Santa Cruz Sundays

  Taylor, I read this at a retreat back in January  and I keep coming back to these words from this beautiful reflection below:  "Beloved is where you begin."  Take 5 minutes to read this and then hold on to the words, "Beloved is where you begin"  as you go through your day.....  Beloved Is Where We Begin If you would enter into the wilderness, do not begin without a blessing. Do not leave without hearing who you are: Beloved, named by the One who has traveled this path before you. Do not go without letting it echo in your ears, and if you find it is hard to let it into your heart, do not despair. That is what this journey is for. I cannot promise this blessing will free you from danger, from fear, from hunger or thirst, from the scorching of sun or the fall of the night. But I can tell you that on this path there will be help. I can tell you that on this way there will be rest. I can tell you that you will know the strange graces that come to our aid only...

I read this part of a prayer that I typed below for you on our bus ride yesterday, and it captured a few times on our trip when we were so moved by the awe and wonder of God's beauty around us. How can we take it all in?  May you experience a bit of awe in this week ahead...   Listen to my blinking eyes, for at certain moments when sunlight strikes just right, or stars pierce the darkness just enough, or clouds roll around just so, or snow kisses the world into quietness, everything is suddenly transparent… and something in me is pure enough for an instant to see your kingdom in a glance, and so to praise you in a gasp- quick, then gone, but it is enough. -          Ted Loder,  Guerrillas of Grace

    Some words below to remind you of your belovedness today.  Happy Almost Valentine’s Day!   Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion. ―  Brennan Manning,  Abba's Child   Followers of Jesus are supposed to be walking billboards of God’s radical affection for everyone.   That’s what he meant by   being the light   to a world that can be very dark for so many.   We need more light-bringers these days. I’d love to see Christians intentionally declaring the value of all people more often; that they’d step proudly and loudly into their classrooms and workplaces and family gatherings, wearing the message on their sleeves—that everyone is beloved as they arrive here, that they are fiercely loved without caveat or condition. And as you study and work and play and live in this world, please remember that regardless of what anyone tells you on signs or on shirts or in sermons: ...

For this Santa Cruz Sunday, I offer you some of my favorite photos from the weekend along with some quotes from About Time and others that go right in line with the wonderful message from that movie.  "We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride." - About Time  "And so he told me his secret formula for happiness. Part one of the two-part plan was that I should just get on with ordinary life, living it day by day, like anyone else. But then came part two of Dad's plan. He told me to live every day again almost exactly the same. The first time with all the tensions and worries that stop us noticing how sweet the world can be, but the second time noticing. Okay, Dad. Let's give it a go." -About Time  “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things co...