“Small moves, Ellie” is a line spoken near the beginning and repeated towards the end of the movie, Contact. I attended a retreat quite a while back where the speaker shared clips from this movie and then we discussed the spiritual implications. I have love Contact ever since then, watching it frequently. “Small moves, Ellie,” advises the father of the main character as a child, Ellie Arroway, who is a young ham radio operator. Her father is coaching her at her radio not to turn the dial too quickly and to move a radio dial very slowly in order to hear the frequencies in-between. He tells her "Small moves, Ellie, small moves." “Small moves” is also a pivotal movement in Ellie’s transformation as an adult when she experiences an encounter with a person from another planet (looking like her father so she is not afraid). When she is full of confusion, questions, and uncertainty about what happens next, he says with tender love once again, “Small moves, Ellie." If you are … [Read more...]
What is saving your life right now?
What’s saving my life right now? When I first heard this question, I wasn’t impressed. How odd, I thought. I don’t get the value of asking this. Last week I heard this question again from Emily P Freeman, then read another blog post by Crystal Rowe based on this. Emily explained on her podcast the origin and importance of this question: “Well, just this week I finished listening to Barbara Brown Taylor’s memoir, Leaving Church. It’s all about her story of finally getting her dream job as an Episcopal priest and serving a small parish in Georgia, only to realize about five years in that in order to save her own faith, she had to leave the role of priest behind. Now, I’ve read portions of this particular book of hers over the years, but the last few weeks I listened to the entire book from start to finish. Toward the end, she tells the story of being a guest speaker at an event. The topic she was invited to talk about was an invitation with a simple question. They asked her, … [Read more...]
Mountain Wisdom
Can we hear wisdom from mountains? In September Bill and I took a wonderful trip to six national parks. Three in the US (Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier) and three in Canada (Waterton, Banff, and Jasper). Yes, all awe-inspiring and beyond words in creative beauty. I picked up this card in a gift store in the Tetons and thought it would be fun to find one in each of the coming parks. BUT this one was the only one I found. Bill and I then decided we would listen quietly to each place to hear its wisdom. God teaches us so many lessons in nature when we pay attention. “Believe one who knows: you will find something greater in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.” Saint Bernard de Clairvaux Here is some insights from God’s imagination and creativity: Grand Tetons Wisdom (from the gift store) Savor life’s peak experiences. Be uplifting. Slow down and meander. Yellowstone … [Read more...]
All of Me Prayer Reflection
All as my word of the year continues to teach me, form me, stretch me. Who would think such a small “insignificant’ word held such wisdom. This spiritual practice is a wonderful way to hear God and see his touch in our lives. I shared earlier in the year the small plaque I found in Hobby Lobby – “All of me loves all of you” and its amazing lesson that continues to color my prayer and time with God. All of me -could refer to me. All of me - also refers to God speaking. Afterall, he is the All. I spend time soaking in this incredible message that the Creator of the Universe knows us, loves us, wants to me with us. Loves us unconditionally. His All loves our all. This lens sharpens my vision of all others. God whispers, “All of me love ALL of you.” Not just me, but all others. God loves all of us. Last week I sat at a meeting where one lady drove me nuts. Her gossiping. Her complaining. Her inappropriate behavior. She really got under my … [Read more...]
Push the Pause Button
Pause - we all need a break to rest, take a breather, slow down. I will be traveling the next couple of weeks. I originally planned to blog ahead but simply ran out of time. I am giving myself grace and pausing so you won't get a new blog post for several weeks. I will be back! Take time in your life to pause. Give yourself grace too. We all need it! See you later in midOctober! … [Read more...]
The Ebb and Flow of Life
September invites me to pause, savor, and reflect on the ebb and flow of this past season. The joy of family and families gathering for celebrations. The tender moments of reconnection. The warm (perhaps too warm some days) sunshine on the back yard deck. My roses outdoing themselves in blossoms this year. But I reread my journal, spotted with tears and anger and sadness experienced in the darker moments of life. War. Suffering. Illness. Separations. I am slowly learning that life is more and/both than either/or. Ebb and Flow. Good ol’ Henri Nouwen says it best in this prayer: “Dear Lord, Today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.” You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to … [Read more...]
Day of Encouragement
Be encouraged, not discouraged! We just missed The National Day of Encouragement held yesterday September 12. This day is dedicated to encouraging and having a positive impact on those around us. I like having one day to increase our awareness of encouraging others and to inspire us to put this into practice and actually be encouraging. But why stop at one day? Let’s make this a daily discipline – try to encourage at least one person every day. Your words have the power to lift someone when they are down. They also have the power to motivate someone who might be struggling or encourage someone to pick themselves back up after a setback. A small act of encouragement could be the spark that changes a loved one’s perspective. To praise and encourage someone’s efforts is a practice worth having, no matter the day of the year. And just think: The day of encouragement follows Sept. 11, a day full of hurt, confusion and hopelessness. Sept. 12 seems an appropriate time to … [Read more...]
Trust the Slow Work of God
Trust the Slow Work of God, written by Teilhard de Chardin, is a challenging quote, but one that I repeat often. This year especially its words call to me. Sometime “borrowing” a prayer, written by someone else, expresses what your heart is trying to say but can’t find the words. This one encourages me and I hope it encourages you too to keep trusting. “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the wayto something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress, that it is made by passing through some stages of instability, and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.Let them shape themselves, without undue haste.Don’t try to force them on as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own … [Read more...]