Image via WikipediaLent is a time for listening. I am listening in prayer. Listening to the Word of God. Listening in the writings of others on a spiritual journey. Listening to my heart. All forms of spiritual listening – hopefully I will hear God’s lessons during this Lenten season.My blogging friend Nancy Franson invited me write a guest post for her wonderful blog, Out of My Alleged Mind and she specifically asked me about my call to become a spiritual director – another form of spiritual listening. My post is over on her blog today and I invite you to hop over there to read it and while you are there explore her other features. Here is a teaser:Ten years ago, transition and turmoil filled my life. In 2002, two of my three children were graduating and moving out of state, close friends died and others experienced serious illnesses, friends at work betrayed my trust, and my husband’s workload became heavier. I felt restless, lost and tossed in never ending storms.And this was the … [Read more...]
God Always Tips the Scale to Love – Guest Post by Jen Ferguson
Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here. It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet. Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. This week’s letter is G and there is no better word than I can imagine starting with G than: G = GodI am so excited to welcome Jen Ferguson here today with a guest (another good G word) post about her faith and God. This lady loves the Lord! Jen writes a wonderful blog, Finding Heaven, and makes all who visit there welcomed. What a loved community she has created and gathered.Please visit her blog. You may also be interested in also checking out her Soli Deo Gloria Retreat she is planning for next October. Thank you Jen for posting here today.http://pinterest.com/pin/199565827207343224/God Always Tips the Scale to LoveDrawing a … [Read more...]
God Summons – Lectio Divina
Image via WikipediaThe Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:“Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.Psalm 50: 1-6God summons.Lord, at times You appear to me as a judge -The Mighty One, sitting on Your throne, high above all of us. All of me.With hardly a twitch, You speak and call forth the earth from her nightly rest.You preside over our very existence from sun up to sun set.You are a consuming fire and invincible power.You summon forth all life.You beckon both light and dark.You call and we come.But You, O God, don’t coldly subpoena us into a doomed courtroom.You are just, a fair judge.But so … [Read more...]
Prayer – God Never Fails to Understand – St. Therese of Lisieux
I have not the courage to search through books for beautiful prayers ... Unable either to say them all or choose between them, I do as a child would do who cannot read -- I say just what I want to say to God, quite simply, and [God] never fails to understand.- Saint Thérèse of Lisieux … [Read more...]
15 Lenten Practices
Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here. It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet. Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. F = Fifteen 15 Lenten Practices The season of Lent will soon be here. Ash Wednesday is February 22. As few weeks ago I began exploring how to have a healthy spiritual heart in preparation for Lent. I asked myself, “how best can I prepared my heart of my Lenten journey? How will my heart be healthier by Easter?” Seeking answers for these questions, I have found some great resources to deepen our journey through the 40 days of Lent to the cross and resurrection on Easter morning. I am not going to attempt all of these, but thought I would share what I discovered with you today. Perhaps one or more of the following … [Read more...]
Learning by Heart – Guest Post by Nancy Franson
An unexpected benefit of writing this blog is how connecting with others has enriched my life. One of my favorite fellow bloggers is Nancy Franson who writes a wonderful blog called, Out of My Alleged Mind. Please check out her blog.As I ponder heart healthy spirituality this month, I asked Nancy to guest post for me today. Thank you Nancy for being here and sharing your story.Desperate and DeceitfulMost people who commit to memorizing Scripture begin, I imagine, with passages, which are familiar to many both inside and out of the church. John 3:16 is a likely starting point. The reference shows up on signs in the end zones of professional football games and on the eye black of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. For God so loved the world, John 3:16 reads, He gave His only begotten son . . . The verse is a succinct explanation of the gospel message, one well worth committing to memory.John 11:35 is another easy entry point into the discipline of Scripture memorization. Two simple … [Read more...]
Flood my Heart with Light – Lectio Divina
Let There Be... (Photo credit: drp)I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.Ephesians 1:18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with lightI turn towards You, Lord.I open up my heart and ask for Your light to warm my cold soul.I know I can’t see the cobwebs clinging to the corners or the dirt in the crevices of my heart without Your glow.I know I am empty, void of love for others…and for You.Only when Your light beams inside me, purifying my soul, will I be able to reflect Your love to others. Your light illuminates where I need to go.Your radiance invites me to rest in Your arms and snuggle close to You.What a powerful image this is:not to be lost in darkness, not just to have a glimpse of Youbut to be flooded in Your light. To be so saturated in Your brightness that all shadows disappear and I know Your way is the only way.To stand with … [Read more...]
Prayer – Quote of the Week by Theophan the Recluse
“To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all-seeing, within you.” Theophan the Recluse, a 19thcentury Russian mystic. … [Read more...]