Welcome to November...In America it means the race is on to Christmas and the leaves are falling off the trees. Denver, Wyoming and Minnesota have already had snow. I am not sure the weather always knows it’s fall, but in Nashville, the temperatures finally dropped and we even have some fall colors! I am so grateful!
Welcome to November! I want us to step out of the hurry and the hustle towards the holidays and actually breathe in the wonder of a new month. A clean slate to start again with Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I need a fresh start. The heaviness of the last few weeks has felt overwhelming at times. I continue to pray for peace and for the peacemakers and for people to pay attention and to vote for change when it comes to gun violence in the states. I am trying to figure out why we in America continue to have money for war but not for housing and healthcare? I am listening to voices who have boots on the ground and have worked for peace like Global Immersion.
I remember to practice gratefulness and gratitude! In October I started the practice of 5 Things…Creative Liz Lamoreux has a course where she sends out a daily prompt and invites you to make a list of 5 Things each day. Sometimes they are simple like “look around the room” and sometimes they make you go deeper and invite you to reflect on your dreams and your past.
In honor of Liz, What are Five Things things you want to remember from October? Make a list.
Things I Want to Remember from October 2023
1. How much I need people! So good to be with good friends in person after many, many years.
2. The beautiful colors of fall in Minneapolis
3. How much I need to be outside in Nature and go to places of beauty
4. How much I love to give away my art
5. To remember that I am free and totally loved by Jesus.
MAKE YOUR OWN LIST of what you want to remember from October.
Welcome to NOVEMBER..This week we celebrated Halloween /All Hallows Eve and then All Saints Day was officially on November 1, and All Souls Day and Day of the Dead was November 2. So lots of Days to remember the people we love and care about, those who have impacted our lives and gone to be with God. A great person to follow on Instagram and Facebook for all things Church Year is Danielle Hitchen of Catechesis Books. She posts history and ways to practice the Church Year with kids. And has a line of children’s books for little Believers.
Who do you want to remember this month? Who are you missing? Take time to be grateful for these people. Take time to grieve and remember them.
Many more liturgical churches will celebrate ALL SAINTS DAY this weekend. Often they will invite people to bring in photographs of friends and family members who have died to place near or on the altar as a visual reminder of their presence with us. Maybe you could get out the old photos and tell their story to someone else. I am at a family wedding this week where we are remembering those who aren’t here in the flesh to celebrate with us, but are totally here in spirit and in our DNA.
Welcome to NOVEMBER! It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month in the USA... but a great time to learn more about the Indigenous First Nations People wherever you live! I sadly didn’t know we had a whole month honoring our first nations people. G.H.W. Bush established the month in 1990. I am learning from authors like Kaitlin B. Curtice . Who writes about faith from a first nations perspective.
WELCOME TO NOVEMBER …let’s take time to remember all good things that God has done in our lives this year. Before the holidays have us in their grip, pause, breathe, take a walk and practice gratefulness. Make a cup of tea. Watch the sunrise or the sunset without your phone in hand. Take a walk and notice the beauty around you and be grateful to our Creator for all the colors, textures plants, animals and people you see.
As we practice gratitude and gratefulness we can combat the darkness of despair and bring hope to our world. Let’s pray with Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark
Oh, Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the wind,
whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple
sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong
in the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons
you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts
and act with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion
without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy, Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
~ Translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887
Mystic and visionary, Black Elk of the Lakota Tribe
embraced the teachings and faith of “God with us”
(Creator sets Free) later in life. He was a leader, a wise
man, and lived harmoniously with nature. Black Elk
witnessed the ending of the Lakota way of life at the slaughter of Little Big Horn.
( sorry i don’t know where I found this prayer to give them credit)
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
You can download a free Gratitude Jar Kit to help you with your practice