It is Canada Day on Saturday, and Fourth of July next Tuesday here in America. These are great opportunities to remind us to pray for our countries. Sadly I often I get frustrated with the state of affairs and forget or neglect to pray for our leaders and the state of our nation. So on this holiday weekend, let’s make time to pray for where we live!
- Pray for the leaders of your country to have wisdom and to make decisions that will bring healing and wholeness to all people.
- Pray for the leaders in your state, or province, or area to have eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of the poor and the needs of those who are on the margins.
- Pray for the health and welfare of of people suffering from natural disasters
- Pray for healthcare workers
- Pray for areas of injustice and issues that are broken in your town, city and country.
- Ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of injustice and to change your heart.
- Take time to grieve the losses of this past year and the areas of brokenness that you see in your country and town.
- Talk to God about all of these things and give these things to God to hold and heal.
- WEAR A BAND AID TO REMIND YOU TO PRAY FOR YOUR COUNTRY
- WHEN YOU SEE A FLAG this week, let it be a reminder to pray!
Pray for your Country
MORE WAYS TO PRAY:
- FIND A MAP of YOUR COUNTRY and use it to help you pray for your country this week and in the days ahead.
- USE POST-IT NOTES and write your prayers for your country and place them on the map.
- USE A NEWSPAPER or a NEWS APP to PRAY the headlines for your country and the world. When listening to news on the radio, TV, etc., PRAY FOR THE EVENTS rather than just getting frustrated about what is happening. Ask Jesus to help you pray and hear with his ears.
- PRAY AROUND YOUR CITY: Do a prayer pilgrimage around your city. Pray for places that need to experience the love, peace, and healing of Jesus. Places in need of justice. You can do this with a city map or you can do a driving pilgrimage taking time to notice places where injustices are happening. You are on a mission to learn about issues of injustice in your area so you are not to get out of your car, but rather do the job of noticing.
- LEARN THE HISTORY OF YOUR TOWN/CITY: Learn about the First Nations People who lived on the land where you live. Learn about the history of racism in your town/city. Learn more about the areas of economic and social injustice in the area where you live.
Lord, Let your justice roll down like mighty water. Please heal our land.
Give me your eyes to see the needs of those around me.
Give me your heart for those who suffer. Please heal our land.
Help me daily to do justice not just think and pray about it.
Please heal our land and help me to shine your light and share your love.
In your name. Amen
Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:23-25 NRSV
****Some ideas found in the GIFT OF JUSTICE from the GIFT OF A SACRED SUMMER KIT
The early medieval people of the British Isles were known for hospitality, of being willing to open their home where food, laughter, love, and life’s stories were shared. As people of faith, these Celts and early Anglo-Saxons of the 6th-10th centuries were following the New Testament commands of Jesus the Christ to show hospitality and loving care to the stranger. The writer of the book of Hebrews continued this teaching of extravagant welcome by reminding the readers that they may indeed be entertaining angels.
Jesus seemed to adore banquets, dinners, and parties so much that he not only attended them, but he also boldly invited himself to people’s homes. Jesus even described these parties in parables, often comparing them to the joyful kingdom of God where everyone is invited and welcomed to the Table. Yet, he found that he needed to get away by himself every now and then to recuperate from being both the giver and the recipient of hospitality.
Interestingly, the very birth of Jesus called others to extend hospitality and welcome. From Mary’s “yes” to allowing her womb to be the first home of the Messiah; to Elizabeth welcoming this unwed pregnant relative into her home; to the Egyptians who welcomed this little refugee family; and even to the kingly welcome to planet earth from Magi from the East. Poignantly, we also see the pain of unwelcome when Joseph and the heavily pregnant Mary try to find a place to rest for the night after their long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The innkeeper says there is no room in the inn, but rather sheepishly suggests that you may sleep in the barn with the animals. Yet, in the midst of that dirty and stinky stable something sacred is happening. A baby is being born to be King of the universe and the beasts who are sharing their home with this little family are being blessed to be the first to welcome the Messiah. These service animals are the first to see the newborn Jesus, to hear his first cries, and to sniff in in his newborn fresh from heaven scent.
In this Biblical context, the Celtic Christians took to heart Jesus’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves, to welcome the stranger, and to party with the outcasts. One of the three much-loved patron saints of Ireland, the Abbess St. Bridget had a prayer of hospitality that seems a wee bit bawdy to us in the 21st century:
I’d like to give a lake of beer to God.
I’d love the Heavenly
Host to be tippling there
For all eternity.
I’d love the men of Heaven to live with me,
To dance and sing.
If they wanted, I’d put at their disposal
Vats of suffering.
White cups of love I’d give them,
With a heart and a half;
Sweet pitchers of mercy I’d offer
To every man.
I’d make Heaven a cheerful spot,
Because the happy heart is true.
I’d make the men contented for their own sake
I’d like Jesus to love me too.
I’d like the people of heaven to gather
From all the parishes around,
I’d give a special welcome to the women,
The three Marys of great renown.
I’d sit with the men, the women of God
There by the lake of beer
We’d be drinking good health forever
And every drop would be a prayer.
We cannot help but wonder how another great Abbess of the Celtic tradition, St. Hilda of Whitby, welcomed King Oswiu and his entourage along with other religious leaders arriving to her double monastery off the Northeast coast of England. These Northumbrian leaders were gathered in that seaside location in 664AD for the famous Synod of Whitby that dramatically changed the Celtic Christian world of faith. In spite of the honor of having this historic convocation at Whitby, did these guests disturb and disrupt the regular machinations of a monastery? How did Hilda with grace and kindness show hospitality to one of the participants, Wilfrid that she was not particularly fond of? How did she show extravagant welcome to those with whom she disagreed? How did Hilda incorporate the decisions that likely would not have pleased her?
Another story of Celtic hospitality tells of the Northumbrian King Oswin’s visit to St. Aidan at his newly established monastery on Lindisfarne. Aidan warmly welcomed the king, and the generous king gave peripatetic Aidan a very useful gift, a fine horse to help him over difficult terrain in his evangelistic work. Aidan then in turn gave the stallion away to a man who was begging for alms. When King Oswin heard of this, he was furious that Aidan had given his gift away to a beggar. Aidan replied: “Is the son of a mare more precious to the king than a son of God?”
The Celtic saints were known for showing hospitality not only to friends, family, and strangers, but also to animals. One of the much-loved Irish tales is of St. Kevin of Glendolough during his Lenten spiritual disciplines. While Kevin bowed and prayed with his arm leaning out of a window and his hand open and facing towards heaven, a blackbird landed on the palm of his hand. She made a nest there and laid her eggs. Kevin showing kindness, respect, and hospitality to this mother bird, kept his arm outstretched until those eggs hatched and those baby birds were able to leave the nest. It is even said that while St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne was praying on the water’s edge, that two otters offered hospitality to him as they breathed on his feet to keep them warm and tried to dry off his feet with their fur.
Esther de Waal in her book, Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition, states that Jonas, the biographer of St. Columbanus, described the saint’s walks through the hospitable forests. Columbanus would call out to the birds and animals to come visit with him. They would come running and scampering to him like, “like little puppies around their master.” It is even said that a squirrel would climb all over him and could occasionally be seen peeping through the folds of his monk’s robe. One of the most poignant stories of this saint deals with a hospitable bear that gave up his cave so that Columbanus could use it as his hermitage. The bear continued with his more than generous welcome by sharing his food with the saint.
As 21st century people of faith and also as spiritual descendants of the great Celtic saints, how may we show hospitality and welcome to each other and to nature? It can be risky to invite and welcome others to cross the well-guarded thresholds to our hearts, our minds, our homes, and our places of worship. It can seem especially disconcerting to warmly welcome those who are different than us; to those that we are not particularly fond of; or to those that seem scary or unappreciative. Yet, in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus said that when we have cared for and shown radical and extravagant hospitality to the least of the Lord’s brothers and sisters, we have done it to Him. May the earthy hospitality of the Celts so permeate our lives that we too become a welcoming glimpse of God’s love and grace wherever we are planted in life.
Rev. Brenda Warren is an ordained Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister. Her passion for the Celtic and early Anglo-Saxon saints has led her to research and write about them at www.saintsbridge.org. This Advent 2017, the “Celts to the Creche” online advent devotional will be expanded to a Celtic 40 days of Advent. Join us for this free online Advent devotional as we journey together to the Creche, where we experience Christ being born anew in our lives.
Lynne Baab’s book, The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry , focuses on the many ways listening undergirds congregational life. She discusses many obstacles to listening, one of which she explains here. Lynne is a Presbyterian minister and lecturer in pastoral theology. Visit her website at www.lynnebaab.com.
I view listening as a key skill for hospitality in all its forms. Imagine a traditional hospitality setting: you are offering a traveler a place to sleep. “What do you need right now?” you ask. “A shower? A nap? The wifi password? A cup of tea?” You listen to the response and try to meet the traveler’s need. In addition, you may need to listen to subtle cues that help you know what the traveler needs.
Meal times are another typical hospitality setting, and listening plays a key role in mealtime conversations. I have sat through many meals where one person is talking, talking, talking . . . taking up all the air time and dominating the conversation. And I have enjoyed many meals where the host or someone else draws people out and listens carefully. A world of difference!
The connections between listening and hospitality go far beyond lodging and meals, however. I have a very broad definition of hospitality as I described in an earlier post. I see hospitality as an open stance toward others, a receptivity to who they are and what they have to offer. I see hospitality as a welcome to others that can happen in a short conversation or a long-standing relationship. This kind of welcome and receptivity requires good listening skills and the willingness to stop talking long enough to hear deeply from the other.
One of the obstacles to this kind of listening comes from our fears that if we listen deeply and carefully to someone we disagree with, we will be communicating tacit agreement to their perspective. Imagine I have just met someone new in my workplace, and a few random comments she makes leads me to believe she practices a religion very different from mine. If I draw her out about her religious practices, will she think I agree with them? Or perhaps she expresses a political opinion diametrically opposed to mine. If I draw her out about her political convictions, will she think I give assent to them?
The authors of a communication textbook write, “There is a difference between understanding and agreeing with a speaker. We need to develop new psychological habits that encourage us to keep an open mind and a positive attitude to the motivation behind what is communicated to us orally.”[1]
These communication scholars might recommend language like this: “Tell me about X”(when X is the thing I profoundly disagree with). “Tell me what motivated you to get involved.” We indicate our openness to understanding what lies behind the other person’s commitment. We open ourselves to the other person’s story. At some point in the conversation we are free to say, “Wow, I don’t agree with the conclusion you came to, but it’s very interesting to see where your convictions came from. Tell me more about how you got there.”
As long as we believe that listening implies agreement, our ability to be truly hospitable to the people we meet will be truncated. We won’t listen well because we will be fearful that we will hear something we disagree with and that we won’t know how to respond. All of us can grow in believing that listening does not imply agreement, that understanding other people’s stories, motivations and thought processes will enrich us even if we disagree with them.
[1] Terry Mohan, Helen McGregor, Shirley Saunders, and Ray Archee, Communicating! Theory and Practice, 4th ed. (Sydney: Harcourt Brace, 1992), 417.
Reposted from 2014
by Christine Sine
“The Celts had two homes: the inside of the house and the universe outside. In the winter the family orbited the hearth-fire; in summer the sun was the sacred centre. From May to November their world was bounded by invisible columns that held up the roof of the heavens. God was the divine thatcher who built the house of the world.” Kindling the Celtic Spirit Mara Freeman (201)
We are almost into July, the height of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the depth of winter in the Southern. In the north, we follow the Celts out of doors to learn from the creation which they saw as sacred. Every rock, leaf, and wave of the sea is alive with the presence of God and summer is certainly the time to relish it and learn from it. It’s time for awe and wonder walks, forest bathing, pilgrimage and the delight of basking in the sun and the fragrant beauty of gardens. In the South it is time to snuggle up and get cosy by a fire. Time to light candles and tell stories. Time to laugh and sing with friends and welcome the presence of God into the sacred spaces of our homes with reverence and awe.
This kind of seasonality has great appeal for me. Allowing our lives to flow to the rhythm of the world around us rather than trying to control it or ignore it, is good for our bodies and our souls and our spirits.
This kind of living takes courage, the kind of courage that Brené Brown in her important book The Gifts of Imperfection says is one of the qualities that wholehearted people have in common. As I said in yesterday’s Meditation Monday: Courage to Be Wholehearted, it really does take courage to make these kinds of changes in our lives. I think Lilly Lewin expressed this kind of courage in her The Gift of Wonder Revisited, which we reposted for International Fairy Day on Saturday. As she says “our world needs to know, needs to experience wonder again in order to experience the shalom of God.” She also expressed it in Freerange Friday: Intentional Summer where she asks “What if we all just need to stop and take a breath? Having a Summer that heals will take being intentional.” And I would add, it takes courage.
Early Christians intentionally aligned their celebrations with the seasons of the year. That is why, as Jan Blencowe reminds us in her post Increase and Decrease: St John and the Summer Solstice, St John the Baptist’s Day coincides with the summer solstice. His famous words suggesting that he must decrease so that Christ can increase mirror perfectly what is happening in the cosmos.
For some, especially those in the South where the days feel short and confining, this is a time to find or create sacred space in our homes as Jenny Gehman talks about in Closet Christian.
Wherever you are. Whatever season you are focusing on, take time to refresh and renew your soul.
If you sit long enough,
In a quiet place,
The peace of God will invade your being.
Breathe softly,
Don’t move,
Allow the presence of the Holy One
To fill you.
Open the doors of your heart.
Dissolve the barriers in your head.
Destroy the bars that imprison your soul.
Sit still,
Welcome God into the the sacred centre,
Of your soul.
(C) Christine Sine 2023.
Celtic Prayer Cards include 10 prayers inspired by ancient Celtic saints like Patrick or contemporary Celtic writers like John O’Donohue. A short reflection on the back of each card will introduce you to the Celtic Christian tradition, along with prayers by Christine Sine and beautiful imagery crafted by Hilary Horn. Celtic Prayer Cards can be used year-round or incorporated into various holidays. Available in a single set of 10 cards, three sets, or to download.
by Christine Sine
Courage is one of the most important qualities that wholehearted people have in common says Brené Brown in her important book The Gifts of Imperfection”. She is not talking about the courage to do extraordinary acts of heroism here. She is talking about the ordinary acts of courage that make up our daily life, like the courage to say no when we are asked to do something we don’t really have time or motivation for. Or the willingness to admit we are too tired, too anxious or too much in need of down time to commit. It’s this kind of courage that makes us unafraid to laugh and dance and play with childlike abandon when we are happy, in spite of the fact that those around us think we are crazy.
The kind of courage that Brené Brown refers to means owning who we are now, with all our imperfections and shortcomings. I sometimes feel it takes a process a little like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. It recognizes our worthiness to be loved and cared for without self judgement or condemnation for perceived failures. At the same time, it opens us up to be loving, caring and compassionate towards others we see as imperfect, without expecting them to change. It is expressed when we risk being vulnerable and disappointed. Like when we miss out on a job we coveted. Or even when we pretend we are not really excited about a fantastic possibility that may not come to pass. As Brown says, admitting how we feel may not decrease our disappointment, when what we hoped for does not happen, but when we are honest about the delight of anticipation it greatly increases our joy when something good happens. This kind of courage is liberating and opens the doorway to wholehearted living.
What I like about Brené Brown’s approach to wholeheartedness is the way she identifies things we need to give up as well as things we need to embrace. There is no place for perfectionism, powerlessness, self doubt, the need to be in control, exhaustion as a status symbol, concerns about scarcity, anxiety as a way of life. These all need to be discarded if we want to live wholeheartedly. In their place are resilience, compassion for ourselves and others, gratitude and joy, rest and play, laughter, dancing and song.
It really does take courage to make these kinds of changes in our lives. For me personally, the courage to step out and live a wholehearted and joy filled life came when I reoriented my time away from work and productivity towards awe, wonder and play. It didn’t mean I gave up work for pleasure but it did mean I incorporated more fun and pleasure in my life. We live in a world that is very focused on work. The first question people usually ask us is “What do you do for a living?” And we feel guilty if we don’t have a high powered job that keeps us busy 24/7. Giving myself permission to go out and enjoy my garden, to go for walks when I had deadlines for articles, and even to indulge in some rock painting when other seemingly more important tasks had not been completed, enlivened and refreshed me in unexpected ways. I might have worked less, but I accomplished more because my hours of work were more focused.
Evidently this kind of courage makes us more compassionate, less critical and more relaxed people. It’s one way that we love ourselves and reach out in love to others, something that is only possible when we feel comfortable with who we are. This was certainly true for me. I was definitely less critical both of myself and of others and I was able to reach out and meet the needs of others in ways that had not been possible before.
Take time to prayerfully think about this today. Where do you need to step out in courage and not be afraid to share your vulnerability with others? Where do you need to learn to say “no” so that you can relax and slow down?
We’re taking this time to revisit a lovely FreeRangeFriday post by Lilly Lewin because it’s International Fairy Day! This is one of only 2 posts in our entire blog history that mentions fairies, and it’s such a good one.
From August 2017:
As we consider the Shalom of God this month, one of the first things that came to mind, after savor, was the gift of WONDER!
Jesus says: “Let the little children come unto me.” And he places a child in the midst of his followers and says that the Kingdom belongs to the children. It is easy for children, they still have the gift of WONDER. Jesus also says that we need “ears to hear and eyes to see.” “Let he/she who has ears let them hear…”
I love Eugene Peterson’s version in The Message Bible…
“But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear!”
I believe that our world needs to know, needs to experience the Wonder again in order to experience the shalom of God.
When I was in college I had a date with a guy who took me out for coffee and one of his first “get to know you questions” was “when you were a kid, did you color inside the lines, or outside the lines?” My answer was “I created my own coloring book!”
I didn’t know anything about the Ennegram back then, but I am a “7,” and this totally fits. Sevens are known to bring pixie dust wherever we go, and we are always on the look out for an adventure.
The thirteen grandchildren on my side of the family now expect me to bring my Mary Poppins bag filled with everything from crayons and stickers to sharpies, and post-It notes and maybe even bubbles, and always snacks. I don’t ever want to be bored or want anyone else to be bored either! Often my husband says that I’m really just five-years-old because I get really excited about a vista or buying balloons, and giving them away to people just for fun. My favorite part of the art museum is the part that is for kids and hands on learning. I am wired to see the fun and wonder in life. I know not everyone is wired like I am. And I know that there is a lot of suffering and conflict in our world and that it is often hard to see the wonder around us or find the joy in the hardness of life. Too often we miss the wonder because we get blinded by fear, anxiety, and too much conflict on social media.
Most people have to turn things off to get to WONDER.
If you are a production driven, achiever kind of person, you are checking your list off each day and typically taking time for WONDER is not on the list.
WONDER gets pushed out of life.
So you will need a change of venue.
And you might need to find some friends who come by WONDER naturally and start hanging out with them.
What are you interested in that brings you joy?
How did you experience the gift of WONDER as a kid?
Find the things that attract your less grown up self. Maybe it’s art, maybe it’s motorcycles, or design, or roller coasters, or backpacking, or trampolines, or dogs! Animals help us wonder because they aren’t sarcastic. Especially puppies! Go to the Humane Shelter and love on the dogs or play with the cats.
Volunteer to babysit a friend’s kids and see what they are thinking about and playing with.
Now that my kids are grown, I find friends with younger kids to go to movies with because I love animation but I don’t want to go alone.
And that brings us to laughter! We all need to laugh more!
WONDER will bring you to joy and laughter and sometimes tears.
Rediscover what makes you laugh.
Watch a great movie. One of my favorite movies that captures WONDER is “Finding Neverland” with Jonny Depp.
In this movie from 2004, Depp plays J. M. Barrie the author of “Peter Pan.” Barrie is a playwright who has had a couple of flops. He is looking for inspiration and one day while he is journaling in the park, Barrie meets the Davies family of three boys. The Davies children are still recovering from the loss of their father. Their mother, played by Kate Winslet, needs all the help she can get to keep her household going. Barrie already has a childlike wonder for the world but it is through his interaction with the boys that this wonder blooms and grows into the magnificent story of Peter Pan.
The story I tell in my curating worship workshops involves the opening night of Peter Pan. Barrie has asked that about 20 seats be left open, scattered throughout the theater. The curtain is ready to go up and the director/producer is ready to sell these empty seats. Just at the last moment, a line of small children walk up to the theater. They are orphans Barrie has invited to “seed” the audience. They know that dogs, and fairies and pirates are funny. These kids know when to laugh. And they haven’t lost their gift of WONDER! So their laughter helps the finely dressed, upper crusted London theater goers experience the joy and wonder of the play. They laugh too! They reconnect with WONDER!
Lord give me ears to hear
And the peace to actually listen.
Give me eyes to see
And the patience to actually pay attention!
Lord, give me ears to hear
And the ability to be still and hear you in the silence.
Give me new eyes to see the wonder all around me!
Give me new ears to hear the laughter and music, and experience your joy
rather than the static and the noise.
Give me child like wonder to see that ordinary things have extraordinary beauty.
Thank you for God-blessed eyes—eyes that see!
And God-blessed ears—ears that hear!
Thank you for the gift of WONDER.
Help me to experience this so I can share it with others. AMEN
find out more ways to bring child like wonder into worship at freerangeworship.com
Want to experience more of the awe and wonder that God offers us? Check out the Gift of Wonder Online Retreat by Christine Sine. This retreat allows for 180 days of access for only $39.99 so you can move through the sessions at your own pace.
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 THE MESSAGE
Depending upon where you live, School has been out for over a month, or if you are in the UK you are just ending classes. In many places in the USA, school just got out in mid June. Regardless of when your summer began, you can consider what you want the next few weeks to look like and feel like.
What will you need to do to actually feel refreshed by September,
rather than more used up or burned out?
What do you need this summer? As a family? As a person? It seems “life after Covid” got really hectic again, and after being on hold for months, we all have jumped back into “reality” in full force.
What if we all just need to stop and take a breath?
Having a Summer that heals will take being intentional.
To be intentional is to think ahead.
To actually take the time to consider what you might want the summer to look like.
So, before we rush in and fill up the calendar with more and more activities ask:
What do you really need? What do you really want this summer to be?
What do you need as a family, and as a person?
Do you need more fun? Do you need to remember how to play, or do you need to plan time to rest; time for exploring and adventure; time in nature?
Or maybe you need less social media, or less streaming; less complaining; more time with friends;
Or more music, art, or exercise that is fun?
Just not more work!
How to Start:
1. Take the time to pray and think about this on your own.
2. Then talk with your partner or a friend for perspective.
3. Take time to consider what you want for your summer as a couple or as a family. Then have a meeting with your whole household, let your kids get involved in the process and ultimately in the planning of the summer ahead.
You might have everyone write down how they are feeling. Are they feeling excited about the weeks ahead? Are they feeling exhausted after the school year or the last few months of work/activities? Talk about where y’all really are.
Then ask the fun questions….
What would help you enjoy this summer more?
What things have you dreamed about having time to do but you haven’t had the chance?
You might need more than one time of sharing/planning. Give people time to think about their summer to look like, feel like, and what they don’t want too!
Share three to five things that you’d really like to do this summer… heck you can even have examples in photos you print out for visual learners!
Everything from sleeping late, to movie nights, to making s’mores, or playing mini golf, hiking in the woods, no phone nights, silent Saturdays, making cookies on a regular basis or playing a board game.
It could be baseball, or actually going to a special concert, or film. Each person will have a different list…Could everyone have a chance to experience what fun and refreshment means to them?
Here are some ideas:
Picnic Practice….my friend Anya Almgren plans a picnic each week. She does this on her own, but you could do this with your family, your partner, even with other families or friends. Pick a different park or place to go each week this summer. You can get everyone involved in the packing of the lunch or dinner or plan a different place to pick up carryout according to your time, energy and budget.
Let kids pick the food …have serval places in mind and a back up plan in case of rain. Indoor picnics can be fun too! Consider all the conversations that Jesus had around tables and along the way…so picnics!
Praying the Neighborhood: Be intentional about walking your dog. One of my spiritual practices is to pray for my neighbors and neighborhood as I walk my dog each day. Notice what’s going on, say hello to neighbors you see. Introduce yourself if you don’t know the people you meet. Ask Jesus to show you the needs around you. A deeper practice might include making cookies, or muffins for your neighbors as a way to begin to get to know them. You cannot love your neighbor well if you don’t really know them!
Wonder Walks…Christine Sine has a practice of doing a wonder walk everyday. She allows Jesus to surprise her with sights and sounds, the beauty along the way. What do you notice as you take a walk? Think about all the senses. What are the colors that spark your attention? What are the sounds you hear? The wind always reminds me of the Holy Spirit. I ask Jesus to fill me with more of His spirit as I walk. Take time to notice the flowers, birds, trees, even weeds can be beautiful. A deeper dive might be to learn about the kinds of flowers, birds, etc that grow around your neighborhood or to plant something and watch it grow. Gardening is a great spiritual practice! And something that can be done with all ages. Watch the sunset, sunrise or gaze at the stars together and talk about the wonder of God’s creation!
Family Field Trips:
Learn the history of faith in your town. Visit the oldest church or a church that worships in a different flavor than your tradition.
Do a food pilgrimage…Eat a different restaurant experiencing the food of different cultures. You might choose several over the course of the summer.
Go to an Art Museum: Let everyone choose their favorite painting or work of art and talk about it.
Create a Rest Space at home: Set aside an evening or afternoon each week to be “phone/device free” . Plan ahead and create a comfortable space where everyone can rest, read, play quietly. Talk about it before and after to so each person knows what to expect. You might start with 15 or 30 minutes of quiet and then build it into an hour or two to an entire evening or afternoon. What do you notice?
Allow this to be a time of refreshment.
Enjoy your summer! Let Jesus teach you his unforced rhythms of grace!
“We must believe we are worthy of rest. We don’t have to earn it. It is our birthright. It is one of our most ancient and primal needs.” Rev. Tricia Hersey The Nap Minister in Rest is Resistance
Lord,
There is nothing more important than what we are attending to.
There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away to.
We Wait on you Lord God.
Your time is the right time.
We wait for You to make Your word clear to us.
We know that in time
and in the spirit of deep listening
and in quiet stillness
Your way will be clear. AMEN ( based on a prayer by Thomas Merton)
If you need help being more intentional this summer, you can kick start your practices by downloading THE GIFT of SACRED SUMMER . Includes practices that take five minutes and deep dives too…Gift of Silence, Rest, Play, Etc. For Individuals, family and small groups as well as a church kit here.
Maybe you need to take a break from normal life and refill your cup with the wonder of God. Join me on pilgrimage to Iona. THIS August 28-Sept. 4th. Finding Your Thinplace Retreat Pilgrimage.
First Posted on Youthfront Family Blog
As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small amount for purchases made through appropriate links.
Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
When referencing or quoting Godspace Light, please be sure to include the Author (Christine Sine unless otherwise noted), the Title of the article or resource, the Source link where appropriate, and ©Godspacelight.com. Thank you!