Last Monday’s post about feeling shocked, awkward and embarrassed after watching myself in home movies struck a cord with many readers. Comments, emails and twitter responses flew in.“I can most certainly identify with your horror at seeing yourself in your vacation movies. I am very disappointed in me - and I'm sure God is disappointed in the way I have taken care of the body He bestowed on me.”“Our church broadcasts our services on local access channel - I cannot bear to watch myself.“Why do you think I have a yahoo avatar instead of a photo of the genuine me????”So I have been pondering this all week.I wonder if this is truer for women than men.What is it inside of so many of us that cause this lack of self acceptance?What does this say about how we deeply feel about our self worth?Why can’t I accept who I see in the mirror and love her?I work with stained glass as a hobby. In my garage workshop, I have bits and pieces of broken, shattered glass. Some have sharp, irregular edges, … [Read more...]
The Fear of Seeing Yourself – My New Prayer
Friends came over this weekend. We all traveled together this summer on a New England/Canada cruise and we organized this evening for sharing photos and enjoying memories of our good times.My husband brought his digital movie camera on the trip and made DVDs for each family. We decided to watch the movie all together reliving the joy we experienced as a group.But something I saw on the video shocked me. I saw myself. There I was – twenty pounds heavier than last year. Every time I was in a shot I thought the quarter size “brown spot” on the side of my face grew as large as a watermelon. And watching my non-verbals – how awful I looked as I nodded, listening to the travel guide. I wanted to shout to that strange woman on the screen: “Your mouth is wide open, Jeanie, close it. You look so stupid.”My stomach tightened into a ball of embarrassment. But nobody else said a thing. Didn’t they notice how ugly I was in the movie? Maybe they were just being nice. Then to make thing worse, Monday … [Read more...]
Weekend Reflections on the Word of God
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 to be reminded … [Read more...]
Spiritual and Prayer Books – What’s on my reading table?
I am one of those types of people who read two or three books at one time. Come to my house and you will find books in multiple places. Whenever I find an extra minute or two, my nose dives into the pages.What am I currently reading to nourish my spirituality?Everyday Greatness by Stephen Covey.I received this book through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger program. It attracted my attention as I usually like Stephen Covey’s material, finding it uplifting and informative.Everyday Greatness is living each day with character and contribution. It is a way of life not a one time five minutes of glory that the media loves to exploit. He writes, “It speaks more about people’s motives than about their talents; more about small simple deeds than about grandiose accomplishments. It is humble.”What I like about his book is I can read it in tiny pieces – small stories that inspired you to think beyond yourself.My disappointment is that the book isn’t written by Covey though his name is … [Read more...]
You Tube, Prayer and Spiritual Growth
You Tube is not a tool I normally consider when researching the topics of prayer and spiritual growth. What is in your spiritual growth toolbox that you can use during times of dryness or difficulty? The best tool box is one filled with a variety of resources we can draw upon to help us celebrate the good times and thrive and learn from the troubled ones.I think we need to be careful as the vast variety of resources found on You Tube may differ from our beliefs and could also be filled with misinformation. Saying that, I have been fascinated in some of the creativity, information, and inspiration found on that site.Here are a few you may be interested in exploring:Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, based on Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat's bestselling book, is a six-volume DVD series consisting of 26 meditative and soul-stirring half-hour films. These videos are absolutely beautiful and are visual delights. The words carry you beyond your everydayness into a new … [Read more...]
Weekend Word of Power
The spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures is called Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord. 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 to be … [Read more...]
Prayer – Drawing Closer to God’s Heart
Our prayers nourish our spirituality. When we communicate – both talking and listening – with God, his presence molds our very being to be more like him. Prayer is vital to our spiritual formation.Prayer takes many forms but sometimes other people’s prayers just hit the spot. They express our deepest longings with just the right word or phrase. Their prayer becomes our prayer.My hope is one of the following prayers speaks to you as it carries you closer into God’s loving heart.Lord, let the thick skin that covers me not be a hindrance to you. Pass through it. My eyes, my hands, my mouth are yours. This sad lady in front of me: here is my mouth for you to smile at her ... This smug young man, so dull, so hard: here is my heart, that you may love him, more strongly than he has ever been loved before.- Madeleine Delbrêl, Missionary and activist (1904-1964)My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I … [Read more...]
Six Spiritual Serendipities
I love the word – serendipity. The meaning of this word is to find something unexpectedly. Most serendipities brim with delight, surprise and “oooooo-abilty.”Horace Walpole first coined this word in 1754 in his retelling of a Persian tale The Three Princes of Serendip. Serendip was another name for the country we call Sri Lanka.If you watch, God loves to send us serendipities each day to encourage us on our journey, to provide us with wisdom and guidance or just to pop into our day to let us know how much he loves us and is with us.Here are six times lately where I tripped upon God’s gift of serendipity:1. Opening my Bible to “just the right” word of hope I needed to take another step of faith2. Looking up and witnessing God’s creative artistry in the clouds or sunset. He loves to play and paint in the sky, you know. And on my trip through Yellowstone this summer I just knew he had lots of fun fashioning that area.3. Pausing and taking in the sound of my three month old granddaughter’s … [Read more...]