some comfort and joy

Comfort: Rest as God’s Provision

“God my Shepherd! I don’t need a thing.” -Psalm 23:1 (The Message)

Recently, as my husband and I were in our yard, we heard the cows on a nearby hill munching on grass. They must have been in just the right spot with the wind blowing just so. What a simple, yet profoundly peaceful, moment. The grass was green, the sun shining, and the cows were content.

Our neighborhood cows are not always so tranquil. Sometimes they bellow with dissatisfaction. Other times when spooked they take off running down the steep hills. It seems certain they will face-plant. They watch our comings and goings with great curiosity, and occasionally they end up on our side of the fence.

Even though their behavior changes frequently, the pasture stays pretty much the same. The grass is plentiful, there is hay delivery by the farmer in the winter, and they have the hide and hooves to put up with just about any kind of weather. The only thing that really changes is their perception of the world around them.

Like the cows, I am finding that God provides above and beyond what I need, but I have the task of perceiving the Good Shepherd’s provision. God provides what is needed, including restful times of restoration.

Thank you God for Your provision! May we have the wisdom to perceive it! AMEN

Practice of Joy: Rest as Self Care

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” -Psalm 91:4

I believe that God looks at us with kindness. Not in a wishy-washy way, just with sincere kindness. Depending on your personality type or the family system you grew up in, you may have more or less success in treating yourself with kindness.

In the coming week, commit to choosing two things to do for your own self care. Do these things for yourself with kindness. Not because you deserve them. Not because you are being indulgent. But instead, remembering that God loves each of us and desires for us to live healthy lives that include rest and rejuvenation.

Some self-care ideas:

Soak your feet in warm water for 5 min
Take a 20 min afternoon nap (If you have littles or someone you care for, take a nap when they are!)
Buy or pick some flowers for you table or counter
Sit down and enjoy a beautiful view
Schedule a visit with a trusted friend

We would love to hear your everyday, healthy ways of incorporating rest into your life. Please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Comfort: Rest is a Gift

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.” –Psalm 91:4

“It’s pretty pathetic when a day off for the colonoscopy prep and procedure feels like a vacation,” I nervously joked with three people surrounding my gurney as we waited for the doctor to arrive. Shivering and self conscious in the thin cotton gown, the nurse offered me a heated blanket. “Wow, this just turned into a spa day,” I commented with a smile. “And I’m about to have a great sleep, right?”

Around the internet I’ve seen the quip: If you don’t make time for your wellness, you’ll be forced to make time for your illness.

It’s unpopular to take space for rest in a culture that values productivity. It’s difficult to prioritize rest when there are never ending demands and things to do. And yet, we are (ultimately) the only ones who can prioritize our own health and wellbeing. If we are not well, we cannot fulfill the commitments we’ve made.

Our God’s design need for rest is a gift. How are you receiving that today?

May I see both the gifts and imposition of limits, space and rest as a gift from you. Amen.

Invitation to Rest

After the crush of Maycember (as those tied to the rhythms and intensity of the school schedule refer to it!), we find ourselves in June. Whether or not your schedule changes with the season, the longer stretches of daylight and warmer temperatures bring different demands and opportunities. On our farm, summertime brings additional chores. While I resent the time commitment of mowing, but I love eating produce fresh from the garden and the bouquets of wildflowers that will adorn our dining table in the coming weeks. Summer illustrates the interplay and dynamism of duty and delight.

Each season holds gifts for us to receive. At times, we may be overwhelmed by life’s demands or bored by our routines and the mundane tasks. Taking time to be intentional in our reflection and action allows us to receive God’s goodness and grace, sustaining us for whatever is unfolding in our lives.

Throughout the month of June, we invite you to consider the rhythms of rest in your life. Using invitations and blessings from the psalms, Gwen and I are sharings some reflections on the lessons and intersections of rest and renewal in our own lives. May you, too, experience some comfort and joy as you engage the practice of pausing (in all of its forms!).

Thank You!

We are so grateful to have journeyed through this Lenten season with you. Your comments, likes and shares mean so much to us. As we share our own wonder and wonderings with you, it is our prayer that our words and invitations nurture your soul. May you experience the nearness of God and notice the sacred in the ordinary as you continue to navigate the unfolding of life.

Comfort: Easter Morning

AMEN: Easter Blessing

Sometimes in the winter
cold wraps around me
Where is God?

Sometimes in the night
it’s hard to know
Where God is.

Sometimes we
are the disciples waiting
in the dark
it must have felt
like winter
Where is God?

But
Easter morning
Always
comes like spring
bursting through the
cold and dark
blossoming with possibility

Jesus is risen
Jesus is here
Jesus is coming again

Joy: Lent Week 5 – Keep us safe

“And keep us safe.” Matthew 6:13

Maundy Thursday services will be held in many churches this week. These services often include a simple meal sometimes called a “love feast” or perhaps a seder meal. These meals are designed to help recount God’s faithfulness to God’s people over many generations.

How has God shown faithfulness to you throughout your life?

Consider marking God’s faithfulness to you in a tangible way this week. Some ideas are:

Plant a perennial. Perennials return each year. When it blooms this summer (and in subsequent years) you can be reminded again of God’s faithfulness.
Write a list of three ways you have experienced God’s faithfulness and post it in a place you will see it throughout the upcoming week.
Do you have faithful friends? Invite them over for coffee or a meal. Do this as an act of thanksgiving to God for your friends.

Comfort: Lent Week 6 – Humility

“Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.” -Matthew 6:13

Lent begins with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The forty days of testing are reflected in our forty days of fasting. The wilderness in its various forms ends up being a place of revealing. When we reach the end of our resources, we must face our fears. In these times we lean on the Spirit for comfort, guidance and protection.

As we now enter into Holy Week, recounting the events that lead to crucifixion and eventually resurrection, we must consider how we, too, may be caught up.

From the swell of hope in the triumphal entry to the jeers of the crowd with the cries of crucify him echoing through the square; the delight of friends gathered around a table to the mysterious and befuddling proclamations: take, eat; this is my body and you will fall away.

Anointing, accusation, betrayal. The intensity of Holy Week reminds us of the whispers and wonderings of wilderness. Identity and desires revealed and tested.

The simple beauty of the way Jesus taught us to pray, is that it contains it all. The closeness and reverence for God. Our daily needs alongside the plea for God’s rule and reign. It acknowledges the realities of trial and testing, of temptation and evil, positioning us to receive God’s protection and care.

Gracious God, may I find my safety and solace in your presence. In wilderness and temptations may I return to you, my source and provider. Amen.

Joy: Lent Week 5 – The Practice of Forgiveness

“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.…” -Matthew 6:12

Large scale or small, a daily discipline or miraculous moment of transformation, forgiveness plays out in many different ways in our lives. Living in relationship with others (family, community, church) means that we will have disagreements and conflict, hurt feelings and broken promises.

Take some time today to consider where you need to tend to forgiveness in your life. Is there a person you need to ask for forgiveness from? Is there a circumstance in which you have been resisting offering forgiveness? Is there something you would like to ask God for freedom from?

God you are holy and you are generous. You are perfect and you understand our imperfection. May your Spirit guide and inspire my practice and discipline of forgiveness as I both extend and receive this gift. Amen.

Comfort: Lent Week 5 – Forgiveness

“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.” Matthew 6:12

There is an ancient Asian proverb that tells of a monk who carried a rich lady across a puddle so her feet wouldn’t get wet. The ungrateful woman did not thank the monk for his kindness. Miles down the road the monk’s apprentice asked how he could be so kind to such a selfish woman. The monk replied, “I put her down miles ago, when are you going to?”

The story beautifully illustrates the humble attitude required by forgiveness. It is helpful to remember all the times I have needed forgiveness. It is easier to forgive others when I humbly remember my own shortcomings.

Humility and forgiveness go hand in hand, of course. Jesus points this out when he prays “forgive us . . as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” We extend forgiveness to others because it has been extended to us. Maybe not by the person we are forgiving, but certainly by Jesus. Forgiveness is an act of grace and works against our own selfishness.

Often I have thought about forgiveness as once and done. But the reality of life is much more mundane than that. Instead of a grand gesture, these days I find forgiveness is more often a daily choice.

I have found it helpful to approach forgiveness through small acts of kindness that extend goodwill. I might not feel like it but sometimes making the choice to listen with thoughtfulness, continuing onward in a project with a coworker, or making time to complete a small task together can be a way to extend forgiveness. Movement towards forgiveness, even in small ways, is a gift.

As I make choices to forgive through daily acts of kindness and engagement I do so with humility, realizing that the people I need to forgive may also feel they need to forgive me.

Lent is a time to reflect on our lives. God is calling us to forgive. How could you extend forgiveness to your friends and family today?

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
AMEN