Matthew 21:1-11 for Sunday, April 9, 2017

Where the Way Leads

Artwork: Where the Way Leads by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Tres Capos by Trace Bundy*
(tracebundy.com)

* used with permission

 

 

 

John 1:1-18 for Sunday, December 25, 2016

the-day-of-the-lady

Artwork: The Day of the Lady by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Song: Peace Be Still by Stephen Iverson*
(http://www.audiblefaith.com/pages/cd000204)

Nature Sounds: Windy Winter Solstice– Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai* (https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)

*used with permission

Psalm 85 for Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Wrestling is Where the Blessing Begins

Artwork: The Wrestling Is Where the Blessing Begins by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Nature Sounds: Windy Winter Solstice– Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai* (https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)

*used with permission

 

 

Fixed…John 15:26-16:15 for Sunday, May 22, 2016

trinity_icon-248x300

Friends, I apologize for the earlier technical difficulty with this week’s podcast! You should be able to access the audio now. Thank you, Karen Crutchfield, for bringing the problem to my attention. Deepest Peace, Todd

Icon: This is a version of The Holy Trinity icon written by Andrei Rublev of the 15th Century. This particular version hangs in the Episcopal Trinity Cathedral of Portland, Oregan. Students and their instructor, Sherry Lynch, donated their time, skills, paints and gold to create this icon as a gift from Trinity Iconography Institute to the Cathedral .

Music: Deleted Scene #2, Pruninghooks, by Trace Bundy *
(tracebundy.com)

*used with permission

 

John 17:20-26 for Sunday, May 8, 2016

Roslyn Chapel. Patience Angel

Photo: Patience  Pillar of Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, Scotland by Todd Spencer

Music, piece #1: Be Quiet by Mr. Bish
(http://soundcloud.com/mr-bish/be-quiet)

Music, piece #2: A Holy Rest by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

 

 

John 10:22-30 for Sunday, April 17, 2016

Connected thoughts circles

Image: Circle Journaling. This is my visual for the exercise I describe at the conclusion of the podcast. Placing the word, phrase, image that was given to you as you listened to the text being read in in a circle/shape in the middle of the page, draw lines outwardly from there to other circles where you are invited to place words, emotions, other thoughts that percalate up while considering the central gift. Then, meditate upon/savor the whole page for a bit. After that, ask God how this is meant to be nourishment or challenge for you this day. Conclude with silence and stillness in God’s presence.

Song: The Time Has Come by Stephen Iverson
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

 

 

John 21:1-19 for Sunday, April 10, 2016

Cuthbert's Isle

Photo: That’s the little Cuthbert’s Isle, just off the shore of Lindisfarne Island, England. One September night, a few years ago, when I meant to spend just a few hours of the night in prayer on Cuthbert’s Isle, I accidentally got stranded the entire night due to a very high and fast rising tide. During the night, it briefly rained a few times, was very windy, and at one point, it seemed that perhaps the entire isle would go under water. St. Cuthbert was with me, there next to the 2 foot high ruins of what once was his little chapel. And the seals in the bay came and playfully welcomed me at sunrise. A most luminal and mysterious night — holy for me.

Music: Refugee by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

 

 

 

John 20:14-31 for Sunday, April 3, 2016

Andy Raine climbing to prayer holes

Photo: Andy Raine, of the Northumbria Community, showing me the way to the prayer holes in the cliffs of Lindisfarne Island, England, at midnight. That path soon disappeared. The wildness, mystery and laughter made this a very thin place and moment in time for me!

 

 

 

Luke 13:31-35 for Sunday, February 21, 2016

Dominus Flevit Chapel.hen gathers her chicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music: I Will Arise sung by Martha Bassett*
(http://www.marthabassett.com/albums/)

Photo: Mosaic at the foot of the altar in Dominus Flavit chapel built on the traditional site where Jesus stopped and wept over the city of Jerusalem
(as found at https://thelifekinetic.wordpress.com)

*used with permission

 

 

Luke 1:39-45 for Sunday, December 20, 2015

Knocking from the Inside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: Knocking from the Inside by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Song: Gabriel and Mary by the late Garrison Doles
(http://www.garrisondoles.com/products.html)

*used with permission

Mark 13:1-8 for Sunday, November 15, 2015

Night Out.Todds box 2014

Please support me as I sleep outside in the cold November 12th to help get more teens off of the street! The above photo is of my box and tarp in which I slept last year for the Night Out to End Youth Homelessness. My personal goal is to raise $2,000. Our group goal is to raise $50,000. Any donation amount is most welcomed! Here’s my fund raising page on Colorado Gives: Todd’s Fund Raising Page.

Music: Moon Rise by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

Deepest Peace,
Todd

Mark 10:17-31 for Sunday, October 11, 2015

What's the Invitation

Artwork: What’s the Invitation by Jan Richardson*
(jandrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Right Before Me by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

Nature Sounds: Dawn Chorus Australia by Tai*
(https://soundcloud.com/search/sounds?q=dawn%20chorus%20australia%20tai)

*used with permission

Mark 7:24-37 for Sunday, September 6, 2015 – Feast of St. Aidan

Cuthbert's Isle

Photo: Cuthbert’s Isle (looking from Lindisfarne Island, where St. Aidan founded his Irish Christian monastery) by Todd Spencer*

Music: Missile Bell by Trace Bundy*
(tracebundy.com)

*Used with permission

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 for Sunday, August 9, 2015

Devil's Courthouse, NC

Photo: Blue Ridge View (Devil’s Courthouse), NC by Todd Spencer
Nature Sounds: Windy Winter Solstice– Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai*(https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)

*used with permission

Back soon! 

Hey Friends!

I’m up at John Wesley Ranch (Divide, CO) working on trails and doing fire midigation with a team of wonderful teenagers this week.  I’ll return soon. Meanwhile, there are 150 episodes in the archives available for your pleasure. Try using the search field on the upper right. 

Deepest Peace, Todd

 

Mark 6:14-29 for Sunday, July 12, 2015

Head of John the Baptist

Music: Stone’s Serenade by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

Art: Martyrdom and Death of John the Baptist, Catherale d’Amiens, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=29348 [retrieved July 6, 2015]

Acts 2:1-21 for Sunday, May 24, 2015 – Pentecost Sunday

That We May Breathe Together

Artwork: That We May Breathe Together by Jan Richardson*
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Your Living Breathe by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Used with permission

John 12:20-33 for Sunday, March 22, 2015 The Fifth Sunday of Lent

CS.Tats_.WheatStalk

Photo: Wheat Stalk by Tattoo Kid
(http://tattoo-kid.com/wheat-stalk-tattoo.htm)

Music: The Jesus Prayer by Stephen Iverson (www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

John 3:14-21 for Sunday, March 15, 2015 The Fourth Sunday of Lent

Clearly Seen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: Clearly Seen by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Jesus Prayer by Stephen Iverson* (www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

John 2:13-22 for Sunday, March 8, 2015 The Third Sunday of Lent

The Temple of His Body

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: The Temple of His Body by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Jesus Prayer by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Mark 8:31-38 for Sunday, March 1, 2015 The Second Sunday of Lent

It Takes a Wilderness

Artwork: It Takes a Wilderness by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Jesus Prayer by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Mark 1:9-15 for Sunday, February 22, 2015, First Sunday of Lent

Discernment in the Desert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: Discernment in the Desert by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Nature Sounds: Windy Winter Solstice- Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai*(https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)

* Artwork and Nature Sounds used with permissions.

 

 

 

1 Samuel 3:1-10 for Sunday, January 18, 2015

And Love Will Rise Up and Call Us By Name

Artwork: And Love Will Rise Up and Call Us By Name by Jan Richardson*
(janricharsonimages.com)

Music: As A Deer by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Luke 1:26-38 for Sunday, December 21, 2014 – Advent 4

A Home for God

 

 

 

Artwork: A Home for God by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Nature Sounds: Windy Winter Solstice 1 – Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai*(https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)

*Artwork and Nature Sounds used with permissions.

John 1:6-8, 19-28 for Sunday, December 14, 2014 – Advent 3

A Way in the Wilderness

 

 

 

Artwork: A Way in the Wilderness by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Lord God Heal Me by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Mark 13:24-37 for Sunday, November 30, 2014 – Advent 1

Apocalypse, Again

 

 

 

Artwork: Apocalypse, Again by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Jesus Prayer by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and music used with permissions.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 for Sunday, November 16, 2014

Honest About the Darkness, Perceptive About the Light

 

 

 

Artwork: Honest About the Darkness, Perceptive of the Light by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Right Before Me by Stephen Iverson*
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Revelation 7:9-17 for Sunday, November 2, 2014

Love and Revelation

 

 

 

Artwork: Love and Revelation by Jan Richardson*
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: A Holy Rest by Stephen Iverson*(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

*Art and music used with permissions.

 

Matthew 22:15-22 for Sunday, October 19, 2014

ceasar coin

 

 

Photo: Emperor Tiberius Denarius – Tribute Penny (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius#mediaviewer/File:Emperor_Tiberius_Denarius_-_Tribute_Penny.jpg)

Music: The Time Has Come by Stephen Iverson
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

Matthew 21:33-46 for Sunday, October 5, 2014

Blessing Them He Withdrew

 

 

 

What is our Lord doing in this last hour before his arrest, before his Passion begins? He goes away alone to pray. So we, when we have a severe trial to undergo, or some danger or some suffering to face, go aside to pray in solitude, and so pass the last hours that separate us from our trial. Let us do this in every serious event in our lives. Let us prepare for it, gather strength, light, grace, to behave well, by praying and praying alone during the hours before our trial. ~ Charles de Foucauld in Meditations of a Hermit

Artwork: Blessing Them He Withdrew by Jan Richardson
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Stone’s Serenade by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

Music and Artwork used with permission

Matthew 21:23-32 for Sunday, September 28, 2014

And Open Our Eyes to Behold Love's Face

 

 

 

Abstractions offer the ego lots of payoffs: We can remain seemingly in control; we can live in our heads; we can avoid loving in general or loving anyone in particular; we can avoid humor, paradox and freedom…
~ Richard Rohr, Things Hidden, p.68.

Artwork and Music used with permissions.

Artwork: And Open Our Eyes to Behold Love’s Face by Jan Richardson
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Moon Rise by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

Matthew 20:1-16 for Sunday, September 21, 2014

A Tender and Grimy Grace

 

 

 

How good of you, God, to make truth a relationship instead of an idea.
~ Richard Rohr

Artwork: A Tender and Grimy Grace by Jan Richardson(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Kyrie Eleison, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes: Peaceful Gegorian Chants
(http://www.solitudes.com/Shopping/ViewProductDetails.aspx?productID=INDY_0096741144127_MP3)

Matthew 18: 21-35 for Sunday, September 14, 2014

Teach Me Your Paths

 

 

 

“Standing humbly before God’s gaze not only unites the psyche but it…frees us from…the vertigo of imagination. It’s the whirlpool of imagination, looking here, there and everywhere. Standing before one, accepting God literally allows you to be composed and gathered into one place. You can be in one place; you can be here, now. You stop always looking over there, for tomorrow’s happiness. Then, and always, “now is the favorable time, today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
~ Richard Rohr in Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p.65.

Artwork: Teach Me Your Paths by Jan Richardson
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Missile Bell by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

Exodus 3:1-15 for Sunday, August 31, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

For Joy

 

 

 

 

To have naked interface with the Ultimate Other is to know one’s self in one’s truest and deepest being. When you allow yourself to be perfectly received, totally gazed upon by the One who knows everything and receives everything, you are indestructible…then the voices of the human crowd, even negative ones, have little power to hurt you… (Richard Rohr)

Artwork: For Joy by Jan Richardson
(janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Love Song by Trace Bundy
(tracebundy.com)

 

Exodus 1:8-2:10 for Sunday, August 24, 2014

The Gift of Story

The Bible is full of flawed, wounded individuals….Those flaws train them, it seems, for mutuality, vulnerability and honest face-to-face relationship, where you allow the other to influence you. Our word for that is presence or even faith. ~ Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, pp.63-64. 

Artwork: The Gift of Story by Jan Richardson
(http://www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Kyrie Eleison, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes: Peaceful Gegorian Chants
(http://www.solitudes.com/Shopping/ViewProductDetails.aspx?productID=INDY_0096741144127_MP3)

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 for Sunday, August 10, 2014

That We May Breathe Together

 

 

 


“Healthy religion knows that there are many essential things you can only know by a different path than cerebral knowing…The really great truths, like love and inner freedom, are not fully conceptual…They can never be ‘proven’ to others, whether you’re a Ph.D. or even have five degrees in theology. They are known holistically, that is — when all of you is there!” ~ Richard Rohr, Scripture as Spirituality, p. 63.

Artwork: That We May Breathe Together by Jan Richardson
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Time Has Come by Stephen Iverson
(www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

 

 

Genesis 32:22-31 for Sunday, August 3, 2014

jacob and the angel1

 

 

 

“Mystery is not something that you cannot understand, but it is something that is endlessly understandable! It is multilayered and pregnant with meaning and never totally admits to closure or resolution.” ~ Richard Rohr in Scripture as Spirituality, p. 62.

Artwork: Jacob and the Angel by Jacob Epstein, contemporary, 1940, Tate Gallery.
Music: Refugee by Trace Bundy (www.tracebundy.com/index/html)

Genesis 29:15-28 for Sunday, July 27, 2014

How Can This Be

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Jesus brings the biblical tradition to a climax when he defines truth itself as personal rather than conceptual. He says, ‘I am the truth”…and then immediately defines himself as on who is in absolute relationship with his ‘Father”…and the Spirit who is in relationship to both…This rearranges the world of religion from arguments over ideas and concepts into a world of encounter, relationship and presence to the face of the oner. That changes everything.” ~ Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 61.

Artwork: How Can This Be? by Jan Richardson (Used with permission)(www.janrichardsonimages.com)
Music: Communiion by Trace Bundy (used with permission)
(http://www.tracebundy.com/index.html)

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 for Sunday, July 13, 2014

In The Weeds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good to be back!
I hope this week’s lectio stirs up a good drenching of grace. Here’s part of Lucado’s quote I use in the podcast this week:

God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret-riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid-to-die to ready-to-fly. Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.
(Max Lucado in his book Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine, p.8).

Are you listening? Really listening?

Deepest Peace With You,
Todd

Artwork: In The Weeds by Jan Richardson
(http://www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: The Flower by Stephen Iverson
(http://www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

Matthew 10:24-39 for Sunday, June 22, 2014

pic34_untitled_pentecost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: Pentecost by John Brokenshire (b 1958 ), Oil, c. 2003, Methodist Collection of Modern Christian Art, No.39.

Music: Right Before Me by Stephen Iverson (http://www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson).

Matthew 28:16-20 for Sunday, June 15, 2014

Learning to Look

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork: Learning to Look by Jan Richardson
(http://www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Credo III, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes: Peaceful Gegorian Chants

(http://www.solitudes.com/Shopping/ViewProductDetails.aspx?productID=INDY_0096741144127_MP3)

Acts 17:22-31 for Sunday, May 25, 2014

 

Areopagus_hill

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Hill of Ares (Areopagus). Athens by O. Mustafin
(This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)

Music: God Let Me Fly, by Stephen Iverson
(http://www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

Acts 7:54-8:1 for Sunday, May 18, 2014

Stoning_St_Stephen_Saint-Etienne-du-Mont

 

 

 

 

The genius of the first commandment was that by putting “one God before you,” you were placed inside of one coherent world, with one center, one pattern, one realm of meaning…Having One who affirms us is a very good start for our ego structure and our growth as persons. God, for the believer, becomes the Ultimate Constituting Other.
~ Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 58.

Artwork: The Martyrdom of St. Stephen by Gabriel-Jules Thomas (1863), pediment of the front door of the church, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Paris, France.

Music: Retroverse, by Trace Bundy (http://www.tracebundy.com/index.html)

Acts 2:42-47 for Sunday, May 11, 2014

Celtic Knott by Tiffany

 

 

 

 

May the One who brought you here,
to this moment, to this place,
in your skin, with your senses and soul,
be so very present
that your moving and standing
and praying and resting
and playing and laughing,
all make a song
only you can sing
to the world.
Go and be
in peace.

Artwork: A Celtic Knott by Tiffany Keith (tiffanykeith.com)
Music: Credo III, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes: Peaceful Gegorian Chants
(http://www.solitudes.com/Shopping/ViewProductDetails.aspx?productID=INDY_0096741144127_MP3)

 

Acts 2:14a, 33-41 for Sunday, May 4, 2014

You In Me In You

 

 

 

 

I invite you to listen to this week’s podcast above and then, if you feel led to do so, post a comment about your experience in the Comment section! Thank you for meditating and praying with me this week. Easter Peace, Todd

Artwork: You In Me In You,  by Jan Richardson (Used with permission)
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Open My Eyes, by Stephen Iverson
(http://www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 for Sunday, April 27, 2014

The First Day - Women at the Tomb

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter!
I pray your Easter season is off to a meaningful beginning. Thank you for coming by to pray with the Scripture with me. It would be fun to see who all is listening in with us, so post a comment or a little about yourself!
Deepest Peace,
Todd

Artwork: The First Day – Women at the Tomb by Jan Richardson (Used with permission)
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Music: Jesus Prayer, by Stephen Iverson
(http://www.audiblefaith.com/authors/Stephen+Iverson)

John 20:1-18 for Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014

I Do Not Know Where They Have Laid Him

 

 

 

 

Artwork: I Do Not Know Where They Have Laid Him by Jan Richardson (Used with permission)
(www.janrichardsonimages.com)

Nature Sounds: Winter Solstice – Lakefield National Park, Cape York by Tai (https://soundcloud.com/nature-sounds/windy-winter-solstice)