This is a devotional originally presented by Veronica Frans at the American Scientific Affiliation 2022 Annual meeting. The original presentation is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSGPv-dgww When you take time to observe God's creatures, God's word is not only revealed in new ways, but it also brings new convictions into our hearts. I spent a year in the Falkland Islands. There, God taught me a lesson on boldness through one of His shyest of creatures, the gentoo penguin. I'd like to share this lesson … [Read more...] about Be Bold: A Lesson from the Gentle Gentoos
Devotional
Lessons From Plein Air Painting
One of my growing edges is plein air painting. My wife is an artist and through a local art league, we've met a group of people who gather at a different park, homestead, or town square each Saturday morning during the warmer months to paint together. I never thought of myself as an artist, and still think of myself as a rank beginner, but I've come to enjoy the time with my wife, with my easel, and with my painting friends. As I've thought about it, I've also drawn some lessons that I think might bear on the beginning … [Read more...] about Lessons From Plein Air Painting
The Franciscan Way (Walk Five): Rebuilding the Church
Only one week until Orientation on June 28. Discounts available on registration site. Rebuilding the Church God called Francis of Assisi to rebuild the church. Francis started by collecting stones and repairing walls of rundown chapels. Then he started to live out the good news of Jesus by loving those on the margins of society and new life entered the church. Many people today would say that the church is again in need of renewal. What could that look like? If you have been asking this question, … [Read more...] about The Franciscan Way (Walk Five): Rebuilding the Church
The Franciscan Way (Walk Four): Making Peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal … [Read more...] about The Franciscan Way (Walk Four): Making Peace
The Franciscan Way (Walk Three): Community and Contemplation
How would you rate the state of your community life these days? What about your practice of contemplation, i.e., time for thoughtful reflection? If you are like many people, you are rating both of these lower than you would like. In the life of the church, often the practices of contemplation and community are seen to be in tension. Those who want to reflect on God's presence often seek solitude and time away in quiet, while those wanting community seek gatherings and activity. Many people whose lives will not … [Read more...] about The Franciscan Way (Walk Three): Community and Contemplation