Category Archives: Creation

Responding to the World Contemplatively

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

How is God calling me to respond to our beautiful, broken world? The same way I am asked to do everything else: contemplatively. “Contemplatively” simply means living out of the reality that we are always in union with God. The apostle Paul said, “In Christ we live … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Popular Posts | Tagged Acts 17:28, caring for the earth, contemplative response to the world, Crescent Earth, Esther Hizsa, John Major, Michael Cook, Night Prayer, real work of saving the planet, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Wendell Berry | 15 Comments

Helping God Save the Earth

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

Despite all evidence to the contrary, God will accomplish God’s purposes in Christ. This bold statement, based on Ephesians 1:10 and Colossians 1:19-20, expresses SoulStream community’s core value of hope. My experience in the Valley of Dry Bones echoed this hope. Despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation | Tagged Banff, camping, Colossians 1:19-20, Despite all evidence to the contrary, Ephesians 1:10, Esther Hizsa, Hafiz, Hokey Pokey, Our Common Home, Pope Francis, Seed Cracked Open, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 3 Comments

Bone of My Bone, Flesh of My Flesh

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

I close my eyes to pray, and the hand of the Lord is on me. Like Ezekiel, I am brought out by the Spirit of the Lord and set in the middle of a valley full of bones. Everywhere I look, I see sun-bleached skeletons of … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Ignatian Spirituality | Tagged Arthur Rowan, Blackfooted Ferret, CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME, ENCYCLICAL LETTER, Esther Hizsa, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Genesis 2:23, John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS, Marcia Fretheim, Mountain-Prairie, Pope Francis, SoulStream, SoulStream values, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Tim Fretheim, USFWS, Valley of Dry Bones, Will | 3 Comments

I Am My Sister’s Keeper

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

“Where is your brother Abel?” The Lord asked Cain. Cain, the first child born on earth, had killed Abel. I can imagine God’s anguish. “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” “In the story of … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation | Tagged Arthur Rowan, CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME, Cathédrale St-Lazare, Earth in the Hands, ENCYCLICAL LETTER, Esther Hizsa, FarbenfroheWuderwelt, Genesis 1, Holly Hayes, John 3:16, LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS, Pope Francis, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Wheat | 3 Comments

God Is So Beautiful

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

“Ever since I was twelve years old, I have been deeply moved by beauty,” a friend wrote in response to a recent post. “When I take my morning coffee out onto the back deck, I am surrounded by so many shades of … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Reflections | Tagged Beauty, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, Craig Allen, Esther Hizsa, Isaiah 6:3, John O'Donohue, Peace in a leaf, Psalm 27:4, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Strawberry #2, Tenacity8fear | 1 Comment

Beauty Stares Me in the Face

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

Every time I look in the mirror, I’m reminded that I don’t look very beautiful. Ouch. Did I say that out loud? Beauty is a sore subject with me, yet over the past few years, God has awakened me to its glory. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Popular Posts, Stories | Tagged 1 Samuel 16, Be Beautiful, Beauty, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, Ben Grey, brokenness, contemplative response, daisies, Doug Schroeder, Esther Hizsa, John O'Donohue, Peter Miller, self-image, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, world | 11 Comments

Questioned by a Strawflower

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Esther Hizsa

Five tight buds, glossy purple lollipops, greeted me as I passed them on my way to morning prayers. Many flowers that I recognized were blooming at Twin Creeks Lodge–iris, geraniums, petunias, pansies, and daisies–but I had never seen buds like these before. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Stories | Tagged Bracteantha Magenta, Deb Arndt, Esther Hizsa, Fleming's Nurseries, Jeff Imbach, Living from the Heart, Lodge at Twin Creeks, Matthew 11:29-30, Opening to God, rhythms of grace, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, spiritual formation, straw flower | 4 Comments

Go Pray Outside

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed,” Jesus said, “But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Similarly these vibrant evergreens have each grown from a single seed buried in the earth. In … Continue reading →