“In a world which runs nonstop where we are always accessible, we have to make the choice to step out from under its tyranny of demands. Sabbath calls us to restore ourselves and remember that the world will go on without our labors. It is ultimately an act of humility which means to remember our earthiness.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Monk in the World: An Online, Self-Study Retreat
How do you practice Sabbath?
The call to compassionate ministry is a great call. But we must not be fearful. We must not say, “I can’t do that.” When we are aware that we are the beloved, and when we have friends around us with whom we live in community, we can do anything. We’re not afraid anymore. We’re not afraid to knock on the door while somebody is dying. We’re not afraid to open a discussion with a person who underneath all the glitter is much in need of ministry. We’re free.
I have experienced that constantly. When I was depressed or when I felt anxious, I knew my friends couldn’t solve it. Those who ministered to me were those who were not afraid to be with me. Precisely where I felt my poverty, I discovered God’s blessing. — A Spirituality of Living
Verse of the day
Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.
– Amos 5:14
Voice of the day
The hope is based in people and only in people. The hope is not in any particular system of government, any particular church style, any particular law. But it’s a hope in man—in the basic goodness of man—but without being blind to the evil that’s in us too.
– Elizabeth McAlister
Prayer of the day
God who we encounter through people, keep us aligned against evil and aspiring toward the good we are capable of.
“If we can make the time to hold our envy at a distance and examine it, we can look carefully enough at the focus of our envy to help us identify what we are actually passionate about. . . [W]e begin to know ourselves better and realign with our passions more accurately.”
—Lisa Colón DeLay, The Way of the Desert Elders: How the Wisdom of Ancient Christians Sustains Us Today our Lift Every Voice Book Club selection for May and June
What passions are at the root of your envy, and what invitation to realignment are you receiving?
View or listen to our conversation with the author here.
To wait with openness and trust is an enormously radical attitude toward life. It is choosing to hope that something is happening for us that is far beyond our own imaginings. It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life. It is living with the conviction that God molds us in love, holds us in tenderness, and moves us away from the sources of our fear. — Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit
“Wandering along the cobblestone paths, Sophia’s shoulders felt heavy and her back ached. Nevertheless, she stopped in various shops to say hello to friends and tell them where she was headed.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Journey to Joy: A Fairy Tale for Thresholds & Transitions
What is your current relationship to the concept of community? Do you experience it as a support system, a burden, something longed for, an ambiguous unknown?
Verse of the day
As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.
– Philippians 4:9
Voice of the day
This God that kills and wages war cannot be the God of love that is revealed through Jesus…It is against this God who kills that we are fighting and resisting.
– Alexya Salvador
Prayer of the day
Strengthen our backbone to speak out against those who proclaim warped versions of you. Lay down your seal of peace.
St. Hildegard Has a Vision (excerpt)
Is this what can happen
when we surrender fully?
What can enter through the open heart?
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, What Enters Through the Open Heart: Poems
What holds you back from surrendering fully, and what have you received through an open heart?
Join us for a book launch celebration in October!
The Bible, especially in the words of the Prophets, reminds individuals and peoples of God’s covenant with humanity, which entails renouncing our desire to dominate others and learning to see one another as persons, sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters. We should never encapsulate others in what they may have said or done, but value them for the promise that they embody. Only by choosing the path of respect can we break the spiral of vengeance and set out on the journey of hope. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 82
“In cultivating photography as a contemplative practice, the camera becomes a tool to develop our ability to see more deeply, clearly, and truly, beneath the surface realities of the world around us and into the sacred presence shimmering in the world.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
How do you want to cultivate your ability see more deeply, clearly, and truly?
To register for the self-study companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance, click here. Use code HEART20 to take 20% off through May 31st, tomorrow.
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 