some comfort and joy

Summer Time!

Thank you for joining us for our series focused on our embodied existence. If this emphasis was particularly meaningful for you, we’d love to know. Please send us an email or comment. Your feedback helps inspire and shape our future offerings.

As we move into summer mode with our families, we will be taking a short break from posting, but we have a few special projects in the works that we look forward to sharing more about with you soon.

And in case you missed it…one summer we offered some reflections and practices focused around quality rest. Perhaps these reminders are just what you need this week…

Embodied Existence: A Blessing

A poem by Late Night Epiphanies caught my attention one afternoon while I was scrolling through social media. It was a beautiful reflection of appreciation for all that the sister-authors had penned.

Not only did it foster appreciation for all my body has endured and enabled me to enjoy, but it sparked my own creativity.

In your journal or on a notecard, take a few minutes to prayerfully complete the prompts (my own examples are in italics).

Look at your feet: they’ve walked you into new adventures
Look at your feet:

Look at your legs: they’ve stood in grocery store checkout and danced at weddings
Look at your legs:

Look at your arms: they’ve held loved ones close and moved furniture to new homes
Look at your arms:

Look at your hands: they’ve washed dishes and built with lego pieces
Look at your hands:

Look at your eyes: they’ve taken in sunsets and translated stories
Look at your eyes:

Bless this body– my way through the world
In the places of pain, may I respond with tenderness
In the places of disgust, may I look with love
As my body speaks, may I listen attentively
As my body changes, may I speak with kindness
May my daily refrain and praise of her be:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The following books inspired our thinking and reflecting for this series.

The Lord is my Courage (KJ Ramsey)
The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care (Rina Raphael)
No Weigh! A Teen’s Guide to Positive Body Image, Food and Emotional Wisdom (Signe Darphinian, Wendy Sterling, Shelley Aggarwal)
The Wisdom of your Body (Hillary McBride)

Widen the Window (Elizabeth Stanley)
Already Enough (Lisa Olivera)
Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice (Stephanie Pausell)

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

Joy for your Body: Movement

“ Meanwhile, Jesus would slip away to deserted places and pray.” -Luke 5:16

It’s not always what you do but how you do it. As someone who struggles with how to actually implement self-care this idea has helped me understand in a new way.

For me, exercise has been a concrete example to practice self-care. For years I have exercised because that is a way to counter any excess calorie consumption. It felt like a punishment for eating rather than a form of self-care. Recently, I have been thinking of exercise as something I can do for myself, while still showing great compassion and care for my body. I find that intentional movement falls into the category of self-care as opposed to self-comfort (See Sherah-Leigh’s post on Monday!). I am now able to see exercise as a way of effectively decreasing my anxiety and stress for the day. When I exercise am saying to my body, “Thank you for speaking to me and getting me through the day.” I am trying to listen to her and become aware of what she needs. This new attitude has helped me think of new ways I could move with compassion for my body – like swimming.

Are there areas in your life where you need a self-care attitude adjustment? Are there ways you can change your attitude or construct new ways of caring for yourself that help you grow spiritually? What is one concrete thing you could implement this week to move from self-comfort towards self-care?

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Comfort for your Body: Self-Care (Luke 5:16)

“ Meanwhile, Jesus would slip away to deserted places and pray.” -Luke 5:16

“Go home.”

I looked up at my boss, startled by his sharp tone. Leaning against the jam, he pushed his head through the cracked opening in my office door.

“Go home. Read a book. I think you need a break.”

A million thoughts raced through my mind as I took in his strong suggestion. Was this a kind gesture? A sign of insight? An insult? We had just come out of our weekly staff meeting. I had spoken strongly, but as I rehashed the conversation in my mind, I didn’t think I was acting particularly out of character.

The airline safety protocol of put your own oxygen mask on first has become a metaphor for prioritizing our own well being, the pull towards treat yourself culture can often feel like consumerism repackaged. It can be challenging to prioritize our own needs when juggling the many demands of being a person in community.

While I took my boss’s advice and spent the afternoon out-of-the-office, I also spent the next few days processing what changes I could make to better care for myself. Escaping into a rom-com for an hour was a reprieve from the stressors of the week, but no amount of fiction can fill an empty tank.

The reality is that many of the things that we need to do for our self-care are bigger than taking a hot shower, getting our nails done or having a fancy coffee. While those things are good they are more about self-comfort than self-care.

Often the things that address our deeper need for self-care are things that may make us feel worse before we feel better– honest conversations, enforcing new boundaries, building strength, disappointing others so we don’t have to disappoint ourselves.

May I care for myself, examining my deepest needs and prioritizing my well-being, as a way of honoring who you have called and created me to be, O God.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

Kind Reminder for your Body: Self-Care

I am worth the space it takes to heal

In his book, Ladder to the Light, Steven Charleston writes, “Spirituality is not a spa, but a construction site…”. The work of truly caring for ourselves is a messy, imperfect process. It takes time and investment. While self-comfort and pleasurable activities are part of the equation, true self-care is about finding ways to meet your deepest needs.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

Joy for your Body: Acceptance (Matthew 6:25)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” -Matthew 6:25

Throughout our lives, our bodies change; that’s the design! While some changes are hard won and sought after, others may be unwelcome. However, being caught up in longing for what once was or what we wish could be, limits our ability to appreciate what is.

Spend some time today acknowledging the reality of your situation. In your journal, on your notes app, or over coffee with a trusted friend, move through these three phases of reflection.

Name the places of change or pain in your body (and/or life). Allow the feelings that arise to be. Embrace the stark silence of the inability to resolve these feelings or cure the circumstances.
Courageously articulate your preferred future. What do you wish for your life and your body? Where are the places you long for healing?
Reflect on what is true now. What ways are you already living well, despite the challenges and limits you face? What is good about what is, as is?

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

Comfort for your Body: Aging (Matthew 6:25)

As I age it seems life’s complications and difficulties increase exponentially. Things aren’t getting any easier. And also, with my aging body as part of the equation, the energy and mind power I have to solve all these problems seems to be heading in the opposite direction. In other words, more problems but less energy and brain function.

What exactly was God’s plan?

It seems it might have something to do with slowing down, learning patience, and accepting that we are not actually in control as much as we would like to think. I am reminded again of God’s good wisdom. God created us. We are here in finite bodies. We have limited time and capacity. Each stage of life has its own beauty to show us, but each stage is different. God’s provision in each stage is different as well. But no matter where we are on life’s pathway, God is present with us and provides an avenue for growth and learning.

God, When my bones ache and my joints creak, may I be reminded of Your constant invitation to grow closer to You. Renew me Lord, that I may be ever mindful of Your good gifts and thankful for what each additional year has to teach me.

AMEN

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Kind Reminder for your Body: Aging

It’s a privilege to grow old.

This week’s mantra reminds us that while getting older and accepting our limitations is a challenge, it is also a privilege. Not everyone grows old. If you are feeling young, not old, hooray. This mantra can be an invitation to show gracious kindness to those who do feel the challenges of aging today!

Joy for your Body: Compassionate Touch (John 1:14)

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” -John 1:14

One way I have been reclaiming and healing my body is through compassionate touch. Throughout my life most of my actions and responses to my body have been centered around controlling or transforming her. As I am continuing to unlearn the harms of diet-culture, patriarchy and purity culture, I have been exploring and adopting new practices that offer compassion for my physical form.

Take some time to tenderly care for your body today. Schedule a massage or pedicure. Take a long bubble bath, or ask a friend or partner for a foot massage. Prioritize healing touch in your life this week and notice how this impacts your physical body and your emotional state.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

Comfort for your Body: Chronic Pain (John 1:14)

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

After the birth of my oldest son, in my early 30’s, I was diagnosed with hypothyroid disease. My fatigue had gotten quite overwhelming, but I thought it was just the result of having a new baby to care for and many interrupted nights. However, I was also having joint pain and general discomfort in my body. I remember lying on the single bed in the nursery one afternoon wondering if I was dying of some strange disease. Luckily, through the compassionate care of our family doctor it was soon discovered that I had low thyroid function. I would like to say that all was well after that, but I haven’t found that to be the case.

Over the years I have needed to come to terms with limitations that I didn’t have before. If I work too hard or just overdo it, I am often down for the count for a couple days afterwards. My limitations can be frustrating, especially when compared to my pre-hypothyroid self or my impressions of other women my age.

While I don’t enjoy my physical limitations, I have learned to have more compassion for others because of the changes in my own body. I’m not as quick to assume that everyone has just a few simple choices between themselves and a great stereotypically healthy body. I am continuing to learn how to be gracious to my own body and how to speak up for my own well-being. Compassion and kindness for myself and others are some of the beautiful lessons my body is teaching me these days. What is your body talking to you about?

God, Thank you for our bodies. Grant us open souls that we may learn anew how to live compassionately with ourselves and others. AMEN

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! Do you know someone who would be inspired by today’s post? Please share Some Comfort and Joy with them! Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.