Pastor's Pondering - January 6, 2023

Happy New Year! 2023 brings with it new hopes and blessings. Joyce Rupp, in her book, Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season, asks the question - what is arising within you at the turn of the new year? She offers many options: amazement for God's presence, gratitude for life, hope, courage, desire, compassion, grief - they were among a long list of what might be rising within us. One that stood out to me was "conviction to do what is life-giving." It does take conviction – a real sense of purpose – to keep focused on what is life-giving – what God is calling us to do more of instead of just doing what others and the world demand of us. It's an "urgent versus important" conversation. People will come to you with what they deem is urgent – this meeting, this emotion, this most necessary thing they insist you do immediately without giving you any choice other than to put it on your calendar. But with the new year stretched before you: what are your intensions? What is God rising within you to fulfill the deep longing and faithful growth to which you are called?

Grace and peace, Jess