Are you lonely? I have to admit as an adult, sometimes I long for the close friendships I experienced in high school where we giggled through long phone conversations and dreamed of the future. We shared deep discussions and possibilities. We invented ideas of what to wear and how to do our hair. We spent time together. We were real together. There was a closeness that doesn’t exist today in friendships. We do have adult friends now. Some are traveling buddies. Several are “let’s try this new restaurant with” types. In fact, looking at my October calendar I have had several morning coffee dates with good friends to share catch-up-with-each-other-moments and perhaps a few deep meaningful ones too. Yet I find it so difficult making new friends as an adult. Not just because I am lean more towards being an introvert, I think our culture makes it difficult too. I read this article recently: “Is making friends as an adult really hard, or is it just me?” The article shares: “research … [Read more...]

Sometimes I am just too serious!  I decided to play. I love words and words are great toys to play with. So I took my word of the year – WELL – tossed it into the air, let it land, kerplop! right into a big pot of other words. I reached into the mystery stew and grabbed out some new words all containing my word of the year to see what I would discover. Ready to see what I found? Farewell – Not a big surprise here. Of course this is used to express goodbye. May we bid you a fare-well upon your leaving. Welly – now this one is new. Also spelled wellie. Is abbreviated for Wellington boot. But also can be slang for energy, concentration and commitment. Maybe I could use this one with intention with my word of the year. I could give my word, well, some welly, in the last months of the year. Wellspring – The source. Usually the water source of a well and refers to something of an abundant supply. One expression of wellspring I like and will use with my word of the year … [Read more...]

Each season welcomes a time to reflect on what we are learning, becoming, and where God is inviting us into as we are being shaped in this wonderful gift of life. I love pausing occasionally, taking a deep breath, and doing the spiritual practice of remembering, reviewing, and savoring life’s lessons and sacred moments in our lives. I gather these tidbits of wisdom into what I call my Four Somethings: Something Wise Henri Nouwen explains clearly why writing helps me/us express our deepest desire/emotions. This is why I find writing in my journal so helpful. He says it so well: “Writing is a process in which we discover what lives in us. The writing itself reveals to us what is alive in us. The deepest satisfaction of writing is precisely that it opens up new spaces within us of which we were not aware before we started to write. To write is to embark on a journey whose final destination we do not know. Thus, writing requires a real act of trust. We have to say to ourselves: … [Read more...]

“Well” is my word of the year.  I have prayed, journaled, studied, played, and walked with this word for nine months so far in 2024. I have wrestled, laughed, and wrung about every ounce of wisdom from its substance I could squeeze out. I sat here this morning and thought, “I think I am done. My word just doesn’t have enough juice to make it until the end of the year.”  Then I laughed, “My well has gone dry.” One of the most valuable and powerful spiritual practices I participate in is seeing a spiritual director. About once a month she and I meet. I share with her what is stirring my soul and she listens deeply – what a gift it is to have someone listen with such love and with the Spirit. Last week I told her about how I wanted to grow more devoted, more in love with the Lord and we talked about this invitation, this desire.  (mmm, thinking now perhaps this was a thirst from a dry well?). I asked her what spiritual practice would she recommend I focus on the … [Read more...]