Home again and I finally feel as though my brain has caught up to my body and arrived in Seattle. Jet lag definitely gets worse the older we get but there are a few tricks I find help. First getting out into the garden, not a surprise as everything one reads about jet lag urges us to get out into the sunlight to help our clocks reset themselves. Second, taking time to sit in the presence of God and refocus myself really helps. My morning meditation time has been particularly valuable after this trip. Read scripture, praying and diving into the books I brought back have been very valuable in rooting my soul back into the present time.
I have also enjoyed reflecting on my experiences and allowing the spirit of God to speak to me through the precious times of encounter and exploration. So much for me to drink in and savour and I don’t want to let go of these experiences before I gleaning all that God wants me to. Part of the fruit of this I share in my Meditation Monday: Discovering a Thin Space in which I shared my reflections on Escomb Saxon Church near Durham in the north of England. This is indeed a very special place where one senses the presence of those on the other side of the veil between heaven and earth.
Part of what this trip encouraged me to do is to rethink and refocus my priorities. Many of you are already aware that I am moving much of my online activity to Substack, with three regular weekly posts – Meditation Monday, Keeping Up With the News on Wednesday and Spiritual Practice on Friday. These posts will alternate between a unique spiritual practice one week and a post about the latest Liturgical Rebels podcast episode the next. There may be additional posts about seasonal celebrations and online retreats as well. Most of the Meditation Monday posts and a few of the spiritual practices will also be available in audio form for paid subscribers. I find that Substack provides a versatility not possible on Godspace. However it does take time and I am still working out what is possible for me. I encourage you to become a paid subscriber as that is part of what enables me to find time to focus on my work on Substack and provide the spiritual practices that so many of you enjoy.
I appreciate your prayers as I discern God’s plan for me for the future. I have been approached by a publisher about writing another book, something which was already stirring in my heart, and still want to provide occasional online retreats, so life is very full and exciting.
So what is happening with Godspace? We will continue to post the Meditation Monday and Keeping Up With The News posts, and Lilly Lewin will post her Freerange Fridays as well, but the other posts might be less frequent. Many of our writers are changing their priorities and not writing as many blog posts for us. Some of the will be reposts of important articles from previous years. This last week we posted two of these – The Fatherheart of God posted in preparation for Father’s Day and as a counterpart to The Motherheart of God which we posted for Mother’s Day. We also reposted Yarnbombing Day by Naomi Lawrence, a very timely repost as it is an interview with Naomi Lawrence that is our new episode on The Liturgical Rebels, live today.
If you would like to join our writers’ community and feel you can contribute posts that are pertinent to the Godspace ethos please check out the guidelines https://godspacelight.com/
In Liturgical Rebels Episode 10 Christine interviews Naomi Lawrence, a fiber artist known for her yarn bombing installations, shares her journey and the impact of her art on communities. She works with acrylic yarn to create oversized 2-Dimensional crochet flowers, trees and wildlife. The site-specific installations are sewn onto chain-link fences in parks and public spaces.
Let me end with my discernment prayer for the week:
God of all creation,
Known yet unknowable,
Visible yet invisible,
Near yet far off,
Hold us close as we wander
Through the puzzles of this life.
Give us courage
To discern the path ahead
And walk the journey
You set before us.
Many blessings
Christine Sine
Episode 10 with Naomi Lawrence is now live!