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Posts from the ‘Grace’ Category

Mar 9

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Cup of Life

“We must dare to pray even as we doubt… True faith is like a light that begins to flicker, however faintly, in the darkness that beckons us to pray even when we can hardly find the faith to pray.”― Jerry Sittser

“Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands
and to discover that I am not what I own,
but what you want to give me.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life

In grief and loss, light remains.
A destination.
A lighthouse.
May we all be angels for each other.
Cup full, both sorrow and joy.
Angels for each other.
Grace. Peace. Light.

“We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Feb 25

Wide Margins

“Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.” – Wendell Berry

“Definitions belong to the definer, not the defined.” – Toni Morrison

May I define less and be open to spaciousness, wide margins, grace.
Offering kindness without reserve or measure.
To not reduce others, the world, our view to fit on the size of a bumper sticker or yard sign.
May love be the first and last answer, the go-to, a natural reflex and response.
Nuance, complexity, hues, depth, unknowing, mystery, breadth.
May these be the brushes to paint, shape, define and contain, rather than rules and regulations.
To not other, minimize, box, assume, judge, bucket, confine.
Frameworks rather than quick answers to dismiss and distill.
Hope, empathy, compassion, laughter, peace, joy, redemption and resurrection.
Each and every day.
Wide margins, big sky and open fields to make tracks on in all directions.

“Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.” – Wendell Berry

Feb 14

A Good Universe

“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.” – William Blake

“listen: there’s a hell
of a good universe next door; let’s go”― E.E. Cummings

A pause.
A respite.
A recess.
A time-out.
A thin space.
A wide-open field.
A playground.
A field trip.
A corner.
A crevice.
A turn around.
A wander off trail.
To see from a different angle.
To crack a window with a smile.
To clear the lungs with laughter.
To be refreshed by beauty, color and light.
To be made new.
May all of these be yours today.

“Let the wild rumpus start!”― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

Dec 17

Profound

“Gratitude is, however, more than just an emotion. It is also a disposition that can be chosen and cultivated, an outlook toward life that manifests itself in actions—it is an ethic.”
― Diana Butler Bass, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

“On each threshold,
wisdom; at every doorway,
love; through every entry,
grace; with each beginning, peace.”
— Jan Richardson, In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer

Thresholds, doorways, entries, beginnings, endings
The edge, the tipping point, the before to after
Transitions that lead to transformations
A blessing of courage to cross over, again and again
Overflowing grace that can never be explained or understood, merely accepted
Hope that runs deep, a current that pulls and pushes you forward
Joy that transcends conditions and circumstances
And gratitude to see it all with clarity, awe and praise.

“Offering a blessing is an act of profound hope. In blessing one another, we recognize and ally ourselves with the presence of God who ever works to bring about the healing of the world.” — Jan Richardson, In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer

Jul 13

With Love and Reverence

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” – Henry David Thoreau

Keep your heart open.
Stay permeable.
Soften not hardened.
Allow grace to carry and guide.
With love and reverence, one step at a time on the narrow, crooked, beautiful, bumpy path.

“It’s that keeping the heart open, even in hell, makes space for the Beloved. It is in the darkest nights of our souls, when all we know is that we know nothing, that the presence of the sacred may quietly well up, mingling with our pain and connecting us to a love that will never die.”― Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics

Feb 14

Learn to Surf

“The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” – Edward Gibbon

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Learn to surf and stop talking about the waves.
Focus on what’s in your control and release the rest.
In tune, new thoughts, flip the equation.
Moment to moment, be prepared to be surprised.
Allow wonder to enter and sit beside you.
Surfing, riding the energy, becoming the current.
Harness the wind, ride the waves.

“The real meditation practice is how we live our lives from moment to moment to moment.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Dec 13

Under Heaven

“All the trees are losing their leaves, and not one of them is worried.” – Donald Miller

“All the trees are losing their leaves, and not one of them is worried.” – Donald Miller

“Time really is a circle; I can see that now. We are trapped between a past we can’t return to and a future that is uncertain. And it takes guts to live here, in the hard space between anticipation and realization.”— No Cure for Being Human: (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) – Kate Bowler

Joy is not an occurrence but a state of mind, a decision, a thread woven through circumstances, a foundation.
Hope is not futile but a necessity, a staple, the main ingredient to surviving difficult days and seasons, a promise that is kept with time and perseverance of daring to continue on without turning back. Grit.
Grace is not understandable but a daily gift from God, an unreasonable, unexplainable, unconditional love.
Peace is a worthy pursuit, attainable and begins within. Start with self, home and then move into the world with your example, map, model. Show the way.
The world is not flat. Go to its edges to broaden your view, deepen your understanding. You will not fall off.
A place, space and season for everything under heaven.
Joy. Hope. Grace. Peace. To You. To All.

“Yes, there’s a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part.” – Ecclesiastes 8:6 (MSG)

Dec 7

An Essay

“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.” – Neil Gaiman

Life is an essay not multiple choice.
A journey not a checklist.
A mystery and comedy.
Rich with context, content and connection.
Emptied with loss, change and struggle.
Filled with love, light and joy.
Concurrently.
Many choices and answers.
Different paths.
Decisions made, not made.
Fight, flight, freeze.
In it all.
In the nouns, verbs and prepositions.
We write the story.
Others write the story.
Life writes the story.
God writes the story.
It continues, expands, contracts.
Find the gifts, grit and grace in it all.
Keep writing, editing, rewriting.
A work in progress.

“If we are lucky, we see God in something really mysterious, like a miracle. But mostly we see God in regular surprises like love and forgiveness.”— No Cure for Being Human: (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowler

Oct 9

Being Human

“God is the place where I do not remember the rest.” – Joseph Joubert

A BLESSING FOR BEING HUMAN

“Blessed are we, living in this small space, in these bodies we now inhabit, within the walls of circumstance, in these short years and finite strength, and with these eyes that see only so far. We are fragile, contingent beings.

Yet blessed are we, recognizing that it is our limits as well as our gifts that can shape the natural contours of what is possible, that guide us to what is ours to do.

Blessed are we when it is not our greatness that speaks, but our littleness. For it is our vulnerability that is the truest thing about us, the place where mutual connection is possible, where competition ends and community begins.

And oh how blessed are we in our fragility and dependence and brokenness, knowing that You, O God, hold all things together. There is no cure for being human…but for each other, we are all good medicine.” – Kate Bowler

May you be blessed today and each day with awareness and gratitude for the gift of being human and the grace of God in the midst of all of it.

Aug 27

Contours and Edges

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“Believe in the holy contour of life.” – Jack Kerouac

Pause to see the detail in things, places, others, in yourself
Beneath and below the surface
Awaiting discovery, to be found
The shapes, dimension, contours, edges, complexity, contradictions, connections
Be willing to move into the unknowing, the mystery, the depth
Allow it to unfold, to be enamored, in awe
Holy, sacred, formative moments that wake us to the present
The gift in the simple, in observation, in gratitude

“Take a walk with a turtle. And behold the world in pause.” – Bruce Feiler

Pause for a moment to stillness, study what is in front of you, reset and begin again new.

“It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.” – Kristin Armstrong

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