We’ve purchased the 2017 calendar. Some of us (this is so me!) have geekedly planned our year – vacations, dreams, goals and inked them into the schedule.  I’ve uncluttered my closet and began my organizational assault on my kitchen drawers. My outer spaces and my external sacred spaces are in order. Yet the restlessness, not feeling quite at home feeling continues. I have neglected one of the most important sacred spaces for all of us – my inner space. How do I find/create/restore my inner sacred space? This Month’s Sacred Space Series Silence is hard to find. Noise, distractions, interruptions, and the lure of busyness interferes with experiencing God’s presence. Even if we quiet and slow down the outside world, creating inner sacred space seems impossible. This month’s our Tending the Holy Thursdays series is exploring the practice of creating sacred space. Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. The first week we … [Read more...]

Anyone else decluttering this January? I find it easy to throw away things I no longer want or need. My hubby’s mind works the opposite. He loves to keep things. (He is a “keeper: in more than one way. Gotta love that guy.) He relishes the moment he pulls something out of a drawer that he has stored for 20 years - just at the precise moment we need it. Decluttering my Closet A few weeks ago, I dove into cleaning my closet. I am a raving fan of listening to podcasts about organization and productivity and have been enjoying Lisa Woodruff’s Organzie365.com. I followed her suggestions in tackling my closet. First remove everything. Don’t sort while in the closet. Put all the clothes on the bed and try them on.  Keep what fits and what you like and what you want – donate the rest. She estimates we may get rid as much as 50% of what we have in our closets this way. Then think about the big picture - what do you want your closet to look like in the end in that space? You … [Read more...]

Let’s start the new year with our Tending the Holy Thursdays by exploring the practice of creating sacred space. Sacred space can be both external and internal and is a pause, place and/or position where we can find God and ourselves. Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.  Joseph Campbell Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. Today we will discuss the types and why we need sacred space.  Next week external spaces will be shared and we'll end with ways to create more internal space on the last week. As usual I wrote a free download to accompany this study, titled “10 Tips for Creating a Sacred Space at Home,” with suggestions for forming a space in your home and even some blessings for your area.  You can get this PDF at no cost by clicking on the button at the end of the post. It is my hope and prayer that this series and the download will enhance your walk with God. Be sure to sign up to get … [Read more...]

Do you choose a word of the year?  Many people participate in this practice – yearly choosing a word or phrase to frame or accompany them in the next 12 months. Some people will even say their mind didn’t do the selection, but the word settled on its own in their hearts. I have followed this practice for the last few years and am always amazed how the word weaves itself throughout my life. The word pops up in quotes, in my reading, in conversations.  I hear it in prayers and sermons and presentations. I will be walking and an image of the word bubbles up. I hear it in dreams and in emails.  My word grounds me, gives me an anchor for the year and helps me focus. Only one year, did the word never add much to my spiritual growth.  I should at some point go back and reread my journal from that year and see if that word breathed more life into my life than I realized or maybe another word intertwined that year that I never noticed. The Origin of a Word of the Year In the third and … [Read more...]