Dear Kaleid Ladies,
Hello! How are you today?
We hope that you have had a chance to settle into a summer rhythm of sorts and that this Wednesday finds you open to what God is up to today.
It’s been really fun to learn from women in our community about how they are practicing loving themselves, others, and the community during this time of transition back into “normal” life.
As you consider your own habits, what will you keep? What will you leave behind?
Romans 12 invites us into an inspired-yet-ordinary life wherein we open ourselves up to God’s gifts, including the unique form and function of our own lives.
The Message version puts it this way: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him...So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”
A Kaleid woman who responded to our poll shared some beautiful ways that she is offering her own unique “sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life” to God in this season.
She is loving herself by taking time to read and hike. How can you care for yourself in a tangible and accessible way today?
She is loving others by making quilts and raffling them to be able to support good causes. How could your creativity enrich people in your world this week?
She is loving the broader community by participating in microlending to support women-owned businesses. (Check out Kiva and Hope International for ways to do this yourself). Is there a quiet opportunity for you to help build a stronger community this summer?
We hope that through reading ways other Kaleid ladies are living into the gift of their ordinary yet precious lives, you are seeing the ordinary yet precious gifts that God has given you, too.
We appreciate you!
Gratefully,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. This podcast from emily p. freeman on “Overfunctioning” was worth the listen if you’re seeking some practical questions to consider as you re-engage post-pandemic life.
AND there is still time to join us this Saturday for WALK! A Contemplative Hike. Register today and spend some time outdoors together on Saturday morning.