EPIPHANY:VISIO
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    • ART & PRAYER WORKSHOP : FEB. 17, 18
    • ART & PRAYER MUSEUM WALK : MARCH 24, 18
  • Spiritual Direction

connect with Jesus through art

and learn a new way of seeing yourself and your life that helps you
​slow down, recenter, and find the goodness of God.
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Lent  |  A Retreat Guide

3/3/2016

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Raised in the evangelical tradition I was more familiar with Easter than this season called "Lent." I was comfortable with somber Good Friday services, and celebratory Easter Sundays. Then I learned about Lent, and how it is a time to reflect on our longings, our losses, in a way that leads us to confession at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes getting to his feet I found I needed a little help, a gentle push to move forward. I needed someone to remind me of the love of God amidst all this grief. 

From these experiences, and through gathering materials I've found helpful, we're offering this half-day Lenten retreat guide. It's filled with prayer practices, journaling prompts, and reflective invitations. It can be used individually, or with your community group. It can used on a half-day away at a museum or over a weekend up on the mountain. It was created with flexibility in mind.

It was also created to remind you how much God loves you. Using Scripture, art, and thought provoking journaling experiences this PDF guide offers you the opportunity to open your heart to God through these practices and to prepare to celebrate the hope we have in Christ Easter Sunday morning.
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If this idea excites you, or feels like the last thing you want to do but you feel invited by God to do it anyway, click below to learn a bit more and view a sample page. The PDF guide is designed to be flexible in use and time, so feel free to take a half-day to yourself or a weekend away with your community group. 

If you have any questions about this retreat guide, or how to best use it, feel free to contact us anytime. We'd love to hear from you.
Lenten Retreat Guide
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Art & Prayer Workshop  |  Sat. February 21 in Long Beach

2/15/2015

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Like a kid who knows they're going to Disneyland, I can't wait till next weekend. It's the second Art & Prayer workshop. The first one in October was so much fun, powerful, and connecting we decided to do it all over again with a new group (and few returning) of amazing people. 

One of my favorite parts is not that we learn a lot of amazing things about Jesus, how he connects with us in prayer, and how beauty is a very helpful tool in helping us go deeper in our faith journeys (and we do all that) but we get to experience together the power of praying in this new way. We meet together as we meet with Jesus. It's a communal experience I love to be a part of and witness at the same time.
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Sat. Feburary 21
10am-2pm
Long Beach, CA

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Group exercise exploring what the Bible has to say about art and prayer and our emotions. 
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Lunch outdoors connecting, processing together, and unpacking what we've learned so far.
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Diving into the experience individually, while together. Opening our hearts, eyes, and ears to what Jesus is saying.
If you've ever wondered how beauty or art impact your spiritual life, or maybe you're feeling a little spiritually dusty right now, this experience may be for you. If you're sensing a tug on your heart, check it out and learn more, or register, on this website at: http://www.epiphanyvisio.com/events.

Registration is still open. Space is limited. Reserve your spot today. All are welcome.
Register

Sat. February, 21
10am-2pm
Long Beach, CA

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Where Is God?  |  When I Want but Don't Have

5/17/2014

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Even as a Protestant I have a favorite saint: St. Ignatius. He's the patron saint of awesomeness ... no, wait, of "finding God in all things."

To summarize, he believed God could be found in and through all circumstances and places and feelings. He found God after being stripped of his vanity, while bedridden for a good long time. And, perhaps oddly, he's one of the saints most known for validating the place of our desires and feelings in our spiritual growth.

You read that right: he believed our desires could lead us to God.
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Now, what he didn't say (equally as important) was that we should follow and go to all ends to achieve our desires. He simply believed acknowledging them was the key to finding God in and through our desires and feelings.

In acknowledging what our heart longs for -- but what we may be consciously talking ourselves out of -- we're grounding ourselves in the present, the place God lives and communes with us. God has always been with us, and will continue to be with us. However, the place God meets us is in the now. And verbalizing what our heart longs for grounds us in the moment of now.

While it sounds easy, there's a reason humans are not notoriously good at staying in the present truth of their souls: it can be painful. Acknowledging what we want but don't yet have is uncomfortable, at best. And it often leads us to too quickly resolve our difficult circumstances with, "...but it'll be okay!" Yet, this uncomfortable, cranky, confused, scared, angry part of our heart is the part God wants. Not because he wants to put salt in the wound of our longing, but because this is the place God transforms us.

And this is what St. Ignatius teaches us -- God loves us in our pain and confusion. But we limit receiving the relief of his presence when we deny the painful places in our hearts and lives.

When we sit before him, laid bare like Job, he softens our heart over time, and tenderly dresses the wounds. We emerge from his presence changed, and at times more empowered to hold the tension of "I want, but don't have," trusting in his ultimate goodness; or aware of our anger and now with the conscious ability to choose our response, rather than reacting out of hidden feelings or motives.

Talk with me...

  • What desire of your heart feels unseen by God today?
  • When was the last time you prayed in the midst of your anger?
  • How do you envision God responding to your anger, or other difficult to express feelings?

Imaginative Prayer:

Choose one of the following passages:
  • Proverbs 13:12
  • Job 30:16-23
  • Mark 10:46-52

Once you've made your selection:
  1. As you sit silently with the image through the first image, allow your thoughts and feelings to surface.
  2. For your second reading, attempt to find yourself in the scene that is happening. Or, as with the Proverbs passage, picture yourself speaking those words to Jesus. If available to you, play an audio version of the passage so your imagination may be more fully engaged. Listen and imagine one to two times.
  3. Journal your experience first, then your thoughts and feelings as a prayer written to Jesus. Notice how he responds.
  4. Spend a few minutes in quiet closing prayer ("Lord Jesus, have mercy" is one option, or a simple request, "Please help me.").
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  • Attend an Event
    • ART & PRAYER WORKSHOP : FEB. 17, 18
    • ART & PRAYER MUSEUM WALK : MARCH 24, 18
  • Spiritual Direction