Questions are a powerful tool for spiritual growth and practices. I love the exploring and wondering that can be done any time of the year, but is especially helpful with a year-end review. Next week I will further explore this year end practice of annual examen. I love this time of year. I slow down. I worship. I breath in the Christmas story. I sit quietly by the lights. I rejoice in the music. I listen and behold. One ritual I do every end of December is to reread my journal and write a summary page of highlights, quotes and learnings from the year that is ending. In early January I take the time to write dreams, hopes and what I feel God is leading me onward into as the new year begins. Capturing these moments in time grounds me, creates spiritual markings along my path, and helps me hear God often in times I am not sure of her presence. In 2015 I shared a post with a list of some of the questions tugging at my heart and opening my heart towards the new … [Read more...]
Advent is Coming
Advent is coming and coming fast. Soon the rush of the Christmas season will be upon us and before we know it we will be saying, “Happy New Year!” Times flies so quickly and does quicker each year. Advent invites us to pause and pray and rest in the Lord. To take a deep breath, savoring the season instead of surviving it. To refocus on the true meaning of Christmas – the coming of Jesus Christ. To light a candle or gaze quietly at the tree, knowing Jesus is the Light of the world. A Prayer for Advent I read this beautiful Advent poem by Walter Brueggemann: In our secret yearningswe wait for your coming,and in our grinding despairwe doubt that you will.And in this privileged placewe are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do weand by those who despair more deeply than do we.Look upon your church and its pastorsin this season of hopewhich runs so quickly to fatigueand this season of yearningwhich becomes so easily quarrelsome.Give us the grace and the … [Read more...]
Oh Wow!
“Oh Wow!” That was my reaction when we visited hilly southern Indiana last week and savored the autumn colors of the bushes and trees. God dipped deeply into his brilliant bright color pallet for this year’s displays. Oh Wow! Practice “In every act, or any act, look at the wonder of God's creation, and say, "Oh, wow!" Make that your goal for this year -- say ‘Oh, wow!’ and mean it, at least once a day.” Terry Bookman Imagine how life would feel if we put this into practice – seeking and finding a daily Oh Wow. The sense of wonder leads to gratitude leading to peace and connection to the Almighty. Wonder humbles us and reminds us who God is and who we are. Wonder brings us to our knees in awe and returns our eyes and hearts focused on our Creator, not on our temporary problems. Anne LaMott wrote a book about three essential prayers – Help. Thanks. Wow. I am good at pleading with God when I need help and I do remember fairly often to say Thank You. But … [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...]
Word of the Year New Insight
My challenge this month from Lisa Burgess for my word of the year practice is to discover something new and answer the following questions: I am a lifelong learner and love to explore new aspects of what we take for granted. Reflection and curiosity refresh the soul. As you may remember I have a phrase this year instead of a single word – Honor the thirst deep within. I decided to go on a search for new surprises with two of the words – Honor and Thirst. Honor While I previously read many definitions of the word honor, I missed this one: “In square dancing, to honor is to meet or salute with a bow.” Have I dance with my phrase this year? Bowing before the thirst deep within? What music is it swaying to? The image of dancing, instead of seriously studying our words of the year, makes me smile and brings joy to my soul. There is lightness and delight allemandering and do-si- dosing with my word. I tend to be too serious and dancing with honor with … [Read more...]
National Face Your Fears Day
Facing your fears can be challenging, uncomfortable, and freeing. Only recently have I learned of National Face Your Fears Day which is recognized on the second Tuesday each year. Some give credit of the creation of National Face Your Fears Day to public speaker Steve Hughes, who reportedly founded the day in October 2007, but the history surrounding the day is uncertain. Today is the day! I am an Enneagram Three and an expert in shoving my feelings, especially the hard ones, deep to the back of my imaginary shelf, never to be touched again. This skill came in very handy as I worked as an RN or managing kids as a mother. But in the long run, avoiding and ignoring emotions is not healthy. I remember saying in my younger days: I don’t have fears; I have anxiety. I also believed emotions were “foolers,” not to be trusted. Man, was I wrong. Fear does have its place. Fear is a primal emotion we all experience. Fear is present for all of us. Its job is to … [Read more...]
Back to Basics – Prayer
Prayer - what more can I say? Prayer is an essential practice for all of us longing to follow Christ in our earthly journeys. Back to basics has been a series these last few weeks here on Healthy Spirituality as we ponder what best nourishes our soul and our relationship with God. What are primary ways that we often neglect, forget, or just plain get too busy or distracted to do? Time to get back to basics. Prayer A friend said to me the other day she was embarrassed to admit that after a near fatal car accident, it was days before she prayed. And this is a lady of great faith. I am never surprised in spiritual direction when I ask (or am asked by my spiritual director) how have you prayed about this? Then the other lowers their head and whispers, “Sad to say, I haven’t really done about that yet.” I have been there too. Yes, I pray. I pray a lot. But I am also amazed how much I forget to, too. I did write a few years ago - 11 Tips to Percolate in Prayer. It was a good … [Read more...]