Scripps Sundays

  Last week at the Ash Wednesday service,  we were reminded about humility and repentance.  This is not a surprise as Lent is often a time  of giving things up that take our attention away from God  or taking on practices that help us return to God.  The term humility comes from the Latin word "humilitas"  which means "humble" but also "grounded."  The word repentance comes from the Greek word  metanoia which means to change your mind.  But the part I had not heard before was to focus on the fact that  Lent is an invitation to a season to change your mind about who you are.  Lent can be a time of grounding to remember who and whose you are. It can be a time to remember that you belong to God.  It's a time to remember the care and intention with which you were born.... It's a time to remember that you are beautiful, beloved, and enough- just as you are.  So whatever helps you lean into that, turn towards that.  Wh...

sending this Scripps Sunday on a Monday because we had the most extraordinary weekend together soaking up beauty together! 💓 I compensated for my former indifference  by the twin exercise of attention and patience,  Let's call it love.  - Sylvain Tesson from the exquisite movie  The Velvet Queen  a few images from the love we have shared this weekend: 

The image that stood out to me during our practice of Visio Divina on our last night at the retreat this past week is the one below by Scott Erikson with the rabbit. It’s no surprise that I would be drawn to this as we have had our beloved Poppy as a part of our family for 9 ½ years. Through this, I’ve tried to summarize some of the nuggets I am bringing back with me from the retreat and now that I am sharing with you. When I look at this, I am struck by the faithful presence of this rabbit (very much like Poppy). The stairway drawn in the ear of the rabbit is a masterful touch as it speaks to how listening is the very stairway to heaven. Just as this rabbit is still, what does it look like for me to be still and know that it is God who makes things right? [1] Just as this rabbit is in front of the sunlight and as Poppy loves to sit in the light that streams into the living room and soak it up (and especially the new full spectrum light!), what does it look like for me do the ...

In the book Honest Advent  by Scott Erickson, he has a chapter titled "Unease." He writes, "It may be that the divine presence you've been looking for is to be found in your present unease. Instead of missing this invitation by trying to find a resolution to your unease prematurely, center yourself with these three questions:  1. What is the conversation I can have only by being in this situation? 2. What parts of my life have I been able to uncover only by finding myself here?  3. What unexpected place might God want to meet me during this uneasy time I'm experiencing?  It's in asking these questions that we offer a perspective of divine growth to our uneasy situation and begin to pull back the curtain a little on the secret strategy to grow us into the person we asked God to make us be.  May the unease of your stretching and expanding be the promise of divine love growing in you a new life of unforeseen possibility.