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Stephanie J Thompson

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Recognizing the Need to Breathe Fresh Air into Others

January 15, 2021 by Stephanie 8 Comments

There is nothing I dread more than calling my health insurance. Years of medical bills which lead to much time and energy invested in clarifying, disputing and preauthorizations took its toll. In fact, I my husband and I joke that my decision to leave my career to stay at home was to resolve insurance snafus. […]

Filed Under: five minute friday, Sacred Connections Tagged With: grace, health insurance, human value, kindness, validation

The Sacred Way Christmas Cards Speak to Us

January 9, 2021 by Stephanie 5 Comments

They tell stories. Every December, the stream of Christmas photo cards of friends and family trickle into my mailbox. In this age of digital communication, the paper photos become more than traditional comforts. They provide a liturgical lens through which I see God working. The photos remind me what’s been going on behind the scenes. […]

Filed Under: five minute friday, Sacred Connections

Why I Embrace the Thrill of Hope in a Year That Didn’t Conclude as Expected

December 20, 2020 by Stephanie 7 Comments

Infant Messiah

Sometimes the reminder of why we celebrate Christmas looks like nothing expected. In fact, it may feel like the sting of sin in the midst of dazzling decorations. And that’s when we sit in the tension of living in a place that is aching toward reconciliation and restoration. Weary souls are still seeking their soul’s […]

Filed Under: Advent, five minute friday

How Adoring Jesus Goes Beyond the Lyrics of a Christmas Carol

December 11, 2020 by Stephanie 6 Comments

“O Come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore him O come let us adore him Christ the Lord.” The chorus evokes warm nostalgic memories and ecclesiastic connection to Christmas’s past as the words pour from our lips. There is reason for that: for the church and […]

Filed Under: five minute friday

Recognizing Opportunities to Offer Ourselves to Each Other

December 5, 2020 by Stephanie 7 Comments

The landscape of our lives seems to have changed in a year. How we engage with one another looks differently. A year ago, social interaction happened without any thought. Different places offered cultivation of in person relationships: church, work, school, recreational activities. Then it all changed. And we are still adjusting. While we long for […]

Filed Under: Sacred Connections

Why I Am Grateful for Unexpected Blessings

November 27, 2020 by Stephanie 9 Comments

Thanksgiving brought about unexpected changes to our “traditional” gathering. I use that term loosely because my family has never celebrated holidays in a specific manner from year to year. Chalk it up to a history of afflictions, work schedules, family locations, and a general recognition that “new” can be a blessing, we recognized the opportunity […]

Filed Under: five minute friday

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When my first child was born 20 plus years ago, I envisioned taking just a few years off from my role as Pastor of Youth and Family. While that didn’t exactly unfold as expected, God used my gifts and skills in other ways. Read More…

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"This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one o "This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one on the mountain. There, he stood with his two closest friends- Peter and John. There, God’s presence was affirmed in the bright cloud which appeared overhead. There, God’s voice proclaimed publicly, ““This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Now, God’s presence does not appear in such a tangible form. God’s voice is silent. No public affirmation of his identity. No reminder that he is God’s beloved." Read the rest: www.stephaniejthompson.com

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“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Get “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Mark 14:36-39.

He arrived at this moment baring his vulnerability. The implications of his possible next steps weighed heavily upon him. All of his being: mind, body, spirit. Divine yet human. Sitting in emotions does not equal sin. Crying out to his father demonstrated trust even in this dark moment. It witnesses to the intimacy of their relationship. God can hold us in all spaces and places.

The question Jesus asks sits with us because we have all been there. As Tish Harrison Warren writes in Prayer of the Night, “We don’t get to choose our preferred crosses or resurrections.” Embracing life in the Kingdom Jesus ushered in transforms us. Like Jesus promised, it is an abundant life. But not without it’s sorrows. Because the identity of being Theotokoi (God Bearers) means laying down our lives as daily rhythms.

 So we demonstrate, by transparently living our moments, the tension of living in this place of in between. But sometimes, the reality of the tension overwhelms our senses. We cry out in our anguished humanity for the cup to pass from our hands in the midst of fear, and uncertainty about the path forward.: Illness, loss, advocating for the marginalized, death.

But we can also cling to the hope in God who hears us, holds us, and sees the redemption at work in ways we cannot. All while entering into our moments of despair with a love that knows no bounds of time, space, expectation. Jesus took the cup. And we can because he did.

#Redbud writer #gardenofgethsemane #maundythursday #trustingod #stephaniejthompson
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s2thomp

#redbudwriter #stephaniejthompson #imagodei #surre #redbudwriter #stephaniejthompson #imagodei #surrendertogod
Instagram post 17913282691674085 Instagram post 17913282691674085
"This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one o "This moment for Jesus is a far cry from the one on the mountain. There, he stood with his two closest friends- Peter and John. There, God’s presence was affirmed in the bright cloud which appeared overhead. There, God’s voice proclaimed publicly, ““This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Now, God’s presence does not appear in such a tangible form. God’s voice is silent. No public affirmation of his identity. No reminder that he is God’s beloved." Read the rest: www.stephaniejthompson.com

#goodfriday #stephaniejthompson
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Get “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Mark 14:36-39.

He arrived at this moment baring his vulnerability. The implications of his possible next steps weighed heavily upon him. All of his being: mind, body, spirit. Divine yet human. Sitting in emotions does not equal sin. Crying out to his father demonstrated trust even in this dark moment. It witnesses to the intimacy of their relationship. God can hold us in all spaces and places.

The question Jesus asks sits with us because we have all been there. As Tish Harrison Warren writes in Prayer of the Night, “We don’t get to choose our preferred crosses or resurrections.” Embracing life in the Kingdom Jesus ushered in transforms us. Like Jesus promised, it is an abundant life. But not without it’s sorrows. Because the identity of being Theotokoi (God Bearers) means laying down our lives as daily rhythms.

 So we demonstrate, by transparently living our moments, the tension of living in this place of in between. But sometimes, the reality of the tension overwhelms our senses. We cry out in our anguished humanity for the cup to pass from our hands in the midst of fear, and uncertainty about the path forward.: Illness, loss, advocating for the marginalized, death.

But we can also cling to the hope in God who hears us, holds us, and sees the redemption at work in ways we cannot. All while entering into our moments of despair with a love that knows no bounds of time, space, expectation. Jesus took the cup. And we can because he did.

#Redbud writer #gardenofgethsemane #maundythursday #trustingod #stephaniejthompson
Load More... Follow on Instagram

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  • Advent
  • Easter
  • five minute friday
  • Help! This was not in the book!
  • Sacred Connections

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