life: acoustic & amplified

rEVOLution

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,
do not be alarmed….
The good news must first be proclaimed to all nations….
You will stand before governors and kings because of me,

as a testimony to them.

The Holy Spirit will speak through you…..

—from Mark 13.7-13

The lectionary for Sunday quits before the hard part.

Jesus describes the birth pangs:

a new world is being born out of this one.

But then he goes on to say:

You are the midwife of the world being born.

You are the mother giving birth.

You are the new birth.

In this world of hate and greed and fear

you are the Resistance.

You are a revolutionary,

not by heroic acts of destruction or rebellion

but by acts of grace and mercy.

It is love that subverts the world.

Every moment of beauty or generosity

undermines the foundation of this world

of consumption and conflict.

Every act of gentleness and forgiveness

tears down the walls of the Empire,

not one stone left on another.

The Spirit overthrows the world

through you.

Resist the empire of violence

with acts of love.

Even the smallest ones are powerful.

Not merely lovely, the widow’s mite

is dynamite.

__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

this is not your momma’s beatnik

this is not your dad’s beret

this is not your sisters pothead

not your brothers crazy wife

this is not the inquisition

this is not the third degree

this is not just sit and listen

this is not another way

this is not your bad boy rocker

this is not green eggs and ham

this is not your high school locker

not a cry to ‘give a damn’

this is life in all its glory

this is life to have to hold

this is life step up and claim it

this is life speak up be bold

this is time to tell your story

this is how it’s said and done

this is time to stand and tell it

this is how your battle’s won

👨🏻‍🎨

Amy Lloyd

yes, really

mainly on days like today,

like yesterday,

and a week before that

I seem to follow cars to cemeteries and stand there, honored to witness what happens when life is between the realms.

I watch people doing their God work

spilling stories,

labeling the generations;

seeing love slip in and between poetry and the protection that the 23rd Psalm gives.

Feeling the presence of the Spirit of the Living God.

Knowing the gap is narrow,

the work is great,

that the kindness of others matters greatly

that forgiveness needs to happen often

that the gone are not gone

only until we meet again;

people cry from loneliness

or perhaps their forgotten holiness,

angels holding hands in parking lots

and revelation comes when you can lean in on a friend

and know that God just touched your shoulder.

If not for vows,

For creation,

For ordination,

then whose eyes were watching?

if not for freedom

then who shook the death off my wings?

who willed the child to bend?

taught the hips to dance and the hands to heal?

Who taught that death would never win

and every day would be the first day of my life?

That Christ, would speak volumes through all of eternity.

Beauty,

Rev. Donna Knutson

And to someone on the verge of a total breakthrough, during the latter days of human evolution, one might explain God by asking them to turn up the music, take off their shoes, walk in the grass, unleash the dogs, free the canary, catch a breeze, ride a wave, dance every day, get up early, take a nap, stay out late, eat chocolate, feel the love, give stuff away, earn it back, give some more, and laugh…. Really.

days like this

there is wonder 

in the shape of things

much more than simple function in the form

magnificence in patterns 

grace in the traced template 

outlining perfection

or a the very least, 

mind-boggling excellence 

there is magic in moments together

simply exquisite how I love these things so much

my mind conjures up some of my favorite things:

♦️cotton candy clouds reorganizing in mid air

🔹ferns unfolding, like majestic fans for kingly trees

🔸leaves dancing to the grounded drum beats of rain

♦️random pieces of life naturally shaped into hearts

🔹a thick, glass 6 oz coke bottle, icy cold, being pulled from a clanging machine…1970’s style

🔸cupcakes with perfect frosting being deconstructed one finger swipe at a time

♦️the outline of a baby cheek sleeping on the shoulder of the young man in front of you

🔹Rama Desi’s yellow house, complete with intricately drawn chalk sidewalk dragons

🔸tracing the most perfect button I’ve ever seen on a belly

my list must be a million miles long…

ever growing, changing, being continued –

as life does with each breath

the fingers of my imagination slowly, lovingly,

explore,

gently touch each one…

…lingering on you…

as my mind takes me into other worlds

cinema scope of beautiful shapes,

wealth of living awareness,

far beyond limits 

the riches of the mystic 

always ready

even if we pause for a moment 

these details are the delight

we share these visions with each other

(sometimes calling them poems)

these words of this and that 

we scribe

to describe

to be seen

to discover

our selves

our beauty

our universes

our homes

our neighbors

our friends

our families 

our lovers

each lingering like sweet honey on the tongue

then continuing on at their own perfect pace

into eternity

💞

Amy Lloyd

in the dark times

When times are dark

the way becomes clear.

Trust in your breath.

Rest in your heart.

Bow to the stranger.

This is the gospel of astonishment.

If we are completely lost

we come home

to each other.

Fred LaMotte

cut to the chase my friend

God dances us 

woos us until we can’t help falling 

head over heels

leave the past behind

step into a fresh page

the flow of spirits connecting hearts will heal our wounds

boil it down to the clearest truth

what does it cost to live our highest life?

distilled wisdom imparted with every word we share

simplicity (distilled beauty), 

kindness (distilled love) 

and authenticity (distilled truth) 

are earths highest spiritual achievements 

give me passion for these three gifts of grace

the light always shines out of darkness

stars are not visible in the day skies

candles never staying hidden by the multitude of bushels 

the wildfire burns away the dry grasses

a fine sprinkle of salt goes a long way to the discerning tastebud

laying on of hands warms the whole circle like a cashmere sweater

we are given choices (free will)

what we choose brings us heaven or hell 

don’t base your long-term goals on short-term goods

always keep in mind what you want most

think about what you are tolerating once in a while 

look in the mirror to see God’s reflection 

staple it to your forehead 

take it with you to staple it to the foreheads of everyone you meet

carry on now

carry on

💞

Amy Lloyd

 

all boxed up

God, sometimes I am as one

trying to go up and down stairs

with huge boxes in my arms

and I can’t see my footing, or other people.

I stumble. I drop things. I crash into people.

Help me set aside all my cargo:

emotions and beliefs that push and pull me,

heavy fears that unbalance me,

the way I want things to be, points to make,

how I want to be seen….

Help me set it all down and instead

carry only the song of your love,

and dance, light and lithe,

in your open meadow,

and, quick on my feet,

make way for others

who stagger and stumble…

__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

I decline all offers to live in a house of reasons and proofs

I refuse to live a moment without the faith of doubt

I reject staying in a box of absolute truths

I deny my own dogged-dogma of black and white knowledge

I challenge myself continually to keep letting go of what I know for sure

I intentionally say no to my own sense of pride and privilege

I humbly confess my own lack of humble speech

I gratefully open myself to the vast newness of each day

I necessarily choose to rely on God rather than myself

I stand on the foundational stone of believing life is always for me even when I can’t see it

I embrace change, understanding its value, even when it’s a struggle and feels difficult for me

I bow on the shores of the ocean of goodness and pain as find my place among all the grains of sand

I sit in the most comfy seat of miraculous realization:

I am a drop of the ocean – I am the ocean in a drop

I stand on the circle of the earth and speak to the wind and the fire, the stars and the dirt

I am water – I flow

I am earth – I grow

I am that I am that I am that I am

abundance in every breath

ashes to ashes

dust to dust

I rise

I fall

I live

I die

I love

I love

I follow the light

I follow the light

❤️

Amy Lloyd

i will be

H O M E

Your past life sits in storage

while your future waits on hold.

Because right now

you are Here For Now.

You may be a Caregiver,

a Jobseeker, an In-Betweener,

a Path Changer,or a Newcomer.

At times you may

have felt let-down,

alienated, isolated,

unsettled, or separated.

Yet through it all,

you managed to keep

your chin up and

your heart open.

Home means something different

to anyone who ever says it.

Home is the gentle hearth of

inclusivity, welcoming those

of varying paths and all who’ve

felt pushed aside. Home is the

familiar sounds of reception,

beckoning us to come in from

the outdoor air of indifference

and relax our anxious mind.

Home is the soothing aroma

of simple kindnesses

wafting through each room,

inviting us to sit down and

share our stories of lives honestly

lived without any fear of being judged.

Home is a warm covering of acceptance

wrapped securely around our bodies,

reminding us we truly fit in;

that each one is an integral part

of the human family and

this Earth is our shared abode.

Home is a way of being.

It can ride along whenever

you journey and will settle in

wherever you take it.

Home is what you make it.

And because you made

your home a kind and

honest space to share

with others all around,

may you find a gentle

place to rest your head

and calm your soul.

💞

Susan Frybort

What falls out of me naturally?

What kind of woman lives at my core?

What music arrives with me as I enter a room?

What is the highest desire I want most?

What am I willing to do to get what I want?

What makes me feel delicious?

What particular things spark my joy switch?

What do my hands itch to touch, feel, carry forward?

What music jazzes me, dazzles me, rattles me, discovers me, uncovers me?

What joy drives me, stops me in my tracks, floods me, starves me into leaving my comfort zone?

What is my greatest desire?

My ecstatic pleasure?

My most sensual movement?

My highest form of worship?

💞

Amy Lloyd

THE OPENING OF EYES

That day I saw beneath dark clouds,

the passing light over the water

and I heard the voice of the world speak out,

I knew then, as I had before,

life is no passing memory of what has been

nor the remaining pages in a great book

waiting to be read.

It is the opening of eyes long closed.

It is the vision of far off things

seen for the silence they hold.

It is the heart after years

of secret conversing,

speaking out loud in the clear air.

It is Moses in the desert

fallen to his knees before the lit bush.

It is the man throwing away his shoes

as if to enter heaven

and finding himself astonished,

opened at last,

fallen in love with solid ground.

…

The Opening of Eyes

From RIVER FLOW

New and Selected Poems

© David Whyte and Many Rivers Press

…

gold over blue

(Photos above from Pinterest)

there are levels of perfection we reach…

gold over blue, for example

there are places in life of high altitude…

this very moment, for example

there are spiritual depths within which we open…

reading your poetry, for example

there are moments of achievement we never get over…

that time we finally won in ping-pong against the current champ, for example

there are always new things to learn…

each day is full of ‘the next choice’, for example

there is more goodness and abundance in this world than any other thing…

your friendship, for example

everything is grace…

this yellow morning, for example

💛

Amy Lloyd

< u>https://youtu.be/BWNE3eWBRA4

a love note for you…

If you’ve got a minute

I know it’s unfashionable,

out of the box,

even disturbing at times

to admit

but,

I love that you pray;

that I know your children’s names,

the way you sweep leaves off the back step

every afternoon,

use the tall thin glass with the yellow swirls

put sea salts in the old claw footed tub

walk your gigantic dog in the evening.

I love that you trust me

that the Mystery makes you crazy mad

-and no one wants to be saved

they just want

to stand next to you

while Rome burns.

While Rumi pauses,

poets select

artists carve out

writer’s buy new pens,

things sparkle-

I love that

what seems destroyable

is non-destructible

and the first thought in your mind

when you open your eyes

is the sigh of

“Oh Most Holy God”

and the heart expands

bearing witness to

raising cane

walking down hospital halls

reading stories to toddlers

playing in a sandbox

trying on shoes, and you can’t stand trying on shoes;

reciting Hafiz while you walk in the woods.

making amends

humming something about dragonflies

and watering baby pine trees.

Refusing to walk

anything but

the call…

Thank you

for fighting the whole way

so I would call you,

Friend

some stories end

some go on

for all of

Eternity

💞

Beauty,

Rev. Donna Knutson

dance n sing

Merge with your doubt.

Become one with

bewilderment.

Past and future

are too heavy to bear,

but in this moment

you are weightless,

at home with loss,

every atom filled with

the empty sky.

Moved by the stillness

of your Mother’s breath,

fall into dancing and sing,

‘I don’t know!’

Fred LaMotte

YOUR PERSONAL HEALING

Your personal healing has

never been done before.

Not by anyone

but you.

So be patient, gentle, merciful

and kind as you attempt to

uncover, untangle, revisit and reclaim

inside the vast field of emotions

within the process

of Working Through.

This means you will be required

to reshuffle and sort an array of

misplaced feelings. So, don’t sprint

through the tall grass, past the

wildflowers of misinterpretations

en route to recapturing and restoring

what has been lost or became disrupted.

And all you held that was

never really yours – guilt for not

doing enough, blame for upsetting

the current, pushback for taking

your rightful space – let it fall

to the ground.

Then from here on out,

despite the ups and downs,

remember:

You don’t have to

pick up everything

that gets thrown at you.

💃

Susan Frybort

This day is the beginning of the 7th Annual Creative Collaborative ReTreat the vision of my friend, Robin O’Neal! This year is special and we hold this space in a new place of love and joy!

So excited for all these new beginnings! I believe in the new things comin’

https://youtu.be/lkGBLLjAXEA

we got style

“you’ve got to have style in whatever you do — writing, music, painting, fashion, boxing, anything.” – #MilesDavis

we’ll fly

https://youtu.be/juRqIbIb7QM

“three universal questions that mock conventional wisdom…”

1. Why do I have to obey the rules?

2. Why can’t I be different?

3. Why can’t I do it my way?

❓

Twyla Tharp