Pause to Ponder

O God, you have called your pilgrim people 

to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, 

by paths as yet untrodden. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

The prayer above is one of my favorites.  It’s been around for decades and is attributed to an Anglican minister Eric Milner-White.  Sometimes called the Prayer of Good Courage, it expresses the attitude of one desiring to live and be of service to the Lord wherever life leads.

 This prayer became especially near and dear to me when after Denise, my first wife, died suddenly, I chose to venture from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest, ready to live into a new chapter of God’s call on my life.  To my surprise, the unfolding of this new stage of life and service would include journeying to the end of the Oregon Trail, serving at Pioneer Presbyterian Church on the Clatsop Plains. 

So, in many ways I’ve been on a pilgrimage for the past decade or more.  Day by day, full of grace, the Lord leading me, God’s love supporting me and I amazed time and again at how I am blessed to be a blessing along the way.  

Be it a new phase in life, a journey to a far-off sacred place, or simply taking an afternoon or a weekend away, spiritual growth and life-giving discernment await those who are willing to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage.

Once in a while
I experience a fear of missing out
on a dream to take music on the road

Then I have the experience like I did yesterday
when together with friends we sang with folks
In the memory care community just down the highway

And I realize that beyond my wildest imagination
I’ve had an amazing lifelong journey of music ministry
and any fear I may have about missing out is laughable

With a celebration of our country’s birth July is fast approaching. The life of our nation and of all countries around the globe is drawn from the health & well-being of Mother Earth

Many things are needed for the health of our planet.
Here is one thing I have chosen to do this July:
I will learn how to reduce single use plastics
in my home and daily life from this month onward.

What will you do in July out of love for your country and for precious Mother Earth? What one thing for life now and for future generations? Consider joining me and millions of others to go plastic-free.

How incredibly astounding that even when

I can’t visit the forests, hike the mountains, 

or walk along ocean shores

I can see and rejoice

in the handiwork of our maker

by flowers in planters on display in our home

So, it’s hats off to a green-thumbed Carol 

and to countless others who help bring to light

the loveliness of creation right under our nose

For those who want to dig into this pondering a little deeper, I offer this liturgy for the planting of flowers written by Douglas McKelvey in Every Moment Holy, Volume One: To read it simply click and expand. 😊

I went to his door again today
101 and still not done
praying for another day’s work if he may
as we watched his donkey grazing in the sun

First it was a sleeping machine
Then it became clear I need aids to hear
Now I have to have a pacemaker implanted

Laugh as I may, all this prompts today
big feelings & questions deep down inside
and I face a substantial leap of faith

Can I still count on God’s gift of dreams? Will
aids distract from what my soul longs to hear?
Will I lose the shimmer of Spirit in my heart?

Later life alive calls for a spiritual discipline
choosing to shine with the light and love of God
through artificial parts and all!

This holiday weekend gives me pause to ponder
why in the midst of so many distractions I yearn
for some hard task to quite my mind and make me whole

But doesn’t the Sabbath offer the same?
To focus on the still, quiet voice within,
with eyes of faith on the rising sun

Celebrating the Spirit of Love
with simple words and gentle acts of kindness,
a year-around language all can understand

Giving thanks for flowering trees this spring
in Minnesota, and for one in particular I planted
In loving memory just before I moved to the Pacific Northwest, fourteen years ago.

There she stood as I walked through the old neighborhood, bright and beautiful in the morning sun, bringing to mind a wisdom Psalm and the blessed life it promises then, now, and forever.

“They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.”
Psalm 1:1-3

‘Tis the season of “What’s next?”
In the Spirit of ascension we discern our next step
Bold to make grace known