Week of June 12 Points

- Sunday- Psalm 32-Human instinct invites us to retain the sins of others and to hide our own faults. This world tempts us to keep score and project outward strength so that our failures and fears cannot define us publicly. But when we hold them in at all costs, they do define us publicly. Holding onto our sin and shame is exhausting work that leaves time and energy for little else.I am in awe of the brave and vulnerable work of AA's Step 5: "We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Not generally. Not an overview. Not simply what comes to mind in the moment. This step is a labor of love that is confessed only after careful consideration of the details. Revealing these specific reflections and secrets can take a long time. It can feel overwhelming, scary, and counterintuitive. Monday-“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” --“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” Rumi \ Tuesday-“If the mystery of the Trinity is the template of all reality, what we have in the Trinitarian God is the perfect balance between union and differentiation, autonomy and mutuality, identity and community.” ― Richard Rohr Wednesday-God who offers rest to the weary, May we breathe deeply of your serenity.God who promises to shoulder our burdens,May we release our heavy loads to you.God who comes in the midst of tired moments,Come down, refresh and renew our souls.Allow us to touch the quiet essence of you,Within us, around us, behind us, before us.May we trust in your abundant love, Thursday-Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. Washington Irving Friday-Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.  Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.  And the point is, to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer.  ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet    Saturday-For the Spirit of Peace that calms our mind and stills our life, we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Love that touches hearts and reaches out, we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Joy that lifts our soul and gives us faith we give you thanks. For the Spirit of Power, that gift of grace for this your church, we give you thanks.