Conversations with Rachael and Scott: Recent Episodes
Rachael
A conversation on a series of topics between two friends, two ministers, two colleagues around the acceptance of diversity.
In this episode, we touch on the age old question of why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow suffering in this world?
Well, We have come to the end of our Easter weekend with the Dawn reflections. Our journey of lent, our spring cleaning, coming with intent, to make space for God within a world which the majority will come to today just like every other day as nothing different.
Today at Dawn we join the journey with the women who brought spices for Jesus body as soon as the sun broke the darkened sky.
Scott will be reading the following readings listed below as we sit in the experiences of Jesus revealing himself to different people during that day. You may like to just hear the words today and just sit with the words. You may like to reflect on the readings maybe placing yourself as different characters or even asking yourself the questions how would I be responding to these experiences and situations as Jesus reveals himself.
The readings:
Luke 24:1-8
Luke 24:9-12
Luke24:13-24
Luke 24:25-35
Luke 24:36-43
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
“Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and journaling as we seek your wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not you. Help us to spend time with you this day. Be with us as you instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven Amen".
If you have any questions or comments you'd like to share with us during this Lenten journey and Easter weekend why not email us at conversationwithRandS@gmail.com
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent or Easter, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Easter weekend by looking at John 19:17-42 reading from NLT. Today is Good Friday, and we read in our reading today the last moments before Jesus gives his spirit up.
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
We will explore more after Easter how God has moved through our Lenten journey this year when we spend time reflecting on what has been speaking to us and what God has been sharing with us.
Before that, we will continue the Easter journey on Sunday where Scott will bring us at dawn reflections on an empty tomb.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
“Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and journaling as we seek your wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not you. Help us to spend time with you this day. Be with us as you instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven Amen".
If you have any questions or comments you'd like to share with us during this Lenten journey why not email us at conversationwithRandS@gmail.com
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – Torn by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We begin our Easter weekend by looking at John 13:1-17 reading from NLT. Today is Maundy Thursday, the last meal and instructions Jesus gives to his Disciples before he is taken away. Maundy Thursday acknowledges the start of the process to the cross where Jesus was taken by temple guards to see Annas, Caiaphas & Pilate
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
We will explore more after Easter how God has moved through our Lenten journey this year when we spend time reflecting on what has been speaking to us and what God has been sharing with us.
However, now we will continue tomorrow, Good Friday as we reflect on the reading of John 19.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
“Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and journaling as we seek your wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not you. Help us to spend time with you this day. Be with us as you instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven Amen".
If you have any questions or comments you'd like to share with us during this Lenten journey why not email us at conversationwithRandS@gmail.com
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – A Sad Meme by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Lenten journey this week by looking at Luke 19-28-40 reading from NLT. It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
There will be more contemplative sessions released for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
We will explore more after Easter how God has moved through our Lenten journey this year when we spend time reflecting on what has been speaking to us and what God has been sharing with us. I hope you'll continue to share and journey through Lent this year.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
“Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and journaling as we seek your wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not you. Help us to spend time with you this day. Be with us as you instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven Amen".
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – Not Much to Say by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Lenten journey this week by looking at John 12:1-8 reading from NLT. It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
We will explore more after Easter how God has moved through our Lenten journey this year when we spend time reflecting on what has been speaking to us and what God has been sharing with us. I hope you'll continue to share and journey through Lent this year.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
“Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and journaling as we seek your wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not you. Help us to spend time with you this day. Be with us as you instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven Amen".
If you are listening on Spotify we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April.
If you aren't on Spotify and would like to share in the questions and polls they are listed below, email them to conversationwithRandS@gmail.com
-this weeks question- Is there a word or symbol that jumps out at you from today's reading? What is it we'd love to hear.
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – Sentimental Dialogue by David Renda
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Lenten journey this week by looking at Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 reading from NLT. It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
How's your journey going? What has been standing out so far? Has this or how has this been moving within and moving out of you in our daily life?
We will explore more after Easter how God has moved through our Lenten journey this year when we spend time reflecting on what has been speaking to us and what God has been sharing with us. I hope you'll continue to share and journey through Lent this year.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the end of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
How have the 20-30 minutes of reflection and contemplative time been going for you through the Lenten Period? Ok I struggle at times Life iving Wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not You. Help us to spend time with You this day. Be with us as You instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know Your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
If you are listening on Spotify we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April.
If you aren't on Spotify and would like to share in the questions and polls they are listed below, email them to conversationwithRandS@gmail.com
How have the 20-30 minutes of reflection and contemplative time been going for you through the Lenten Period? Ok I struggle at times Life giving
What has been a consistent reminder that God has been giving you so far?
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey of Lent, we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – Please Don't Cry by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Lenten journey this week by looking at Luke 4:1-13 reading from NLT. It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring-cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the ends of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and our journaling as we seek Your Wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not You. Help us to spend time with You this day. Be with us as You instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know Your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
If you are listening on Spotify we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April.
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music – Painful Memories by Steve Oxen
Theme music Beginning - Chill Gaming by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art
We continue our Lenten journey this week, week 3 by looking at Luke 13:31-35 reading from NLT.
During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the ends of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and our journaling as we seek Your Wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not You. Help us to spend time with You this day. Be with us as You instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know Your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
If you are listening on Spotify we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April. If you aren't listening on Spotify maybe you would like to share with us by email.
From this week's episode is there a word or phrase that is standing out to you that sums up this weeks lent journey? - Why not email us and let us know.
If you don't have someone to talk with or connect during this Lenten journey we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music - The Pain That Never Left by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chilling Game by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art
https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com
We continue our Lenten journey this week by looking at Luke 4:1-13 reading from NLT. It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and healing our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the ends of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and our journaling as we seek Your Wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not You. Help us to spend time with You this day. Be with us as You instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know Your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
If you are listening on Spotify we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April.
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
Reflections music - Grief and Emptiness by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Chilling Game by David Fesliyan
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art
Today is the 2nd March or Ash Wednesday which leads off our Lent journey. Lent is a focused and intentional time we spend with God for 40 days leading up to Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday). It is a time not of mourning or being sad but a time where we can allow God to do some spring cleaning within us to make more room for the Christ light within our hearts and minds. During these days we come by prayer allowing God to move within us and to create new life within our hearts and minds too.
I invite you on this journey, this spring cleaning time where light comes to us in abundance, changing and heals our hearts and minds to be more like God's.
If you would like to join in saying the prayer at the ends of the readings each week you will find it just below where you can read along with us.
Prayer
Living Lord as we spend time with your words and teachings help us to hear them and make them our own. Guide our reflections and our journaling as we seek Your Wisdom and presence. We confess we often make the text about ourselves and not You. Help us to spend time with You this day. Be with us as You instruct, uplift and or challenge us this day. May we through this Lenten period know Your word and through our presence, actions and words be the living embodiment of your Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
If you are listening on Anchor we have a poll question each week during Lent that you might like to engage with as a bit of fun. You can answer all the question up until the end of April.
If you don't have someone to contact or connect with during this journey we would love to be here for anyone who would like to chat about their Lenten Journey. Please send us an email to: conversatonswithRandS@gmail.com
Acknowledgments
Music featured in this episode is sourced from www.fesliyanstudios.com
reflections music - The pain that never left by David Fesliyan
Theme music Beginning - Happy Tree by Stephen Bennett
Theme music Ending - Peace by David Fesliyan
Matthew reading from the New Living Translation (NLT)
Art for this episode by Rachael Diggle Art
Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions.
We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day.
Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey.
In this episode, we begin to explore a number of spiritual practices or disciplines that may help you explore your limitations and your spiritual journey. In this episode, we look at:
• Lecto Divina (Holy Reading).
• Contemplative Services.
• Spiritual Direction.
We finished up the episode by recognising that we are all God’s children. These spiritual practices can help us to lean to live with our limitations, and to recognise those limitations.
We apologise for some of the sound difficulties in this episode and are working to resolve these.
If you have any questions or would just like to touch base with us please send your emails to: conversationswithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Hidden", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.
Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God. On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation.
This month we are trying something different to the guided prayer. We suggest you have a pen and paper with you, and journal (that is, writing down what you are thinking and feeling in response to the questions), during the guided prayer time, for later reflection and prayer. You may like to go get a pen and paper and put them beside you before you start.
Scripture readings for this episode:
Mark 6: 31 - NIV, NRSV and the Message versions
Psalm 91 - the Message version
Prayers and poems used in this episode:
Listening to my Soul - Rupp, Joyce, Prayers to Sophia, 2000, Innisfree Press Inc., pg. 68
Creativity - McKerrow, Joel, Beyond Rhetoric, 2012, UNOH Publishing, pg. 49
If you would like a copy of any of the readings, prayers and poems used in this episode, please email us at ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com and we can send it back to you.
If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode.
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Stasis and Peace.
Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions.
We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day.
Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey.
In this episode, we will be extending the topic of limitations, and freedom, into our spiritual journey.
We will examine living a contemplative life or a life in constant prayer and explore what this means in everyday life. We also consider that it is good to journey with people, and it is not always good to do it on your own.
While we will start to explore over the next few episodes a number of different avenues for exploring your spiritual journey and set up a platform for exploring what these avenues are and explore different ways in which these avenues can help us on our spiritual journey.
A key aspect to spirituality is the need to have a common language to explore together, and the importance of journeying with others, not by yourself. However, there are times when you will need to find your own comfortable language that helps to explain your own experiences and journey.
We also touch on God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, which we have explored before as Creator, Redeemer and In-Dweller in previous seasons. Here, we explore Creativity, Prayer, and Contemplation, which again aligns with the triune God.
If you have any questions or would just like to touch base with us please send your emails to: conversationswithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Hidden", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.
Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God. On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation.
Scripture reading for this episode: Psalm 139
Poem used in this episode:
- Love's as Warm as Tears from Be Our Freedom Lord By Terry C Falla, Australian Church Resources 2013
- Equilibrium from Benedictus By John O'Donohue, Bantam Press 2007
If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode.
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Not Much to Say and Peace.
Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions.
We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day.
Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey.
Last month, we explored that freedom isn’t freedom if it takes away from another. Unfortunately, this is how captivity gets disguised as freedom and these are the subtleties of captivity. Most people don’t wake up to this fact and it becomes the constant battle of self and my freedom which in turn we become a slave to, a perpetual cycle of self.
This month we explore how we view limitations and how society places limitations on us. In particular, we look at limitations and freedom, and how limitations can actually give freedom.
Leading from this, we explore how limitations can trigger creativity or a creative space, looking at examples about how limiting a colour pallet or limiting choices can actually increasing creativity.
We also consider equality, equity and fairness, particularly in the context of wants, and how these concepts all explore different ways limitations impact us.
Finally, we delve into love and limitations and whether love has limitations, ultimately leading us to a conclusion that the reason why God can stay silent and not intervene is so we can grow and mature, both individually and as a species.
If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode.
Quote from Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett, (Victor Gollancz, London 1996)
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
Guided prayer is simply a way of making a mini-retreat in the midst of everyday life. It gives an opportunity to take some time out to explore new ways of praying and to deepen your relationship with God. On a Guided Prayer the focus is on praying with Scripture. In this guided prayer, we will focus on a particular verse of Scripture, through repeated readings and guided questions for mediation.
Scripture reading for this episode: 2 Corinthians 3:17
Poem used in this episode: For Freedom from Benedictus By John O'Donohue, Bantam Press 2007
If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode.
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Chill Gaming, Relaxing Green Nature and Peace.
Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Reveal", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.
Hello
I'm just popping in to let you know about something new happening within series 2. As well as Scott and I chatting every month I thought that it would be good to get together again in the month to reflect together. For those who are familiar with contemplation, I am putting together a time where we can sit and do a contemplative reflective guided prayer together. For those unfamiliar with contemplation or reflective or guided prayer I will have more information for you in the show notes of the next episode.
I hope you will find this useful and something that you may be willing to use more than once during the month.
I will talk with you really soon with the new reflective episode. Until next time may God's peace follow you were you may journey.
Music supplied by FesliyanStudios.com Song featured: Chill Gaming.
Welcome back to Series 2 of Conversations with Rachael and Scott.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions.
We aim to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further, such that the podcast is not the end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day.
Whichever way this happens, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence. After all, we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
In this new season of Conversations, we will be building on our discussions in our last season of creativity and explore Limitations this season. In particular, throughout the season we will explore limitations in the context of creativity, and from this lead into how limitations impact on our spiritual journey.
In the first episode, we will start by exploring Freedom and Captivity, and what both mean.
What the world says is freedom often can imitate or ‘seem’ like freedom at first glance. However, the more we focus on ‘my freedom’ the more we get trapped or fooled to think that it is freedom and I’m doing this for everyone.
If you are lucky, the more you go inside this you start to realise that this is not freedom, but it is captivity (slavery) in a disguise. The trap for people around fighting for freedom is that it revolves around themselves and their rights.
And this is where the problem is, it revolves around the individual and doesn’t think or consider the other person or people or living things or our world that we are living in. Therefore, the fight for freedom really only becomes about a certain person or community getting their skewed sense of freedom while the rest are pushed to the periphery of community and placed into captivity.
Freedom isn’t freedom if it takes away from another. Unfortunately, this is how captivity gets disguised as freedom and these are the subtleties of captivity. Most people don’t wake up to this fact and it becomes the constant battle of self and my freedom which in turn we become a slave to, a perpetual cycle of self.
If you have any questions from Season 2, or would like to send us any messages, we would love to hear from you at: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
If you would like to support us, please leave a comment or positive review in the comments section below this episode.
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
Art work for this episode supplied by Rachael Diggle Art, with this month's piece called "Reveal", more at https://www.rachaeldiggleart.com.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on.
However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done.
Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence.
Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space.
After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
We continue on with Part B of Creation and Creativity, where we will explore how we express and engage our creativity on an individual basis and how our community also engages its creativity.
We also unpack that there are limitations on creativity and reflect on how we also need to be receivers of other's creativity. In Genesis, we explore the gift of creation, and how this impacts relationship. We discuss how creation and creativity within community demonstrate our unity in diversity, by exploring the diversity of the expressions of Christianity, which have developed in response to culture, but also holds unity (not conformity) in the Body of Christ.
Finally, we consider our creativity as a spiritual journey in itself, and sitting in that creative spaces takes commitment and perseverance. We therefore need to take the time and create space to rest, to heal, to rejuvenate, both individually and as a church, in order to re-charge our creativity, and out of this rejuvenation ministry flows.
If you would like to contact us, please email: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on.
However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done.
Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence.
Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space.
After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
We continue on in this episode by looking at creation and creativity, where we will explore our own creativity. God’s first act was to create, and we are created beings, made in the image of God. In the first part of this two-part episode, we’ll explore what does it mean to be creative? We’ll unpack the meaning of those who say, “I’m not creative”, where in fact it may mean that the person does not want to express or explore their creativity for particular reasons and why it is important to dig deeper to know oneself.
We also explore means of creation, including destruction as creation, and how destruction can be a necessary part of creation. They key component of those who continue to create are those with the passion to persevere.
We have been exploring expressions of creation, and this brings us to the concept of self-expression as being a part of creation. As we explore our creativity, we explore our self.
Creativity is not only individual, but is also an expression of community, and as a result ministry flows out from both individual and community as part of the process of reflection, stillness and restoration.
If you would like to contact us, please email: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on.
However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done.
Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence.
Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space.
After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
Many of us have had to reflect on doing community with people. While we can joke about it at times, it can often point out or alienate our stances and behaviours and other people’s stances or behaviours. We don’t intentionally go out of our way to do this it just happens when we start to rub shoulders with people within our community. It is in the rubbing of shoulders that we get to see ourselves and each other more intimately and this is where God moves between us.
Episode 2A talked about unity in diversity rather than unity in conformity. We continue with episode 2B’s conversations glimpsing our struggles through parenting, through maturity of Christian thought and a brief exploration of this through the Churches of Christ where we in SA have moved from and struggle to hold onto or still struggle with people, stances, ideologies and opinions. How we hold different views from the past and what we are confronting in our society that is ‘new’ that maybe we see as part of a threat to our local church today.
By exploring the issue of individuals or the majority becoming the main story of our community. We see and discuss the alienation or elimination of the rest of the people’s stories that don’t fit within the narrative of the majority. That we have forgotten at times it is all of the stories together that create the community, not just the loudest or the ‘strongest’ that creates the narrative for the community. That once again it is not just one community that holds the understanding, wisdom or images of God, it is all the community, all around the world, that holds, expresses and sees the vastness of God, and God’s journey with humanity.
If you would like to contact us, please email: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on.
However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done.
Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence.
Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space.
After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
Last episode we explored the diversity of God’s creation in the world around us, and in this special two-part episode, we will unpack still further God’s creativity in the unity in diversity through our relationships with ourselves, with others and with God.
In this episode, having explored the diversity of God’s creation, we talk more about how we can explore unity within that diversity. We talk about unity in so many ways and how God’s people are united. Yet there are so many denominations and expressions of church, and within all these churches there are so many different opinions, thoughts and ideas running around, not just between denominations and expressions of church, but we even witness this within our own local church community. And sometimes, to be honest, God’s church and God’s people really do not seem that united. Yet, we still hear statements from our communities about unity in diversity and still at times we wonder how we can be united within our own communities’ diversity. We will look at how Unity in diversity fits within the church’s history and how Churches of Christ have sought to deal with that position.
These are difficult topics that we are discussing. But it is important to be able to make statements so we can hear ourselves and others. It is through hearing ourselves that God can move us. Without making these statements, we can find it extremely hard to move on to a different way of seeing and thinking about God, Us and others. Or God’s love for and care for the diverse creativity in which God creates and how God appears within that creativity.
A part of being in community is holding others and allowing them to make these statements, so they can have a place to hear themselves and to allow God the opportunity to move them on. No matter how hard it may be for us at times.
If you would like to contact us, please email: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.
This podcast is a conversation between friends around a variety of topics, with a few guided questions. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a polished or a rehearsed presentation, so you will see us sounding awkward at times, searching for words and become more relaxed as time goes on.
However, we hope to introduce different topics to our audience and encourage people to continue the conversation further that the podcast is not end point but the starting point for the topic of conversation. You may continue this with friends or family. It maybe with a home group from your church. It may randomly pop up in conversations that you don’t expect. Or you may just choose to reflect on the topic further as part of your prayer time or as part of your day as you do what needs to be done.
Whichever way you choose, we hope that you will choose to engage with the conversations further in your way as God continues to move and draw you closer into God’s presence.
Being in community is holding each other and allowing each other to make these statements so that we can have the space to hear ourselves and the opportunity to move us to where God wants us to be, no matter how hard it may be for us at times to sit within this space.
After all we are all on the same journey in God revealing God to us. We are all different expressions of God revealing God’s self within our journeys and we are all at different stages of that journey too.
We hope that God will continue to encourage you through these conversations and continue to draw you deeper into God’s presence and give you peace as God reveals God’s self to you each day of your journey.
In this episode, we:
- Observe the diversity of God's creation on our planet and in our universe.
- Explore how we see and experience this in our relationship with God through our friendships and our day-to-day life.
Today’s topic is centred around the diversity of God’s creation we will start exploring this idea around the diversity of nature and the things we see around us, but, as we do we will continue exploring the diversity of God’s creation through our own spiritual journey.
We will explore this not only as individuals through our spiritual journey and our relationship with God, but also what it may look like within our faith communities, and us as humanity.
In looking at the diversity of today’s struggles in our society, our politics and our environment, not to mention our inner struggles, we are constantly being thrown images and conversations around diversity, that even diversity in every form is causing us pain. Because no one feels like they are being heard, they are being accepted, or understood, or even seen.
While just observing God’s creation we see that there is not just one expression of a particular animal, plants, insects, humans that there are many expressions or there is diversity within our planet and the universe itself.
If you would like to contact us, please email: ConversationsWithRandS@gmail.com
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com.
Music used in this podcast was Go Beyond, by David Fesliyan, Out and About, by David Renda, and Happy Tree, by Stephen Bennett.