S1: E5 - Wake up!

christopher lovell: Hello friends and welcome to Grace Actually, the podcast where we search for God's grace in ordinary life. I'm so glad you're here today with me. I'm Christopher Lovell, a Catholic primary school teacher from Teesside, a blogger and somebody who's recently been diagnosed with ADHD. If I'm honest, it's a journey I'm still learning to navigate. But one thing it has taught me is that I need to slow down. and look for the grace of God in my ordinary life. This podcast has grown out of my blog and my search for joy during the church's Jubilee year. Along the way, I'm finding that God's grace isn't just found in those mountain top moments, but it has a funny habit of turning up in everyday life. Grace actually is all around us. Sometimes we just need to train our brain to notice it. So let's go and search for Grace together. Hello, hello, how are we? Welcome back to Grace Actually. We're on episode five this week. I hope you've had a good week. Hope it's been a good one. Weather's been nice outside. Maybe it's been a little bit too warm, but I suppose we can't complain. If you're not okay... I hope this episode gives you some space to kind of breathe, slow down and maybe notice a bit of beauty in something that you might have overlooked before. Because that's what this episode's going to be about. The beauty of God's creation. And I think, personally, I think it's something that I massively overlook. I maybe take it for granted. and maybe just when I kind of slow down and notice myself. I do notice how beautiful that creation is. Like, properly beautiful, stunning, ridiculously good, really. God has a huge flex on his creation. Check me using the word flex down with the kids. But yeah, huge flex. 10 out of 10 on TripAdvisor. Five stars, definitely recommend. would go back. But honestly, look at the stars, look at the sky, look at the sea, look at the flowers, look at the mountains, the countryside, some of the architecture that we have here in England. And then of course we have the Gregg's sausage roll. A different kind of beauty possibly, but I'd still say it's beautiful. It's a blessing. I think there's probably a hymn about... Maybe not about a Greg sausage roll, but anyway. So last week I was on holiday in Margate. And if you haven't already listened to last week's episode, you might want to tune into last week's episode before this one, maybe just for a bit of context on what I'm talking about. Because I did talk a little bit about my kind of time when I was there, what I was doing and my experience of recording last week's episode on the beach. And I ended last week's episode by saying I was gonna go and I was gonna have some fish and chips. Now I'm really sorry I didn't go and get some fish and chips. I'm really sorry to disappoint you. Somebody growing up from Redcar going to the seaside not having fish and chips. I've heard it's one of the best fish and chip shops in the country in Margate and we didn't go there. I'm sorry. Please do stay with me, please don't turn off and head to the review section and give me a zero star rating. Please do bear with me. There was a reason why I didn't go for fish and chips. It's probably because I was too full. I was too full on coffee and cake, which actually is probably more sophisticated, you might say. Fish and chips, when you get them, you go and find a bench, don't you? You unwrap it in the paper and you're looking out for every seagull in a hundred mile radius. Sitting down for a coffee, sitting down for an ice cream. That might sound a little more sophisticated, maybe a bit more Italian. And maybe it's screaming, here I am, I'm an adult, I'm not a child sitting on a bench eating fish and chips. But to be honest, even when I was having the ice cream or having the coffee, I probably did look like I was eating more like a child, but just a child with a bank account. But anyway, there's another reason why I'm quite happy that I didn't get fish and chips. Because... I'll leave you in awkward suspense for a second or two. Is that long enough? Okay, I'll stop you there. Because I've got a wedding to prepare for. Yeah, a wedding. This time around, it's not, I'm gonna be your best man. I'm not gonna be giving Mary Claire away. We've done that already. This time, it's gonna be my wedding, my wedding with Alice. While we were in Margate, while we're watching the sunset, I talked last week about the beautiful sunset in the sky. And I obviously didn't tell you at the time, but as I was recording that episode, It was time to propose to Alice. And those of you who are listening who know me personally are probably saying, again? Well, yeah. Again? Well, that one was maybe, what was it? Seven or eight years ago now, and they probably do have an expiry date with them. So yeah, we did do it again. And this time, well, last time it was lovely, but this time it was really lovely. It was really lovely to watch the sunset and do that. But what is the point that I was making with that one? yes, we got a wedding to arrange. That's all very, very exciting. Yes, a little bit daunting. Yes, a little bit nervous. Probably actually very nervous, but it's very, very exciting. Yes, there's a lot to organise. There's things to book, things to go and look around, things to decide that we're going to have, things to remember. things that I didn't know existed until two days ago. For example, Alice pointed earlier on about doilies. Still have no idea what they are, but anyway, I've heard the name. I found that weddings do have a surprising amount of conversations that kind of come with it. So have you thought about... I'm like, no. and then somebody else comes along, have you thought about... there's something else to think about. So yeah, I'm learning. But there's one thing I do already know. Earlier on I said I didn't have fish and chips and also I'm really glad that I'm not scramming my face with cake because I can't imagine standing there scramming my face with cake while I'm waiting for Alice at the altar. I don't think that'd be much of a good look, maybe giving out kind of erm... Bruce Bogtrotter vibes, you know. You can do it, Bruce! that'll come after, obviously. You know, there is traditions. You're married now, so now you have to have cake. Then you go home. I think I'd say that's probably the common book prayer of marriage. But I'm quite conscious that I don't want this episode to be just come about. Getting married, a big wedding announcement. I promise you I'm not going to spend 40 minutes of your attention. telling you what colour napkins we're going to have. Because to be honest, I have no idea what colour napkins we're gonna have. I probably will find that out on the day. That's probably for the best. I do want to share bits of my life with you as we go along. But like I said, today really isn't about the engagement. It's about something that was happening at the time when the kind of proposal was going on. something I found myself thinking about while we spent our time in Margate. And the kind of thought that came with it was... How beautiful is God's creation? like seriously, how beautiful is it? One thing that really brought this home to me when I was recording last week's episode was when we watched the sunset on Margate Beach. and I had the beach to ourselves. It really was wonderful. Well, maybe not the whole beach. Maybe, you know, there was a seagull or two with a little bit of sand, but it did feel like kind of we weren't surrounded by swarms of people. So, yeah, we did have it to ourselves and it felt very peaceful. The waves were coming in gently. They weren't aggressive, they weren't kind of like, come on then, you wanna fight? It was all very calm. They were just rolling in and we just gently listened along to them. We watched the sunset. All of the colours in the sky. Beautiful orange colours in the sky. Beautiful orange drinks in hand, know, apparel, it would be rude not to while you're on holiday. Sand between our toes. There really was something calming about that kind of whole thing. The softness of the sand. The calm wash of the water. The beautiful colours in the sky. The quiet. and I remember thinking at the time. How can anybody not see this as beautiful? Like, really, if you look at that at the time, wow. And if you don't think that's beautiful, I'm honestly silently judging you. I promise you I'm not judging, know, all are welcome in this place, you know, no judgement. By the way, how good is that hymn, all are welcome in this place. You know, you come to that chorus, all are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place. Yeah, that's my all time favourite hymn it is I think. There we go, another tangent, is it? We've only just started, I suppose if we keep in track of it, what's that? Number three. Probably should have like a counter in the screen somewhere, shouldn't I? Tangent count three. or maybe not actually because I'll probably be more interested in going on a tangent than I am talking to you. But I suppose actually the fact we're talking about being on tangents and kind of missing things or missing the point, actually a good point to be at based on what we're going to, what I'm going to kind of reflect on this week. Because actually, if I was distracted this week on the beach, maybe I'd have missed all that beauty. If I'd have been sat on my phone, if I'd have been doom scrolling, if I'd have been checking for that message, looking what other people were doing where they'd checked in, I'd have very easily missed it. You know the one, you pull your phone out of your pocket just to check one thing. 45 minutes later, you've somehow found out that you've also made an arrangement of some celebrity who you are. remotely not interested in. You know the one? And then you get to the point where you're like, why am I here again? I have no idea. Not even your algorithm knows why you're here. But here we are, missing the point. Fortunately this week, which is a rare occurrence for me, that wasn't the case. I was just there. I was present. I was listening. I was looking. I was noticing. And I think in that moment there was something quite spiritual about it. The beauty wasn't created just because I'd taken the one-time chance of putting my phone away and like, Chris is actually looking now so I better make it look nice. It was there anyway. And it's just good that I did put my phone down because it gave me the opportunity to notice it. If I wasn't awake to it, if I hadn't put my phone away, I would have missed it. And that's kind of where I'm going with it this week. While we're in Margate, one of the days we decided we were going to the Turner Modern Art Gallery. And if you haven't been already, and if you're in the area, I'd really recommend a visit there. In the gallery, there's some really thought-provoking pieces of art. I did stand there for a good while looking at kind of all the different pieces in the exhibition. It really did make me wonder about the beauty of God's creation and kind of taking time to notice the beauty. I think that probably came from the quote that was kind of at the start of the gallery as soon as we came in. the artist who kind of pieced together the exhibition. Her name's Hulda Guzman. I think that's probably how you say it. And she's from the Dominican Republic. Now I'm not complete sure if the quote that I read was the kind of the name of the exhibition or if it was just a quote to make you think. I probably should have looked it up before I started recording, but you know, professional podcasting, here we are anyway. But the quote was, please awake. asked nature kindly. And I love that because I think it spoke to me on two levels. The first was simply kind of like maybe you'd say it spoke to me on a human level. Those words, please awake or maybe to rephrase it, wake up and not kind of wake up as in get out of bed as in wake up and have a look at what's around you. Stop doom scrolling, get off Instagram and just be present. And like I say, to me, I think it spoke quite truly to me because I think it is something that I do personally struggle with. Yes, I was able to do it for maybe half an hour last week on the beach, but I do find myself very consumed by my phone. So for it to say, wake up, it did kind of grab my attention. And if I didn't wake up, I would have missed those things last week. I'd have missed the sunset. I'd have missed the calmness of the waves. I'd have missed the soft sand. I'd have missed the flowers that I walked past on the way. I'd have missed the beauty of the orange sky. I'd have missed just simply the beauty of the world that we were living in. Because how easy is it to become so consumed by your phone that you are not able to be consumed by the beauty of his creation? You're in one place, one moment at that time, but actually, mentally, you're somewhere else. So those words, wake up. really spoke to me as if to say, come on, just pay attention, look at what's there. You can be sat on the beach and mentally you're thinking about an argument you had three years ago. You can be walking through a beautiful countryside while you're thinking about an email that you need to send. You can be watching the sunset and wondering why someone's left you on two blue ticks. You know that one? Phil from the cafe, he's left you on two blue ticks for two days and he still hasn't answered. Come on, Phil. Then there's a sunset. So priorities. Which one are you going to go for? Like I say, I think it is really something that I do personally need to work on. I do need to put my phone down more. I need to look up. I need to be present. To use the words of the artist, I need to wake up. Look around. See what's here. You're alive. There is beauty around you. So wake up and look at it. So after kind of reflecting on the beauty of God's creation and waking up, it did make me think about a chapter that I've previously written in my book, Searching for Grace, Finding God in the Ordinary. I must say thank you for your support in the release of the book over the last couple of weeks. It hasn't gone unnoticed, so kind of like a personal thank you for your support in purchasing the book. Through your support, it has kind of jumped up the charts in the Amazon bookselling author lists. And I have... Notice that I am the number one bestseller in the Catholic self-help books. That's absolutely fantastic. It really kind of fills me with great joy to see that the word is getting out there and hopefully it does mean that it will bear fruits for other people too. So thank you. But the point I'm trying to make with it is that... I was thinking about a chapter I wrote about noticing God's grace in his beauty. And something that I'm going to try and do over the next couple of weeks is if it kind of fits, I'm going to use a couple of chapters or little snippets out of the chapters to go with the reflections that we are having. Now, this isn't me saying that I'm going to turn the book into an audio book. A couple of you have mentioned it, but... Right now it's not something that I'm thinking about and it's not something where I'm going to suddenly start charging you £7.99 to listen to chapter 14. Although if I do, you heard it here first. No, the idea that I'm going to go with is simply to read small snippets to kind of give you an idea of what the book might be about. But also, if there's something relevant from the book, we might just use it for reference. Almost as if we're picking up the book together and having a little look at the themes that it has. This week's kind of snippet from the book came from chapter 16. And the title of that chapter is The Grace of Noticing What Was Always There. So very much on that theme of wake up, look around. It's always been there, but if you don't wake up, you're not going to see it. So this is actually me reading a snippet that comes directly from chapter 16. The beauty was already there. Endless green stretching across the land. The quiet sounds of the lambs in the distance. Bird song carried gently in the air and the freshness of the earth. Light was breaking through the air in a way that felt gentle and certain. It wasn't overwhelming or blinding, simply it was enough. is a particular joy that comes from not adding more, but from finding and attending what we already have. A quiet contentment. A sense that nothing needs to be forced. In one moment of stillness, even background noise that so often fills a silence was set aside. What remained was simply presence. I did love writing that chapter. Well, I did love writing the whole book, but I did particularly enjoy writing that one, chapter 16. It was written on an April getaway with Al when spring was starting to spring forward and we were noticing the beauty that was coming through. But parts of it still speak particularly true for what I noticed last week as well. And it's particularly that phrase that I wrote in it, the beauty that was already there. Because that's exactly what I was experiencing last week. The beauty of the beach didn't suddenly appear just because I turned up. It wasn't, Chris is going to propose to Alice, so we better make the sunset nice. It wasn't, Chris is going to think about getting married, so we better tidy this place up. Beauty was already there. I just needed to be present and notice it. I needed to wake up. The sunset was already happening, the waves were already calm, the sand was always there. God's creation was always beautiful. It always was, it always is, and it can, and notice that word can, always be. I just had to stop long enough to notice it. I had to wake up. I think that's sometimes what we need to do. We don't need to do anything more. We don't need to start something new. We don't need to consume something different. Maybe it's enough to just look at what's already there. Please aware. And I'll say that whole quote from the gallery again, because I did say it a little while back now. Please awake, asked nature kindly. I love that, I really do love that quote. Because like I say, it did feel like a human invitation. Wake up, look around, notice where you are. And if you do, maybe you'll find some peace in that. That beach at sunset certainly gave me that last week. But I think it did speak to me on another level. maybe not on a human level, but more as a spiritual level, maybe something that was a bit deeper. Because I think the quote to me wasn't just saying, wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and see what's around you kind of thing. Yes, it was saying that, but I think it also did offer me something that maybe some people might say felt a little bit more uncomfortable. To me, the quote saying, awake. maybe said to me that you need to wake up and not be passive. You need to wake up and not be passive in the damage that we are doing to creation. Sometimes I maybe think that I'm sleepwalking into the damage if I'm borrowing something from the quote. That I'm not awake with the damage that I'm doing, I'm sleepwalking through it. Yes, I buy fast fashion. I drive places that I could most certainly walk. quite often forget to turn off the tap while I'm brushing my teeth. And I'll be honest, sometimes I maybe don't see the damage that I'm doing, so I maybe just turn a blind eye to it. I sleepwalk into the damage. It's only one journey. It's not going to do any harm. I'm only driving into the village. It's only half a mile. Surely it can't be that bad. It's just one more t-shirt. It only costs three pound. Surely it's going to do no harm. It's only two minutes of running the tap. It can't be that bad. I think to me that's what the quote speaks to me on a deeper level where I say I'm asleep with it. You don't notice it's happening. So maybe those words, please awake, are reminding me of something deeper. Maybe we'll say it's talking to me as if to say, up in two senses. The first obvious one, wake up, you know, you're just out of bed. You're technically awake, but not really. Caffeine kicks in. Especially when we're in week eight of what feels like that 8,000 week autumn term one. Teacher feels. But I also think the term wake up on a deeper level than just get out of bed and have some coffee. As in look at the world around you, wake up to the damage that's going on, stop sleepwalking. Wake up to the beauty and appreciate it, but also wake up to your responsibility. Wake up to the choices that you're making. And that doesn't mean that we have to suddenly become net zero and be perfectly environmental. Yes, it's a goal that we are aiming for in Britain. I don't know what to keep changing that, it's an aim. But we certainly need to wake up and make some conscious choices. Perfection might be the requirement. And if it is, I get disqualified every week. I drove somewhere because I couldn't be bothered to walk. Two minutes. Two minutes. You could have walked, but I took the car. Disqualification. Why? I don't know. Maybe my legs were just something decorative that day. Who knows? But I certainly need to wake up. Small changes do make a huge difference. Turning the tap off. Walking where we can. Thinking about the fast fashion that we're buying in. Do I really need this? Or could I just use something that I already have? Being mindful of the resources that we're using. And if all of us make these little changes, if all of us wake up in a small way, then it becomes something much bigger. Maybe you might think of it like a jigsaw, maybe a thousand piece jigsaw, and maybe I'm just that one piece. It doesn't look that much. But if those thousand pieces all come together, it forms one thing that's beautiful. If one thousand of those jigsaw pieces come together. that becomes something beautiful, those changes become beautiful. So maybe if I wake up and other people wake up too, the change can become huge. But please don't listen to this bit and think, well, this has taken a turn. Seems a bit doom and gloom. Probably should turn off. I'm listening for something that's uplifting. I sound like Tom Oakley now. And good night Mr. Tom. You know the scene when he first takes over the choir in the middle of the wake of the war because the choir master's gone off? You know the scene I'm talking about? This is supposed to be uplifting! Anyone? Where's that tumbleweed? Apparently I am the only person who can quote Act 2 Scene 4 from Good Night Mr Tom. I suppose we all have our quirks, right? There we go. Another example of those tangents. We'll call that strike four. Surely that timer lasted four minutes, so that's good, Anyway, the point that I was trying to make before that huge tangent there is that I'm not trying to make us feel guilty in all of this. There's no guilt in it. Maybe I would rather say that the point maybe we need to be looking towards the gratitude. Because when we look towards how beautiful the creation is, we see God's flex in his creation. Perhaps naturally we would then look to caring for it. Not in a sense of guilt, but in a sense of, that's stunning so I need to look after it. When something's precious to you, you look after it. I compared it to getting a new car last week and we look out for the same coloured car maybe if we go with that same idea. When you get that new car you treat it like it's something so so precious that you're out washing it all the time you don't want to hit the curb to scratch your allies or whatever it is. When something's precious you care for it. and creation in itself is precious. It's a gift and it's a gift that we're only going to get once. And when I think about the gift that God's given us in creation, I often come back to St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun. And what I really like about the Canticle of the Sun is when he refers to things as brothers and sisters, brother, son and sister moon. And if I think about brothers and sisters, my brothers and sisters, yes, growing up we thought like cats and dogs, yes. However, they are precious. Do I want any harm to come to them? Absolutely not. I care for them. I want no harm. And I think St. Francis's way of comparing the sun, the moon, the water, the stars, fire, all of creation to siblings is so wonderful because it makes us look at them as something that's related to us. And we don't want to harm our relations. And maybe if we look at creation in the same way, we might see it as something we need to care for. So maybe what I'm trying to say in a very long-winded way there is, if we look at creation with gratitude, if we look at its beauty, then maybe it wakes us up. not in a way of fear, not in a way of guilt, but in a way of gratitude, in a way of thinking, my goodness, that is stunning. My goodness, that is beautiful. My goodness, that is a gift, it's precious. I need to care for it. Because seriously, if I keep making this point, how beautiful is creation? How wonderful is it that the world is just right? It's not too hot, it's not too cold. Gravity is just right. We've got the right amount of water, the right amount of land. Everything's just right. What a gift. I mean flowers, they're ridiculous. There's so many colours, such beautiful smells, but at the same time making us sneeze. but there's such a variety in the beauty of them, the height of them, the smells of them, the colours of them. And then if you look at that kind of as a whole, you think how on earth can all of those things exist in a way that all of them function? And to me there's only one answer. To look at that and you think, well there must be God in that. And he looks at and he thinks that is good. He flexes. Fair enough. Great work, 10 out of 10. Five star rating. Would definitely come back. I'd recommend. But seriously, those sunsets, that's God flexing in the sky. Wow. Maybe sometimes if we just stop to look at that flex. And maybe if God did help us out and take away the clowns, that's some serious flex. And then we look at the sea, we look at the countryside, we look at the stars, the rain. Yeah, the rain. Yes, the rain, even in the rain. And I say that as somebody who's grown up in the northeast of England and gone to the north of Ireland every year for summer. So I suppose if I didn't look as the rain as something beautiful, maybe then I'd be permanently disappointed. So yes, even the rain is beautiful. You can't spend your life in Britain expecting sunshine all the time. If you did again, you'd be permanently disappointed. Yes, this year is an exception. I suppose that's like being a Borough fan and going to every single game and expecting to see six goals every game. I'm used to it now, it's not. And then there's the architecture. Some of the buildings that we have in England are stunning. Some of the churches, some of the cathedrals, some of the old buildings. The tiny details in it. The tiny details in those mosaics that have taken hours to put together. Things that people put together hundreds of years ago when there wasn't a machine to do it. When there wasn't a computer to calculate it all. where somebody did it all by hand. where somebody did it all by eye. And so often we can walk past them so easily when we're thinking, what do I need to get in Tesco's? And there's a beautiful building right beside you, but we've just walked on by because we're so consumed by Tesco's. Perhaps we just need to wake up. And so I think that leads us quite nicely into the scripture for today. And today we're going to reflect on Psalm 19 verse one. And I think it's a beautiful verse to reflect what we've been thinking about. And it's short. Which means I can spend more time talking about the Psalm. or more accurately, I've got more time to go off on a tangent about something that's completely unrelated another six times. I'm not ruling either out, but yes, I'm 19.1, a beautiful verse, very short verse that perfectly reflects what we've been thinking about. So here we go. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. I love that. The heavens declare, the skies proclaim. creation in itself is saying something. It's pointing beyond the idea of creation itself. To me, it's saying, look. Look at what's here, wake up. Look at what's here and look beyond it. Look for who made that. Look for the creator. Look for the artist. Look for him. And perhaps that's what we've been talking about all the episode. The idea that we need to notice, to wake up to see. So we'll now spend some time reflecting on that verse. And as always, there's no need to rush this bit. In fact, like I said earlier, it's a short verse, so it gives us more time. If you're somewhere quiet, get comp- Take a breath. Allow yourself to become still. And now for the usual. You know what to expect here if you want to do an eye roll feel free. I'm going to say it anyway. If you're driving, please don't close your eyes. Like seriously, please don't close your eyes. Keep your eyes open. I can't stress that bit enough. Lexio divina is not worth crashing into a hedge for. The hedge has enough problems. It's already beautiful enough. I'm not sure it needs your Ford badge poking its way through. So please, yes, keep your eyes open. Everyone else, just take a moment. Breathe. And let's hear that verse again. The heavens declare the glory of God. skies proclaim the work of his hands. Just allow those words to sit with you. the heavens. When you hear those words, the heavens, what is it that comes to mind for you? Is it the stars? Is it the sky? Is it the sunset? Is it a clear night sky? Maybe for you it's something completely different. When was the last time you actually stopped still and looked up? Not to check the weather. Not to see if you needed your coat. Not because you were wondering if that's an easy jet plane or a British Airways plane. If you're like me. Not because you're looking up to see the disappointment of the eclipse the other night. To channel my inner Pam from Gavin and Stacey. Is that it? instead just looking up because it's beautiful and then we hear those words declare The heavens declare. They speak. They proclaim. What might his creation be declaring to you today? What might God be reminding you to see through others? Perhaps. I'm here. Perhaps. You're not alone. Perhaps. Look what I've made today. Or perhaps heaven is simply saying, slow down. What is it that it's saying to you today? The glory of God. The heavens declare the glory of God. What does it mean for you to be seeing creation as declaring the glory of God? Where have you seen his glory recently? Was it through something spectacular? Or was it through something that's just simply ordinary? A flower? A bird. A sunset or a tree? if we reference a previous episode through Amelia's laughter. through a quiet moment. or through something that you might have actually missed. and then we come to that phrase the skies proclaim. If you were to look up at the sky and not look for the weather but just look at it because it's beautiful. What would happen if you were looking at it in that way? and maybe tomorrow when you first wake up. rather than grabbing your phone straight away. Maybe look outside? What would you see? Maybe it would be raining. Maybe it would be gray. Maybe it's the beautiful blue sky that we're becoming used to. If you're an early riser, maybe you'd see the sunrise. Whatever it is I wonder what would it be like if we did just look at it like that? What would it be proclaiming to you? And then finally the sound finishes with the work of his hands. What might change within us if we were to look up at the sky and think that is the work of his hands? Would it make us more grateful? Would it make us more careful? Would it make us look at it as precious and mean that I needed to protect it? So I wonder if we were to come to the phrase from the artist. Please awake? Asked nature kindly. I gave you my thoughts on it earlier, I wonder if you're thinking about that phrase yourself. Please awake, asked nature kindly. What does that mean for you? What is it that you need to wake up to? What beauty do you need to wake up to that you might have previously fell asleep to? What habit might you be sleepwalking into that you need to awake to? Maybe what small step can you take to be that little bit of that thousand piece jigsaw? That when we all come together in that thousand piece it makes that something beautiful. So here's my little challenge for you this week. It's nothing complicated. It's nothing that requires you to go and make a spreadsheet. Because the last thing that we need is a seven page Excel document called, Appreciating Creation Week 1. Spreadsheets aren't the one for me. Maybe I'll go and get a new notebook and start one. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. There we go again, another tangent. Maybe I need to reconsider the tagline for this podcast. Grace actually finding God in the ordinary. Occasionally or as we're finding very often going on unnecessary tangents, making terrible Northern dad jokes and reminding you, please don't close your eyes when you're driving. I think that's a good tagline. Actually no, that's pretty terrible. But actually yeah, where was I? If you see something beautiful this week, maybe notice it. Just notice something. If you're outside this week, just look up. Look at the sky. Look at the birds. Look at the flowers. If you're on holiday near the sea, listen to the waves. If you're lucky enough to be in the North York moors, just look at the landscape. if you're in the city. look at the intricate details of the architecture. When you do notice something beautiful, maybe just stop yourself from just walking on by. And maybe just offer some thanks and say, thank you God. That's it. I'm not asking for a huge prayer. I'm not asking for an hour of your time, but just simply stop and say thank you. And perhaps that might let you lead your gratitude to somewhere else. For me, try and put your phone down. To maybe turn off the tap. Maybe walk instead of driving. Maybe buying less fast fashion. Maybe simply spending five minutes outside doing absolutely nothing. And I know if you're like me, spending five minutes doing absolutely nothing is quite difficult. Maybe we should try. Maybe we just need to be there and remember. that we're surrounded by the beauty he has made. things that declare his glory. Things that remind us that beauty doesn't always need to be something massive. Sometimes it's just there, waiting for us to just notice it. And with that in mind, let's turn to him in prayer. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord God, thank you for the incredible beauty of your creation. Thank you for the skies. Thank you for the sea. Thank you for the land. Thank you for all of the animals, for the flowers and the trees, for the mountains and the rivers, for the sunsets and the stars. Thank you for all of the moments where we can just stop and say, wow. Help us to notice these moments. Help us to wake up. Wake us up from distraction. Wake us up from endless scrolling. Wake us up from rushing. Wake us up from sleepwalking endlessly into damaging what you have made beautiful. Lord, help us to wake up in ways which we can stop this. To care for the creation that you entrusted to us. Give us wisdom. Give us courage. Help us to make small changes. Help us to not become overwhelmed by everything that needs to change, but to simply make the next step. Help us to care for your creation, because we are grateful for it. And when we see something beautiful next week, help us to pause. to notice and to say thank you. Thank you for the beauty that was already there. Thank you for the moments of peace. Thank you for the gift of creation. and help us to remember those words from Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And I think that's where we'll leave it for this week. Thank you for spending this time with me. And maybe when this episode finishes, don't immediately reach for your phone to put on last week's episode if you didn't listen already. Maybe don't open Instagram. Maybe don't start scrolling on TikTok. Instead, Just pause. If you can, go outside and look up. Look around. Notice something. Because maybe creation has been trying all along to get your attention. Maybe it's been saying, please awake, ask nature kindly. And maybe this week the invitation is to just wake up, to look around, to give thanks and to care for what we've been given. And remember if you do see something beautiful this week, take the time to notice it. Maybe you'll tell somebody else about it. Maybe you'll thank him for it. And if you happen to find a cake that looks beautiful, let me know. Because remember, I'm getting married so we all need to celebrate I suppose. I think I need to practice some self-control. Well, until after the ceremony that is, and then after that, fair game? Anyway, thanks for listening and I'll see you next time. Take care. Thank you for spending this part of your day with me. Whether you've been listening in the car, over your breakfast, out for a walk with a dog, or maybe avoiding a task that you should have done three days ago. I'm really glad that you've been here with me. I hope that as you go about the rest of your day, you might notice something that you might have missed. The moment of kindness, the bit of joy, the conversation that made you smile. perhaps even a moment that didn't feel particularly joyful at all. But where, if you do look closely, you can see that you were not alone. because that's what grace actually is about. Looking for grace in the ordinary. The funny, the difficult, the moments we do understand, the moments that we'll never understand. So until next time, keep your eyes open. You never know where grace might find you. And remember, whatever chapter you are in, you don't have to know how the story ends. Just trust the author. And until next time, keep looking. Because when you do look, you'll find that grace actually is all around. You just have to notice it. Thank you. God bless.