Artistry- inspired. Teaching- inspired. Technology- inspired. Caregiving-inspired. Preaching, parenting, journaling, bible reading, snow shoveling, cooking, homework and housework- inspired. When I am awake and aware of the breath of life and the Spirit of God in me it changes how I show up. The song Oceans by Hillsong has a line, “Spirit lead me…”. As we start 2022 how are you inspired? How is the Spirit leading you?
To tap into my answers to those questions, I need to pause. The awareness of the Spirits’ presence can occur in the brief pause of an inhale and an exhale. The prayer of my breath- the Yah-weh- inhale~ pause ~exhale -wakes me up to the presence and the power of God in my breath.
As we journey this year through Luke’s gospel I invite you to be inspired by how the gospel writer is tracing the activity of the Spirit. This week when we gathered for the conversations of what we have read so far in the Bible with the Enter the Story group I was inspired. To listen to how another read the same thing I had read and understood it in a different way wasn’t a threat, it was an invitation.
When Jesus returns to his home town inspired by the Scripture he reads, at first there is amazement then contempt. There were times in my life where I thought that most things were a zero sum game- if you won I had to lose. If you were enthusiastic I must be dull. If you were appreciated I was discounted. What a gift it can be to age, to have matured, to have grown and learned that I was the one who created so much of my misery.
As I heard others share the highlights, questions, curiosities and struggles in what they had read in Genesis and Exodus I was inspired. I felt the power and presence of the Spirit in our conversation. When Council met this week and we worked to approve a budget to bring forward to the congregation at the upcoming Congregational Meeting I was inspired by the ways in which people shared their experience, their insights, their questions without any need to discount another.
When my eyes, ears, heart, and mind are open to how God is alive and at work through the power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday and ordinary lives and moments there is a deep sense of peace even in challenging conversations. To be aware of the breath of life in you and the Spirit of God working in you aids me in seeing you as God sees you, beautifully and wonderfully created in God’s image. And it is very good. It’s an invitation to pause and to be curious.
Two weeks ago today I returned from Australia. Traveling is an opportunity for me to become acutely aware of my surroundings. The cockatoos were amazing. Filling trees so that the pines trees looked snow covered even as it was 90 degrees and 85% humidity. The sound of the birds was a beautiful song that highlighted how the Spirit of God is alive and at work in all living things. The video I shared up above is a silly video I took of some kangaroos. All through out my time in Australia when we were in a known kangaroo location- I kept an eye out for them.
This week I am keeping an eye out for how the Spirit is at work in our lives. I am pausing to open my ears to hear how you are inspired - inspiration can be beautifully contagious. I am keeping my heart open to hear how you are sensing where the Spirit is leading you.
The kangaroo video above is for your entertainment. It’s silly and my narration is goofy and that is part of how God has beautifully and wonderfully created me. I hope it serves also as an inspiration and an invitation for you to embrace your true wacky, wonderful, uniquely self that God has beautifully made in God’s image.