Huh? What'd you say?? Hearing is the Sense of the Week!

This week's sense is HEARING!

“As you think about the sounds that compose the background soundtrack of your daily life, what words would you use to describe them? Are they sounds you should be paying attention to? Are they bringing news of others? Are they proclaiming God’s story in a way different from how you normally hear it? When listened to with attention and love, the everyday sounds of life may contain all the news of God that you can either use or bear.”

“Take a moment and listen to the sounds around you. Pay attention to them in love. What sounds do you notice? What news are they bringing? Are they blessings or calls to prayer? Or both?” (from Awaken Your Senses)

Today (Feb. 27) is the start of week four of the “Awaken Your Senses Contest.” The contest is featured on:

• Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page
• Brent’s Blog
• Beth's Blog

Here’s how it works:

This week, you are invited to pay attention to your sense of HEARING and notice how it introduces you to the wonder of God.
If something cool happens, post a description about that experience on the Awaken Your Senses FB Page or Beth or Brent’s blogs. (All entries must be submitted by Sunday at noon.)
Brent and Beth will choose a winner on Sunday evening and that person will receive a $25 gift card for a gift related to TOUCH.
Brent and Beth will also do a drawing from the names of everyone who participated each week and the weekly winner of the random drawing will receive an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses.
The winners will be announced on Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page and Brent and Beth’s blogs on each Monday when a new sense begins!

The Contest Schedule!
February 6 – Taste
Winners: Leah Sophia -- $25 Harry and Davids Gift Certificate
Sherry Redinger – autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses

February 13 – See
Winners: Martin Stand--$25 gift card (Amazon.uk)
Rantwoman -- an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses

February 20 – Touch
Winners: Jen Friesen -- $25 gift card
Liz Dyer -- an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses

February 27 – Hear

March 5 -- Smell

Tell your friends about the contest. Tweet, tumblr and blog about it. Spread the word. We can’t wait to hear about your experiences as you awaken your senses to the wonder of God.

-- Beth & Brent

Lent: A Journey of Hiddeness

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of a 40 day journey of hiddeness. It corresponds to Israel's 40 years of wandering in a desolate, remote desert; the 40 days that Christ was tempted in an austere and isolated wilderness. For centuries, followers of Christ have entered their own journey into the desert of fasting, prayer and repentance in solidarity with Jesus and the people of God.

I was confronted this morning with the necessity that this journey be one of hiddeness. It came to me as I read these words and felt immediately convicted:

"When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is teh only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6, 16-18)

Earlier this week, I announced on Face Book that David and I were going to fast from meat and eat a vegetarian diet during Lent. Now I'm not so sure that was a good idea. While I believe I have an opportunity to provide encouragement to others who want a deeper relationship with Christ, I am sobered by what Jesus said about parading my own spiritual practices in a way that draws attention to my personal piety.

Announcing to the "world" my own intentions related to Lent can taint my motives for seeking after a deeper intimacy and solidarity with Christ. ("don't be like the hypocrites....") It's a quandary. While I want to walk alongside others in this journey with Christ, modeling and encouraging a real, honest and deep engagement with him, I also need to guard my own intimate and hidden relationship with him. Like lovers who protect the privacy of their intimate encounters, I must follow a path into the desert of hiddeness with Christ and shelter what happens there.

So, I will stew about this some more and consider what it means to--in this age of social media and shouting from the mountain tops--follow the hidden path during this Lenten season. May you and I treasure the private moments we have with Christ in these next 40 days, as we turn to our prayer closets and meatless tables in search of a deeper life in him.

Looking for "Touching Stories!"

TOUCH is the sense of the week for our Awaken Your Senses Contest. So--we are looking for "touching stories!" Please leave a comment here about any memorable experience you have/had through your sense of touch and you are automatically be entered into the contest to win a $25 gift card or autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses. Also, here's a fascinating study on the effect of human touch between perfect strangers to get you thinking!

The Bond Formed by Human Touch

"Touch serves us well. It informs us about our world, protects us from things that can injure us and transmits emotional messages that are critical to our well-being. Touch even establishes bonds with others that deepen and enhance relationships.

The University of Minnesota staged an experiment to understand the impact of touch on the relationships of perfect strangers. They placed a quarter in a phone booth at a busy intersection and watched people enter the booth to make a call. (This happened before the advent of cell phones!) They watched to see if people would pick up the quarter and use it to make their call. Invariably, they did.

Then, the researcher would walk up to the person as they were exiting the phone booth and asked if he or she had seen a quarter they left in the phone booth. Only 23 % said yes and returned a quarter. After that, they repeated the experiment, only this time the researcher walked up to the person exiting the phone booth, nonchalantly touched the person’s elbow and asked if he or she had seen the quarter they left behind. This time, 68% of the people said yes and returned the quarter.

Something profound happens when human beings touch! Energy is transmitted. An invisible bond is formed. We become personal to each other. We touch the humanity in another and that makes it harder to remain indifferent." (Excerpt from Awaken Your Senses, pg. 95, 96)

Keep posting your "touching" experiences!

Seeing is the Sense of the Week!

Join our Awaken Your Senses contest and win a $25 gift card.  

Congratulations to last week's winners--Leah Sophia, winner of a $25 gift card for Harry and David's and Sherry Rediger, winner of an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses!

Here are the details:

“Being able to see truly means that we have to pay attention with our body and soul. We know that when we don’t, it becomes too easy to miss the subtle influences of God’s Spirit around us. Yes, our eyes still function—along with our ears, nose, fingers and mouth. To see God present, however, we must learn to pay attention with all of ourselves. Too often, we pay attention with part of ourselves while the rest of us thinks about work that needs doing or any of the myriad other thoughts that crowd our minds. When that happens, as photographer David Vestal tells us, “You don’t have enough attention to see what’s around you.” If we want to see God present in the ordinary, in the daily gifts we’re given, we want to move beyond seeing and into perceiving. Learning to see using our bodies and souls teaches us to receive the presence of God that surrounds us—in whom we live and move and have our being.” Awaken Your Senses (p. 60, adapted)

Today (Feb. 13) is the start of week two of the “Awaken Your Senses Contest.” The contest is featured on:
• Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page
• Brent’s Blog
• Beth's Blog

Here’s how it works:
1. This week, you are invited to pay attention to your sense of SIGHT and see how it introduces you to the wonder of God.
2. If something cool happens, post a description about that experience on the Awaken Your Senses FB Page or Beth or Brent’s blogs. (All entries must be submitted by Sunday at noon.)
3. Brent and Beth will choose a winner on Sunday evening and that person will receive a $25 gift card for a gift related to taste.
4. Brent and Beth will also do a drawing from the names of everyone who participated each week and the weekly winner of the random drawing will receive an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses.
5. The winners will be announced on Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page and Brent and Beth’s blogs on each Monday when a new sense begins!

The Contest Schedule!
February 6 – Taste
Winners: Leah Sophia -- $25 Harry and Davids Gift Certificate
Sherry Redinger – autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses
February 13 – See
February 20 – Touch
February 27 – Hear
March 5 -- Smell

Tell your friends about the contest. Tweet, tumblr and blog about it. Spread the word. We can’t wait to hear about your experiences as you awaken your senses to the wonder of God.

The Awaken Your Senses Contest begins today--with TASTE!

TASTE: The sense of the week!

“Have you ever thought about tasting God in what you put in your mouth? The idea that food can remind us of the different attributes, ways and stories of God is a novel thought for most of us. If we are open to letting God teach us the ways of faith through our bodies, though, then we can learn the ways of faith through our taste buds as well as our brain. The sweetness of a freshly baked cinnamon roll can remind us of the sweetness of God’s love in the same way that horseradish at Passover reminds Jews of the bitterness of slavery.” Awaken Your Senses, pg. 26 (adapted)

Today (Feb. 6) we begin the “Awaken Your Senses Contest.” (But you can join anytime!) The contest will be featured on:

·         The Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page

·         Brent’s Blog

·         Beth's Blog

Here’s how it works:

1.       This week, you are invited to pay attention to your sense of TASTE and see how it introduces you to the wonder of God.

2.       If something cool happens, post a description about that experience on the Awaken Your Senses FB Page or Beth or Brent’s blogs.  (All entries must be submitted by Sunday at noon.)

3.       Brent and Beth will choose a winner on Sunday evening and that person will receive a $25 gift card that will be sure to please his or her palate! Brent and Beth will also do a drawing from the names of everyone who participates and give away an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses.

4.       The winners will be announced on the FB page and their blogs on Monday when a new sense begins!

Tell your friends about the contest. Tweet, tumblr and blog about it! Spread the word! We can’t wait to hear about your experiences as you awaken your senses to the wonder of God!

The Awaken Your Senses Contest is about to begin! On Monday, February 6th, Beth and Brent will host an “Awaken Your Senses Contest” featured on: ·     Awaken Your Senses Facebook Page ·     Brent’s Blog ·     Beth's Blog Here’s how it works: 1.       Each week, for five weeks, Beth and Brent will post a sense-of-the-week. You are invited to pay attention to that particular sense and see how it introduces you to the wonder of God. 2.        As you begin "listening" to that sense, we bet you'll have some stories to tell! Post a description about your experience on the Awaken Your Senses FB Page or Beth or Brent’s blogs. (All  entries must be submitted by Sunday at noon.) 3.       Brent and Beth will choose a winner on Sunday evening and that person will receive a $25 gift card for a gift related to that sense. They will also do a drawing from the names of everyone who participated and give away an autographed copy of Awaken Your Senses. 4.       The winners will be announced on the FB page and their blogs on Monday when a new sense begins! Tell your friends about the contest. Tweet, tumblr and blog about it! Spread the word! We can’t wait to hear about your experiences as you awaken your senses to the wonder of God!