encouragement and inspiration
The winner of the book Prone to Wander by Joanna Harader is Amy Kreider! Congratulations, Amy!
Thank you to everyone who participated and to everyone who has shared about Some Comfort and Joy with someone!
If you didn’t win, that’s OK, you can still order a copy of Prone to Wander from Herald Press ( https://heraldpress.com/9781513814810/prone-to-wander/ ) or any of your favorite book retailers.
“Our Father in heaven…” -Matthew 6:9
I love hearing all the names children call their parents and grandparents. There are so many and they are generally endearing. When my son Joel was little he sometimes called me Mama, which warmed my heart. Now that my children are in college and middle school, I’m usually just Mom, but I enjoy that name too! It, of course, reveals our familial connection even if it is sometimes said with an eyeroll and an exasperated tone.
I am struck anew today by the Lord’s Prayer and its opening address. Jesus begins the prayer, “Our Father in heaven”. Jesus could have said “Our King in heaven.” Or maybe “Creator in heaven.” Instead he addressed God as family. His Father and ours as well.
Equally interesting is the pronoun. “Our”. Not “my” or “The” or just “Father”, but instead, “Our Father.” The word “Our” embraces the group-ness of relating to God. We are not on this journey towards God alone. And we are included with Jesus in the family relationship with God.
Right before Jesus begins this prayer he says this to his disciples, “This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven. . .” Matthew 6:8 (The Message)
Our Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for loving us and walking with us today. AMEN
Sherah-Leigh and I are so grateful to have each of you as part of the Some Comfort and Joy community! In honor of the start of Lent, we would love to send one of you a copy of Prone to Wander: A Lenten Journey with Women in the Wilderness by Joanna Harader featuring artwork by Michelle Burkholder.
From the Herald Press website:
“God meets us in the wilderness.
Though most of us have never wandered a literal desert for forty years, we have all spent some time wandering in a wilderness of one kind or another. So, too, have many women across the pages of the Bible. In their stories of doubt and questioning, of dryness and distance, we can find guideposts for the inevitable wilderness periods in our own lives. As we enter into the wilderness season of the church year, this Lenten devotional by Joanna Harader explores the stories of thirty biblical women—from Eve to Mary Magdalene—who had their own such experiences. For some, the women inhabited a literal wilderness. For others, their wilderness was metaphorical. All were drawn closer to God, who does not leave us to wander alone.
Embark on a Lenten journey with these women in the wilderness through daily reflections, prayer practices, and questions, as well as Sunday blessings accompanied by beautiful hand-cut paper artwork by Michelle Burkholder.”
Simply complete the form below by midnight on Sunday March 9th for a chance to win a copy of this book!
If you’re the lucky winner, we’ll contact you via email so we can send you your prize. Also, we’d be delighted if you invite your friends, family, and anyone you think would be interested to follow our free Lenten series here on the blog.
In times of uncertainty, overwhelm or stress, we can turn to the rhythms and rituals of our lives to ground us. Just as seasons of grief, winter or wilderness force us to wrestle with discomfort and uncertainty, so too, these are opportunities to lean into the practices that sustain us and explore new ways of connecting with God that can nurture our soul.
In the liturgical season of Lent, the stretch of time leading to Holy Week and Easter, there is often an emphasis on fasting, a spiritual practice that is intended to make more space for God. You may well choose to give up something for the coming week. Perhaps you will commit to taking on a particular spiritual practice to enrich your connection with God.
Prayer is one of the primary practices of faith. Modeled by Jesus, the ancient words of the Lord’s Prayer are ones we may have memorized in our elementary Sunday school class. And as with other familiar words, these lines may have become rote, stripped of their meaning and epiphanies.
Over the next seven weeks, we invite you to reflect on the phrases of the Lord’s Prayer. Regardless of your giving up or taking on, you are invited to consider these familiar words in new ways; to embrace and embody the promises and practices to which these words point.
May our journey together with the Lord’s Prayer through Lent bring us all some comfort and joy.
With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
-Matthew 6:9-13 (The Message)
My children are mostly past the stage of birthday parties with themed invitations. But I remember receiving many colorful invites in school folders and via email when they were younger. These varied birthday invitations were exuberant calls to spend a couple hours, usually on a Saturday, helping a very loved little one celebrate another year. While my boys received these invitations jubilantly, as a parent I looked on with trepidation. My Saturday to-do list would now need to be accomplished minus the two hours or more spent at the birthday party. And littles’ birthday parties can, and usually do, involve lots of screaming kids, too much sugar, and awkward social interactions with other parents.
Invitations, despite the welcoming nature of the idea, are sometimes fraught. An invitation to journey through Lent might feel like receiving a child’s birthday party invite. You will be asked to give something up, and the journey might lead you through places of discomfort and self-reflection.
But life’s invitations, the good ones, are often like that. There are things to be released and given away but there are also the rewards of new experiences, growth, and resurrection at the end (think birthday cake and sprinkles).
Some Comfort and Joy will be posting every Monday and Thursday during the season of Lent. Sherah-Leigh and I hope you will join us as together we explore the Lenten season and The Lord’s Prayer.
May the wonder of this world renew you day by day.
When you feel distant
isolated and alone
May you be comforted and companioned
by your community
When you feel overwhelmed
pained and grieved
May you simply be
through noticing all your body is sensing and experiencing
When you feel busy
frantic and frenetic
May you simply be
through stillness and silence
When you feel depleted
weary and worn
May you be refreshed and renewed
by the gifts of grounding and connection
May the wonder of this world renew your hope
as you navigate the unfolding of this season. Amen
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” –Phillipians 2:3
Accessing our connection to things greater than ourselves can bring us comfort and joy. Whether it is through helping someone else, bearing witness to the grief and pain of another, or investing in actions that bring systemic change, engaging in practices that move us outside of our own pain points and concerns is an important part of nurturing and expressing our faith.
We often experience the care and work of the Spirit through the companionship and grace of those around us. And we participate in God’s kingdom work when we offer expressions of shalom to those we meet.
Take a moment today to engage in an activity that honors the value of connecting with something greater than the self. You may choose to take a walk in nature, spend time making a gratitude list or offering a random act of kindness for a friend or stranger.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” –Phillipians 2:3
I can still see myself standing at the island in the church kitchen saying, “And what are you contributing to retreat?” or something equally awful. I was in my 20’s and working full time at an overwhelming teaching job. At church I was trying to prove my worth by heading up a weekend retreat for our adult Sunday school group. I fumed at those around me as I thought about the papers that wouldn’t get graded and all the food that needed to be packed and prepared for others in the weekend ahead.
When I get annoyed at other people for not pitching in and doing their part, it usually means I have decided to complete more than what I can actually accomplish in one human day. In this unhappy state I am not transcending self, but descending into my own selfish pity party.
Both Suzanne Stabile and Emily P Freeman, Christian spiritual directors and authors, emphasize that asking, “What is mine to do?” is a clarifying question. This is an important question because it tells us two things: (1) Not everything that needs or could be done in the world to help others is mine to do; and (2) There are some things in the world that are mine to do.
Maybe one way to look at self transcendence is a balance of self care and awareness that then leads us to humbly care for others. When we are able to act out of our love for God and with humility, we can access the beauty and growth that comes from helping others.
God, we can see your beautiful creation and the amazing diversity of people in the world. We can also see the many problems in the world. In our own strength we can be quickly overwhelmed. Help us to learn how to love others selflessly. AMEN
“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” -Genesis 2:7
Honoring our bodies as a gift can be a countercultural perspective. With the barrage of messaging to be smaller, smoother, stronger, younger or healthier (and the list goes on…) we can easily forget to honor our physical being. Yet our bodies are the way we experience the world.
Take some time today to engage all of your senses with intention as a way of noticing the gift that your body is.
You may light your favorite candle, take a warm and fragrant bubble bath or bake your favorite cookie recipe. Enjoy a lingering hug with a loved one, schedule a pedicure or use the fancy lotion you’ve been saving. Walk through your neighborhood listening to the sounds of life, play to your favorite album or sing a hymn from your childhood. Savor a cup of strong coffee, enjoy a square of dark chocolate, or peel an orange.
As you enjoy each experience, give thanks to God for the goodness that exists with your body as it is in this present moment.
God formed Man and Woman* out of dirt from the ground and blew into their* nostrils the breath of life. The Man and Woman* came alive—living souls! -Genesis 2:7 (The Message)
*my own addition
Between the snowy winter weather that drives us indoors (if you live in some parts of North America) and our all too accessible screen times, it can be difficult to live an embodied life this time of year. During February in the Shenandoah Valley, where I live, the night creeps in quickly and leaves slowly in the morning. The cold of January adds itself to this month, making me long for spring. Getting outside to exercise or to perform daily tasks, like getting the mail and feeding my chickens, can feel like a punishment, rather than an opportunity to live an embodied life.
Despite the season, we remain an embodied beings. This just means that for our time here on planet Earth, we move around and experience life in a body. Depending on the day, our circumstance, and most especially our perspective, that can feel like a gift or a curse!
I am convinced that despite the difficulties I may experience in my human body, my body is a gift from God. Finding practices that allow us to experience our bodies with joy, improve our relationships with our own spirit, with others, and with God. Our time here in our bodies is finite! But for as long as we have our bodies, they allow us to enjoy and fully experience the gift of life given to each of us by God.
Thank you God for this beautiful human body that you have given to me. May I remember to experience it with joy and thankfulness!
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