Image via WikipediaLent is a time for listening. I am listening in prayer. Listening to the Word of God. Listening in the writings of others on a spiritual journey. Listening to my heart. All forms of spiritual listening – hopefully I will hear God’s lessons during this Lenten season.My blogging friend Nancy Franson invited me write a guest post for her wonderful blog, Out of My Alleged Mind and she specifically asked me about my call to become a spiritual director – another form of spiritual listening. My post is over on her blog today and I invite you to hop over there to read it and while you are there explore her other features. Here is a teaser:Ten years ago, transition and turmoil filled my life. In 2002, two of my three children were graduating and moving out of state, close friends died and others experienced serious illnesses, friends at work betrayed my trust, and my husband’s workload became heavier. I felt restless, lost and tossed in never ending storms.And this was the … [Read more...]
15 Lenten Practices
Patty Wysong has created a fun meme where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Check out the details here. It is called A2Z: Take 2. A2Z as she challenges bloggers to write a post each week going through the alphabet. Take 2 since this is the second time she has used this meme. Anyone can join in and you don’t have to always participate. F = Fifteen 15 Lenten Practices The season of Lent will soon be here. Ash Wednesday is February 22. As few weeks ago I began exploring how to have a healthy spiritual heart in preparation for Lent. I asked myself, “how best can I prepared my heart of my Lenten journey? How will my heart be healthier by Easter?” Seeking answers for these questions, I have found some great resources to deepen our journey through the 40 days of Lent to the cross and resurrection on Easter morning. I am not going to attempt all of these, but thought I would share what I discovered with you today. Perhaps one or more of the following … [Read more...]
Learning by Heart – Guest Post by Nancy Franson
An unexpected benefit of writing this blog is how connecting with others has enriched my life. One of my favorite fellow bloggers is Nancy Franson who writes a wonderful blog called, Out of My Alleged Mind. Please check out her blog.As I ponder heart healthy spirituality this month, I asked Nancy to guest post for me today. Thank you Nancy for being here and sharing your story.Desperate and DeceitfulMost people who commit to memorizing Scripture begin, I imagine, with passages, which are familiar to many both inside and out of the church. John 3:16 is a likely starting point. The reference shows up on signs in the end zones of professional football games and on the eye black of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. For God so loved the world, John 3:16 reads, He gave His only begotten son . . . The verse is a succinct explanation of the gospel message, one well worth committing to memory.John 11:35 is another easy entry point into the discipline of Scripture memorization. Two simple … [Read more...]
Healthy Heart Spirituality
Image via WikipediaI listened to his heart. The beats were fast. His pulse was irregular. His skin was flushed and sticky with perspiration.Fifty years old and recently released from prison, the man came into the free medical clinic where I volunteer as a nurse. He patiently waited through all the paperwork and for his given appointment time.But he was very sick.Too sick for our little clinic. We quickly sent him over to the hospital for care. His heart sent us messages that something was terribly wrong. Hearts fascinate me. Did you know:· The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.· Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day.· A kitchen faucet would need to be turned on all the way for at least 45 years to equal the amount of blood pumped by the heart in an average lifetime.· Every … [Read more...]
Why Do You Go to Church?
I read this story the other day:A minister was talking to a man about joining the church. “I want to join a church because I want to be fed,” said the man.The ministered answered, “Well that is fine, but we all would be better off if you would take off your bib and put on an apron.”Good answer, Pastor, but to be honest one of the reasons I do attend church is to feed my spirit. I attend for an opportunity to worship and be with God and to serve Him by helping and being with His community. So if you put all three reasons together I attend for God, for others and for myself.Is that so bad?The Barna Group recently surveyed Americans who have attended a Christian church sometime in the past and discovered what they say about their experiences in these congregations. I found some of their discoveries very fascinating and through provoking. Also interesting to note that the size of the church didn’t matter – small, medium or large answered in similar ways.· Most people responded that … [Read more...]
Spiritual Discipline of Pilgrimage
My husband and I have been blessed to travel twice to Europe– once to Germany and another time to Italy - with a special lady, Sister Nancy Brousseau.Nancy doesn’t just offer tours she invites us to pilgrimage. She calls us pilgrims. The trips take on deeper meaning than just sightseeing.I treasure how I grow spiritually on those journeys and thought of them once again a few weeks ago while reading the book, The Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau. Rich with great quotes, it was one of those books I underlined quite a bit.“If we truly want to know the secret of soulful travel, we need to believe that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey.”“A pilgrimage is a transformative journey to a sacred center…a pilgrimage is a spiritual exercise, an act of devotion…pilgrimage is a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler.”“Pilgrimage is the kind of journeying that marks just this move from … [Read more...]
Asking for Directions – Spiritual Discernment
Sometimes life is confusing. The signs we see are real. Yet we still get lost in this world This road sign was recently erected in our county. Imagine you are driving north in traffic. You need to know if you should turn or keep going straight. Quickly what does this sign mean? East is still east and west is still west in my county, Here Ohio 15 runs north and south for the last 80 years, but that is not what the sign signifies. In their wisdom of seeing the whole picture, the Ohio Department of Transportation replaced the road sign recently, striving for consistency throughout the state. State Route 15 is designated in Ohio an east-west route even though you travel north and south here. Confused yet? Look at all these signs as a whole – East goes in three different directions. You can travel both south and east at the same time. What a mess. Spiritually, don’t you just want a sign sometime? The world shows me puzzling and often misleading notices on how I should … [Read more...]
Silence – The First Step in Prayer
Image by Mara ~earth light~ via FlickrToo often I rush into my prayers. Listing my perceived needs and coveted wants to God like putting coins in a vending machine. I do add some praise. I pause for a moment of gratitude. I really try to worship.But noise fills up all the nooks and crannies of my prayers.Mother Teresa’s words stopped me cold when I read them the other day:The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.Silence is the first step – the critical element that we can’t miss.Many of you know the verse from Psalm 46:10: Be Still and Know I am God.I have begun using this at the beginning of my prayers. Repeating it slowly with silence in between, dropping a word each time from the ending.Be Still and Know I am God.Be Still and Know I am.Be Still and Know.Be Still.Be.This simple mantra quiets the chattiness in my mind and brings me silently into God’s presence. The focus … [Read more...]