Mama Mondays

‘I AM” is the English translation of the Hebrew letters YWHW (or YHVH), which is called the Tetragrammaton, the sacred name of God. In Hebrew, the original language in which this passage was written, the four letters YHWH are pronounced  Yod, Hay, Vav, Hay.  Growing up, I’d learned that this holy word was written as such because it was unspeakable. But the writings of some rabbis, in particular, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, provided clarity. Rabbi Waskow suggests that while it is true that YHWH is unpronounceable, it is not because we are forbidden to pronounce it, but rather that in order to pronounce these letters, part vowel, part consonant, labeled by linguists as aspirate consonants- without any vowels between them, one has to do so simply by breathing. Try it for yourself: say each letter and its corresponding sound, without adding any vowels, and you find yourself making some breaths that sound a lot like exhales. The Jewish prayer book, The Siddur, says of this embodied spirit...

Jason and I went to see a very sweet movie on Friday night ( The Wild Robot ), and this song made me tear up thinking of you. So here's my little love song to you today...  https://youtu.be/9Bd9M0F3-Ss?si=zAvph2RtTqqKTFrX [Chorus] I'm gonna live forever in you Long as the sky and oceans are blue I'll always love you and I'll never stop I'll always be there, even when I'm not [Verse 1] I know the world can turn into a lonely place Can break your heart and paint the teardrops on your face I might not be beside you, but I'm not that far I'll be lookin' over you like Northern Stars On nights your mind is spiralin' like desert winds The way you wanna go is not the way you've been Darlin', don't be scared of what's around the bend But when you feel alone, I hope you never forget, oh [Chorus] I'm gonna live forever in you Long as the sky and oceans are blue I'll always love you and I'll never stop I'll always be there, ev...

  My Journal Reflections on this passage Paul writes to the Ephesians giving them some instructions for living a life that reflects God’s heart.   At the end of chapter 4, he tackles the topic of our words- as they have the power to build up or tear down.   We should be mindful of what comes out of our mouths so that instead of our words being empty, we can make our words gifts. We are invited to use words that help, bless, and heal others and to be so attuned to those around us that our words fit their needs with grace and tenderness.   In so doing, we are also told to not grieve God or to break His heart. We are called to live and move and breath in a way that pleases God.   For His Spirit is moving and breathing in us, and we don’t want to take that for granted.   As we receive the gifts of His movement in our lives, we can let him weed out the bitter roots in our hearts as they only give way to anger and resentment and pride. ...

  The imaginative prayer walk that I did a few weeks ago (where I ended up walking in my mind to the garden on 20th and imagined Jesus saying to me "Consider the lilies") is one that I adapted from  Pádraig Ó Tuama 's work when he was a chaplain at a retreat center in West Belfast.  He relayed a story about a teenage boy who went on one of these imaginative prayer walks and found himself walking through the woods. As he was walking, he was worried because the pathway kept changing. He found himself, eventually, in a dell, where he met Jesus. He said that Jesus asked him three questions:  How would you describe today?  Have you seen anything interesting along the way?  And:  Is it working?    Padraig shared that these questions that were so grounded in the moment, felt like an invitation to mindfulness. He wrote this poem in response:  Is it working?  When you’ve been alive for only five thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine days ...