What’s saving my life right now? Now. At this present moment. What is life-giving, uplifting, refreshing and stirring my spirit? What’s saving my life right now is a question Emily Freeman (A true mentor of mine) asks frequently. She discovered this question in a book by Barbara Brown Taylor (another mentor of mine!) in her book, Leaving Church. Taylor shares the story of being a guest speaker at an event. When she asked for her topic, this was her host’s request: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.” These words invite us to pause, reflect, and savor what is giving us life at this moment. When I relistened to Emily’s podcast and what she was noticing in her life, that question dug deep into my soul. What is saving my life right now? What’s Saving My Life? Journaling – I know writing in a journal isn’t for everyone but wrestling with words to express my prayers, my desires, my longings, my hurts brings me healing and draws me closer to God. This is an … [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...]
Retreat Recap
Going on retreat is an essential spiritual discipline for me. Time for silence and learning informs the mind and forms the spirit. I leave refreshed, renewed, transformed – not quite the same as I arrived. If you are interested in learning more about retreats, I usually write a blog post about them several times a year. Just go to this sidebar on the right, enter “retreat” in the search button and you will find many, hopefully inspiring, posts here about this spiritual practice. I just returned from a four-day silent retreat and often get questions about what I experienced, learned, and heard. I spend the last day of retreat summarizing, harvesting my journal, emotions and lessons, then reread them once at home – a continual fountain of blessing. Retreat Recap Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,my memory, my understanding,and my entire will,All I have and call my own. You have given all to me.To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with … [Read more...]
Are You Sure?
Are you sure? A friend asked me this question the other day and I paused. I love the power of questions (read about questions on these blog posts, here and here.) and use them as guides in my spiritual journey. I have learned the spiritual practice of listening, playing, wrestling when I hear or read them. Questions provide growth, direction, and fuel our curiosity that leads to new ideas and insights. Problems that seem at one time insurmountable now have possible solutions. Answers lure us into comfort ruts while questions energize us to explore deeper and newer horizons. Are you sure? I was surprised when this question exposed some uncomfortable emotions within me. Doubt, anger, second guessing. Was this the right step for me? Why drench this move with suspicion? I was ready to move forward and now am engulfed with misgivings. Questions leave us unsettled and searching. Questions magnify what we already know that we don’t know and are not in control. Questions rouse us from … [Read more...]
Four Somethings – March 2023
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. Something Wise “Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary. There are burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb. Life wants to lead you from crumbs to angels, But this can happen only if you are willing to unwrap the ordinary By staying with it long enough to harvest its treasure.” Macrina Wiederkehr Something Wonderful I was studying the spiritual discipline of seeing beauty and learned a new to me … [Read more...]
Taking My Word of the Year on Retreat
I leave later this week for a four-day silent retreat. The practice of attending a retreat at least yearly is life-giving for me and essential for my walk with God. I believe so strongly in this discipline I share a blog post every year about retreats (here are a few here and here) and even wrote a book, Spiritual Retreats: A Guide to Slowing Down with God. Each year I remind myself to pack simply: just the essentials, my Bible, my journal, pretty pens and highlighters. I am careful not to bring along too many distracting books. Less stuff the better. The most important item to pack is an open and willing heart. My word of the year is one of those necessary items to bring along. Retreats create silent space to allow my word(s) room to be heard and known exponentially. Like a good soup, my word slowly simmers, revealing wonderful, unexpected tastes. Like a plant, its roots dig deeper and life springs up its stem to produce fruit. Spiritual retreats nourish and allow … [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...]
Evelyn Underhill – My Frist Lamplighter for 2023
Evelyn Underhill is my first lamplighter for 2023. I heard the term Lamplighters from wisdom teacher mystic Cynthia Bourgeault who described the spiritual teachers in her life – both ancient and contemporary – as lamplighters, those lighting the way for her path. Each year I walk with a lamplighter and intentionally read and listen to their stories. So much wisdom and applications emerge that nourish my soul. Several key lamplighters are always around – Henri Nouwen, for example but each year a new one joins me for a walk. I never know how long they will accompany me but I try to take full advantage of their presence while they hang around. Evelyn Underhill’s Story Evelyn was born in 1875 in England and was a prolific and successful writer (39 books!) and poet in the early twentieth century. Living what we might think as an ordinary life she was an attorney’s wife, gardener, hostess and cat-lover. She was interested in history, botany, travel, and bookbinding. But she … [Read more...]