I threw the windows open and unlocked the front door last week and invited the crisp spring air inside my house and my heart. Deep breathe, Jeanie. Feel the life in the atmosphere. Time to refresh and shake out that old dust. Don’t you love gaining a new perspective to old routines? Rearranging the furniture. Cleaning out the bedlam buried in a kitchen drawer. Learning a new way to thinking or doing something This is how I feel about a book I am reading by Kelly O’Dell Stanley called Praying Upside Down – a Creative Prayer Experience to Transform Your Time with God. Kelly tackles prayer from an artist point of view, giving me new insight and ways to pray. I love how she weaves in her own story, humbly sharing her ups and downs and inviting us no matter what our faith background is or our history with prayer to join her. The book is one of the most creative books I have read on prayer and I have read a ton of books on this topic. Quotes to share: “Praying upside down is a … [Read more...]
Naming Your Inner Critic
I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. I’ll never make it. I’m not worthy. What’s wrong with me? Too often I allow my insecurities and imperfections to get the best of me and this can greatly affect any chances of achieving the dreams and desires God has for me in this life. On Wednesday I listened to an interview with the author Julie Cameron. She talked about ideas in her classic book, The Artist’s Way. I was fascinated with her friend, Nigel. This what she said: I have an inner critic, a sensor, whom I call Nigel. Nigel in my imagination is a gay interior decorator, who is British. Nothing I ever do is good enough for Nigel. I think all of us have our Nigels and sometimes people come to me and they want me to eradicate their censor. The censor never goes away, unfortunately. But we can learn how to work with it. Julia Cameron I never considered giving my negative thoughts a name before. Reminded me of something I learned last spring when I heard the expression … [Read more...]
Silent Listening
I love words so spending multiple days at a silent retreat draws me out of my comfort zone. But I have learned to value my annual silent retreats as deepening experience and nourishment to my soul. What are some of the benefits of entering into a grand silence to hear the whispers of God? Silent is a wonderful, yet challenging word. Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Use the word silent as an anagram. An anagram rearranges or unscrambles the letters of one word to create a new word. The result is: SILENT = LISTEN. Like an anagram, silent listening rearranges, unscrambles, reorganizes and reorders my spirit: Silent listening rearranges my thoughts, providing clarity and a new sense of direction and meaning. Silent listening … [Read more...]
Wishing and Working – Two Sides of a Coin
Funny how sayings from your mother stay with you. I can still hear my mama’s voice on quite a few words of wisdom, though the oddest one is this: “You can pee in one hand and wish in the other and see which one you get filled first.” Yep, she really did say that. I can’t remember but I must have “wished” a lot as a child cause I heard that quote quite a bit. A good reflective practice is to listen to the language you use. What does your vocabulary say about you? I have been trying to hear the words I chose in daily life during this Lenten season. I have discovered I continue to “wish” frequently. I wish I would lose more weight. I wish I would finally be a multi-book author. I wish it were summer. I wish I could hear God better. I wish…. I wish… Wishing is easy; work is harder. Wishing and working though are two sides of the same coin. We need to wish, to dream, to imagine the what if’s. Wishing gives us hope. Wishing fuels our motivation. Wishing … [Read more...]
Trusting God During Transitions
Transitions. Changes. Crossroads. All times that can be challenging and full of emotions – joy, sadness, fear and confusion. “I guess all endings hurt a little even when you need them” – words of wisdom I heard last week from one of my daughters as she changes jobs. Good insight. We all go through changes and life shifts often facing them with faith and fear and probably some self-doubt. We chose a direction, then wonder if we made the best decision. We step out… no, we often leap into the unknown, not 100% sure where we will land. Williams Bridges wrote a classic book on this concept called Transitions. He writes there are three stages to every change: Ending – every transition begin with the ending. Of course there is sadness, loss, letting go. Allow yourself time to grieve. The Neutral Zone – that confusing muddle of the middle, in-between time where we feel disconnected and not belonging anyplace. We often feel lost at this stage. The New Beginning – where we … [Read more...]
The Gift of Hearing
We live in an age besieged with communication devices - smart phones, Ipads, pagers and emails that chirp continuously. Facetime, Skype and voice mail. Twitter, Facebook and I-messages. Some people even still talk in person. LOL It seemed rather incongruous that in a society of supersophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners. Erma Bombeck I listened in church on Sunday. I sit up front since I help with the opening worship and the children’s sermon, so the entire congregation is behind me. I can’t see them when I am in the pew as my back faces them, but I can hear them. And I listened Sunday. I closed my eyes and felt the beat of the music. I heard the preschoolers’ innocent voices recite the Lord’s Prayer. I caught the swish of the hymnal pages being turned behind me. My ears picked up the voices of fellowship, worship and prayer. I listened this Sunday. I thanked God for the amazing gift of hearing. Sometimes, maybe even too … [Read more...]
Failing and Learning about the Spiritual Practice of Beholding
Last week I submerged my soul in silence at my annual spiritual retreat. I have learned that in order to hear God I need to get away at least once a year for a few days at a retreat center for solitude, silence and being with him. My time away and my notes in my journal nourish my spirit for many days afterward. I am a doer and settling my soul in silence and stillness isn’t easy for me. It often feels like I peel off layers of soiled clothing as I settle into the quiet. I have to hand over my concerns, my worldly frantic to do’s and my agenda into God’s hands. I attempt to embrace an attitude of open expectancy. During our time of lectio divina at the retreat, the leader slowly read three times the story of Jesus’s transfiguration. I just love Peter – his enthusiasm, his direct honesty and his determined desire to do. Peter sees Jesus along with Moses and Elijah and what does he want to do – build a shelter for them. He is doing instead of embracing this sacred instance that he … [Read more...]
Becoming What We Worship
A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming. Ralph Waldo Emerson This quote about becoming what we worship stopped me cold. I felt that nudge from the Spirit to pay attention. What am I worshipping? I would love to say I only worship, bow down to God, the Creator and Almighty. But in reality I know when I am honest, that my eyes often focus on other things. My heart yearns for accomplishment. My eyes see the glitter of the world. Envy and discontent pop up when I desire what others have. I remember pacing the floor, my tummy swirling in knotted anxiety as the Ohio State Buckeyes played in their last few games towards this year’s national championship. I … [Read more...]