February Twenty-Twenty-Six

 

"God did not promise that our lives would be easy, 
or pain-free, or without enemies, or unshaken by tempests.

But God did promise: 
in the belly of the beast?
God will be there.

Because God was already there,
with us, 
for us, 
each of us, 
all of us, 
always.

And so the blessing of God, 
Who is both the storm, and the shelter,
ready you, bless you, and keep you, 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail

(Inspired by Saint Julian of Norwich and the benediction blessing she gives every week at her church)

"The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love- whether we call it friendship or family or romance- is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light." - James Baldwin

“It is wise to live life expectantly, alert to the surprises of God.” -Eugene Peterson

"We can never underestimate this truth: No matter who you are, the biggest thing you do in any day is most often going to be a small act of kindness, decency, or love." -Cory Booker

"The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy." -Henri Nouwen

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

- Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)