If you are new to Monday Manna, I’m so glad you are here. My prayer with this little pause on Monday mornings is to offer some nourishment (“manna”) for you — via my reflection, prayer, and painting — as you are nourishing the world around you. Together, we are watching for the ways God is with us and for us as we take one day at a time….
Good morning, friends, and Eastertide blessings to you…
I feel like I sent you a lot of words last week with the double post announcing the Art Shop, so I will keep today’s brief. Thank you so much, friends, for all of the support.
I’m going to let the prayer below be my main message to you today. There have been lots of Spirit synchronicities lately for me surrounding “seeds” (including my friend
’s beautiful post last week). God is planting good seed in you, friends, and will continue to plant good seed in you. God’s not done. I find so much hope in Philippians 1:6, that the God “who began a good work in you will carry it to completion.” And whatever the state of your soil right now, God will work with it.A Prayer
As we live into the change in seasons, and prepare to plant (who else says every single year they want to plant a garden? Anyone?), I’ve returned to this prayer from my book, Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life, Second Edition. A reminder God is doing new work in us, and that it can often be a subtle, quiet miracle. Just like a seed.
When I need a new work done in me
Wild and lavish Sower,
Your pockets overflow with redemptive seed
which you grasp by the handful—
scattering hundreds of hope-filled truths
in every direction, on every soil.
You laugh with joy in the abundance of it all,
stretching your generous hands
toward a world hunkered down with
questions of scarcity and skepticism.
Make me ready for your seed, God,
make me ready!
Till and break and shake the
hardened clumps in my own soul –
the too comfortable heart
or complacent attitude,
the rock-hard opinions calcified
over years of narrow gazing.
Open me to change and growth.
Cultivate courage in me to embrace
the inherent loss that will catalyze
my best transformation.
I want to truly see and deeply hear
what you so graciously plant…
to sprout the roots needed for
my nourishment when I become
exhausted, bored, or overwhelmed.
Nurture in me the staying power
to give your message room to grow,
even as it asks for my greatest humility
(and at times, humiliation)!
You will never stop sowing,
nor ask for my readiness before
tossing some seeds at me.
And so today,
I will slow down
to seep in this quiet miracle—
the potential wrapped
in your Spirit-seed
settled in the soil of me.
Amen.
Mark 4:3–9, 20 * 2 Corinthians 9:8 * James 4:10
“And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the
word and accept it and bear fruit…” Mark 4:20
Something that nourished me recently…
There is so much that’s felt heavy this year, friends — a time with so much darkness and deep calls for activism and trust — and so Easter held another layer of meaning for me this time around. One thing our family did was a “Resurrection Collage” per the inspiration of
and her Faithful Families for Lent book. The idea is to collect images that represent new life or resurrection. I took the kids to the Botanic Gardens the other day and my middle son especially loved snapping photos of flowers blooming and trees budding. We also repurposed some fruit of the spirit prints we used to have up in the kids’ bedroom, which was a fun addition.
Our friend, Nadia, had such a meaningful Good Friday service for families which we attended last week which included singing and walking through different stations. A couple of memorable moments for me were eating pitas and grapes in remembering the last supper, engaging in foot washing (my youngest asked if his feet could be washed multiple times), and praying with our bodies outside as we remembered Jesus’ time in Gethsemane. Finding ways to mark Good Friday with children can be theologically and developmentally tricky, and this felt truly perfect.
Nadia washing our little Noah’s feet - powerful post, “Chaplains are Essential,” on the necessity of spiritual care departments in hospitals. It was so, so good, and so resonant. Before I even knew I was headed into ministry, I had the privilege of working as an intern with chaplains at Sanford Hospital’s Pastoral Care staff for a couple summers, and the heroes in these departments are very close to my heart. If you don’t already follow , please subscribe now.
Ash and Starlight, plus other good things…
*ETSY SHOP ~ The Etsy shop with my art is now open with a handful of items as I continue to start small and before I feel ready. :) This has felt like a very vulnerable step! Thank you SO MUCH to all who have already ordered. It means more than I can say! And for those who “followed” or “hearted” the shop or posted a review after ordering! The “Everything is Figureoutable” notecards sold out within an hour, so I know at least one thing I need to prep for next month. A reminder that the limited edition “Strong Women” giclee print must be ordered this week, by April 26 to receive by Mother’s Day. I have some left, but not sure how long they will last. Note — if you are local to me and wish to buy a print, send me a message! I wish Etsy offered local pick-up but that’s apparently not an option. We can work something out! Everything is figureoutable…
*SECOND EDITION OF ASH AND STARLIGHT ~ Find the updated edition of my book here at Chalice or at the Amazon link! Also, I am happy to mail personalized bookplate stickers to you. :)
*MONDAY MANNA ARCHIVES ~ You can view previous Substack Monday Manna reflections as a paid subscriber here, or for the really old stuff, go to my website.
*WHAT DOES MANNA MEAN? ~ Check out an earlier post to learn how this little bit of “daily bread” got its name…
Blessings on the seed God is planting in you, friends. Trust in the quiet miracle of it all. And I’ll close with these words Richard Rohr shared yesterday, a quote from Fernando Sabino — “In the end, everything will be all right. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end.” There’s an Easter message for us. And Jesus is already at work to make it happen.
Love and Light,
Arianne
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