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Sabbath- a Cathedral in Time
Sabbath– the word takes me gently by the hand and leads me away–away from the clutter of a half-done to-do list; away from the clamorous “musts” and “shoulds” of phone calls, emails, and other social demands; away from the guilt-tinged drive to make myself better; even away from the internal pressure to make the most of my “free” time. As I step away from the things that hem me in, my breath comes deeper and slower, my shoulders relax and I stand straighter, no longer pressed down. My soul simultaneously sits quietly and dances exuberantly, sings with joy and listens for a still small voice. I’ve heard the Sabbath described…
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Out of the mouths of babes
I’m in Texas spending time with our son Nathaniel and his family and getting to know our newest grandchild, Mary. I’m loving the sweetness of holding a newborn snuggled in my arms, as well as the enthusiasm, boundless energy, and creativity of Mary’s three older siblings. But my heart is also heavy with concern for dear friends back home and their family members who are battling Covid right now, and for two other friends who are hospitalized with very serious heart issues. This morning I was sitting with Paul, Elizabeth, and Samuel while they were eating breakfast, and at one point, was silently praying for our friends and feeling the…
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Apple of God’s Eye
I decided to do something different this week; rather than daily prayer suggestions, I sketched what jumped out at me from my psalm reading yesterday morning. I’ve been meditating on these verses, and sketching slows me down and helps me visualize something from Scripture in a way that makes it stick in my mind more clearly and for longer. I may do more of this sort of prayer in the coming weeks. This week I’m sharing my sketching meditation on Psalm 17:6-8. If anyone reading this would also like to sketch it, I would love to see your sketches, if you’d like to share them. I call on you, O…
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Broken but Thriving
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Sketching as Prayer
Yesterday we had our Spring Sketching as Prayer retreat at church, and it was a very refreshing day for me. While I enjoyed doing the retreat via Zoom in January, and it was great to see people from all across the United States and even one person in England, it was much more relaxing for me to lead a retreat locally. Not having to keep much technology in mind allowed me to really relax and experience the day as a retreat for myself as well. It’s interesting that, although I very much need and appreciate time alone at home, it sometimes seems that “solitude” with other people can be powerful…
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Off Kilter
I’ve been taking a few days of retreat-at-home time. Stephen has been away, so with time alone at home, I figured I’d have some refreshing time of solitude and silence. It’s been good in many ways, but I haven’t managed to settle my mind as much as I had hoped. It just seems there are so many good ways to occupy my mind or spend my time, and it can be hard to quiet myself, even when I manage to avoid the phone and computer. One day I decided to sit quietly and sketch the pin oak that’s growing in our yard. I’m fascinated by its downward growing lower limbs…
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Barabbas
Today is Good Friday, a dark day in history when Jesus was condemned and crucified. So why is it called “Good”? If we look at that day from the perspective of Barabbas, it was indeed a good day, an unexpectedly good day. Barabbas was a criminal condemned to die, a terrorist or some other sort of violent criminal. Roman prisons were harsh places, and death sentences were carried out cruelly. Barabbas could have been dragged from his prison cell at any time to be flogged to the point of being horribly flayed, after which he would be crucified—an especially slow and torturous form of execution. He probably wasn’t having any…
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Sketching as Prayer
God made me an artist, and when I neglect my art, I neglect one of the primary ways God designed me to worship him and be in communion with him. I find that when I sketch, more than when I focus on a finished painting or drawing, I tend to unconsciously move into an awareness of God’s presence and into a sense of wonder. Sketching is, for me, a way of simply being with God. God made me an artist. I need to do my art in some way or another, or I feel as though my soul is drying up. Sketching is a way I do that without being…
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Praying with Trees
I become fidgety when I have to sit still in meetings, even in meetings I generally enjoy, even in prayer meetings. So, even though I very much appreciated the privilege of gathering with other believers in prayer, I found myself becoming distracted and antsy when everyone else was quietly focused and sitting still. I just couldn’t sit so still for long, and that caused my mind to wander to my walk with my dog in the sunshine that afternoon, the interesting bird at my feeder, a phone call with a friend, my next meal, and so on… One rainy November day I was walking in the woods with a friend…
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Visio Divina
Viso Divina is similar to Lectio Divina, but instead of reading and meditating on Scripture, one observes and meditates on something visual, perhaps an image or something in nature. (For those new to the term lectio divina, it is a form of Scripture reading in which we slowly read, meditate or reflect on, pray, and then contemplate a Bible passage or story so that we hear in it what God wants us to hear and then take that forward into our own life, rather than interpreting it with our own agenda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina) Step 1: Gazing and seeing deeply Ask God to open your mind and heart to his presence with…