Midweek Blog: Too Deep for Words
Yesterday Joel sent out a collection of Election Day prayers, and I’ve seen many other such offerings floating around. Each one, in its own way, contained words that were beautiful, challenging, comforting, prophetic, and pastoral, and I am grateful for them. And yet, as I write this on Wednesday while we are still in the midst of anxious waiting, I find myself yearning for something different, something that gets me out of the swirling mess of my mind and more intentionally grounded in the body. The last hours, days, weeks, and beyond have been filled with words, numbers and an endless buffet of noise to choose from, regardless of where your tastes lie. So rather than adding to the noise, I’d like to offer a guided meditation-prayer that will hopefully allow each of us to get in touch with the “prayers too deep for words” that we all carry in
Daily Connector | Junior High Youth fun | Ruth Leonard
The Junior High Youth have been getting together this fall. In August they met at Lily Miller’s home and played volleyball. On October 18, they met at Nina’s house. The group decided to meet during COVID by wearing masks and having no food to eat during these times. Here are a couple pictures submitted by Ruth Leonard, one of the youth leaders, during the outing at Nina’s place.
Daily Connector | I am changing my narrative | Brent Miller
By all accounts, 2020 has been a year of unprecedented challenges – at least, unprecedented in MY lifetime. No one can deny the sadness, the anger, the hurt, and the feelings of loss that we have all felt. If 2020 was food, it would be toothpaste and orange juice flavored potato chips. HOWEVER…it is time to change the narrative. It’s time to stop thinking of 2020 as a complete disaster. It’s time to take stock of my blessings and tally my victories. 2020 has taught me a couple of lessons: 1. Focus on the things that TRULY matter in my life. A large percentage of the “stuff” that I had let bother me on any given day prior to March 13, 2020 really shouldn’t have been bothering me all that much. 2. It’s OK to slow down. It’s ok to say no if I’m not “feeling
Daily Connector | Resilience | Sarah Werner
I don’t share a lot about my disability, but I thought since I was recently hospitalized this might be a good time to talk about it a little bit more and share some of the things that have helped me adapt. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is an inherited connective tissue disorder. Several other family members from my dad’s side of the family also have it, but it’s fairly rare overall. I had symptoms of it from about age 12, but it wasn’t until I was almost 30 that I finally got a diagnosis that explained all of the bizarre problems I had been having all of these years. One of the main effects of the type of EDS that I have is hypermobile joints, caused by liga-ments that are too loose. As a child I could bend my knees backwards and do contortiony things with my elbows and shoulders.
Remembering (how) to pray
I keep remembering and forgetting how to pray. This week a song helped me remember, again. Perhaps you’ve already heard it. It’s a piece of true pandemic-instigated artistry – a young adult musician couple, parents of a young child, with a canceled concert tour and related income, making music in the basement of his parent’s house. And they’re in Ohio! “The Keep Going Song.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs-ju_L9pEQ It tells a bit about their story and becomes a prayer for themselves, for listeners, for the country, for the world: I hope your body is whole tonight. And if your heart is breaking, I hope it’s breaking open And if your breath is shaking I hope it’s shaking through… It touches on joy, rage, and grief – and relief. Despite our forgetfulness, we are full of prayers. We are full of prayers. Sometimes they get dammed up, and then a song
