Give us this Day our Daily Bread.

Give us this Day our Daily Bread.

“Our Daily Bread”, at the bare minimum, is a prayer that we are taken care of as individuals, but I believe this prayer is much deeper and broader than that.  God cares for ALL people –and we are called as children of the kingdom to do the same.

Pope Francais is quoted as recently saying “you pray for the hungry and then you feed them.  This is how prayer works.”

I think that we tend to be very good at discussing what the Lord’s prayer means for us – but we are not always as good at giving concrete examples of how to live out this prayer.  Well – really we KNOW what we can do, but to actually get organized and find time and make it a regular part of our lives, now that is a different story.  We need vision, we need help, and we need to get out of our heads.

A few weeks ago one of our members took a new job as a youth director at a nearby church.  Her first week on the job the church had set up a “week of service” for the youth to participate in ministry around Ventura, LA and Santa Barbara counties.  Their work included cleaning and weeding in different areas, learning about native plants and how to care for them and learning about different ministries and how they can partner with them.  What a wonderful way to start nurturing our members in living a life in terms of the other – in terms of Daily Bread. 

What can you do in the next few weeks to be a prayer for God’s hands in the world – in participating in the action of prayer and ensuing others their daily bread?

A few simple actions can be to pray for our youth and leaders who are in the midst of life-changing experiences.  Especially those on the mission trip to Detriot this week.

From TLC Sean Crayne, Eric Zeko, Nichole D’Onofrio, Chris D’Onofrio, Linnea Lindberg, Nick Rainwater, Isabel Rose, Hannah Howard, Emma Zeko, Elise Lindberg, Cameron Becker, Aliso Staples, Daniel Staples, Nathan Staples, Erick Grewe, Mitchell MacIntyre, Heath D’Onofrio, Mattias Lindberg, Mason Beling, Zoe Wilson, Michaela Magallanes, Katie Nolan, Alison Payne, Madison Barnard, Noah Panapa, and Kimmy Petty.

And all the other leaders and students and speakers and musicians and volunteers who are a part of the event.

You are also invited to write to Johan Boas who just started his time with the Merchant Marines.  You can send him notes of encouragement at

The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA)

Candidate N. Johan Boas

300 Steam Boat Rd

Kings Point, NY 11024

We are always open to assist in finding (and carrying out) ways to share our Daily Bread. 

Peace to you in Christ

Pastor Erin

Prayer matters

^“And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.”

Luke 1:10

We are good at finding a focal point in many of our biblical stories.  This verse is from the narrative of Zachariah burning incense and learning that his wife Elizabeth would have a child (John the Baptist).  And while we sit and ponder his experience I think we might be remiss if we don’t take time to wonder about all those in the community who were outside of the temple.  What about all those who were praying for Zachariah and waiting for their own prayers to be answered?  What motivated them?  Who called them together?  What were their prayers about?

Prayer so often seem nebulous; a thought, a breath, a sigh.  How do we know? How do we know that we are being heard?  How do we know that it matters? How do we know…

My take on it is this – when we pause to focus on an issue or a concern or a celebration – when we make a conscious effort to name what is going on in the world, our minds are turned in that direction.  And our actions follow our thoughts and our minds. Maybe instead of asking if our prayers are making a difference in the world – we can ask if our prayers are making a difference in us. 

Do our prayers change how we relate to the world? Do our prayers bring peace? Prayer makes a difference because we, God’s created people, join together to bless the world

God’s work, our hands.

(Here are a few more places to read about why prayer matters)

http://www.truthortradition.com/articles/prayer-matters

http://www.todayintheword.org/titw_article.aspx?id=109877

Peace and Light

Pastor Erin

Entering into the Holidays

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...”

Matthew 25:31-32

In a small group last night we were discussing this scripture that was read in worship. One person pointed out that we tend to make this passage very personal – individual…and yet – Jesus says “all the nations will be gathered”.  Could it be that this is really more about how we operate as a world community?

How different does that make the text – to consider how we are behaving as a country, or even a state, city, or household? 

The reign of Christ is a whole new social order – we are called to care for one another – as exemplified by the one we claim as King (or ruler of all).  We are called to serve.

One other piece of wisdom that was shared was the advice that instead of worrying about finding a place to serve the world and others – maybe we simply become more aware of the people and situations around us – and the service will appear.

A few notes as we enter into the advent season – if you are looking for an intentional spiritual practice or ways to become aware of God with us – here are some ideas…

1 - Join in on the contemplative advent (40 days of advent which started 10 days ago)http://contemplativecottage.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Advent-Calendar-2014.pdf

2 - Signup to be a part of digital meditation practice through instagram and get a word of the day from http://www.ssje.org/adventword  

(if you choose this one please add #tlcventura to your posts)

3 – Put together an advent calendar to do things with your family and friends or just pick some out for yourself. – here are some ideas  http://adrielbooker.com/family-advent-activities-christmas-countdown-fun/

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Peace and Blessings

Pastor Erin

Living a life "All In"

“Keep awake therefore, 

for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Matthew 25:13

“All In”  “Keep Watch”  “Be Prepared”

Post Halloween rush, Pre-holiday time, seems like a perfect time to talk about presence, and watchfulness and being prepared.  Sometimes that just sounds like a lot of extra busy-work…and I am fairly certain that none of us really need that.  I can also say with some certainty that “busy-work” was not something our creator intended for us. 

So what do we do with this tension of keeping watch and being prepared?  Is this a part of life in faith?  Is it a way of being all in…

Maybe living into our purpose and our life in faith can be as simple as changing the language we use – we are used to saying we "are busy" or we "are pre-occupied" or we "have little time to breathe”.  But in reality – we breathe all day long, our occupations and our life may be filled, but moving from task to task can have purpose.  Living into these next few months of so called “busy-ness” can happen with intention – and living with intention is not a “to do” list action – it is a “to be” life mode.

To be in a life lived with patience and forgiveness, 

to be a person of integrity and hope, 

to be ready…

because in the end – what it is to be ready has more to do with our hearts than the state of our homes or our bank accounts.

Heart readiness is a way of life, it is a watchfulness, it is a commitment to your faith and faith community…(whatever that might look like for you)

May you BE ready…

Peace and Light

Pastor Erin

7 Ways to savor some early morning Mid-Summer Peace - from Pastor Erin

I am an early morning person.  Or at least I used to be and still want to believe that I am.  The thing about early morning is that the air seems a little more fresh.  The moisture from the dew teases out the scents of the flowers and the trees.  the quiet of the morning allows one to hear the birds and the wind and focus more on the softness of the breeze rather than the rush of the day.  It's a break from the fast pace of life, a few moments to breathe into the day.  A few moments that there is that quiet time to enjoy God's creation and listen to where the Spirit calls us.

As we enter into middle of summer and the rush of adventures and vacations and travels around the country its easy to forget to breathe.  We seek the rush of adventure and experiences, we take hundreds of pictures to post on facebook, twitter, instagram, tumblr and the like.

In the midst of it all I invite you into the morning.  If you are not an early morning person, try getting up just once a week to see the sunrise.  (if you wait a few more weeks it comes up later). If you are an early morning person take a few extra moments to lay in bed and listen to the birds outside your window.  Or head out for a short walk and notice the silent moments of the morning.

Here are 10 things you can do in the morning to help you slow down and savor the day 

(most of these can take less than 10 minutes)

1 - Breathe - God's breath moves through us, give us life, animates us... before you go anywhere - or even get out a bed, take a few moments to breathe deeply.  It helps of you place your hands on your abdomen and allow your breath to fill up your belly.  Breathe in 3 times and then allow your breath to slow notice how the air moves through you.  Breathing in this way right away in the morning allows more oxygen to get to your muscles and organs and is a good reminder that your can bring that early morning calm back to yourself throughout the day.

2 - Yoga - Honoring our bodies and how God has created us to move is often a helpful way to start the day.  Gently moving our bodies through Yoga (stretching and breathing) invites our bodies into the day  One great series of movements is called Sun Salutations

3 - Slow walk - this is not the a heart raising workout - but a slow intentional walk of noticing.  Go out for a walk and notice what you hear, what you see, what you smell.  Savor the day one moment at a time

4 - Watch the Sunrise - We so often pause to watch the sun set over the ocean in Southern California - but very few of us get up and find a good place to watch the sunrise over the hills.  While it is easy to see then the sun goes down, there is something much more deliberate and intentional about waiting for the sun to appear.  Bring a cup of coffee, or tea and a friend and sit in the quiet as you wait together for the sunrise.  Or go by yourself, meditate and breathe while you wait.

5 - Drink a cup of tea - I know, I know, drinking coffee in the morning is so much the norm.  However, there is a slowing practice that comes with making and drinking tea.  and if you don't like tea a bit of hot water lemon and honey works really well to clear out your digestive system and prepare you for the day.

6 - Journal - Journalling in the morning is very different than any other time of day.  our minds are still a little foggy, our dreams still swirl in our heads.  And for all the swirling and fogginess it tends to be the time of day when we have the most clarity.  The chatter of the rest of the world hasn't yet had time to clutter our minds.  So journal your dreams, your thoughts, your prayers for the day.  Write down a focus for your day - not a to do list, but a to be list.  (mine generally is something like - "be thankful", or "be kind", or "be fully engaged in meetings"...

7 - Meditate - or pray, or sit in silence...whatever you want to call this.  The quiet of the morning is a great time to be able to listen to where your life is call you, or where the Holy Spirit is leading you. Let your mind soften, sit in silence and listen.

It won't be too long before we start noticing how much shorter the days are, before we need to start planning for fall (school, programs, missions).  

Take some time to enjoy the peace the Mid-Summer brings.

(re-posted on www.embodywisdom.blogspot.com)