Bon Voyage. Do you know the meaning of this word? Bon voyage is French for good journey. Have a good time! Waving good-bye. Get the hint that I am going on vacation? Yes, I am. My hubby and I love to travel, and I usually blog ahead and schedule the posts to pop up and you never ever notice I am gone, BUT this time I decided to take a break for the rest of the month. For this trip I didn’t blog ahead. I gave myself some grace and space and time away. A retreat from writing to recharge the creative juices. Well not quite as I am taking my notebook with me on the trip. One never know when the muse will show up, right? I will report in after we get back in early December and I will tell you all about this trip. So for now I am wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving - I am grateful for all of you! I will be back soon. See you all in a few! Bon Voyage! … [Read more...]
What Is Wonderful about the Number 1800?
1800? What is so wonderful about that number you ask? But anyway, why do I bring 1800 up today? Today marks Healthy Spirituality’s 1800’s post! I can’t even imagine I have written 1800 articles here since February 2009. So time to pause and say thank you, dear friends for reading and sticking with me. Praying and commenting. Adding to the conversation. Over the years there is close to 11,000 comments! The most popular categories continue to be quotes, seasonal inspiration, spiritual practices (especially prayer), hymn stories, and oddly enough a grouping called wisdom stories, especially about inspirational historical people. What would you add to this list as your favorite? Often, I share my own spiritual lessons and struggles – those are hard to put into a category. Guess I would call them life. As I grow older and am asked more and more if I am going to ever retire, I wonder if and when to drop writing on a blog. Blogging has been a place to express my … [Read more...]
15 Year Blog Anniversary
15 years ago. What were you doing? Can you recall February 2009? One memory from that month and year stands out for me. I attended the Florida Christian Writers Conference for a second year and remet my new writing buddies that formed a great friendship the year before. We called ourselves the Kindred Heart Writers. Well they were all into blogging, especially as a venue for writing. I said, “No way was I going to start a blog.” I was too overwhelmed by everything else to start something new. And especially something with that type of commitment. My good friends persisted and as we sat together in the gathering place, all of us started blogging. They dragged me into this practice and now 15 years later, I am so grateful they persevered. 15 years ago this month, Healthy Spirituality was born. Happy Birthday to my blog. Here are links to the first few posts, one to introduce the blog and the next one on my core word Nurture. Both are still relevant today. The … [Read more...]
Be Curious – Pondering the Pillars of a Healthy Spirituality
What are the pillars of a healthy spirituality? In 2023 I am exploring different building blocks, components, the essential nutrients that support a vibrant strong life with God. I hope to learn, study, and share thoughts about these various aspects and hope they bring fresh insights to all of our earthly journeys as God continues to shape our souls. This is our third exploration of one of the characteristics of a healthy spirituality. You can read about the others, being awake and being humble here and here. This week I am sharing interesting and curious quotes and insights about curiosity. Quotes “When you’re curious you find lots of interesting things to do.” Walt Disney “If you can let go of passion and follow your curiosity, your curiosity just might lead you to your passion.” Elizabeth Gilbert "Be curious, not judgmental.” Walt Whitman “I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that … [Read more...]
Pondering the Pillars of a Healthy Spirituality – Humility
I humbly present the next pillar of a healthy spirituality - humility. I don’t hear cheers and loud applause for this virtue. I know I hesitated even to invite humility to come to this blog, but felt it had insights for our spiritual walk. In 2023 I plan to explore different building blocks, components, the essential nutrients that support a vibrant strong life with God. I hope to learn, study, and share thoughts about these various aspects and hope they bring fresh insights to all of our earthly journeys as God continues to shape our souls. This is our second exploration of one of the characteristics of a healthy spirituality: humility and being humble. You can read about the first one. Be Awake, here. Be Humble Do you know this old song by Mac Davis? Oh Lord, it's hard to be humbleWhen you're perfect in every wayI can't wait to look in the mirror'Cause I get better lookin' each dayTo know me is to love meI must be a heck of a manOh Lord, it's hard to be … [Read more...]
Remodeling – Revamping – Restoring
I am surrounded by bedlam, disarray, and chaos. Commotion and change explodes both inside and out as we are in the midst of remodeling– here at home and to be honest, even our lives right now. Remodeling Home Our first project is updating the backyard with new decking and fence. My hubby enlarged his storage shed and my garden is growing weeds not green peppers and tomatoes this year. If you have read this blog for long you know I love the peace and quiet time in summer in my backyard. Nope, not this year. At least not yet. Memorial weekend found us on our knees – not in prayer, though we certainly could have used some – but ripping up carpet in the living room. New hardwood floors will be installed next week. Starting today my normally peaceful home will reverberate with pounding and hammering. I do feel blessed that we can do this remodeling, but enduring the disruption and disorder unsettles this introvert! So I seek quiet time extra early in the morning before the … [Read more...]
Healthy Spirituality Gift Guide
Healthy Spirituality Gift Guide Gifts to Feed Your and Your Friends’ Faith I love giving and sharing great gift ideas, knowing I am nourishing both my faith and those of my loved ones and friends. Below are some ideas I have recently compiled for holiday gift giving. Hope you enjoy this special edition of Healthy Spirituality. The Absolute Find of the Year – My Pick Shacke Packing Cubes – What did I ever do without these? My clothes are less wrinkled (though they have a few creases when I rush the packing) and fit into smaller suitcases. I love this product! Dayspring The products created by Dayspring are wonderful. Here are just a few neat ideas: A great jewelry collection. I especially like the “Be Thou my Vision Necklace” as that is one of my most favorite hymns. Word Matter Letter Box Collection of wall art is both inspirational and beautiful. Since my fourth grandchild was born in October I have been going crazy with Christian baby gift ideas. Check … [Read more...]
Literary Landmarks and Spiritual Spaces – New Resource Page to Healthy Spirituality
Don’t you love finding new resources and ideas to feed your curiosity? To nourish your soul? To stretch your mind? Learning new things energizes my spirit. I am excited to showcase a new resource page on Healthy Spirituality. If you look above at the page tabs you will see the new addition: Literary Landmarks and Spiritual Spaces. I love to travel and often on trips will seek out special spots - ones with history of fellow writers – the writers’ homes or the settings that inspired them – and I also love visiting the “thin places” - spiritual spaces where heaven seems a little bit closer to earth. Fun and educational places to visit and explore. Literary Landmarks – I hope to personally visit areas where writers lived and drew inspiration and feature them with photos and information. The first post for today is from a stop we made a couple of weeks ago at the Mazza Museum in Findlay Ohio about one hour north of Columbus. The Mazza Museum showcases original work of art from … [Read more...]