freedom

I found myself in a prison cell
Of my own making
I suppose I could trace my way back
And rehearse the millions of choices
That gradually took my freedom away
And landed me here

Or…

I could wait
Wait for Grace to open the cell door
And then simply walk outside
Onto a cliff
Alone, but not Alone
Into Mystery and the empty, dark, abyss

precious

we are ALL "precious in His sight."

James Finley at VST

James Finley will be doing a weekend retreat at Vancouver School of Theology on July 9-11, 2010. Finley wrote the classic "merton's palace of nowhere," and another wonderful book for people wanting to practice contemplation called "The Contemplative Heart." For more information CLICK HERE. See you there!

monday in the park - the day after sunday in the park!

Sunday In The Park

Wish y'all could have gone to the park with us today. Beautiful.

Sacred Space

Check out "Sacred Space." Click on "ENGLISH" (if that's your preference!) and today's meditation. Nice!

House Concert

House Concert - Monday June 28, 2010, 7.00PM - Our House.

With special guests from Nova Scotia - Jon Bryant, and Montreal - Gabrielle Papillon. There may even be a blonde haired blue eyed girl from BC - living in Toronto "in da house!" Bring a beverage and $12. (CD's will also be for sale) For a clue on who the artists will be see Jon Bryant, Gabriel Papillon AND Jess Janz

Jon's CD has been in our car CD player for over a year - you will love this guy! Been listening to Gabrielle on MySpace - beautiful! Can't wait to hear them both - LIVE and in our living room.

Liturgy

The Stream

Gently trickling
Hidden underneath fallen trees
The stream teaches me how to be.

God's Judgment

From Richard Rohr:

FOLLOWING THE MYSTICS

Question of the Day: How does God’s judgment differ from that of human beings?
Those who pray learn to favor and prefer God’s judgment over that of human beings. God always outdoes any of us in generosity and in receptivity. God is always more loving than the person who has ever loved you the most! All you can bring is today’s latest product, whatever it is, for a new dose of love. It will always be immature on some level. It will always be inadequate, but that is not the point. It is not the perfection of the gift, but the willingness to lovingly offer the gift anyway, that pleases all parents and surely then the “Super Parent” that some of us call God.

God does not lead the soul by shaming it, just as a good parent would not shame their child. It doesn’t work anyway. We all have done it at times, and if we were raised in a punitive way ourselves, we still tend to think that’s the way to motivate people—by shaming them or making them feel guilty. I’ve done it enough and I’ve received it enough to know that it eventually backfires. It never works. We close down and stop trusting after that, and we use all kinds of defense mechanisms to avoid further vulnerability. So God uses a way that actually works, which is to love you at even deeper levels than you can know or love yourself.