Something very meaningful to me that I can practice throughout my life is learning to accept the liberating love of God. This love reminds me that there is no need to strive for acceptance or attempt to impress in order to receive affection. Instead, I can trust that God delights in me (and all life) and accepts me just as I am. When I trust that this is how God sees me, I feel freed and I am able to live life with deeper joy, compassion and desire to see each person come to know that they are deeply loved and appreciated.

This morning I am thankful for the abundance of beauty that I got to witness during my bike ride into work. I live in the countryside of western Washington State. My home is about 10 miles away from my office. I set out on my bike ride as the sun was making it’s way up over the Cascade mountains to the East. It had rained all night and the crops in the fields sparkled as the light made the droplets of water come to life. Birds flew overhead, cheerfully singing and welcoming in another day. Clouds on the horizon looked robust, capable of showering the earth with life-giving rain. The humid air smelled of the ocean, located just 3 miles to the West. For 10 miles I was able to ride into work, enjoying and marveling at the beauty that was so obviously abundant in my midst. I am really thankful for that beauty today.

I have been so thankful to get to know so many life-changing people through the act of giving. I think of a weekly foot care clinic that a few of my nursing friends and I put on at a homeless shelter in Boise. While we were certainly giving of our time and training, I found myself always walking away from those clinics just blown away by the generosity and giving nature of the homeless people that I was supposedly there to give to. I always ended up receiving so much from those lovely friends of mine.

I have chronic insomnia. This is totally bizarre because seemingly out of left field I started to be a very rough sleeper whereas in the past I slept normally. For the first few months and even up to a year after I started to suffer from this affliction, I was so fearful of what this lack of sleep might do to me that I lived each day totally consumed by my problem. However, after many months I decided that each morning that I “awoke” after having slept miserably, the first thing I would do is pray. I learned to ask God for recognition of God’s enlivening Spirit with me throughout the day. Learning to trust that God’s spirit was with me and capable of giving me the strength that I needed freed me from the fear and frustration that I used to feel in relation to my insomnia. This change in perspective totally altered my life for the better. It is a daily practice that I must regularly commit myself to, but it is so beautiful to witness the change in my head and heart by choosing to trust God and let go of the fear.

I love this question. For the past year and change I have been dealing with a series of leg injuries that have really made it challenging to run at the level that I am used to running at. I have had to negotiate varying levels of pain that range from a dull constant ache to sharp pain due to a torn muscle. Throughout this past year, I have tried to make a habit of spending a solid chunk of my time running thanking God for all that I have to be thankful for. I have found myself thanking God for the trails I run on, the leaves, the birds etc.. and I noticed my perspective shifting from frustration due to injury to that of joy. Being grateful while experiencing pain has been a beautiful practice that has helped soften my heart immensely.

Ah, thankfully I have been touched by many many people in this way. However, a story that comes to mind is of a day that I arrived home after work only to find my door unlocked at my house. I thought that this was strange because usually I arrived home before my friend who lived with me at the time. As I walked in the door I was hit with the smell of cigarette smoke. Again, I thought this finding to be unusual because neither myself nor my buddy smoked. As I followed the scent of the smoke I was led to a balcony only to find a homeless friend of mine named Reaper sitting on my balcony smoking a cigarette. I exclaimed, “Bro! How did you get into my house and what are you doing here?” To this Reaper laughingly replied, “I picked your door lock and I came over here because I just made enough money standing on the corner in order to cook you and Justin (my friend and roomie) dinner. I have tuna fish casserole in the oven and it should be done in 20 minutes.” Instead of being concerned that this man just broke into my house I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with awe as I received this extraordinary gift of a warm dinner after a long day at work from this man and friend of mine who most days has not a dollar to his name. Life is strange yet jam-packed with beauty at most turns if we can only have the eyes to see it.

Like so many words, integrity has multiple definitions. The second definition of the word gets at this idea of “wholeness” and “cohesion”. I kind of like that definition more than the more commonly used definition for integrity which is honesty and morality (according to the Oxford dictionary.) I can show up with more wholeness and cohesion today by paying attention to the voice of the Spirit in my life. Far too often I get caught up in the fast-paced nature of life in America and fail to acknowledge the still soft voice of the Spirit that leads me to a resting place. Today my soul will find rest as I decide to listen to the Spirit rather than being caught up in the rushing river of busyness and this will lead me to a more whole place.

In this moment and just about every other moment, I believe the most important thing for me is to remember that each and every person, myself included, is accepted and beloved by God. I think holding onto what I believe to be true about God’s radical acceptance for all of us no matter what or where we as people might find ourselves in life is the single most important thing for me to remember each moment I live. To trust that I am wholly accepted despite my failings has the power to animate my soul and usher me into a more loving way of living.

I think I have not been as available as I’d like to be with each person that I’ve been interacting with. Instead of being wholly engaged in a conversation and listening actively, lately I have found myself distracted in conversation and unable to give my complete attention to that person.

I can change this by simply taking a deep breath before interacting with somebody and remind myself that at the moment of interaction, the person in front of me is the most important person in my life. That sort of practice has always helped me be more attentive and wholehearted with the person in front of me.