My word for the year wavers this year. I have done this practice of exploring and pondering one word throughout the year for more than 10 years. A word for the year is a rewarding, deepening, guiding discipline. But I struggled this year with discovering the word that best fit my soul. I started in November listening, watching for words that shimmer, resonate with potential to be guiding stars. The list grows, then narrows to a few candidates for prayer and “second interviews.” Does the word stretch my imagination, contain enough mystery to invite me deeper, touch a hunger within my soul? I read what others were discovering and learning. Listening, looking, seeking a new word for 2023. The past few years spoiled me with a clear winner. A strong word that taught me lessons and brought me closer to God. This year that hasn’t been true. Yes, I watched for key words. Yes, I wrote out a list. Yes, I began to narrow the list down to a few possibilities. … [Read more...]
Second Guessing
Second guessing – I get caught in this mood quite a bit. Do you find yourself second guessing your decisions, motives, and actions? Me too. When I pay attention to my thoughts, I confess I fall into this trap more often than I realize. Then I listened to a directee in spiritual direction last week who also got stuck and weighed down with overthinking. We second guess ourselves. We second guess God. I decided to do some reading and research about this human behavior and seek God’s guidance in managing this habit. Second guessing can be a beneficial but also if it dominates our thoughts and stirs our anxiety can lead to procrastination, indecisiveness, and lack of peace and joy. What is Second Guessing Second guessing can be defined as overanalyzing our decisions after they are made. We wonder if we have made the best choice or not. This is a normal human reaction but we don’t have to allow it to ruin our day or run our lives. Doubts and … [Read more...]
What is saving your life right now?
What’s saving my life right now? When I first heard this question, I wasn’t impressed. How odd, I thought. I don’t get the value of asking this. Last week I heard this question again from Emily P Freeman, then read another blog post by Crystal Rowe based on this. Emily explained on her podcast the origin and importance of this question: “Well, just this week I finished listening to Barbara Brown Taylor’s memoir, Leaving Church. It’s all about her story of finally getting her dream job as an Episcopal priest and serving a small parish in Georgia, only to realize about five years in that in order to save her own faith, she had to leave the role of priest behind. Now, I’ve read portions of this particular book of hers over the years, but the last few weeks I listened to the entire book from start to finish. Toward the end, she tells the story of being a guest speaker at an event. The topic she was invited to talk about was an invitation with a simple question. They asked her, … [Read more...]
Day of Encouragement
Be encouraged, not discouraged! We just missed The National Day of Encouragement held yesterday September 12. This day is dedicated to encouraging and having a positive impact on those around us. I like having one day to increase our awareness of encouraging others and to inspire us to put this into practice and actually be encouraging. But why stop at one day? Let’s make this a daily discipline – try to encourage at least one person every day. Your words have the power to lift someone when they are down. They also have the power to motivate someone who might be struggling or encourage someone to pick themselves back up after a setback. A small act of encouragement could be the spark that changes a loved one’s perspective. To praise and encourage someone’s efforts is a practice worth having, no matter the day of the year. And just think: The day of encouragement follows Sept. 11, a day full of hurt, confusion and hopelessness. Sept. 12 seems an appropriate time to … [Read more...]
Trust the Slow Work of God
Trust the Slow Work of God, written by Teilhard de Chardin, is a challenging quote, but one that I repeat often. This year especially its words call to me. Sometime “borrowing” a prayer, written by someone else, expresses what your heart is trying to say but can’t find the words. This one encourages me and I hope it encourages you too to keep trusting. “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the wayto something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress, that it is made by passing through some stages of instability, and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.Let them shape themselves, without undue haste.Don’t try to force them on as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own … [Read more...]
Pondering All
All is my word of the year. All walks with me. Shows up unexpectedly in books and conversations. Stops me and says, “Hey, take a moment and listen. I have something to tell you.” I am fascinated by having a relationship with one simple word. A word of the year becomes a companion, a wise fellow traveler, and a fun sidekick. I think that is what surprises me the most about this practice – a word of the year isn’t all serious, deep, dramatic lessons – the word sparkles with joy and smiles too. I hunt for “all” in stores. Maybe finding a great sign. A pin. Or special greeting card expressing this word in a creative way. I am one who overthinks the past and lives in the future, planning, organizing, trying to control out of fear of what might happen next. All grounds me in the present. All is what we have right now. All is all that matters. Pondering the word “all” this year has given me a new lens to see my life and the world. All has widened my view. Given me … [Read more...]
Share Four Somethings – August 2022
Share Four Somethings is a regular blog post where I feature bits of wisdom in four categories. I love this practice as it collects moments for reflection and growth. 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. I listened to my heart and to God and narrowed down my four categories and to see what they will teach me this year. Something Wise Something Wonderful Something Whispered Something Whimsical Each one reminds me to pay attention to these qualities in my life as gifts from God. I am learning that whimsical is the hardest one for me to capture and one that need the most coaxing to appear. This was true again this month. Something Wise Prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine. Kathleen Norris Prayer can be moments of letting go and leaping … [Read more...]
The Spiritual Practice of Questions
Questions! Do you have a curious faith? Some people belong(ed) to church that discourages asking questions. As a spiritual director I have learned the power in the spiritual practice of using questions to explore, understand, and hear God in new ways. I am a fixer and quick decider. I like the comfort of knowing answers or at least the next couple of steps on this adventure and gift of life God has given all of us. Tell me where I am going and what to expect and I will dig down and get there. But that isn’t God’s way, is it? Unanswered questions are the fertile ground of growth, formation, and surprises. I wonder why does this question nag my soul? What does it mean? What does it make possible? The best lessons emerge in the wrestling, welcoming, and wondering with each question. Lore Ferguson Wilbert has just released a new book, A Curious Faith, that looks at the questions God asks, we ask, and we wish someone would ask us. Questions grow from curiosity. Trying to … [Read more...]