Lent 'Great outdoors' and 'Thru the window' reflections Wk6

GREAT OUTDOORS/ BIRDS AND AIR 

Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. 

                                      Matthew 6:26 

Active Meditation/

1. Wherever you are today, keep looking around to see if you can see a bird, they are everywhere.

2. Find somewhere where you can be quiet for a few minutes and listen to the birds singing.

3. Put some food out for the birds and watch for a while to see what comes.

4. Choose a windy day, and go out and fly a kite. Make a simple one of your own if you don't have one.

5. Go for a walk and see how many ways you can tell that air is there even though you can't see it.

6. Watch a bird flying. See how different birds move in different ways. 

How does watching them make you feel?

Find a place where you can see birds and feel the air.

Be quiet for a moment or two (as long as works for you) 

to reflect on the importance of air and birds in our world.

Prayer/

Creator God, thank you for the air that we breathe 

and the beauty of flying creatures like birds. 

Silence 

We are sorry for those times
when we have taken the simple pleasures and necessities for granted. 

Silence 

Help us to value clean air, and to do our bit to keep it clean. 

And help us always to appreciate the beauty of your creation. 

Silence - Stand for a moment and let the air you breathe and the birds you see point you towards God. 
In the quietness, what is the still, small voice of God saying to you? 
Spend a few moments thinking of people and situations that are on your heart... 
place them into God's hands...
Amen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thru the Window - connecting with creation through Lent when you can't get outside...
wk 6/ SKY

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, 

extends to the heavens, 

             Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.                                                              Psalm 36:5

Look out at the sky. You could try this one more than once at different times of the day. 

Meditation

Sky: 

summer sky,
blue and clear
with fluffy white clouds the 

way that children draw them.
Autumn evening sky 

the blue 

of indigo ink. 

Eyes watch 

as the sparks from the bonfire 

shoot upwards
then disappear 

into the darkness. 

Stormy winter sky: 

grey and heavy with rain, 

clouds scudding across it as if

in a hurry to be somewhere else. 

Early morning sky:
golden pink 

as the sun rises 

and floods the world
with colour once again.
2am sky:
almost black 

but on a clear night 

studded with stars
and a silver moon:
beautiful when sleep evades us. 

Sky: 

always there, 

often unappreciated,
always changing,
made by an unchanging creator. 

Something to think about

What is your favourite sky mood - or does it vary? 

Why do you think people have always wanted to explore the sky and beyond?

What does the sky say to you about its creator?

A prayer

May this eternal truth be always on our hearts,

That the God who breathed this world into being,

Placed stars into the heavens

And designed a butterfly's wing,

Is the God who entrusted his son

to the care of ordinary people,

became vulnerable that we might know

how strong is the wonder of Love.

A mystery so deep it is impossible to grasp.

A mystery so beautiful it is impossible to ignore.
Amen.