Christine Sine is the founder and facilitator for Godspace, which grew out of her passion for creative spirituality, gardening and sustainability. Together with her husband, Tom, she is also co-Founder of Mustard Seed Associates. She describes herself as a contemplative activist, passionate gardener, author, and liturgist.
She loves messing with church traditions and inspiring followers of Jesus to develop creative approaches to spirituality that intertwine the sacred through all of life. Christine is inspired by Celtic Christian spirituality, which has opened her eyes to the God who is present in every moment, every experience and every place.
Her book, The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God, is a great tool for learning to connect with what God is doing in the everyday moments of your day.
In a former life Christine trained as a physician in Australia practiced in New Zealand and developed and directed the healthcare ministry for Mercy Ships. She no longer practices medicine but delights in guiding people towards the health and wholeness of God’s new world.
You can find Christine on:
Or check out her work at godspacelight.com.
Resources
The Gift of Wonder by Christine Sine
Episode Audio:
Chapter 1 - What Does It Mean to Delight in God?
The Westminster Catechism says the primary purpose of humanity is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. A lot has been said about glorifying God. It’s often why we emphasize behaving in certain ways as Christians. We want to glorify God by our behavior, so that we don’t dishonor his reputation. But not as much has been said about enjoying God and delighting in him. John Piper modifies the Westminster Catechism slightly and says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” There’s a lot of truth in this. There’s a strong connection between God’s glory and the sheer delight of enjoying who he is and what he’s done. In this chapter, Christine gives us her take on what it means to delight in God. It may feel a little awkward at first, but delighting in God can become a way of life. And it’s a way of life that can lead to growth through those everyday moments when we take time to delight in just being with God no matter what we’re doing.
Chapter 2 - Developing a Childlike Sense of Awe and Wonder
For those of us who’ve been in the church a long time, we have a tendency to get complacent with the presence of God. The sermons, the prayers, and the routine becomes too familiar. The “real” problems of our adult lives tend to crowd out the childlike joy and fun we used to experience in life as well as the church. We loose the awe and wonder we once had of who God is. But in this chapter, Christine helps us recapture that sense of childlike awe and wonder, and she shows us that our God wants us to delight in him through childlike play.
Chapter 3 - How to Have Fun with Spiritual Disciplines
Do you remember waking up as a kid to get ready for school? You probably don’t describe those mornings and getting ready for school as something you were excited for. Practices like that aren’t typically fun, especially when you’ve done them over and over again for 12 years. Now think of what it was like waking up on a weekend. The whole world was ahead of you, and you had the freedom to enjoy cartoons, riding your bike with friends, or trips to a friend’s house for a weekend-long session on your Super Nintendo. Those things were fun. You couldn’t wait to get out of bed to go do those things on a weekend. Spiritual disciplines over time can start to feel like waking up for school on a weekday. But in this chapter, Christine talks about some of the ways spiritual disciplines are meant to restore and transform us. They can be life-giving practices. And God gives us the creative freedom to have fun with them as we work to grow daily to become more like him.
Chapter 4 - Delighting in God in the Midst of Suffering
There is so much suffering in the world at large and even in our own lives, it causes us to question whether or not it’s possible to delight in God. How can joy exists in the midst of suffering? And why should we take the time to enjoy God when so many others don’t have that luxury? Christine’s story speaks to these questions in a very real way because it was in the midst of suffering when she realized just how important delighting in God really is.