Wild Women's Weekend

I am back home this morning after an amazing weekend away with my daughter and over one hundred sisters in faith. It was an awe-inspiring, renewing time; my heart is full to overflowing with the love of God. We explored God's different names and faces this weekend, names and faces that aren't always male. We threw away stereotypes and embraced new concepts as we studied scripture and searched for clues that led us to God the mother, child, wife, homemaker. Along with Bible study there were small discussion groups, meals together, and, as always, story time. The presiding Pastor for the weekend is an accomplished storyteller, she closed Friday night's session with her version of The Lamb Who Came For Dinner by Steve Smallman, this was a new story for me, if you have a chance to read this book you won't be disappointed, I promise you that. Told with wolf and lamb hand puppets, characters from the story, they came to rest under the pulpit for the remainder of the weekend. Yesterday morning as we entered for worship the Pastors' stoles were in place on that same pulpit, adding reverence to this meaningful vignette. Yes, the stole on the left is made from a quilt, a grandmother's much loved quilt, another face of God! The table was set beautifully for communion and all were invited to come and eat, come and drink; I know that I approached that table with new eyes and an increasingly grateful heart, surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, my sisters in Christ~ faces and embodiments of God, each and every one! Who is God for you today? Who are you for others? For while God is still Father, King, Shepherd, Judge how very comforting it is to know and understand that MY God is so much more!

Life is Good!