Do you need a few moments to re-center yourself, find what matters again, clear the gunk or push away the clutter? Take 3 minutes and find yourself again. This is the kind of thing we'll be doing at the 2014 Central California Prayer of the Heart Conference.
2014 Central California Prayer of the Heart Conference
Announcing the winter 2014 Central California Prayer of the Heart Conference.
"Pursued through Beauty."
We'll curate seven incredible encounters with beauty...
tendered by seven local artists/persons of faith...
and explore the way our encounter with everyday beauty can lead us to God.
Mark your calendars now!
Friday evening, Feb 28-Saturday afternoon, March 1, 2014.
University Presbyterian Church 1776 E. Roberts Ave Fresno, CA 93710
More info and a Facebook event page to come!
Click here for a PDF flyer: POH 2014 announcement
How to live with gratitude...and why
A TED talk by photographer Louie Schwartzberg, and a short film (exquisite) narrated by Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast. Watch and open your life to Life, experience the truth that "Today is a gift that was given to you, and the only appropriate response is gratitude." See the world again through the eyes of a child and an elderly man.
Feeling out of balance? What to do about it . . .
I read recently of an eighteen year old Taiwanese man who collapsed after forty hours of non-stop internet gaming. He apparently died from a blood clot after sitting too long without a break. Christians have a word for this simple act of break-taking. It's called "Sabbath". But it's gone out of style.
We're just too busy.
There's too much to do, too many texts.
There's the newsfeed on your Facebook page you've got to keep up with.
I'm not suggesting some return to a bygone legalism where people were forced to practice the Sabbath each Sunday. But I am suggesting that we take seriously the natural rhythms that are part of nature when its not paved over by modern technology, when our lives aren't so harassed and harried by an endless web of wireless connectivity. I want us to take these natural rhythms seriously because I visit with so many people who feel out of balance, strangers to themselves and others--people who feel over-crowded, over-stressed, and under-nourished by the simple things in life that create beauty, meaning, and pleasure.
"Remember the sabbath day," says God, "and keep it holy" (Exodus 20.8). The commandment wasn't a suggestion. It's a commandment because human beings need a break.
Intention: Today, I'll take a break. I'll step away from my computer and talk to a coworker. I'll turn off the music while driving (silence my cell phone too), and just be where I am...driving. I'll avoid watching TV or surfing the web just before bed, and walk outside and look at the stars.