Vulnerability

http://www.davidlose.net/2012/04/the-power-of-vulnerability/

I read this article and listened to this Ted Talk this week and I thought it was worth sharing.
Blessings,
Karen

The Earth Breathing - For Earth Day

Memory cup

The gift of memory is something we rarely think about when we are younger. As we get older we learn to appreciate it more. This season in the Christian church holds the gift of memory. Every time we gather at the eucharist we are blessed with a memory. The story remains with us because of the power of the memory of those who experienced it and carried it’s memory. The cup of wine has become a memory cup holding a sacred story. The cup becomes a cup of sacrifice, love, unity, courage, strength, and restoration.

We all have memories to sift through. Some are beautiful and precious, some need to be let go of, learned from, or healed from. How do we move to the memories that strengthen us and bring us to fullness of life?

Breathprayer:

Breathe in:I remember...

Breathe out:...your love for me.

Reflection:

Hold the blessing cup in your hands

let it be filled with memories

choose one memory of love and happiness.

Let this memory pervade your spirit.

Receive the inner strength it offers

thank God for the memory

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:9-20

But take care...so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

Journal:

Write down thoughts and feelings about some of your memories...

How do some memories bless you?

Prayer:

Dear God strengthen me through the good memories. On this day we celebrate the last supper we are reminded of your great love and the call for us to love the same.

The Blessing Cup

“To bless is to put a bit of yourself into something. It is to make holy, to change something or someone because of your presence.” - Macrina Wiederkehr

“Each of us can offer blessings. Each of us can be a blessing, too. When we bless, it is God’s deep and vast goodness, or God-ness, in us that blesses another. When we bless we touch another with the touch of this God-ness. In Christian scriptures, Jesus does not bestow or offer many blessings. Rather, he becomes a blessing. His presence, his goodness, engenders life, strength, healing, courage, and vitality.”

Breathprayer:

Breathe in: Blessings given...

Breathe out:...Blessings received

Reflection:

Wrap your hands around your cup.

See God’s goodness dwelling within you

Consider ways in which you have been blessed

Consider people who are a blessing to you

How have you been a blessings?

Give thanks for the God-ness in you and others

Give thanks for the ability to bless and be blessed

Scripture: 1 Peter3:8-12

It is for this that you were called -that you might inherit a blessing (1 Pt. 3:9)

Journaling:

The people that have been a blessing to me are....

I know I am and can be a blessing when....

Prayer:

Holy One, may your goodness radiate from me and bring blessings to others in my life.

Pouring the cup of compassion

“Anyone who gives anything to the Divine will find that it comes back to them turned to gold” - Rumi

“Our lives are such that our deepest compassion and generosity often get masked by our frustration with schedules, calendars, and clocks. When this happens to me, I find myself becoming closed and selfish. Sometimes it takes a challenging or humbling moment to shake loose my tenacious hold on trying to get everything done on my carefully crafted timetable....Jesus encouraged his disciples toward generous loving and assured them that if they were generous in their giving that this same generosity would be the measure of the gifts returned. Their giving would be turned to gold. Compassion is like that. When we let compassion pour forth generously from us instead of holding back with meager giving, it can be a powerful experience. We often receive more than we give.” - Joyce Rupp

Breathprayer:

Breathing in: I will offer...

Breathing out:....Compassion this day

Reflection:

Hold the cup in your hands

Imagine God pouring love into you

Picture yourself overflowing with love and compassion

Now think of someone who is struggling

Let the love within you flow to this person.

Picture your love filling this person’s whole being

Allow that peace and generosity to settle

Scripture:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. (Luke 6:38)

Journal:

A time that someone compassionate to me that changed me was....

Where in my life could I show more compassion?

Prayer:

Holy One help me to notice when compassion is given and when I can offer it more freely.....