Inspiration: 

 

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh 

Expressing Gratitude

We let ourselves believe that gratitude is a rare and fragile thing. It’s not. The thank-yous are very durable and have a way of bouncing back. Smiles are even better! I am always happy to see a very wrinkly person. Those crow’s feet and lines around the mouth represent a giver. A giver of smiles and gratitude. And really what are a few wrinkles, compared to happiness?

By Jie Wronski-Riley TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

Imagine that joy is a clear spring that arises from deep in your body. How will you clear a path for this stream to bubble up?

Choosing Joy

Here’s what I’ve learned: I can choose joy. You can too. This seems to me like a pretty important thing in a world where all the problems, from lack of jobs to climate change, seem pretty overwhelming. There’s a lot of super-depressing stuff in the world. You don’t need a list. But however sad or mad you might be over the state of the world, you can find what gives you joy, and choose that.

BY REV. LYNN UNGAR, MINISTER FOR LIFESPAN LEARNING, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

If you think that what you see is all there is, try looking for stars in broad daylight.

You Are Not the Biggest Thing

An experience of transcendence is a reminder that you are not the biggest thing, that there is something beyond you. What you can see is not all that there is to be seen. What you believe or perceive does not cover everything that can be known. I have had tiny moments of transcendence as I sat grumpily behind a stupid driver who was stopped in the middle of the road for no reason, only to realize that they stopped to let a pedestrian that I couldn’t see cross the street. Oh. Funny thing. It turns out that I’m not the only person on the road, and my desire to quickly get where I need to be is no more important than the pedestrian’s need to do the same thing—and it’s a whole lot less important than the driver in front of me choosing not to run someone over!

BY REV. LYNN UNGAR, MINISTER FOR LIFESPAN LEARNING, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

Miracles

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles….

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with
the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—
the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?
― Walt Whitman

Changing Each Other’s Life

Recently I ran into someone who said, “You changed my life! After you told me that you liked pedicures, I had one myself, and I liked it so much I began having them weekly. They’re now my favorite luxurious treat for myself. But if you hadn’t said you liked them, I never would have started.”

I gaped at her in astonishment. I have had one pedicure in my life, because a friend dragged me there twelve or fifteen years ago. I must have run into this woman right afterwards and said it was more fun than I expected. I never even considered having another one.

I think we change each other all the time, in ways just this unpredictable and surprising.

by Meg Riley, Senior Minister, Church Of The Larger Fellowship TO READ MORE

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Inspiration: 

 

“Worship is transcendent wonder.”
―Thomas Carlyle

Church in the Dirt

I worship in the dirt…Where do you worship?   At the Church of the Larger Fellowship, we call ourselves church without walls.  I love that concept.  I also love the brick and mortar church I attend, but my worship is not limited to either of these places.  The spiritual journey is a daily walk.  There are times in life when it is easier to be spiritual (e.g., when I’m not driving on the Interstate in morning traffic).  We all have those moments when our divinity or holiness or whatever you prefer to call it is challenged.   We also have times when it’s easy to meditate or give praise or be at one with Spirit…

By Mary Frances Comer, associate of pastoral care TO READ MORE

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