#reclaim

Hello Friends and welcome to our final episode in our Lenten Series, Soul Feast. 

We have a great conversation in store as we travel on the road to Easter this weekend; through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

Although this tends to be a time of year primarily marked by celebration, the first Easter wasn’t very celebratory. Rather it was quite dark and deeply painful.

Christ is Risen! We say this triumphantly, yet, as we look around at our world and the messiness of our own lives, I’m not sure how triumphant we feel, a lot of the time?

Can our souls still cling to, feel and know the hope these days are meant to point to?
Please join us! 

References
Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
Aundi Kolber, Leaning into Hope
Brian Zahnd - Author and Pastor - Beauty Will Save the World
Philip Yancy - Prayer
Matthew 26, 27, NIV
Luke 24:13-35, The Road to Emmaus (TPT)
Romans 5:5, NIV
Psalm 22:1, NIV
John 6:66-69, NIV
John 11:25,26, NIV
Colossians 3:12, 1:27, NIV
Revelations 22:20-21, Come, Lord Jesus, NIV

In our third episode of Soul Feast, we’re exploring the ideas of guilt and confession - wondering, what is at the root of our experience of feeling “guilty”? Another way of asking this is: “What is your emotion of “guilt” communicating to you?  

"Guilt is an emotion that we experience when we fall short of our own expectations or standards." - Brené Brown

What about when our emotion of guilt is felt as falling short of God's expectations or standards?
Liz & Cari

References
Brené Brown - Atlas of the Heart
Mark McMinn - Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counselling
Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline
S. Bruce Marramore - Religious Psychologist
Worship Sourcebook 2nd Edition - CRC Worship Planning and Leading
2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV
Luke 22:34, NIV
Matthew 27:3, NIV

In our Lenten series, Soul Feast, we’re using the dual lens of Counselling Therapist (Liz Kahle) and Christian Spirituality (Pastor Cari) in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of what our soul is, how to become more aware of our soul, and what it may be communicating to us right now.

The basic definition we’re using for the soul comes from the work of Ruth Haley-Barton who defines the soul as the core of our very selves. Which we would add, points to our truest identity.

It’s within this context that we’re going to try to tackle the big topics of sin and shame as they are deeply interwoven into the very fabric of life, and deeply impact our connections.

Before we dive in, we’d like to take a moment to ground our conversation in the love and hope we are moving toward in this season of Lent.

Richard Foster writes,“At the heart of God is the desire to give and to forgive. Because of this, He set the entire redemptive process that culminated on the cross and was confirmed in the resurrection. The usual notion of what Jesus did on the cross runs something like this: people were so bad and so mean and God was so angry with them that he could not forgive them unless something big enough took the rap for the whole lot of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Jesus knew that by his vicarious suffering he could actually absorb all the evil of humanity and so heal it, forgive it, redeem it.”

It's from this place of greatest love, and the movement toward healing, forgiveness and transformation - that we talk about sin and shame in the second episode of Soul Feast  - A Lenten Series by Counselling Therapist Liz Kahle and Pastor Cari Fydirchuk. 

References:
Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline
Brene Brown - Altas of the Heart 
Mark McKinnon - Counselling Therapist and Christian lens 
Gregory Boyle - The Whole Language - The Power of Extravagant Tenderness 
Genesis 3:15, NIV
Genesis 1:26-28
Luke 5:16, NIV
Luke 15 - The Prodigal Son 
Ignatian Spiritual Exercises 

What is the soul? 
How would you describe it?
How is your soul right now?

Join us as we consider these questions alongside the practice of fasting, in the first episode of Reclaim’s Lenten series Soul Feast. Available now, on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcasts!

As we begin Lent, this quote from Henri Nouwen caught my eye and seems to encompass a good deal of our conversation today...

He writes, “Whether we give alms, pray, or fast, we are to do it in a hidden way, not to be praised by people but to enter into closer communion with God. Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in many people and things surrounding us, without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want…Lent is a time of refocusing, of re-entering the place of truth and reclaiming our true identity.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) from Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year as recounted in Lent and Easter Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen, comp. by Judy Bauer (Liguori: Liguori Publications, 2005) 8.

Episode References:
*Special Guest, Lesley McClure - Intermittent Fasting (IT) and Spirituality 

Over the past couple of years, Lesley has been on a journey with intermittent fasting, finding a deep connection to God through this practice. We are so blessed to hear from parts of her story in this episode! Along with being Cari's beautiful mom, Lesley is also an accomplished artist. You can learn more about her and check out her artwork at her Etsy shop called MixedMediaMum. 

Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline

Henri Nouwen - Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year 

Jay, W., Richards, (Jason Fung - forward): Eat, Fast, Feast - Heal Your Body While Feeing Your Soul - A Christian Guide to Fasting

Ruth Haley Barton 

Marjorie Thompson  - Soul Feast (Thank you for the great title :))

Mark 8:36, NIV

Matthew 6:16-18, NIV

Matthew 4:1-11, NIV

Psalm 139:23,24