First Monday of Advent – Live in Expectation by Tara Malouf

Our second reflection for the day for the series Jesus Is Near How do We Draw Close comes from Tara Malouf.  She makes her home in the Seattle area with her husband and two kids. She loves images and words, quiet and beauty, walking and prayer. She sees with“connectedness” eyes and thinks life is lived in story. [...]

Advent in the Manner of Friends (Quakers)

I thought that I would kick of this week’s reflections for the blog series Jesus Is Near How Do We Draw Close with one from our good friend Quaker pastor Stan Thornburg who lives in Newburg Oregon.  It is written from the perspective of a tradition that does not usually celebrate this season in the [...]

The First Sunday of Advent

Daily lectionary readings: Psalm am: 146, 147  pm 111, 112, 113 Isaiah 1:1-9; 2 Peter 3: 1-10; Matthew 25: 1 – 13 It is also the beginning of my blog series Jesus Is Coming How Do We Draw Close. This first post comes from my good friend Kim Balke who recently made me aware of [...]

Jesus Is Near: How Do We Draw Close – Advent Blog Series Begins Sunday

The season of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year, begins on Sunday and I am once again hosting an Advent series on my blog.  The focus for the season is Jesus is Near: How do We Draw Close. There are over 30 people signed up to contribute at this stage which means that there [...]

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.  I did not grow up with this celebration but have embraced it with enthusiasm.  We have so much to be grateful for even when life seems difficult.  Here is the thanksgiving prayer we will be using today as part of our celebration A Thanksgiving Liturgy God we gather in [...]

To Garden With God Now Available in Book Form

To Garden With God is now available in book form.  We have had so many requests for this that I thought it was time to get this project completed and we worked hard to do this before Christmas. For those of you who are wanting to be supportive of MSA at this season, this is [...]

Leadership as Spiritual Direction

This last week I was interviewed by a M Div student for her class on leadership.  I told her that for me leadership was not a position of privilege or of prestige but rather one of discernment and encouragement.  I said that to me the prime function of a Christian leader is to enable others [...]

Giving Thanks for God’s Earth and a World Made New

I am sitting here thinking about the wonder of God and the beauty of God’s world.  The snow is falling outside my window in big wet flakes.  I am awed by the fact that each flake is unique, a creative expression of the God we love and serve. This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving Day here [...]

Prayers for the Journey Give Us Light

Over the last few weeks I have established a new discipline in conjunction with the release of my book Light for the Journey. I am now posting short prayers daily on my facebook page.  Some of these come from the book others are new.  I am really enjoying this and find that the prayers I [...]

Breathe In – Fill Yourself with God

This morning I was sitting reading my Bible, feeling rather distracted by thoughts of all I need to do today.  So I reached for my book of prayers to find one that would help me centre in on God’s presence.  I intentionally looked for a breathing prayer because I have found that they help me [...]