Day 35 – 3/23

“Friends, you’ve got mail.It’s an invitation to dust off your shoes,To go deeper,To trust that you’re worth it,To lose your keys and your faith,And then to find them both, along with your worth.You are invited.We are invited.Again and again and again.This invitation is for you.”— Excerpt from “Invited” by Rev. Sarah AreFrom the Again &…

“God of yesterday and God of tomorrow, you gave us the gift of remembering so that we might learn from the past, practice gratitude, and remember who we are. In this Lenten season, help me to reflect and remember your story, my story, and the way the two connect. Amen.”—Prayer by Rev. Sarah Are |…

“Great potter, if I am clay, then I fear I am being molded by the world. I fear that I am in the hands of news feeds, social media, to-do lists, and social pressures. However, what I want is to be clay in your hands. I want to be shaped by you. I want to…

“The kind of religion [Jesus] promoted wasn’t performative, as so much of religious life can be. We give because it is necessary. Prayer prioritizes God’s will, not our words. Fasting produces spiritual, not physical evidence. What we value is different. … Again and again, God invites us into fuller ways of being. There is no…

“I wonder if Jesus could feel his heartbeatIn his throat, the way I do when I’m afraid.I wonder if he had to take deep breaths,In through his nose, out through his mouth,Tricking his body into a state of calm.I wonder if he was nauseous, like I amWhen I’m headed into a hard conversation.I wonder if…

“We might expect the long-awaited Messiah to greet his new followers like the kings before him have—with a pompous coronation, with hunger to exert power and control over his populus. Instead, Jesus steps in line along the river’s edge, blending in with the crowds, joining in solidarity with those around him. Jesus doesn’t demand any…