thread of grace

I love telling stories - no surprise there!  I especially get excited when I tell youth (currently my confirmation class) an encounter Jesus had with someone and it changed them.  It gets even more exciting when I hear them repeat the story.  This weekend, among other stories, we talked about the woman that was to be stoned and the woman who was at the well.  These stories for me demonstrate the power of transformation and the ripple effect that can change communities.  The transformation was not just planted in the lives of these two women but in those who were witnesses in the moment and in later conversation.  It reminds me that stories are powerful and their transformative power can have a ripple effect that changes unseen lives. I will and I invite you as well, to ruminate on your story and the activity of grace that is woven throughout.  (As a United Methodist I believe that God's grace is at work in you whether you aware of it or not - prevenient grace) During these next three weeks of our Lenten Season may we focus on the thread of grace that weaves together our story so that on Easter we will see it's ripple effect as a light shining in the darkness.

Wisdom and Waste

I am currently reading "The Wisdom Way of Knowing:  Reclaiming an ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart,"  by Cynthia Bourgeault.  She quotes (with liberties) from an ancient text I must admit that I am less familiar with Haggai a biblical prophet.  Here is the quote: So now... think; take stock; what do you really want?  You eat but still hunger; you drink but still thirst; you clothe yourselves but can't get warm, and your wages run out through the holes in your pockets. (Haggai 1:6&7).
        Lent is about taking stock.  It is about asking that question - what do I really want - and having a change of direction of my mind and life.  So what have I learned thus far as I journey on Lenten's path?  Through the simplicity of my spending I have learned that I waste a lot.  Many of my purchases are not based on need but on instant gratification.  So I waste money.  I have found that I rush so much that I do not plan ahead enough to take snacks with me and prepare meals at home.  This rushing is of my own doing.  As if I am so important that the world would stop spinning if I slowed down.  This fast pace leaves me feeling exhausted and I find myself having little energy for any other downtime activity besides my television. I waste time and energy.
     So I need to do better.  I need to slow down instead of being in such a rush that I waste time and energy and miss all the human blessings of my life.  What I really want to awaken my heart.  May Wisdom be my guide as I seek to change my heart and mind.
            "Take stock," says Haggai.

Beauty

Find the beauty this day!