Monday, September 10, 2012

Message from Jeff Blake, Jr/Sr High Principal


Brian McClaren, in his book Finding Our Way: The Return of the Ancient Practices, quotes this wonderful little song by Carrie Newcomber:


holy is the dish and drain
the soap and sink, and the cup and plate
and the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile
showerheads and good dry towels
and frying eggs sound like psalms
with bits of salt measured in my palm
it’s all a part of a sacrament
as holy as a day is spent

holy is the busy street
and cars that boom with passion’s beat
and the check out girl, counting change
and the hands that shook my hands today
and hymns of geese fly overhead
and spread their wings like their parents did
blessed be the dog, that runs in her sleep
to chase some wild and elusive thing

Find more similar lyrics on holy is the familiar room
and quiet moments in the afternoon
and folding sheets like folding hands
to pray as only laundry can
I’m letting go of all my fear
like autumn leaves made of earth and air
for the summer came and the summer went
as holy as a day is spent

holy is the place I stand
to give whatever small good I can
and the empty page, and the open book
redemption everywhere i look
unknowingly we slow our pace
in the shade of unexpected grace
and with grateful smiles and sad lament
as holy as a day is spent

and morning light sings “providence”
as holy as a day is spent


McLaren’s point in highlighting the song is very simple.  We are to move each day closer to a discipline of “faithing our practices” (p. 184).   And by that we are to learn spiritual intimacy in the simple routines of day. 

This morning and this moment, there is a simple beauty in the back and forth questions and answers between Lisa, my wife, and Brooklynne, my daughter—as Lisa fills lunch boxes. In their dialogue, I hear simple expressions of love and intimacy, which flow from our Creator’s passion for relationship.  And by the way, I can also celebrate the cooing of my youngest upstairs anticipating his day.


Take a moment today to “faith your practices.”  Brother Lawrence once remarked that he could sense God’s presence while doing the dishes as much while taking the Eucharist.  May we sense God’s presence in our empty and full classrooms, the wet grass after an evening of rain, the laughter from the play ground, and the fellowship we enjoy from each other.

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