Whatever you believe about it, I think it’s pretty obvious that we need each other.  We’re made for community.  We’re made for connection.  I think it’s in those connections where we’ll find healing and grace and new life.  So may you have a  happy pride however you celebrate, and may you know that you belong.Here’s a blessing to take with you this week:As you goMay you find shade from the sun andshelter from the passing storm.May you find cool water in the dry places andwarm fires in the night.And may you find your burden a little lighter,eased by your traveling companions asthe divine Spirit gathers usto share each others' loads.Go in peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I wrote this song back in 2021 when we were still in the throes of the pandemic.  As is the case with a lot of the songs I’ve written in the past several years, I wrote it for a service at church.  The theme that day was pretty simple — the love of God.  Simple, yes, but there’s an eternity in that simple phrase.  The love of God, or use whatever term you like — the ground of our being, what connects us, the heartbeat that unites us.  It’s an ever unfolding reality where we are invited to join in.  Somewhere in that love we are made whole and we are undone.  We are unraveled and completed.  We are cherished and we learn to cherish.  There we find that we are lost and found, alone and cosmically united with Life.Here’s a blessing to take with you this week:As we goMay we go together,calling each other by our true names—our eyes amazed at each one we see,shining like the sun.Trusting in the promisethat love is the ground that we walk upon,that love is the air that we breathe,that love is our true sustenance and energy for each day,and that love is always reaching out, gathering in, and weaving us together—a wild and rich menagerie of grace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes what we bring with us makes us close ourselves off in fear rather than remain open and curious. I’ve got a suspicion that we have to find that light within us to be able to truly resonate with that light in others. So kindness to ourselves isn’t selfish. It’s part of our journey to wholeness.Here's a blessing to take with you this week:As you go,May you remember who you truly are.Beneath all your worries,beneath your ego and anxiety,there is a child loved by God,through and through—one who carriesthe spark of the divine effortlessly,in the quiet awarenessff full belongingand beloved presence.So as you go, go in joyIn peace,In love,And in light. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've been trying to prayer the Jesus Prayer lately: "Lord Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner." While in the past this prayer has been a reminder of my unworthiness, as I started envisioning the presence of Christ with me, I saw there was no shame in “sinner.” There’s just love. I thought about Jesus getting in trouble for eating with sinners, hanging out with riffraff. Sinner is a perfectly fine thing. And I need some mercy too, because there's a part of me that runs and hides, ashamed of my failures and mistakes. There's a part that’s so defended and afraid to show up in the light. Maybe that part can be pulled in by the current of love, carried along in grace.Here’s a blessing to take with you:As you go,May you find the river of peaceflowing through every moment—alongside your doubtsand fearsand heartaches,underneath your joys and excitement.May you feel it rushing between your toesas you find you are intertwinedwith every soul.May you let gointo the flow of that riverwhere we all belong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I used to think faith was about believing the right things. Now I wonder if faith is more about accepting our acceptedness. What if acceptance of our failures and neediness and shortcomings and hurts is the real gateway transformation? I wonder if faith is falling into the grace that the divine already accepts me. Here’s a blessing to take with you as you go:As you go,May you find yourselfcaught up in the flow of grace—an Ever unraveling loveflowing from the heart of God(and somehow flowing from the center of your heart as well).May you find this love connecting youwith the deep heart of all things.May your hands move with compassion.May your feet travel in peace.May your eyes find kindred everywhere you look.And may you become one with thelight of Love in you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One day while I was sitting out in left field in my camping chair watching the kids field grounders and chase pop ups, I started thinking about the lessons I’ve learned while watching baseball. The games are long and the seasons are long. You just have a few chances each game to make a hit. So it’s a game of patience, perseverance, and being in the moment — right here and now.Here’s a blessing to take with you:As you go,May you step into this worldwith the wonder of a child.May your eyes trace the mystery of sunsets.May your ears dance with the trills of birdsong.May your feet wander onto new paths,and may your heart settle into the wholenessthat has been there since you werea glimmer in God's eye.Go in peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This song is one I just finished for our Maundy Thursday service, so it hasn’t been played anywhere yet.  It’s really just an invitation to reflect on this evening of Holy Week from the Last Supper to the Mount of Olives where Jesus went to pray.  We imagine together what Jesus might be thinking and follow him along the way. I suppose that’s the best we can do—let ourselves be in the mystery of the dance of human and divine and see what happens in our own hearts.Here's a blessing for the week:May you see that God welcomes all the broken, the lost, forgotten, and the hurt.May you find that all those parts of you you'd rather forget about and ignore belong too.May you find the resilience of frailty,the brilliance of shadow,the tenderness of heartbreak,the resolve of weakness,the peace of darkness,the hope of uncertainty,the wonder of each moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach Palm Sunday and Holy Week, I’m thinking about the strange mixture of hope and heartache that we experience.  Even messages of welcome, acceptance, and inclusion can bring hateful responses when folks feel their power is threatened.  And somehow Jesus shows resistance to oppressive regimes and love for the marginalized without dehumanizing his oppressors or proliferating the rhetoric of hate.  I wrote this song for Palm Sunday a few years back.  It’s really a musing on Jesus’ gracious movement between solitude and service, humanity and the divine.  He finds rhythms that lead to openheartedness and help him find a way of justice and peace while living under the thumb of Empire.  Jesus moves in unexpected ways that invite us to find the trajectory of grace in the dust and shadow.Here’s a blessing for the week:As you go,May you find yourself more awake.More aware of the warm sun and the cool breeze.More attuned to birdsong.More attentive to each unique smile you encounter.May you find yourself more awake.More aware of the heavy loads folks bear.More attuned of the the uneven ground beneath us.More attentive to the heartaches that reverberate from one heart to another.May you find yourself more awake.More aware of each possibility for love to flourish.More attuned to the songs of peace and justice.More attentive to the presence of the divine who leads us into beloved community.So go, in peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the rhythms of the church calendar tend to set the tempo for a lot of my life, it’s time to talk about Lent. This year have that lovely confluence of Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day.  Like peanut butter and chocolate. This is a song I wrote for Ash Wednesday in 2021 while we were still in the throes of the pandemic.  I supposed I was trying to hold the real losses we experienced alongside the mysterious welcome of the Divine. Here’s a blessing for the week:As you go,May you find contentment in mystery.May you find hope in feeble sparks.May you find joy in stillness.May you find grace in ordinary things.May you find healing for your wounds,gentleness in your missteps,welcome in your faltering.May compassion greet youand lead you into the holy truth—that you are partof a great kindred companyof belovedness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a week of snow in Kentucky, we turn our thoughts to warmer climates. This began on a back porch on Sanibel Island and ended up on a driveway in Kentucky. There are places and times when we seem to naturally connect with the ground of our being. Sometimes a change of scenery can help us find these deep connections. Maybe these moments of connection can help us discover that the divine is always near.Here's a blessing for the week:May you find delight hiding inevery nook and cranny.May you be overwhelmed by themillion tiny kindnessesyou encounter.May you be awash in a steady,invisible flow of grace.May laughter be your friend.May tears come and go like spring rains.May you discover,down deep,a wholeness,a belonging,a certitude,that you are part of God.That you are cherished—just like this.And so may you be you,all the way into Love's fullness.You can find out more at the Bootleg Prayers website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.