Do you remember yourself as a teen? I had a profound dream a few weeks ago that continues to haunt me. I relived a moment at my older brother’s wedding. During the loud, dancing, partyin’ reception, I sat at a round table in the corner by myself, dressed in a too tight, not suited for my body bridesmaid dress, feeling sorry for the lonely, fat, out of place person I was. My arms tightly crossed in front of my blossoming chest, sinking my changing body lower into the chair, becoming invisible. Wondering who I was except for an ugly, awkward kid. I watched others interact, talk, smile and knew it was time to grow up. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this work but knew deep down this moment was a turning point. After all I was 14 – older, more mature than 13. LOL. This wasn’t a made-up kind of dream – this moment really happened to me in 1964. My dream dug this moment out of a hidden place where I tug away secrets - a memory ready to be seen from a … [Read more...]
15 Year Blog Anniversary
15 years ago. What were you doing? Can you recall February 2009? One memory from that month and year stands out for me. I attended the Florida Christian Writers Conference for a second year and remet my new writing buddies that formed a great friendship the year before. We called ourselves the Kindred Heart Writers. Well they were all into blogging, especially as a venue for writing. I said, “No way was I going to start a blog.” I was too overwhelmed by everything else to start something new. And especially something with that type of commitment. My good friends persisted and as we sat together in the gathering place, all of us started blogging. They dragged me into this practice and now 15 years later, I am so grateful they persevered. 15 years ago this month, Healthy Spirituality was born. Happy Birthday to my blog. Here are links to the first few posts, one to introduce the blog and the next one on my core word Nurture. Both are still relevant today. The … [Read more...]
Four Somethings – End and Beginning of the Year Edition
Four Somethings is the spiritual practice of remembering, reviewing, and savoring life’s lessons and sacred moments in our lives. You know one practice I frequently promote is reflection – pausing, rereading, pondering where you are, where you have come from and where is God inviting you into next. 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 "You are not the cause of everything that happens to you, but you are responsible for how you respond to everything that happens to you." James Clear This is one quote that lingered with me most of the fall quarter and continues to guide my … [Read more...]
Praising God at Beginnings and Endings
When do you praise God? We read Psalm 148 at church a few weeks ago - a reading full of praising God. These verses invited me to pause and ponder the practice of praising. Psalm 148 stresses praising God in all sorts of circumstances. Praising God for all the wonders and gifts of life and praising God in both the joys and the challenges. Pay attention, stay awake, look, observe – there is so many ways to praise God. I smile at verse 7-8: “Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps; fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing God’s will.” I am sure I haven’t praise God for sea monsters, fire, hail, snow, fog, and tempestuous winds. Ha Winter is my least favorite season. I was whining a few weeks ago about the colder temps and snow predictions when someone reminded me of the quote about Joy: “If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.” So true! In life … [Read more...]
As a Year Winds Down, Pondering Time
As a year winds down, I become more reflective. I look back on the gifts and challenges of 2023. I dare to start a list of words that might guide me into 2024 plus hopes and dreams that might emerge. I really do like this time of year of pondering and planning. I tend to want to declutter, clean and rearrange as if a new guest would be arriving. Welcome 2024 – did I impress you with my organizational skills? HA! I guess all this rearranging, micro-managing and future detailing is my way of trying to control the passing of time. Wind down is a funny phrase, isn’t it? It usually means something that gradually ends, though on December 31, 2023 will suddenly disappear at midnight. Wind down reminds me of the ticking of the clock - ever present, moving and showing the reality of time progressing. The slowing of moments crawling to a standstill. But time doesn’t stop. So we wind down the past year and wind up the next one? Makes 2024 sound tight and … [Read more...]
Creator of the Stars of Night – Advent Hymn
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...]
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...]