at the Mustard Seed House in Seattle will be held this coming Saturday January 11th. In Creating Your Best Life for 2014, Tom Sine will challenge participants to develop a sense of calling for the year and encourage them to create a one year plan that integrates spiritual growth and creative new possibilities for their lives. We hope you can join us for this exciting event.
To create our best life for the entire year we need discipline and regular renewal. March 1st I will facilitate our pre-Lent retreat, Return to Our Senses in Lent and November 15th a pre-Advent retreat, Return to Our Senses in Advent. Like the retreats that Tom and I take several times a year, these days are designed to help all of us keep our lives focused on God’s purposes and not allow the secular culture to distract us. Without this type of intentionality we will never become the people God intends us to be.
An Integrated Series on Faith and Sustainability
Though each of our retreats and workshops are stand alone events, we are also drawing them together as an integrated series on sustainable faith and sustainable life. It is our desire to provide a year long process that moves us on a journey of discovery towards both a more sustainable life and a more sustainable faith.
Our integrated series includes:
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We hope you will also save the date for our annual Celtic retreat August 8-10 on Camano Island. Our theme for this year is, St Brigit and the Hospitality of God. Come be inspired and renewed to create new possibilities for your life.
By the end of 2014 we expect that some of these events will also be available as online offerings so that those who do not live in the Seattle area can join us in the journey. We also expect to have a new Advent/Christmas resource available so that at the very least we can all journey together through the reflective seasons of Lent/Easter and Advent/Christmas.
On the Godspace and Mustard Seed blogs we will host several series on sustainable life and sustainable faith throughout the year. If you would like to become part of one of these blogging teams please contact us for more information.
Join Us For An Exciting Year
We have an exciting year ahead and welcome your participation. Above all we appreciate your prayer, encouragement and support.
Our Advent theme this last year, Coming Home: Uncovering Our Roots in the Advent Story. The topic was so popular that not only did Godspace provide daily reflections and podcasts but other websites too contributed to the series. All of us long for home, and whether we realize it or not, that longing is for more then the physical home in which we grew up. As Frederick Buechner says:
The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are all of us homesick for it.
I hope that you have enjoyed the series. We would love to hear how it impacted your life this year. And in case you missed any of the posts here are all the links to the posts related to the topic.
Podcasts and Advent video:
First week of Advent with Tara Ward and Chelle Stearns listen here, Second week of Advent with Aaron Strumpel, Dwight Friesen, and Donna and Jim Mathwig listen here Third Week of Advent with Karen Ward, Tacey Howe Wispelwey and Mary September listen here Fourth Week of Advent with Lacey Brown and Tom Sine, listen here Advent Mediation Video Coming Home to the Story of God.
Also if you are still looking for resources for Advent and Christmas check out our Advent, Christmas and New Year resources and the Prayer cards and free downloadable Advent in a Jar available through our store
And if you missed any of the daily posts from Advent and Christmas:
- Stable, Inn or Welcoming Home, Where Was Jesus Born and Why Does it Matter?
- Peace Dancing by Esther Hizsa
- Mary and Mindfulness by Kristin Carroccino
- Advent is All About Light by Kate Kennington Steer
- A Summertime Advent by David Bayne
- Pancha Rathas by Amanda Geers
- Is there Room for Jesus to Find a Home in My Heart – Christine Sine
- Wait, Hope, See by Kimberlee Conway Ireton
- Tis the Season of Joy or is It – Christine Sine
- Coming Home by Alex Tang
- Finding Home and Homes by Lynne Baab
- What is the Future You Want to Come Home to by Tom Sine?
- Where’s Home by Andy Wade
- Coming Home to the Kingdom of Love – Will We Be Comfortable – Christine Sine
- Bearing the Joy Light by Kimberlee Ireton Conway
- Coming Home by Paula Mitchell
- Coming Home – the Story God is Giving Me Through Infertility Andrea Frankenfeld
- …And Moved Into the Neighborhood by Jeri Bidinger
- It Has Come to this by Dave Timmer
- Coming Home to the One Whose Face the Whole World Longs to See– Christine Sine
- The God Who Is Come by Beth Stedman
- Welcome Home by Margaret Trotman
- Homesick For A Place We’ve Never Been by Sean Gladding
- A Prayer for Christmas Eve
- A Litany for the Christmas Season
- Let Sing and Rejoice – Christmas is not Over Yet
If you have just started to follow this series may like to watch our Advent meditation video too. The theme for this year’s Advent series Coming Home was also picked up by the December synchroblog which adds another great series of posts that you might like to check out.
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- Jeremy Myers – It Sounds Like Christmas
- Nathan Kitchen – Coming Home
- Michelle at Moments with Michelle – Home
- Mallory Pickering – I’m Kind of Homesick
- Bobi Ann Allen – Coming Home
- J.A. Carter – Going Home
- Glenn Hager – Where the Adventure Begins
- Marta Layton – Can You Ever Come Home Again?
- Peggy at Abisomeone – Abi Has Finally Come Home For Christmas
- Amy Hetland – Coming Home
- Coffeesnob – Home
- Carol Kuniholm – Advent Three: Redefining Home
- Liz Dyer – Advent 2013 The Way Home
- Harriet Long – The Body and the Sacred: Coming Home
- Edwin Pastor Fedex Aldrich – Who I Was Made to Be
- Emkay Anderson – Homemaking
- Anita Coleman – At Home in the Kingdom of God
- Kathy Escobar – Mobile Homes (Not That Kind)
- Jennifer Clark Tinker – My Itinerant Home
- Doreen Mannion – Heart is Where the Home is
- Sarah Quezada – Coming Home with Tamales in Tow
- Loveday Anyim – Home is Where the Heart Belongs
“The Laughing Christ” by Cyril Shield
I mentioned in my Saturday post The Making of Joy that I am reading Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. The quote I referred to God’s joy is to love us, has revolved in my mind ever since and along with it The joy of the Lord is my strength (Psalm 5:11). I know that God wants me to live in joy and peace but for some reason the fact that God too lives in joy has escaped me. And that it is God’s joy, not my joy that gives me strength is earth shattering for me. I grow strong not because I am joyful but because who I am and what I do gives God joy.
This distinction is important for us. I just googled for images of the “laughing Christ” – there are only three paintings that I was shown. We tend to see God as a stern and unapproachable entity, one who is more likely to frown then to smile, more likely to criticize then express joy. Yet I think God is a joyful God, weighed down by the brokenness of our world, yes, but One who radiates joy inherently finding delight and fulfillment in all creation. “It is good” says God at the end of the creation story, a wonderful exclamation of joy, fulfillment and delight. That is who God is and who God intends us to be.
So what gives God joy? First as Greg Boyle says, God’s joy is grounded in the wonder of divine love for us. Just as a parent finds joy in their child because of the deep and abiding love they have for their child, so God loves us. And this love bond is something that can never be broken. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God and the joy that God takes in looking on us as children.
Now don’t get me wrong, God does not delight in our brokenness or our sinfulness, but as every parent who has ever loved a straying child knows, the ache of love is always there ready to welcome and to embrace. The return of any prodigal child brings great joy to the heart of God. God does not delight in our suffering either, but I think that God does find joy in the ways that we use that suffering to deepen our faith and draw us closer to Christ.
There are other things too that I think God delights in. I think that creation itself gives God joy. If you have ever hiked above 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) you know the wonder of discovering wildflowers that only God usually sees and the awe of magnificent vistas only God delights in. Even just walking out in my garden admiring the plants, the flowers and the insects gives me a glimpse into the joy that God finds in all of creation.
God also delights in our commitment to the divine purposes. Whenever and wherever we commit ourselves to God’s dream for a world renewed, restored and made whole that too brings joy to the heart of God.
First our commitment to renewal in our own lives is a delight to our loving God. Every step we take along the journey towards wholeness I am sure brings joy and rejoicing to the heart of God. Every time we take a moment to acknowledge and draw close to the heart of God we bring God delight. Every time we express gratitude and thankfulness for the wonder of God’s gift of life and love we bring God delight.
Second our commitment to renewal in the lives of others through acts of justice, healing, sharing and compassion all delight the heart of our justice seeking, wholeness creating, generous God. God delights in the wholeness and completion of all human kind.
Third, our commitment to restoration of creation through our preservation and renewal efforts brings God joy. I think that destruction and pollution of God’s good earth grieves the heart of God more then we will ever realize. Our efforts to prevent and reverse this bring delight and joy to God’s heart.
So what do you plan to do this day, this season to bring delight and joy to the heart of God?
I am currently reading Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. by Greg Boyle. It is a compelling book about a priest who works with gangs in L.A. His stories and rich spiritual insights are profoundly impacting me. At one point he comments; It is God’s joy to love us. What wonderful imagery with which to end the Christmas season which is also called the season of joy.
It also seems an appropriate time to share this video which was compiled from a collection of reflections on joy. Though it was conducted as an Advent exercise, the poem itself is meant for all seasons.
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