Music Mondays

Today, I invite you to open your heart and life right now to Carrie Newcomer singing, "Sanctuary".  I encourage you to listen to the inspiration for the song.  She talks about how sanctuaries are those safe spaces and places where we go when heartbroken and our souls ache.  Sanctuaries are more than the physical location of worship with pews and hymnals.  Rather, there are "altars in the world" to borrow the title of Barbara Brown Taylor's book.

As you listen, I want you to ponder prayerfully two questions:
1. Where and from what do you need sanctuary right now?  Perhaps as the pandemic and self quarantine continues?  Perhaps from relationships that are more broken than Humpty Dumpty?  Perhaps from trying to inhabit your own skin?

2.  Where and how might you find sanctuary right now?  Is there an altar in home in these days?  A sacred site you can go to daily as our church's are not holding weekly worship? 

Listen...lean in...and let God's spirit move through this music.


For me, I need sanctuary from always trying to push myself.  As a Type-A personality, who bases how life is going on how many items I accomplish, maybe this time is trying to teach and tell me there are other ways to measure a day.  As someone who has a deep desire to be needed and necessary, what happens when people stop calling or visits are impossible and the normal routine won't be returning anytime soon?  The point of sanctuary is not that we have all the answer immediately.  It takes time for us to discover and uncover God's presence ~ remember God's people wandered for 40 years in the wilderness.

I continue to find ways to establish sacred space in my home and am finding that to be a good practice.  Again, it is a slooooow process.  A candle here.  Some flowers there.  And trying to considered what is needed rather than what can be conveniently and quickly shipped from Amazon.  I have a friend who says that she has a magic chair in her house and that if she doesn't sit in that chair it will start flying around the room and it is impossible to get the chair back on the ground.  I hope you hear the humor in that.  I hope you have a chair, a space where you can sit to breathe and be.  I pray there is a sanctuary for you in these days of God working through this messy time.

And may there be more than a trace of God's grace as you listen to Carrie sing this beautiful song again.

Many blessings ~~