Different hymns are featured in our church’s hymnal based on the seasons of the church year. Right now, we are tipping into the familiar ones from Advent: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Hark, the Glad Sound for example. This week I discovered a new one: Creator of the Stars of Night. This tune is a plainsong and the lyrics are based on a 9th century Latin hymn. Do you know what a plainsong is? I didn’t. A plainsong is a simple chant sung in Christian worship, like the more familiar Taizé or Gregorian chants. Many times these melodies are sung without instruments. “Creator of the Stars of Night” was originally written as an evening hymn for Advent somewhere between the 7th and 9th centuries. The text remained relatively consistent for several hundred years and could be found in dozens of hymn books from Rome to England. This changed in the 17th century when Pope Urban VIII modified this and other hymns in the 1632 edition of the Roman Breviary. What a long history this hymn … [Read more...]
Four Somethings –Late Fall Edition
Four Somethings is the spiritual practice of remembering, reviewing, and savoring life’s lessons and sacred moments in our lives. So occasionally I share bits of wisdom in four categories. Do you believe we are heading fast to the end of the year? Pausing, beholding, and cherishing our moments is a grounding practice for busy times and gathering these Four Somethings provides a framework for this practice. Here are my late Autumn “somethings.” Something Wise Steve Lawson from the Monk Manual shared this in their newsletter. I never thought of walking like this before – what a new insight and way to reflecting: “Walking is just the practice of intentionally falling forward. The mechanics work as follows. Our body weight shifts forward, we move our foot, fall ever so forward, and then catch ourselves. We have done it so many times that we don’t even notice this basic process that is used every day. Those who progress most in their journey to full(er) living … [Read more...]
Advent is Coming
Advent is coming and coming fast. Soon the rush of the Christmas season will be upon us and before we know it we will be saying, “Happy New Year!” Times flies so quickly and does quicker each year. Advent invites us to pause and pray and rest in the Lord. To take a deep breath, savoring the season instead of surviving it. To refocus on the true meaning of Christmas – the coming of Jesus Christ. To light a candle or gaze quietly at the tree, knowing Jesus is the Light of the world. A Prayer for Advent I read this beautiful Advent poem by Walter Brueggemann: In our secret yearningswe wait for your coming,and in our grinding despairwe doubt that you will.And in this privileged placewe are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do weand by those who despair more deeply than do we.Look upon your church and its pastorsin this season of hopewhich runs so quickly to fatigueand this season of yearningwhich becomes so easily quarrelsome.Give us the grace and the … [Read more...]
Cultivate – A Reflection on a Word
Cultivate. That word shimmered this week to me. I have learned to pay attention when a word resonates and bangs on my heart saying, “Notice me. I have something to show you!” What does it mean to cultivate? Have I cultivated my word(s) of the year in 2023? Honor? Thirst? Deep within? What is my next invitation to cultivate as the year wraps up? What images come to mind when we reflect on this word? My mind and imagination wandered quite a bit this past week pondering this word. What do you think? The Word Cultivate Cultivate originates from Latin meaning "tilled," "to cultivate, to till; to inhabit; to frequent, practice, respect; tend, guard." The root word is “kwel” meaning to revolve, move around, dwell. I also read that cultivate has a meaning from the 1600s of “courting the acquaintance of.” Now that is a cool image, isn’t it? Loving, attending, spending time with whatever we are cultivating: our word of the year, a new … [Read more...]
Oh Wow!
“Oh Wow!” That was my reaction when we visited hilly southern Indiana last week and savored the autumn colors of the bushes and trees. God dipped deeply into his brilliant bright color pallet for this year’s displays. Oh Wow! Practice “In every act, or any act, look at the wonder of God's creation, and say, "Oh, wow!" Make that your goal for this year -- say ‘Oh, wow!’ and mean it, at least once a day.” Terry Bookman Imagine how life would feel if we put this into practice – seeking and finding a daily Oh Wow. The sense of wonder leads to gratitude leading to peace and connection to the Almighty. Wonder humbles us and reminds us who God is and who we are. Wonder brings us to our knees in awe and returns our eyes and hearts focused on our Creator, not on our temporary problems. Anne LaMott wrote a book about three essential prayers – Help. Thanks. Wow. I am good at pleading with God when I need help and I do remember fairly often to say Thank You. But … [Read more...]
Sacred Surroundings, Finding Grace in Every Place – The Birth of a New Book
Sacred Surroundings, Finding Grace in Every Place is born! Sacred Surroundings is my latest book and man oh man, has this work been through ups and downs, and twists and turns but wouldn’t let go and die. Sometimes as a writer a book takes on its own life – demanding to be released at its own time and in its own way. This book is my stubborn, resilient baby – insisting to live. Celebrate with me today if you will. Here is some basic info about this book now available on Amazon both as an e-book and print editions. What is Sacred Surroundings about? We go through life so blind to God’s presence all around us and experiencing God’s love and peace is hard to find. Sacred Surroundings is about how our places teach us. Our surroundings shape us. Our outer and inner geographies become key teachers and guides, inviting us to learn new lessons and open our eyes to see God in all places. Recognizing God’s presence around us is even more difficult in times of transition, change, … [Read more...]
Four Somethings – October
Four Somethings is the spiritual practice of remembering, reviewing, and savoring life’s lessons and sacred moments in our lives. So occasionally I share bits of wisdom in four categories. Gathering Four Somethings makes me aware of all the blessings often hidden under busyness, worries, and distractions. These “somethings” become markers in our spiritual journey. With so much pivoting and uncertainty in our lives right now, being grounded in a simple practice like this guides my way. Here are some recent “somethings.” Something Wise Kate Bowler shared this in her recent newsletter: “So I wanted to tell you about my friend, Gary Haugen. Gary runs International Justice Mission, a non-profit organization committed to liberating vulnerable individuals from the clutches of modern slavery and human trafficking across the globe. When I asked him for wisdom about sustaining that hard work of justice for decades? Joy. "Joy is the oxygen for doing hard things," he … [Read more...]
Word of the Year New Insight
My challenge this month from Lisa Burgess for my word of the year practice is to discover something new and answer the following questions: I am a lifelong learner and love to explore new aspects of what we take for granted. Reflection and curiosity refresh the soul. As you may remember I have a phrase this year instead of a single word – Honor the thirst deep within. I decided to go on a search for new surprises with two of the words – Honor and Thirst. Honor While I previously read many definitions of the word honor, I missed this one: “In square dancing, to honor is to meet or salute with a bow.” Have I dance with my phrase this year? Bowing before the thirst deep within? What music is it swaying to? The image of dancing, instead of seriously studying our words of the year, makes me smile and brings joy to my soul. There is lightness and delight allemandering and do-si- dosing with my word. I tend to be too serious and dancing with honor with … [Read more...]