BEAUTY, DESIRE & HUMAN FLOURISHING with Curt Thompson

How might beauty play a role not only in our recovery, but also as an essential element in the ongoing, healthy rhythms of our lives? And what role does my desire play, now and always? And how do those things relate?

Join us and our friends at Coracle for a webinar on Thurs, July 29th, 12:30-1:30pm EST.

PSALM 147:1-3

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God:

For it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

A PRAYER FOR NOW

Saturate me in your presence,

safe from the lies of the enemy.

Saturate me in your Spirit,

casting all fear, anxiety, and doubt from my heart and mind.

Saturate me in your love, Lord God,

And keep me as the apple of your eye.

When I am tempted to fear, give me strength.

When I am tempted to anxious thoughts, give me peace.

When I am tempted to doubt, strengthen my faith with your very own.

- Kari Kristina Reeves

Facing Your Future, by Julie Robertson

When Julie graduated from UVA (Commerce ’13), she was on her way to a new city, a new career, new relationships. Eight years later, this is what she'd say to her younger self:

There is a season for everything. Accept and embrace your current season. Don't hurry through the different seasons of your life. Trust that God's timing is always right. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Prioritize this present moment. Henri Nouwen says "The real enemies of our life are the 'oughts' and the 'ifs.' They pull us backward into the unalterable past and forward into the unpredictable future. But real life takes place in the here and the now. God is a God of the present."
Start building habits for life. Make time to build habits and rhythms that will follow you beyond your college years. Be specific about what you treasure most and protect those activities, relationships, and practices. (Matthew 6:21) As Greg McKeown said, "If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will."

And here is Julie's original post from summer 2013:

God has shaped me for this moment. He has molded me and prepared me just for this journey ahead. Not only has He prepared me, but He has gone before me, paving a way, carving a path for me.
God wants me here. Today. Now. In this moment. He led me here and He has a plan. I need only trust He knows better than I.
There is no fear in perfect love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made in perfect love. I love because He first loved me. (I John 4:18)
I am defined only by God's love. His glorious, merciful, and abundant love overcomes the world. (John 16:33)
God gives peace. He gives unsurpassed peace that is powerful and mysterious. He gives me the Holy Spirit to accompany me in every moment, to calm my anxieties, to bring me into His presence. God will not forsake me.

Whatever your age or stage, may you hold fast to these truths through any transition!

“There is a Balm in Gilead” by Mahalia Jackson (1967)

There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin sick soul….

“The Angel Stirring the Pool of Bethseda” by Nicholas Mynheer (2001)

“From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.” John 5:4

The artist says, “In my painting the vast and glorious angel is completely unnoticed; only the gentle ripples on the surface of the water reveal his touch. Perhaps it is that God only reveals himself in ways that we can comprehend at any given time, meeting us where we are.”

The Avowal, by Denise Levertov

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Summer Pause - July Edition