Good morning…
I have spent the week selecting forty readings from one of my favorite books, The Hidden Life Awakened by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp. Recording my voice reading aloud these soulful quotes will make up the backbone of our Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul study. Forty readings. God and I prayerfully, diligently, whittled down the rich blessing of this amazing book to forty chosen readings. Guided by the Spirit of our living God, these forty voice recordings will lead study participants through eight weeks, five days a week, committing at least five minutes each day of intimate time with God.
After discerning which words to read aloud, today was the day I was to sit by the seashore and record my voice bringing to life each of the forty book quotes. Surprise, surprise, I was woken at 3:15 am by high winds, thunder, and driving rain. I checked in with God, got out of bed, and shifted our “recording studio” of my cell phone from the expected seashore setting to a cozy seat, beneath a blanket, near the open door. As its backdrop, instead of soothing waves, the Spirit and I have decided, in the spur of this moment, that our study will be recorded with the cozy companionship of a rainy day.
I just got done recording these words, words I could not help but share with you.
“Heaven is breaking through the veil all day, every day,” say authors Kitty and Cathy in The Hidden Life Awakened. “Hot coffee, warm fire, beautiful sun diamonds on the river, eyes of love looking into yours, animals, children, art, grass, cool breezes, changing seasons, beautiful melodies, delicious smells, warmth, wine, great food . . . all of these wondrous gifts are received through gratitude. Gratitude opens the door. Gratitude turbocharges neuronal growth. Gratitude changes autonomic function. Gratitude completely rewires the architecture of the brain.”
Kitty and Cathy add: “As the late Michael Mayne, former dean of Westminster Cathedral, said in his wonderful book, This Sunrise of Wonder, “The whole world is marked with the signature of its Creator. The only way to find it is in the ordinary which is far more extraordinary than we think. Every created thing is full of wonder.”
Kitty and Cathy amplify: “Gratitude opens you to receive more and more of the good which lifts you into whole new ways of seeing, perceiving, feeling in your body, and relating to others. Your interior life becomes so rich and full of all that you are experiencing and tasting of God in all the moments of your life that you don’t need as much from others or the world anymore. Nothing that the world can give can begin to compare with this state of deep, quiet, unspeakable joy. It is the joy of Heaven.”
Kitty and Cathy inspire awe: “Gratitude is the infinite giving and receiving of love between you and God and the whole of His creation. Gratefulness is prayerfulness. Prayerfulness is prayer without ceasing. Gratitude is all you can offer in return for your awakening to the great Mystery in which you live and move and have your being. Gratitude is everything” (202-203).
As we awaken to the great Mystery in which we live and move and have our being, gratitude is everything. With zero percent of precipitation predicted in the forecast for today, I am grateful for God’s sweet surprise of unexpected rain.
…Sue…
P.S. There is still room for you on our rosters if you feel God nudging you to join us for Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul. I will teach a face to face discussion group on Fridays 10:30 to 11:30 am at Northside Church starting on January 22nd and I will teach a Zoom discussion group on the same material on Mondays 1:00 to 2:00 pm starting on January 25th. Touch on this link to explore class descriptions and to register for these and other Women’s Ministry class offerings.
