Ellen Stevens

This week, a surprising thing happened. About a year ago, I tried to set up our TV screensaver to pull up images from a family album. I fooled with the app for awhile before giving up when setup took too long and was far more complicated than advertised. Then, I promptly forgot about it.

Now, a year later, random pictures are suddenly appearing, pulling sacred memories from our past into our present…

* Driftwood sword fights on rocky Washington beaches.
* Riding horses and motorcycles in the mountains.
* Impromptu wrestling matches in the living room.
* Grizzly watching on Alaska’s Western coast.
* Grilling shovel steaks at backyard birthday bonfires.
* Tree forts, silly faces, concerts, football games and track meets.

It is a welcome reminder of who I’ve been and who I want to be.

Hard work. Focus. Purpose. These things come natural to me.
I live a good life - a life I design and choose. Yet, moments of play, wonder, and connection easily escape me — but they are what matter most.

Today, as I get lost in the faces of my family and their adventures, I’m reminded to pause my full world, breathe — and make space for a life of moments.

Our paths are often riddled with bumps and bends that can either hold us back or become the catalyst for meaning and purpose. The choice is ours.

If we listen closely, in the midst of struggle, loneliness, pain, and suffering, we will hear the faint whisper of a desire to live whole – a yearning for connection and healing – and a call to take a step forward and walk toward change.

Genuine healing begins when we courageously decide to step into the truth of our stories.

I’ve always asked questions. Engaging exploration. Pursuing understanding. It’s the way I approach the world.

As a kid, I loved the library and the woods, scoured beaches and spied on adult conversations.  I tried to soak up all there was to learn.

As a teen, I told my father I didn’t want him to tell me what to do - but to teach me all the sides, so I could learn to find my way.  That rarely went well.

My innate curiosity was welcome in school and university, but only occasionally accepted at home and rarely at church; my questions often interpreted as challenges, obstinate, or rebellious. Yet, they persisted.

Last week, I returned to the Exiles in Babylon conference, hosted by Theology in the Raw: where there is space for those curious about faith, culture, and theology.  

Differences of opinion and interpretation were wrestled, perspectives were challenged, voices were heard, and welcome was offered to those who experience the world and God differently. And my soul loved every minute of it. 

Grateful to these brave believers who know God delights in our brains and is not intimidated by questions. 

This is what it means to love and serve with body, soul… and mind.

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.⁠⠀

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice,⁠ oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.⁠⠀

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.⁠

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe⁠ that you really can make a difference in this world, so⁠ that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others⁠ claim cannot be done.⁠⠀

- A Franciscan Blessing

If you are in the Nampa, Idaho area...

Don't miss "Healthy Relationships" this Saturday!

This one day, interactive class meets December 4th from 9a-12p to explore the fundamentals of engaging, repairing, and sustaining connections with others.

Helpful for a wide range of relationships (parent-child, couples, friendships, and many others), we will go over:

**Attachment: Understanding how we develop our sense of interpersonal relationships and create patterns for relating with others - from birth through all of life.

**Keys for healing wounded relationships and ways to intentionally maintain healthy connection, including attunement, boundaries, and communication.

**Helpful tips to get through lovely and challenging family dynamics during the holidays.

This will be a great time of learning, growing, and healing.
Sign up via the link below to join us!
https://thecelebrationchurch.churchcenter.com/groups/groups-fall-2021/intensive-healthy-relationships

When have you felt a deep sense of joy, an awareness of what makes your heart come alive?

Where have you witnessed both heartache and longing for what feels impossible?

What might it be like to recognize you are being invited into a space and calling that both fills our world's most barren voids and sets your heart on fire?

When have you felt a deep sense of joy, an awareness of what makes your heart come alive? Where have you witnessed both heartache and longing for what feels impossible? What might it be like to recognize you are being invited into a space and calling that both fills our world's most barren voids and sets your heart on fire? #purpose #calling# #madeformore

This morning as rain began to drizzle, I stood amongst the ferns and inhaled the deep scent of wildflowers nestled in the musty soil. It’s been a beautiful Summer with full days and warm nights, but I can already feel Fall waking and slowly lumbering toward me.

I sense a similar season change coming in my own life. I’m actually not certain what lies ahead, but something is rising in the distance - something good and long awaited. And much like preparing for Fall, I’m preparing for this new path in whatever way I can.

During this time, I’m aware of a growing need to carefully navigate between my professional and personal worlds. As such, I’m creating a page to focus on my writing and speaking, and all my current Facebook followers are now added to the new page.

If you do not wish to follow this page, please feel free to opt out at any time.

If you do wish to continue following, I would be grateful for your thoughts and prayers as I follow my heart in the lovely unknown.