"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
His love endures forever!"
Psalm 106:1
The enduring love of washing feet, breaking bread, healing, touching, teaching, dying, rising... ALLELUIA, PRAISE THE LORD for he is so, so good!!! With all of the hope of springtime sun and bloom it's easy to feel, see, smell, and hear the glory of God's goodness all around us. I'm thinking that today would be a good day to give thanks for all of this goodness and to learn a new prayer. This prayer is called, the LOVING-KINDNESS PRAYER and was gifted to me by our former Faith Formation Director, Julie Davis. I keep it on the wall in my office.
1st pray for yourself
Hold yourself in prayer silently, gently, lovingly take your time... after you have spent some time in the silence of your heart then pray these words:
"May you be safe and protected from harm. May you be well in body and mind. May you be happy. May you be at peace."
Repeat this process/prayer for the 3 following intentions:
1. A loved one or loved ones
2. A difficult relationship
3. The world
I think that we can all agree that our world could use a little more kindness and peace... let it begin with us!
When is a cup of tea not just a cup of tea?
There are probably lots of answers to that riddle, but today the answer for me, was when it's a cup of tea that you have with Cathy Richard and it turns into a three and a half hour oasis of all things prayer, nature, faith, family, life... WOW! We got together to talk about details of the SOIL AND SOUL event that she is hosting/facilitating on May 19, and it turned into something so much more. Isn't that the way of God? Surprise, awe, wonder, abundance, a plan for our lives so much more than we could ever imagine for ourselves. And so often it comes in the conversations we have with one another. As part of our conversation today, Cathy brought up the series called, THE CHOSEN and I was like, "You are kidding me, it's been on my Flocknote list since March 19 and I just haven't gotten around to sharing the info yet!!" I even pulled out my notepad to show her! Clearly it was a sign that it was time. THE CHOSEN is a crowd funded series about the life of Jesus. The producer of the series is an Evangelical who wanted to tell the story of Jesus in a contextually robust way that would speak to all believers and perhaps touch the lives of those who have not yet encountered the person of Jesus. In order to do so, he brought together a Catholic priest, a Jewish Rabbi, and an Evangelical scholar as Biblical consultants. Though it sounds like the beginning of a joke, this collaboration has produced an incredibly moving series. It's also a testament to how people of different faiths can work together to do a whole lot of good!! Click the button to find out more about THE CHOSEN:
The producer and the three Biblical consultants also do a series of Roundtable Discussions that are fascinating. Watch the following video to find out more:
If we are going to binge watch something, it may as well be something good for us!
Don't forget about our next Laidback Book Club offering, Mitch Albom's HAVE A LITTLE FAITH! It's also built on the wisdom of a Jewish Rabbi and a Christian Pastor and demonstrates how faith, even expressed differently, has the power to bring us together and make the world a better place. This link will take you to the parish website for more details:
SOIL AND SOUL:
The Science and Spirituality of Gardening May 19
Cathy is inviting us to her garden for a morning and evening of prayer, scripture, contemplation, discussion, and sharing of all things gardening: soil, weeds, fertilizer, bugs, flowers... and how these practicalities relate to the gardens of our lives. The morning session runs from 10:00 until 1:00 and lunch is included. The evening session runs from 6:30-8:30 and concludes with refreshments. You choose which time slot works best for your schedule. It's a mini-retreat for anyone who loves gardening or even just enjoys spending time in a beautiful garden. Space is limited. Contact me at lynp@blessed-midland.org to register!
As we know well, every garden needs water to flourish which reminds me of this month's Corporal Work of Mercy:
GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY
Here are three ways to live out this month's Corporal Work of Mercy:
- Head down to the Rail Trail and pass out water, perhaps with little notes or prayers written on the sealed bottles. Or if you live by a neighborhood cut-thru or park, consider leaving out bottles of water for walkers or a bowl of water for pets being walked. Or as it warms up, leaving water for delivery drivers and postal workers would be a nice idea.
- Volunteer to give out water during a race, such as a local charity 5k.
- Pack extra water in your car for your family, friends, guests, or someone you see who needs it.
We started out this note talking about God's enduring love so let's wrap it up with a song about the same. This song is actually not a Christian song, but it's been heard a lot in our house lately as Tim is practicing it to play at our niece's wedding for the Father/Daughter dance. After really looking at the lyrics, I said to Tim that this could totally be about God's precious love for us. I hope you enjoy it!
God's precious love does teach us everything we need to know about how we should treat others, particularly the ones who think, look, act and believe differently from us. "I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to give me some more of that stuff... love, love, love, love, love precious love..." And I pray that I give it away as easily as God does!
With hope, joy, and an Easter Alleluia, Lyn