Week One

Some Suggestion for Practice.

1. Intention - Begin each practice with focus. Spend a moment centering yourself and set your ‘intention.’ You may want to say a phrase such as “I hope this day to learn more about your love” or “I want to discover the clutter in my life” or “teach me...”
2. Breathprayer - Many spiritual traditions have found that being attentive to our breathing helps us center or focus. Breathing attentively, at an easy, regular pace, slows us down and calms our rushing mind and body. You may want to focus on a word or phrase that assists you in centering.
3. Reflection - Use your cup as a part of a daily or weekly practice. Place it in a specific place and allow it to become a sacred vessel that symbolizes something that holds your spiritual journey.
4. Scripture - You may want to read a daily scripture to assist you on this path.
5. Journaling - Even if you are not a ‘writer’ you may want to record your reflections by writing, drawing or painting in a journal. In the process of putting something down on paper we often find more clarity.
6. Connecting - Find ways to take your practice with you into your day. Add richness and vitality to this season by integrating your spiritual practice into your relationships and daily life.
7. Integrating - Take time at the end of a week to review and ponder how you have grown in your spiritual walk and life. What have you learned? What do you hope for?

Week i - The cup of life

This week reflect on your relationship with God, and celebrate the beauty of this presence within you. Be grateful for the marvelous life flowing through your spirit.

Hold the cup in your hands and notice all it’s features. Be conscious of yourself as a cup held in God’s hands. Accept your uniqueness and your goodness. Thank God for creating you as you are.

You are a dwelling place for the Source of all life - Marcrina Wiederkehr

Cup Of Blessing - Lenten Practice

This Lenten season we will be doing a series called “The Cup of Blessing.” This series has been inspired by the book “The Cup of Our Life” by Joyce Rupp.

Rupp wrote “The cup has taught me many valuable lessons for my spiritual growh. I have learned that my life holds stale things that need to be discarded and that sometimes my life feels as wounded as a broken cup. I have learned that I have flaws, chips, and stains, just as any well-used cup may have, but that these markings of a well-traveled life need not prevent me from being a valuable gift for others.”

As I looked at my cup I was impressed by this image of a spiritual journey for many reasons. Firstly, I appreciate the commonness of the cup. It is something we use every day without hardly a thought. And our spiritual lives can be like that. What if we took this everyday ‘thing’ and used it to help us examine our everyday spiritual lives. Secondly, I noticed the rim of the cup, it is a complete, never-ending circle a symbol of wholeness, like that of our Creator God. Next, I thought about the things that go into a cup. A cup can be filled with good things, or bad things, we can consider it half-full, or half-empty.

Lent is a season for discovering our wholeness, for repenting and addressing those things that keep us for our being completely connected with The Holy. This is a time when we are given an opportunity to journey with Christ to the cross of Good Friday through to the resurrection of Easter.

Before you begin this Lenten Journey choose a cup that you will use for your daily spiritual practice. (You may want to begin with a blessing prayer for the cup - I will offer this blessing in the next post). If possible set aside a time and place for a daily or weekly time of prayer and reflection. I will attach the pamphlet that leads you through a weekly practice and feel free to come to this blog daily to receive daily practices.

Blessings on your Journey,

Karen

Don't Get Caught in the Lent Trap

http://www.thegodarticle.com/

I Thought this article was a good warm up for Lent. I really appreciated all it had to say. I have fought this battle myself and have come to the place of trying to give up things that get in the way of my relationship with God, self and others.

Enjoy!

Happy Lent!

Going Missional

http://vimeo.com/26642771

Alan Roxbourgh is a friend of mine. I watched this clip as I was prepping for worship this week and I wanted to share it with you.

A New Nativity Story

http://youtu.be/pW1pbuyGlQ0

Insiders and Outsiders

I was sent this website post today and I think it has a lot of food for thought. I would love to hear your thoughts and responses.

http://tlgcconnections.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/insiders-and-outsiders

Karen

Occupied by Hope

Adbusters "Occupy Wall Street" and "Buy Nothing Day" have recently evolved to "Occupy Christmas" I have found myself intrigued by this movement that shockingly speaks to what we religious leaders have been speaking to for years. It is suggested that we go back to the roots of the traditions of the religious festivals and focus less on the consumerism of it all. I am enjoying engaging (albeit from a distance) in these movements even with their obvious flaws. As I read the advent scriptures it seems to me the Occupy Christmas promoters and the prophetic and apocalyptic calls to attentiveness actually have a lot in common. Both are speaking to a large majority of people who are oppressed and feel cut off from cultural norms. They are voices calling out in the wilderness. Asking us to WAKE UP to the destructive ways of our cultural norms.

As we see all over the media today and hear from our colleagues that many are being cast back out to the streets this winter I wonder how God is calling us as Christian leaders to engage in a new way this season.

Debra Bowman and I have been in a lot of conversation about this in the last week and both of us are writing sermons on the subject she offers the observation that "The Occupy movement is “apocalyptic literature in-carnate, in the flesh." A voice crying out “Something is not right and we’re not getting out of our tents until you notice.” The Occupy movement joins our contemporary theology in understanding that there must be engagement between the will of God and the way of God’s people. That each step and decision we take is a step and decision towards participating in the fulfillment of God’s realm or a step away from the righteousness for all creation that is the profound yearning of God.”

This Advent I am engaging in a new way. I am following the "Occupy Movements" to hear the voices crying out in the wilderness. As I do so I am seeking ways to Occupy my heart and soul with hope, peace, joy and love so that I too may participate in the bringing of the kindom of God here on earth.

Advent Blessings,

Karen