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Posts from the ‘Faith’ Category

Jun 15

Vital Awareness

“Any place is sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine Presence.”― David Steindl-Rast, A Listening Heart: The Spirituality of Sacred Sensuousness

Life keeps happening.
Giving, taking, rerouting.
Circumstances, difficulties, challenges.
Alongside laughter, contentment, awe.
It’s all of it.
Threads weaving together, especially the frayed ones.
Expectations rooted in someday when or remember when.
Rules, counting and comparison.
Foreboding rather than forbearing.
Be in today alone.
It is enough and filled to the brim.
Find imperfect, beautiful joy on sacred ground of the ordinary.
In the present moment.
Put down expectations, the narrow view.
Broaden and deepen.
Vital awareness.
Come alive.

“Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of existence. But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being… Wherever we may come alive, that is the area in which we are spiritual.”― David Steindl-Rast

Jun 13

Faith Walk

“The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God.”― Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

“Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be… a prudent insurance policy.”― Elizabeth Gilbert

In the twists and turns
The stops and starts
The before and after
The waiting and next steps
The past, present and future
May faith be our companion and friend
Prayer the “thing” to do.

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”― Soren Kierkegaard

Jun 3

Faith into Deed

“The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference. Can I recognize God’s image in someone who is not in my image, who language, faith, ideal, are different from mine? If I cannot, then I have made God in my image instead of allowing him to remake me in his.”― Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations

May understanding be my first and last act.
Clearing the path for all.
Inviting and allowing difference.
A potpourri of belonging and hospitality.
Love well without rules or restrictions.
Love has none.
Gentle, kind, gritty and enduring.
It sticks.
A real Presence.
An anchoring.
Faith and truth into deed.
No more fear.
Still small voice that is never silenced.
Listen.
The answer will always be love.

“So meaning is made, not just discovered. That is what religion for the most part is: the constant making and remaking of meaning, by the stories we tell, the rituals we perform and the prayers we say. The stories are sacred, the rituals divine commands, and prayer a genuine dialogue with the divine. Religion is an authentic response to a real Presence, but it is also a way of making that presence real by constantly living in response to it. It is truth translated into deed.”― Jonathan Sacks, The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning

“In an age of fear, moderation is hard to find and harder to sustain. Who wants to listen to a nuanced argument, when what we want is someone to relieve us from the burden of thought and convince us that we were right all along? So people mock. They blame. They caricature. They demonize. In an age of anxiety, few can hear the still small voice that the Bible tells us is the voice of God.”― Jonathan Sacks, The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning

Dec 29

The Task at Hand

“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.”― Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“Frequently we do not leave the past behind. We clasp on to it. We dissect it, and let fears for the future, tempered by the past, unconsciously prevent us from taking up the task eternal.”― Ray Simpson, Exploring Celtic Spirituality

The dance.
Temporal and eternal.
Near and far.
Past, present, future.
The past has brought you here but will not bring next, only prevent it.
Proof of resilience, growth and grit, not a map.
Be present in today, eyes on the road ahead.
Move into the unknowing, mysterious and new.
Take up the task, make the wager, dance your dance.
Begin and begin again the journey.
Joy, beauty, home the path.

“And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?”― Rumi

May 20

Wake into Life

“God is best known in not knowing him.” – Saint Augustine

“The further I wake into this life, the more I realize that God is everywhere and the extraordinary is waiting quietly beneath the skin of all that is ordinary. Light is in both the broken bottle and the diamond, and music is in both the flowing violin and the water dripping from the drainage pipe. Yes, God is under the porch as well as on top of the mountain, and joy is in both the front row and the bleachers, if we are willing to be where we are.”― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

May you wake into life and see God woven in each moment, hidden in the ordinary.
Awaiting your arrival, offering joy, peace and grace.
A mystery, undefinable, expansive, beyond imagination.
Slow down, experience and enjoy the journey.

“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.” – Saint Teresa of Avila

Mar 25

Flavor and Flame

“Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, and life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light.” – Eugenio Montale

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:13-16

When your senses dull and light dims, restore and reignite.
Bud to burst.
Winter to spring.
Cloud to color.
Flavor and flame.
Spicy, bold and on fire.
Salt and light.

“Boldness doesn’t mean rude, obnoxious, loud, or disrespectful. Being bold is being firm, sure, confident, fearless, daring, strong, resilient, and not easily intimidated. It means you’re willing to go where you’ve never been, willing to try what you’ve never tried, and willing to trust what you’ve never trusted. Boldness is quiet, not noisy.” – Mike Yaconelli

Mar 9

Ordinary Altars

“We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.” – Thomas Browne

“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” – Mahatma Gandhi

A run at the end of the day as the clouds roll in and temperature starts to drop. The finish in sight, the sun breaks through the clouds, kissing the frozen lake. A cross take shape but for a moment before fading behind again. An altar, an awakening, a whisper to deepen, widen, open, prompt awe. Signs and wonders woven in the ordinary to carry, hold and embrace. Choose well to what and for who you kneel to and for. God or gods.

“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.” – William Cowper

Jan 14

Persist

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” – Ben Okri

Create
Overcome
Endure
Transform
Color
Air
Light
Current
Capacity
Agency
Depth
Resilience
Joy
Laughter
Hope
Grace
Gratitude
Light
You are greater than circumstances and struggles.
Persist.

“The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Jan 6

Epiphany

“Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.”— Peter Chrysologus

The Epiphany – the culmination and destination of Advent and Christmas.
Unfathomable, transformational, relevant, meaningful, vibrant, alive and available to all to this very day.
Not history or fable, but past, present and future.
Ponder, seek, expand, allow awe and wonder in.
In the unknowing, mystery, beneath, above, around and beyond understanding, the Epiphany calls, invites and welcomes all in to be held, changed and made new.

“What are you doing, O Magi? Do you adore a little Babe, in a wretched hovel, wrapped in miserable rags? Can this Child be truly God? … Are you become foolish, O Wise Men … Yes, these Wise Men have become fools that they may be wise.”— Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

A woman who said “yes” without hesitation, with unshakeable trust ushers the Savior in. Let the light in to your routine and daily life, be upended, turned up and around. Cast Light.

“Truth, by which the world is held together, has sprung from the earth, in order to be carried in a woman’s arms.”— St Augustine

Peace. Hope. Joy.

Dec 20

Shape of Your Soul

“Nature is the direct expression of the divine imagination.” – John O’Donohue

“May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening. May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.” – John O’Donohue

Steeped and anchored.
Free, defying gravity.
Dancing and poetry.
Grounding and embracing.
Knowing and mystery.
Wide and deep.
Intuition and clarity.
Beyond, above, below and all encompassing.

May you enter your soul space daily to rest in awe, held in delight.
The heart of your purpose and beauty of your being.
Defined by God, not others or self.
Never confine or define God on human terms.
Too too small.
The expanse of the sky, the depth of the ocean. Perhaps, yet still so much more.
Undefinable and familiar at the same time.
Accept the unknowing and enter the expanse.
Beauty. Goodness. Shelter.
Soul work.

“All through your life your soul takes care of you…your soul is alive and awakened, gathering, sheltering and guiding your ways and days in the world. In effect, your soul is your secret shelter.” – John O’Donohue

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