Sacred pace and rest

As I look out the window and see the water droplets falling amid the red and yellow leaves I am reminded of a song I learned when I was small. It was Miriam Therese Winter’s song “Joy is like the Rain” which speaks to the presence of God - even in Jesus who took time in the boat to rest. As Jesus was resting during the storm, the Rev. Kirk Jones (author of “Rest in the Storm” and other books) suggests that we all need to follow that example and take time to recharge, rest, pray, and play. May we find that “sacred pace” and “sacred space” today.

Do you have a favorite place?

One of my favorite places is beside tall waterfalls. Multnomah Falls, where the water tumbles down 620 feet, is fed (at least in part) from Mount Hood (which stands at over eleven thousand feet), is one of my favorite places. One is able to hike to a bridge about halfway up. The pathway is steep, but the beauty one finds along the way is transforming, and once one steps unto the bridge one encounters a view unique to that moment, for the flow of water is dependent on so many variables. In winter one may even encounter the falls frozen, yet people still come to witness the continuing transformation.

What are your favorite places?

May we know God present in the beauty, and also in the rough patches. We can find God on the steep path and the smooth. May we walk with one another, supporting one another as we journey together.

Peace and blessings,
Amy

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/millennium2/welcome.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood

“ ‘Lo, the butter is in the milk, yea, the butter is in the milk.’ ”

“ ‘Thou hast to churn the milk, O, Disciple, if thou desirest the taste of butter.’ ”
From an Old Hindu Poem quoted by
Howard Thurman in Deep is the Hunger page 27

God is in us,
faith is in us,
we need to move,
work,
and play
knowing that God is in us.

Have you ever churned butter?
How do we keep working on our faith?
Have you ever thought about faith like cream and butter?

Making butter is a straightforward process and it involves work.
1. Start with a clean container with a tight lid. (one which you will be able to reach a knife into to remove the butter).
2. pour in heavy cream or whipping cream anywhere up to the midpoint of the container.
3. cap container tightly.
4. shake.
5. keep shaking.
6. share the work.
7. when you can feel there is a solid chunk of butter separated, pour contents into a bowl through cheesecloth to strain the butter.
8. place butter in a bowl or plate and salt if desired.
9. enjoy. Share.

What about the other stages of cream

(like when it is whipped to seemingly perfect peaks and then falls)

May we know that what we hunger for is present in us.
The more we work the more we may know that which is at work in us.

Snowflakes: unique and strong

Snow is an amazing thing. Each snowflake unique, yet there is great power when connected with others. Florence Luscomb (a suffragette, MIT graduate, and more) tells of this encompassing power known in an avalanche. Imagine the impact we could have on the world if we recognized the value in each person and found a common vision. Today as I watch the snowflakes mesh together to create a stillness outside I am also noticing the quiet peace in the house. As our plans are shifted to enable us to stay home, safe and warm, we are able to find some quiet moments to witness the beauty in creation and the ever changing beauty in the world.

What could we accomplish if we stuck together like the snowflakes, glorious as individual parts, and amazing when united?

Networks

Often I hear people say “I don’t know how you do it,” referring to the amount of “stuff” that appears to be on my schedule. The real answer to how I can do what I do is because of others. I am stronger and more capable because of relationships. It is relationship with God as well as relationships with others. Who I am is a unique creation, but my joy, my confidence, my peace comes in and through connectedness.

I am grateful and blessed by friends holding my family in prayer.
I am grateful and blessed by support of an amazing family.
I am grateful and blessed by friends who are willing to offer support as needed.

Thank you to all who listen.
Thank you to all who pray.
Thank you to all who respond with great compassion, kindness, and love.

I have great hope for creation and humanities ability to live recognizing our interconnectedness, because of the interconnectedness I know and witness. Instead of seeing what we don’t have, maybe we could begin looking at what we have.

Who is it that is part of your network? You deserve to be valued and heard.

If you are part of my network THANK YOU! YOU ARE APPRECIATED!

Procrastination and Rest

Today as I find myself procrastinating. I am wondering if it okay to procrastinate and if so, do we know it? It seems there are times when procrastination in itself allows for rest. Yesterday I was reminded that so often one hears people say they do not have enough time, but I wonder if it is really about time. Might it be instead be personal choice with how one spends their time? What is important to do at this moment in time? Is it important to become a gifted juggler and be able to balance everything without rest? Or might there be moments when it is okay to put something off or even not get it done? When we have to make choices of between two options, which do we chose? Do we make choices out of guilt or out of seeking wholeness?

For me procrastination seems to come at several times:
1. When I need rest.
2. When I am focused on time, schedules, and deadlines instead of being present where I am.
3. When the activity I am procrastinating about is less important to me than something else in life.

Today my procrastination is leading me to:
Clear my head.
Rest my eyes from all the reading I have on my plate.
Take care of other “stuff” that needs to get done.
Take time to breathe and notice life around (the sun streaming in the windows, the snow slowly melting, the trees awaiting the spring, and more…)

I am left with more questions:
What do we procrastinate from?
What does procrastination lead to?
What things do we not procrastinate about? And are these things that fill us in a way nothing else does?

The disciples were left in a form of procrastination not knowing where Jesus was leading. They needed only to be present, because they could not see the future. They and we can only take one step at a time. But Christ was with them as they journeyed, and Christ will and does walk with us today.

Gumby and Pokey

Today I was introduced to two characters who reside in the ANTS library. Theses characters are Gumby and Pokey; Gumby a green flexible/bendable character and Pokey his best friend (an orange horse also flexible/bendable). Just as Gumby and Pokey need each other, we need one another. In life and in relationships there are times we need to stand tall like Gumby knowing that we are of value, and other times when we must bend and be flexible.

When are we willing to bend? Do we bend for ourselves or out of our call to love our neighbor?

When do we stand tall? Do we stand tall knowing we are loved by the one who made us and that we matter to others?

It was a joyous surprise to encounter Gumby and Pokey today. I wonder what other surprises and encounters are waiting to be experienced. Who will you meet today?