Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.” Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation. Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God. Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs … [Read more...]
WISDOM QUOTES
In honor of the removal of my wisdom teeth (see previous post for an explanation) I am sharing what others much wiser than me have written about wisdom: “To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.” – Norman Cousins “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” - Plato“What you think of yourself is … [Read more...]
Let’s Make a Deal – Bargaining with God
Have you ever bargained with God? I suspect many of us if we are honest, have tried to tell God what to do, how to do it and even demanded when to have the job complete. I experienced that lately.I still have three wisdom teeth who live happily in the back of my mouth. My goal was to hold onto them until I was at least 90. But one is chipped and another decayed, so my dentist’s advice was to get them out. “Just make an appointment with the oral surgeon,” he said.I hate dentists. And this suggestion of course put them even lower on my list. So my bargaining with the Almighty began.“Ok Lord, if You really, really want me to do this, things have to be perfect. But I expect they won’t be. I know when I call for an appointment, it will be months before I get in. The receptionist will be cold, cruel and look remarkably like the Wicked Witch of the West. I will see cockroaches in the corner snacking on crumbs left behind by frightened children. The strong body odor of the slimy surgeon … [Read more...]
Finishing Well – Lectio Divina January 17, 2010
Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.” Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation. Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God. Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs … [Read more...]
Listening Up for God – Moment by Moment
Do you listen up or listen down? Hearing God clearly isn’t like turning on the light switch – suddenly everything is clear. Listening to where God is leading us often takes time, prayer, awareness, and hearing what others advise. Whole books and semester long classes address discernment. Learning this skill is a task we will never complete in a lifetime, but is one that is constantly being refined and renewed.When it comes to big life changing decisions – do I take this job? Should I marry this person? - I try to listen closely for God’s guidance. But when it comes to the everyday moment to moment living, I often go my own route only remembering God much later, often after I overcommitted myself. I give way too much power to my to-do list and not enough to paying attention to the Lord.Reading my emails this week brought this into focus for me.I receive an e-newsletter called the Prosperous Writer by Christina Katz . She has authored two books - The Writer Mama and Get Known Before the … [Read more...]
Making Friendship a Lifelong Priority
A friend died last week. After hearing the news, memories flooded me – John installing a ceiling fan with my husband with a “blind leading the blind” type of sit com hilarity and for many years that fan rattled every time they turned it on, early morning coffees together on Saturday morning, solving the world’s problems and John showing us his new car while proudly announcing it was time to find a wife. I smile remembering John.Valuing our friends shouldn’t only come when we lose someone. The past few years I have been trying to reconnect with friends from the past. When I wrote my new years resolutions this year, that wasn’t one of them – I have added it so once again friendship will be a priority for me. Making time for friends will be a permanent addition to my list.Two of my best friends met in kindergarten. I was the latecomer joining them in sixth grade. Wendy and Chrissy are lifelong childhood companions, now more like special sisters to me.My friend Nancy is my role model … [Read more...]
Sowing in Tears – Lectio Divina January 10, 2010
Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.” Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation. Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God. Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs … [Read more...]
I Surrender
“We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can,Namely, surrender our will and fulfill God’s will in us.” Teresa of AvilaI like control. The comfort of knowing what is happening and what to expect. The power to do what I need to do, on my self-created timetable, and in my own way.Yet living out of my ego and self desires does not satisfy the emptiness in my heart. This God-created void nudges me to once again acknowledge my way isn’t the best way. God calls us to live differently - to surrender our wills to Him and to relinquish the control, power and expectations we cling to so tightly. To be honest I sing the hymn “I Surrender All” with my fingers crossed. Maybe God won’t hear me that day and I can still stay in charge a little longer. Perhaps I can fool Him, hide from him like Adam and Eve did when they too sought power for themselves instead of seeking God, the all powerful. We live this life backwards with eyes focused on ourselves, not on God. The writer of the words … [Read more...]