Goodness Weekly 7.03.23

Jul 3

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
-Nelson Mandela

What’s Good:

4th of July

Happy Birthday America! As we celebrate our nation’s independence this week, may we give thanks for all of those who have given their lives to the service of our country, and may we be a people who would fight for the freedom of each and every person.

Bear Week

Our teens spent last week serving our community, neighbors, and city through work with CAM, Agape, Camelot, and the Collective. We are so grateful for the ways our teens worked selflessly and built stronger relationships through our time together.

A Message from Jess

Could you slow down?

In my message last week I talked about learning to drive fast, about decisive action, and about the slow and steady work of discernment.

After worship on Sunday, I was talking with my friend and colleague, Taylor about needing to incorporate more consistent lunch breaks into our work week. Maybe we could eat lunch in our campus’ beautiful courtyard just to get a little change of scenery? We agreed this was a good plan. Fast forward to Monday at 3:30pm to find me sitting at my desk rapidly shoveling salad into my mouth while typing with my left hand.

Best laid plans, right?

That night my daughter Shiloh was talking about recently watching the 2016 Disney film Zootopia, and how much she loved the sloth scene in the DMV. If you’ve never seen it, or haven’t in a while here you go:

I can’t think of anything that makes me physically squirm like watching this scene does. I don’t like scary movies, but I think I could stomach most of them better than watching this clip of the slooooow-est moving sloth.

As she was talking about the movie, I noticed my physical discomfort at the thought of moving slowly. But here’s the thing—this work of flourishing that we’ve committed to together is very slow work. Healing is very slow work. Building relationships with one another is very slow work.

But in a cultural moment where we can have food delivered from our favorite restaurants within thirty minutes and where we can watch any movie we want with a simple search of one of a dozen streaming platforms (gosh I miss video stores!), of course it is hard to move slowly.

But with this fast pace that many of us operate in the world we often sacrifice true connection, deep wholeness, or the health of our physical bodies, and it’s no wonder our overstimulated nervous systems have trouble regulating.

This week, I would like to invite you to join me in taking some time to intentionally slow down. Here are some suggestions for ways to do this:

Take a set amount of time away from your phone
Intentional time in nature
Create something. You don’t have to be an artist, but simply allow your brain to rest by creating something.
Spend time each morning this week in a gratitude practice
Practice centering prayer
Allow yourself time to simply sit and be present

How will you take time to intentionally slow down this week?

Love, Jess

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