Scripps Sundays

I plan to read these to dig in a little more:  https://www.faithward.org/women-of-the-bible-study-series/hagar-the-woman-who-named-god/ https://medium.com/@jffelkins/understanding-hagar-god-wild-donkeys-and-how-i-got-the-bible-wrong-c8f3a729e5ee

In looking for a file on my computer, I ran across this today. I don't remember when I read it or where it is from at all, but wow..... I imagine I have shared it with you, but it is so worth repeating.  💙💙💙💙💙

  I wrote this following post for International Dance Day for the Godspace blog . Who knew that International Dance Day (which is tomorrow on April 29th) was a thing?! So for this day, I offer this song “Lord of the Dance” that I remember from my high school youth group days. It was written in 1963 by Sydney Carter painting a picture of Jesus’ life and mission as a dance.   I danced in the morning when the world was begun, And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun, And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth: At Bethlehem I had my birth. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance, said he, And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he. I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee, But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me; I danced for the fishermen, for James and John; They came with me and the dance went on: Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance, said he, And I’ll lea...

     

a recent reflection from Sarah Bessey below expanding on her  ideas of loving things in particular  that she wrote about a few years ago.  “But what would it be like to love the world not in general but  in particular ? Pay attention, be mindful of loving  this particular world  and  your particular people  and  your particular place  and  your particular self . Love is not cautious but extravagant and specific.”   Instructions on Loving in Particular First, stretch out, unfurl, you belong in your own life after all. Untangle the antenna of your own longing, unknot your own soul's signal receivers. Shake out the dust, open the windows, bring along every you that you've been. Next, become someone who notices your own life: the ringlets of their hair, the way your mouth quirks to the left, the delights of the unhurried stroll, the stubborn sunlight breaking through the storm's clouds, the unreasonable invitation to "lov...

May the same magic that unites every part of you,  so too keep us whole, through our days— that we would know our bodies,  that we would feel our emotions,  and that we would remain near to our interior worlds,  by the divine spirit which remembers us. Amen. INHALE: I can listen to my body. EXHALE: I will stay whole. INHALE: My body is good. EXHALE: I will not abandon it. INHALE: This flesh is divine. EXHALE: The physical is the spiritual.   Confession: Embodied God, We confess that we have rent mind from matter,  been deceived into viewing our bodies  as tools for productivity  as opposed to sacred beings  worthy of love and honor.  In our spiritualities, we have exalted  the invisible over the physical.  In our daily routines,  we have not cared for our bodies well.  And that neglect has rippled out  toward the bodies of others in our midst.  Forgive us, God,  and restore in us a sacred attune...

  Anna, I read more of this gorgeous book on the plane today and typed out some passages that seem have been written just for you. There's so much good stuff, but I think it's best in smaller chunks so that you can really take it all in. So, here's Part One. You'll have to wait until Sunday for Part Two!  💜💜💜💜💜 From her chapter on Rest: ….This is how we account for the restlessness of the world. By naming the oppressive, greed-stricken capitalistic culture that sowed it in us. By naming the stories of trauma and abuse our bodies have endured. By remembering that this anxiety ricocheting through your body at three A.M. has an origin. And the origin is not you. I want sleep for you. Deep, dream-bearing sleep. But if the restlessness of the world has done damage that cannot immediately be undone, have compassion for yourself. It’s not your fault the dreams won’t come. Your body is doing the best it can in a world that has used it far more than it has loved it. N...

good thing Easter is not just one day--- it's a 7 week celebration!  I Praise you for this Resurrection Madness Lord of such amazing surprises as you put a catch in my breath and wings on my heart. I praise you for this joy, too great for words, but not for tears and songs and sharing, for mercy that blots out my betrayals and bids me begin again, and to limp on, to hop-skip-and-jump on. To mend what is broken in and around me and to forgive the breakers; for this YES to life and laughter, to love and lovers, and to my unwinding self; for this Kingdom unleashed in me and I in it forever. And no dead ends to growing, to choices, to chances, to calls to be just. No dead ends to living, to making peace, to dreaming dreams, to being glad of heart. For this resurrection madness which is wiser than I and in which I see how great you are, how full of grace, Alleluia! -Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace pictures from neighborhood walk  the last of the cherry blossoms this week ...