Happy #SweetestDay! Yes, today is Sweetest Day, a day to share acts of #kindness with others and to see the kindness of the Spirit all around - and as we did when we saw this fawn and it’s mother in the yard of our urban hermitage. Sweetest Day is a celebration that falls during the third week in October. History tells us that this holiday dates to late 1916 when it was known as Candy Day. Although other reports claim it started in the early 1920’s. The official unofficial first #Sweetest Day began in Cleveland, Ohio on October 10, 1921. It was planned by confectioners and candy makers with a goal to serve orphans, the poor, and older folks.
 
Regardless of its history, the main point of Sweetest Day is to share acts of love and #kindness with others. Let’s enjoy this Sweetest Day by being #generous in a small or big way with others. How? #Pray for someone. #Give a small gift. Write a poem for someone special. Give the gift of kindness to yourself by posting some sweet memories in a journal. Give someone a #smile by saying: “Happy Sweetest Day!” in person or online. Share the gift of #joy and #love by letting others know: “I Love You!” For more ideas on sharing kindness and celebrating Sweetest Day visit our Sharing Kindness Page.
 
And remember, Sweetest Day, like every day, is a day to #celebrate kindness. Please accept this post as a wish of love for a Happy Sweetest Day celebration from us! We also invite you to #share your Sweetest Day story of kindness with us at our Share a Story Page

Today, Sunday, #October 4, 2020 is #WorldCommunion Sunday – a time to celebrate the unity and cooperation that is the #soul of Christianity. Coming to the table to receive and celebrate the gifts of God is central in the Christian tradition. Communion is most often ritualized through symbols of bread and wine (or grape juice) in many churches. However, communion can be much more. At the core of the ritual of communion is a deep participation with God and with others past, present, and future. Communion as participation with the Spirit deep within becomes most fully alive through all of our daily actions. This form of communion invites the Spirit deep within to reach out through us and use us as a vehicle to share #kindness and #love with the world. This form of communion invites us to use all of our gifts and talents to create a Holy Communion that extends the symbols of bread and wine deep into our everyday lived reality.
 
While we have shared the gift of the Table this morning with our local congregation, we are now happy to share the link to Bill Ressl’s newest book chapter. The chapter, written for scholars of theology and practitioners in the helping professions, truly offers all of us a constructive framework for addressing how we can move through brokenness and into a new reconciled reality of life. A major key is to bring ‘listening love’ alive in our life and our world. The capacity to listen sensitively to one another and react spontaneously in #love and support of one another. Given the variety of brokenness visible throughout our daily life, and around the world, each of us is invited to begin renewing our part of the world – one step at a time. Together, by awakening small sparks of #kindness and #love, each of us and the wider world can begin to be renewed – not to the old forms that once existed but into a new reality where #justice, #love, and #hope prevail in powerful new ways. Ressl’s essay offers a theological reflection for individual and collective brokenness through a constructive framework encouraging re-newal.

No question - our rat race impacts our #mentalhealth and #covid has added significant stress to that reality. Take time to begin re-thinking your #ratrace this #labordayweekend and create a rat race filled with #happiness #love #peace #joy and #hope. How? Take a few #mindfulmoments and re-think your rat race through some ideas that have helped us.

One thing for sure – Penny and I have run may different rat races over the years. From our early years working in major corporations and one of the nation’s largest non-profits – and then into the rat race of self-employment – into the academy initially as students and later professors – as well as pastors in a church – and even up to today the journey continues. The rat race has and continues to be a reality of human existence. The question remains: Is the rat race I run worthy of my life? We are given the gift of life each and every day – that should never be taken for granted. Life is too important to waste. At different points in life we all need to take time to re-think and re-frame our rat race to make sure we run a race worthy of our life. Some ideas that have helped us…

The Fill Me Prayer Book is an inspirational new way of exploring prayer-filled #mindfulness. It invites reflection on the words of the “Fill Me Prayer” that came to Penny as she was praying one morning. Unlike other #devotional #prayer books, this one invites you to pray, reflect on scripture, and play by interacting with finger labyrinth art designed specifically for each prayer verse. #Meditate on the words of the Fill Me Prayer while awakening new insights and being filled anew by the grace of the Gracious Spirit! Follow the labyrinth path as you reflect on the verses from the Fill Me Prayer and the accompanying scripture. A wonderful #prayer-filled #mindful experience to see what bubbles up from deep within. See how God is speaking to you!
 
We invite you to try a little #mindfulmonday #devotional #prayer for yourself – and remember to enhance your experience be sure to try out all the #prayer-filled #mindful practices offered in the Fill Me Prayer Book including ‘walking’ the custom Fill Me labyrinth art design for each prayer verse.
 
Let’s give #mindfulmonday #devotional #prayer a try (prayer and scripture verses from p. 53 of the Fill Me Prayer Book).
 
How does this work?
 
First, allow yourself to take a few deep breaths to relax and focus on centering yourself into calmness. Then reflect on the prayer verse and related scripture. One way is to close your eyes and silently meditate prayerfully by reciting the prayer verse slowly 3 times. Then do the same with the scripture verse. Explore how your faith, what we call your God talk and God walk, is calling you to experience Christ’s love each and every moment as you renew yourself right here and right now. Take time to be creative and invite the grace of the Gracious Spirit to fill you anew. See what bubbles up from deep within.
 
Center to awaken Hope in your life…
 
Prayer verse:
 
“Gracious Spirit, Fill me with your hope! So be it – Amen!”
 
Scripture verses:
 
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
 
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
 
Be filled with hope and share it with the world!
 
For more on the Fill Me Prayer Book and all our prayer-filled #mindful self-care tools visit us at CenterToAwakenKindness.com
 
>>> 
 
Fill Me Prayer Book, Copyright © 2020, Penny and Bill Company, The Center to Awaken Kindness, Penny and Bill Company, Brookfield, Illinois 60513 USA
 
Scripture from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible with fair use (gratis) permission: New Revised Standard   Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
#mindfulmonday
#mindfulness
#mindfulmoments
#mindful
#devotional
#pray
#prayer
#mondaymotivation