I wrote a post earlier this month about the importance of cultivating connections in life. (click here to read that post) A fellow writer and internet friend, June Maffin, sent me a very kind email in response and shared a similar post she wrote in 2010. She graciously allowed me to share her words with you today.Dr. June (Mack) Maffin was raised in Montreal and presently lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. She has just completed her third book: “Soulistry-Artistry of the Soul: Creative Ways to Nurture your Spirituality.” I reviewed her latest book earlier this year. click here for review.Soulistry is available in both paperback and e-book format through www.amazon.com and local booksellers. Check out her web site too.Thank you, June, for being here today and sharing your words:Community: Making a Soul-ConnectionI first heard the words from Sarah in a small northern Alaskan village where I was serving as a consultant with the Episcopal Church. The tiny, elderly, … [Read more...]
Spiritual Legacy
We visited friends this weekend and drove through some historical old cemeteries in Southeast Ohio. We guessed at some of the markings as the engraved words on many of the tombstones disintegrated into the stones.MotherSonDates long forgotten.A few last words:My best friendLoved us allA favorite Bible verseWe discussed that night what we would want as an epitaph. Yes we got a little silly, giggling about the famous, funny one: I told you that I was sick!Image via WikipediaJune 14 is the birth date of Harriet Beecher Stowe. I read her tombstone reads: Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven. She left us another type of legacy in her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, often call the match that lit the American Civil War and ended slavery in the U.S. Her words brought national attention to the evils of slavery.One story tells of when she met Abraham Lincoln he supposedly said, “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!”Interesting facts … [Read more...]
Quiet Me, Lord – Lectio Divina
Quiet me with Your love. Zephaniah 3:17Quiet me.Quiet me with Your love, Lord.Let me rest in Your strong, yet gentle arms.What a prayer to breathe in and out throughout the day. Quiet me with Your love, Lord.When the noise of the world blares, calm me with tender compassion.When I am tossed and turned by my own self-doubt and misdirections, I return once again to You – where You dwell in peaceful silence.When the toddler that still lives deep inside me, throws a tantrum when things don’t go my way or I hit disappointment at every turn, take me in Your arms and comfort me, Lord.Quiet me, Lord so I can hear You and know You better. Only You can I find true peace.Only You can I experience love.Only You, Lord.Quiet me with Your love, Lord. … [Read more...]
Worship God, not Emotions – Quote of the Week – Gerald May
“Teresa and John both say that we easily become so attached to feelings of and about God that we equate them with God. We forget that these sensations are only speaking to us of the divine One. They are only messengers. Instead, we take them for the whole of God’s self, and thus we wind up worshiping our own feelings. This is perhaps the most common idolatry of the spiritual life.” Gerald G. May, M.D. Dark Night of the Soul … [Read more...]
More Spiritual Nourishment
How do you recharge your spirit when you feel depleted? I spoke this week at two events where pastors shared with one another their need to for their own spiritual nourishment while walking with others on their journeys. Pastors often take care of others before themselves, become overwhelmed by multiple demands, and face fatigue and stressors that drain their souls. Like all of us, even pastors need to intentionally cultivate an inner life with Christ.I gave them this image:Most of us have flown in an airplaneYou know the drill: Fasten your seat belts. Find the exits. In the case of a sudden change in air pressure in the cabin, oxygen masks will drop from the compartment above you.Then they say something interesting and I bet you can say it word by word with me: “if you are with a young child or someone who may need help, put the mask on yourself first, then help the other person.”Oxygen is vital. You can’t help someone else with this essential life giving force without first … [Read more...]
Cultivating Connections
Kyla turned two on Sunday. We had a beautiful day –perfect weather – friends, family, and a gaggle of toddlers enjoying the sun, backyard wagon rides, and learning to take turns sliding on the new swing set.How blessed we are to have two sets of great grandparents, three grandparents, a great aunt, aunts and uncles, cousins plus friends celebrating life together. I paused and deeply took it all in. What a gift to have multiple generations connecting.God gave us community. He plants the seeds to create loving, supportive bonds through family and friends. We live healthier lives when we nourish those seeds and help them blossom. I haven’t always appreciated this gift. I complain about the time it takes. I whine when I don’t see immediate results. I focus on the labor and not the often, invisible benefits. I let my pride and self sufficiency lead a lonely walk instead of enjoying the journey with companions willing to walk with me. Even in the age of social networking and instant … [Read more...]
Enjoying God’s Company – Lectio Divina
“I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while,” (Rom. 15:24b NKJV) Enjoy your company for a whileLord, I know you accompany me in all my ups and downs of this earthly journey.Lord I know you help me on my way and never leave my side.But today, Lord I just want to enjoy Your company.I want to sit with You.I want to rest in Your arms.I want to know You better.I want to be with You.Probably no words. No deep theological insights. No life-changing, top of the mountain call to service.Just be.Just being with You.Just You. … [Read more...]
Prayer – Quote of the Week
Image by DerrickT via Flickr “Prayer is to be in God’s presence with open hands and an open heart. There are many things in my life to which I cling as with a clinched fist – my possessions for sure but the immaterial things as well–the work I do, the position I hold, the friends I have, my ideas, my principles, my image. If I should open my fist, they still remain. Nothing drops out. But my hands are open. And that is what prayer is. After a while, if I am willing to remain long enough with open hands, the Lord will come. He will have a look and roam through my hands to see what I have. He may be surprised—so many things! Then he will look at me and ask:‘Would you mind if I take out this little bit?’“And I answer, ‘Of course you may take it out. That’s why am here with open hands.’“And perhaps the Lord will look another time at me and ask:‘Would you mind if I put something else in your hands?’“And I answer, ‘Of course you may.’“That is the heart of prayer. The Lord may take … [Read more...]