I am excited to start the new year with a guest post from one of my favorite authors: Michelle DeRusha. Thanks for being here today Michelle with these insightful words to begin this first step into 2019. Two years ago on a warm June morning, my husband, our two boys, and I met Marsha, a volunteer guide, just inside the front gate of the Portland Japanese Garden. As we followed Marsha across petite wooden bridges, along with pea gravel paths, and overstepping stones set into spongy moss, the garden seemed to wrap us in a shawl of quiet. We spoke in whispers as we strolled, a lullaby of flowing water melding with the rhythmic crunch of gravel beneath our shoes. Our guide paused beside a large Japanese maple poised regal and elegant like a grand dame on a small, moss-covered hill. Its delicate chartreuse leaves fanned like antique lace over an elaborate network of dark limbs and branches spreading like veins beneath the canopy. Marsha explained that a particular Japanese … [Read more...]
How Does Art Enhance Prayer?
How does art enhance prayer? I miss being creative. With my head dug deep into a graduate course this past 6 months, my spirit is dry. Time to brush off the creative juices and find joy in my life, especially in my prayers. This will be a major goal of mine in 2019 - to be more creative. I am so excited to share the words today from a wonderful creative and friend - Therese Kay. Therese is a writer and photographer, and lover of God. She recently collaborated on a visual devotional featuring her photography called Messages from God: An Illuminated Devotional. You can read her blog here: https://therese-kay.blogspot.com/p/home.html and see more of her photography here: https://theresekayphotography.zenfolio.com/ Welcome, Theresa! Art and prayer have shared an intimate relationship since God appointed the skilled craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab, to create the artistic designs for the Tabernacle in Exodus 31:1-6. As humans, we were created and formed in God’s image – and … [Read more...]
Praying When You Don’t Like What You See – Guest Post – Kelly O’Dell Stanley
As we continue to explore the spiritual practice of prayer this year, this month the word "difficult" frames our prayers. If you missed last week's post, you may want to check it here. I have so enjoyed bringing some different voices to Healthy Spirituality through guest posts. I am delighted to introduce you to my friend, Kelly O'Dell Stanley. We met at a writers conference eons ago- we were both very green as writers - and I have been so blessed to watch her now blossom into a published writer and writer conference speaker. Be sure to check out her books and her blog! Here is a little more about Kelly: Kelly O’Dell Stanley is the author of Praying Upside Down and Designed to Pray. A graphic designer who writes (or is it a writer who designs?), she's also a redhead who’s pretty good at controlling her temper, a believer in doing everything to excess, and a professional wrestler of doubt and faith. She blogs at kellyostanley.com and calls small-town Indiana her … [Read more...]
Prayer – Creating Quiet Time with God – Guest Post
I have the best intentions, but often fail at my quiet time with God. As we ponder the topic of prayer this year, the practice of creating space in our crazy hectic lives for purposeful time with God is a necessary step. In April on this blog, we are looking at the keys of slowing down to spend time with God in stillness, slowness, and quiet time with God. On my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. I call this series Tending the Holy Thursdays. Don't forget to get the updated handout called "Slowing Down to be with God." It contains ideas, resources, and questions to consider when getting off the busyness treadmill to abide, to be with God in prayer. You can download this free guide by clicking the button at the end of the post I am excited to introduce to you a guest blogger today, my friend. Deb Butterfield. I asked her to share some thoughts about quiet time with God. Debra L. Butterfield is the author of Carried by Grace: a Guide for … [Read more...]
Never Ever Be the Same – Guest Post – Kathy Collard Miller
Ever think back about who helped you when you were first learning something new? Who made you feel welcomed in a new area? Who gave you confidence to keep trying? Who left you never ever the same? I met Kathy Collard Miller at a CLASS workshop eons ago when I was just trying to figure out if this inkling to write and speak might be a direction God was calling me. Kathy was my small group leader who led us, modeled for us, encouraged us and gave us the tools and hope to take the risk. I am a writer and speaker today because of her and am honored to host her here today as a guest blogger. Kathy and her husband, Larry, have just released a new book, Never Ever Be the Same and I can certainly vouch for her skills and expertise in this area. Welcome to Healthy Spirituality, Kathy! What’s Your “Walker”? by Kathy Collard Miller and Larry Miller One Christmas when my ninety-year-old mother-in-law, Audrey, lived with us, our then-three-year-old grandson, Raf, was fascinated … [Read more...]
Worry Can’t Change Others – Guest Post
I am delighted to open this blog space today to my good friend Kathy Collard Miller. Her book, Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries has just been released. She is sharing with us lessons about worry - a topic I know many of us struggle with. You will enjoy her book that helps us worry less and trust God more. Be sure to leave a comment for her too. Welcome, KathyWorry Can’t Change Others by Kathy Collard MillerThere’s something deep inside of us that believes worry can change others. If someone we love has a different perspective than we do, we worry. If someone we love has a different belief about God, we worry. If someone we love has a character flaw, we worry. We just know their wrong thinking will mess up their lives. Some of these worries may truly seem “worthy” of worry. Your mother may not know Christ as her Savior, and she has cancer. Your son may be on the street taking drugs. Your friend may demonstrate a lack of integrity at work. Another friend drives while intoxicated. You … [Read more...]
Flying High
I am home! I arrived late last night from my pilgrimage to England and Scotland. Next week I will write about this wonderful trip. BUT since I knew time would be very, very short I asked one more dear friend to guest post for me today. Today my blogger friend, Clella Camp, joins us. I met Clella the first time at the Florida Christian Writers Conference. Now she is one of my best friends! We are part of an online writers group called the KindredHeart Writers and help each other through sharing resources, encouragement, critiques, and prayers. I love how Clella takes everyday blessings and sees God. She writes with such wisdom and clarity. You can check out her blog, Clella's Corner, and be sure to see her book available there too.FLYING HIGH"Carry each other’s burdens” Galatians 6:2I heard them even before I stepped out the door. The honking grated on my hearing aids somewhat like chalk on a board. Shading my eyes toward the sunrise, I could see the black V formation gliding across … [Read more...]
“I Don’t FEEL like it!”
The next few weeks I am hosting a group of guest bloggers. These very special ladies all offered to help fill in while I check off an item from my bucket list: a pilgrimage to Scotland and England. Today my blogger friend, Michelle Eichner joins us to talk about the struggle of submitting to God. This Floridian loves Jesus, family, friends, football, and helping people know the joy of studying God’s Word.I connected with Michelle though Jen Ferguson’s blog, Finding Heaven, and we are partners in one of Jen’s Soli Deo Gloria small groups. Getting to know her in this group has been such a pleasure. Being part of a small group that prays for one another is so encouraging.Stop by her blog, Leading God’s Generation, and stay awhile. You will be blessed! You may also be interested in the journals her husband and her works on for middle school kids to use to help them study God’s Word on their own. You can find the journals at http://www.leadinggodsgeneration.com“I Don’t FEEL like … [Read more...]