Posts Tagged: "Jan Richardson"

Advent Day 2: The Power of a Blessing

*photo above: Callicarpa shrub (Beautyberry) at the Lake Wilderness Arboretum

Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” —Luke 1.42-45

In Jan Richardson’s introduction to her book Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons, she writes…

I find myself compelled by the power of a blessing: how in the space of a few lines, the stuff of pain, grief, and death becomes the very substance of hope. I wanted not only to know more about that place; I wanted to live there. Blessings enable us to perceive the ways the sacred inhabits the ordinary, impressing upon us that every moment and each place lies within the circle of God’s care.

Blessings are often poetic, pulsing with the rhythms of invocation… and taking on the cadence of litany and liturgy. They use ordinary language in ways that can become extraordinary, offering words that arrest our attention and awaken us to how the holy is at work in our very midst.

A true blessing is meant also to provoke us, to incite us to a response. The best blessings awaken our imaginations.

The story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth… Read More

If You Listen You Will Hear

Behold the One who can’t take his eyes off you. Marinate in the vastness of that. —Father Greg Boyle

Our world is a noisy place. Especially right now it seems.

There are so many voices clamoring for our attention.

But there is a voice that matters most. And if you listen, you will hear…

Henri Nouwen said:

Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, “Prove that you are… Read More

14 Good & Bad Stains 2014 Left On Me

*note: The picture above was taken through the window of my room at the Los Angeles Dream Center from our recent trip with a crew from NWLife – serving for a week there.

I’m so ready for 2015.

This year—while it wasn’t all bad—certainly had more than it’s fair share of bad news. I’ve felt like 2014 has refused to go out quietly or peacefully. It all reminds me of the opening lines from Jesus Walks by Kanye West…

Yo, we at war. We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all we at war with ourselves.

As I reflect on 2014, I’m struck by a number of things that left their mark on me. So here they are: 14 Good & Bad Stains 2014 Left On Me… Read More

I Fell In Love With A Table

This is the story of how I fell in love with a table…

From growing up in the church, there are two things I remember about communion:

1) I remember it passing me by because I was too young, apparently. So I watched my parents receive. I could smell the grape juice on their breath when they would whisper something to me afterwards. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t included – because I knew that I was included in every other meal my family had.

2) When I was “old enough” to receive, we had another pastor at that time. What I remember was how this pastor seemed bored with communion and in a hurry to get on with the real show. He said the same exact lines every time at the speed of an auctioneer.

Twenty years later, I have… Read More