Conversations with Rachael and Scott

Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott. This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day. Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey. In this episode, we begin to explore a number of spiritual practices or disciplines that may help you explore your limitations and your spiritual journey. In this episode, we look at: • Lecto Divina (Holy Reading). • Contemplative Services. • Spiritual Direction. We finished up the episode by recognising that we are all God’s children. These spiritual practices can help us to lean to live with our limitations, and to recognise those limitations. We apologise for some of the sound difficulties in this episode and are working to resolve these. If you have any questions or would just like to touch base with us please send your emails to: [email protected] Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett. Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Hidden", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.

Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God.  On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation. This month we are trying something different to the guided prayer. We suggest you have a pen and paper with you, and journal (that is, writing down what you are thinking and feeling in response to the questions), during the guided prayer time, for later reflection and prayer. You may like to go get a pen and paper and put them beside you before you start. Scripture readings for this episode: Mark 6: 31 - NIV, NRSV and the Message versions Psalm 91 - the Message version Prayers and poems used in this episode: Listening to my Soul - Rupp, Joyce, Prayers to Sophia, 2000, Innisfree Press Inc., pg. 68 Creativity - McKerrow, Joel, Beyond Rhetoric, 2012, UNOH Publishing, pg. 49 If you would like a copy of any of the readings, prayers and poems used in this episode, please email us at [email protected] and we can send it back to you. If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected] If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode. Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Stasis and Peace.

Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott. This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day. Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey. In this episode, we will be extending the topic of limitations, and freedom, into our spiritual journey. We will examine living a contemplative life or a life in constant prayer and explore what this means in everyday life. We also consider that it is good to journey with people, and it is not always good to do it on your own. While we will start to explore over the next few episodes a number of different avenues for exploring your spiritual journey and set up a platform for exploring what these avenues are and explore different ways in which these avenues can help us on our spiritual journey. A key aspect to spirituality is the need to have a common language to explore together, and the importance of journeying with others, not by yourself. However, there are times when you will need to find your own comfortable language that helps to explain your own experiences and journey. We also touch on God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, which we have explored before as Creator, Redeemer and In-Dweller in previous seasons. Here, we explore Creativity, Prayer, and Contemplation, which again aligns with the triune God. If you have any questions or would just like to touch base with us please send your emails to: [email protected] Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett. Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Hidden", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.

Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God.  On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation. Scripture reading for this episode: Psalm 139 Poem used in this episode:  Love's as Warm as Tears from Be Our Freedom Lord By Terry C Falla, Australian Church Resources 2013 Equilibrium from Benedictus By John O'Donohue, Bantam Press 2007 If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected] If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode. Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Not Much to Say and Peace.

Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott. This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day. Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey. Last month, we explored that freedom isn’t freedom if it takes away from another. Unfortunately, this is how captivity gets disguised as freedom and these are the subtleties of captivity. Most people don’t wake up to this fact and it becomes the constant battle of self and my freedom which in turn we become a slave to, a perpetual cycle of self. This month we explore how we view limitations and how society places limitations on us. In particular, we look at limitations and freedom, and how limitations can actually give freedom. Leading from this, we explore how limitations can trigger creativity or a creative space, looking at examples about how limiting a colour pallet or limiting choices can actually increasing creativity. We also consider equality, equity and fairness, particularly in the context of wants, and how these concepts all explore different ways limitations impact us. Finally, we delve into love and limitations and whether love has limitations, ultimately leading us to a conclusion that the reason why God can stay silent and not intervene is so we can grow and mature, both individually and as a species. If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected] If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode. Quote from Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, (Victor Gollancz, London 1996) Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.

Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God.  On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation. Scripture reading for this episode: 2 Corinthians 3:17 Poem used in this episode: For Freedom from Benedictus By John O'Donohue, Bantam Press 2007  If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected] If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode. Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Relaxing Green Nature and Peace. Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Reveal", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.

Hello  I'm just popping in to let you know about something new happening within series 2.  As well as Scott and I chatting every month I thought that it would be good to get together again in the month to reflect together.  For those who are familiar with contemplation, I am putting together a time where we can sit and do a contemplative reflective guided prayer together.  For those unfamiliar with contemplation or reflective or guided prayer I will have more information for you in the show notes of the next episode. I hope you will find this useful and something that you may be willing to use more than once during the month.   I will talk with you really soon with the new reflective episode.  Until next time may God's peace follow you were you may journey. Music supplied by FesliyanStudios.com  Song featured: Chill Gaming.

Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott. This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day. Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey. In the first episode, we will start by exploring Freedom and Captivity, and what both mean. What the world says is freedom often can imitate or ‘seem’ like freedom at first glance. However, the more we focus on ‘my freedom’ the more we get trapped or fooled to think that it is freedom and I’m doing this for everyone. If you are lucky, the more you go inside this you start to realise that this is not freedom, but it is captivity (slavery) in a disguise. The trap for people around fighting for freedom is that it revolves around themselves and their rights. And this is where the problem is, it revolves around the individual and doesn’t think or consider the other person or people or living things or our world that we are living in. Therefore, the fight for freedom really only becomes about a certain person or community getting their skewed sense of freedom while the rest are pushed to the periphery of community and placed into captivity. Freedom isn’t freedom if it takes away from another. Unfortunately, this is how captivity gets disguised as freedom and these are the subtleties of captivity. Most people don’t wake up to this fact and it becomes the constant battle of self and my freedom which in turn we become a slave to, a perpetual cycle of self. If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected] If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode. Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett. Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Reveal", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.

This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on. However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done. Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space. After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. We continue on with Part B of Creation and Creativity, where we will explore how we express and engage our creativity on an individual basis and how our community also engages its creativity.  We also unpack that there are limitations on creativity and reflect on how we also need to be receivers of other's creativity. In Genesis, we explore the gift of creation, and how this impacts relationship. We discuss how creation and creativity within community demonstrate our unity in diversity, by exploring the diversity of the expressions of Christianity, which have developed in response to culture, but also holds unity (not conformity) in the Body of Christ. Finally, we consider our creativity as a spiritual journey in itself, and sitting in that creative spaces takes commitment and perseverance. We therefore need to take the time and create space to rest, to heal, to rejuvenate, both individually and as a church, in order to re-charge our creativity, and out of this rejuvenation ministry flows. If you would like to contact us, please email: [email protected] Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.

This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on. However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done. Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space. After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too. We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey. We continue on in this episode by looking at creation and creativity, where we will explore our own creativity. God’s first act was to create, and we are created beings, made in the image of God. In the first part of this two-part episode, we’ll explore what does it mean to be creative? We’ll unpack the meaning of those who say, “I’m not creative”, where in fact it may mean that the person does not want to express or explore their creativity for particular reasons and why it is important to dig deeper to know oneself. We also explore means of creation, including destruction as creation, and how destruction can be a necessary part of creation.  They key component of those who continue to create are those with the passion to persevere. We have been exploring expressions of creation, and this brings us to the concept of self-expression as being a part of creation. As we explore our creativity, we explore our self. Creativity is not only individual, but is also an expression of community, and as a result ministry flows out from both individual and community as part of the process of reflection, stillness and restoration. If you would like to contact us, please email: [email protected] Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.