Thursday, August 16, 2012

First Step

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
-Martin Luther King Jr.


Evoke-  to call forth or call to mind emotions, feelings and responses. To induce or stimulate.
Synonyms- Arouse, awaken, call forth, excite, give rise to, invoke, provoke, rally, rouse, stir up, summon, waken
Faith- To trust in something.
Synonyms- Assurance, belief, confidence, hope, loyalty, reliance, sureness, truth
(source: Dictionary.com)

Seagulls make me feel connected with God. Maybe because
they make me think of my cousin and grandfather. Maybe because
of the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Seagulls annoy many
people, I find them to be beautiful. 

What is faith like for me out in the real world? What is the raw experience of it, where does God show up in the world? How do I engage with faith in a genuine, healthy and invigorating manner? How do I best embrace and discover truth, how do I mesh my faith with religion? How do others answer these questions for themselves?


These questions are the theme for this devotional blog. My challenge to myself is this: One entry, once a week for a year. Put out to my community to envoke a genuine conversation on faith in the lives we live. My goal; to cultivate vibrant relationships with God, others and myself. Thank you for your support by reading, thinking and responding. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you.

4 comments:

  1. Kelsie, I would like to be part of your exploration of faith this coming year. I am touched that you mention Jonathan and the link that evokes with Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Being your God-parent, or sponsor, I am especially encouraged that you are embarking on this journey to higher ground. Count me in!

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  2. Hi Kelsie,
    I am interested in following this and I promise to leave comments! My life is such that if you can please send me an email when you update your blog then I will remember to check it. Otherwise I fear I will not remember--not sure if that is feasible for you to do or not . . .just a quick email that your blog has been updated and I promise to check often!! Blessings to you and may you discover what you seek!

    Love, Erika

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  3. Dear Kelsie,
    Is there a "real world?" What have you been living in up to this point? Has the way you relate to people changed categorically since you became legal and corporate (and need we say frisbee) dynamite? Does the hermit living on a mountain retreat... or return? A CFO quits her Manhattan job at 40 to join a nonprofit in a Rio favela, or decides to pursue a superflous degree in Renaissance literature. Is she retreating from the real world... or returning? Perhaps neither. Perhaps wherever a community of people... or even a gaggle of seagulls (gaggle? I hope your ornithology is better than mine)... perhaps so long as God gives us life to be a part of God's world, we are in the real world.
    I once heard a middle aged journalist, a woman of 65 or so, reflect that she increasingly returns to her 5 year old self... to simple truths and small joys. I invest great energy in separating myself from my 5 year old self in nearly every category: knowledge, work experience, relational experience. But is the world more real at 65 or 5? "Every man is born an original, but sadly, most men die copies." "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." What is the "real world"?
    Well I am emberassed to say this is the first blog I have followed... in fact it is my first blog invitation! and I have already skewed the blogger/spectator word ratio. It's unpardonable! No wonder I have never been invited to join one.
    Kelsie, thanks for cultivating the truly exceptional originality you have. Thank you for seeing fresh ideas and beauty even in those rats with tales who crap on innocent pedestrians(I'm not a big ornithologist but I'll try to do better). And truly thank you for the invitation to share your journey, to learn from your singular energy and insight.
    God bless,
    Your friend,
    Matteo

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