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...]
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...]
Iceland Impressions
Iceland! I just returned from a wonderful, magical, fascinating trip to Iceland. What an adventure to experience such a different culture and environment. God certainly expressed creativity when fashioning this part of the earth. In fact, one of the tour guides commented that when God was young ( interesting thought, isn't that?) that God decided to play with all the elements and threw them joyfully here and there in Iceland. If you have read this blog for a while, you know how I tend to reflect and hunt for lessons in my everyday moments and in journeys away from home. Here are a few insights from Iceland: Lessons can be found throughout life whether we are home or traveling. I feel blessed to be able to visit and learn about Iceland – a great reminder of how God’s wisdom and beauty exist if we are open to looking deeper. Have you ever visited Iceland? What have you been learning lately just where you are? … [Read more...]
The Cup of Life – Revisiting My Bookshelf, Part Three
The Cup of Our Life is a wonderful image to hold, ponder and be a conduit to lessons from God. I hunted for this book by Joyce Rupp the other day, wanting to drink again from its wisdom. I smiled at all the sticky notes, underlining and tattered edges of this loved book. Words once again inviting me to reread. What would stand out to me this time? I have been revisiting my bookshelf this summer and decided to make this a series in the month of August. Each week I will rediscover an old friend, reread its wisdom and share a title, its theme, a few quotes, and a small reflection/application. The Cup of Our Life Joyce Rupp is one of my favorite authors. Most of her books sit on my shelf so it didn’t surprise me that at least one of them jumped into my pile to reread. Joyce reminds us that a cup is a powerful teacher and metaphor for spiritual growth. She writes, “I have learned that my life holds stale things that need to be discarded and that sometimes my life feel as … [Read more...]