The Sustainist

Drawing on Holy Currencies Week 35

Currency of Place: Home

This week we are exploring the currency of time and place starting with our home.  We invite you to draw the floor plan of your home and move from room to room to reflect on how much time you spend per week in each space and what blessing exchanges take place there. 

 As I did this exercise, I realized that I spent a lot of time in my bedroom which also functions as my office during the day.  I also did a lot of teaching via Zoom in my bedroom.  It is also the place where I practice my guitar and singing as I get closer to going to the recording studio to record my new album of songs. I wonder if I am mixing too much work in this room where wellness is usually its principal function.

I realized also that my library room used to be a place where I taught gracious leadership when I hosted learning retreats in my house.  Maybe I should do more of this in the future because the library is not being used much. 

I am also wondering whether I am not using the living room more for building relationships.  Except for an annual birthday/new year party where over 40 people came, I really didn’t use this large room too much.  Perhaps I should host more parties and gatherings for fellowship with neighbors and church members as well as for fundraising events.

The most underused area is the pool!  I can’t believe that I spend money to maintain the pool and yet I don’t take advantage of using it for my physical wellness. 

 

How do you use the spaces in your home?  This can also be a lot of fun if you do this exercise with everyone who lives in your home.  The sharing of “blessings” in each space should make for great conversations.

Read Chapter 11 of Holy Currencies to gain more insight on Currency of Time and Place and don’t forget to share your experiences on social media using #holycurrencies.

Drawing on Holy Currencies Week 34

Wind of Doctrine

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way . .  .  Ephesians 4:14

This text seems particularly relevant in 2019 in the United States.  Almost daily, the “wind” changed or there are added “winds” to further overwhelm and confuse us.  How do we discern to truth in such high “wind” situations?  My answer is community, community, community.  Together in community we can withstand the winds that seek to toss us around.  In community, we can create calming spaces to speak the truth in love.  Try the steps laid out in Drawing on Holy Currencies this week:

• Name an issue that has puzzled or confused you recently.
• What are the “wind of doctrine” that have tossed you and your friends to and fro?
• Who or what groups were doing the “blowing”?
• Create opportunities to get together with your friends and invite each person to “speak the truth in love” about their experiences on this issue. After listening to each other’s truth, decide together what you are going to do to address this issue together.

Remember to share your experiences on social media using #holycurrencies. 

 

Drawing on Holy Currencies Week 33

Circle and Square II 

Two weeks ago, I said that if we let the bullies define the truth, we will have a dysfunctional society.  This week, we are looking at truth again. But this time, we are proposing a constructive way of dealing with bullies.  By coming together as a community, we can find our voice to speak the truth to counter the lies that the bullies seek to propagate.    

 Have fun coloring the comic. Listen to the song The Beatitudes on Youtube

: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UImjMlFS7XM

If you want, you can bring together the powerless at a dialogue event, preparation for protest, or an informal gathering of friends to share experiences of recent events that were distorted by lies in your community and nation. Remember to use Respectful Communication Guidelines and Mutual Invitation to ensure everyone is heard. Share your experiences on social media using #holycurrencies

 

Drawing On Holy Currencies Week 32

Get to Know Someone Who’s Different

For those of us living in a very divided country, our instinct is to avoid encountering people who are different.  The differences can be political affiliation, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, class, etc.  We might be fearful of getting into an argument that goes nowhere but to damage what little connection we might have left.  If we continue to avoid meeting the differing other, we will become further isolated and the likelihood of discerning the truth is diminished.  With the skills that you have been learning and practicing in developing your currency. relationship, you now have the ability to enter into a constructive conversation with others who are different.  Use the skill you learn from Week 11 to write a Gracious Invitation.  Remind each other about the Respectful Communication Guidelines from Week 13.  Practice listening and asking clarifying questions from Week 21.  When working with group, use Mutual Invitation from Week 14.

This week we invite you to take the courage to get to know someone who is different, both in church and out in your workplace, school, or neighborhood.  This activity will no only increase your currency of relationship but also help you and your friends to discern the holistic truth together in real constructive dialogue.

You might want to listen to The Dialogue Song again from Week 21 again.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dST6YClSgrc

It’s that time again: check in with your AP. 

 

Drawing on Holy Currencies Week 31

Circle and Square

As you color the comic, listen to Eric H. F. Law’s version of The Beatitudes on Youtube:

 

You can also find it on Spotify, Amazon, Google Play Music, or iTunes; just search for “The Beatitudes Eric H. F. Law”.

Discerning truth becomes more difficult when you have powerful people who insist their idea of truth is THE TRUTH, often at the expense of the powerless. We don’t have a whole truth unless we listen to the powerless first.

This week is about experimenting with listening to the truth on an issue beginning with the powerless. It can be as simple as seeking out the powerless, graciously inviting them to share their perspectives on the issue and then you use your listening skills from Week 21 to further encourage them to speak. When doing this with a group, remember to use Respectful Communication Guidelines (Week 13) and Mutual Invitation (Week 14) to ensure everyone is heard.

And don’t forget to share your experiences on social media using #holycurrencies