I do love books. My hubby says I have too many – I say let’s just get a new bookshelf. I was looking for a specific book a few weeks ago and came across a book I started but never finished. It called to me. Then another one. Then another. I made myself stop at small stack of six books – old friends wanting to visit. I longed to turn their pages once again. I needed to linger in their words. Their message summoned me back once again. Whitney wrote on her blog a few weeks ago, “But if we truly love reading and love building a home collection of books, our shelves should fill us with JOY - yes, even all the unread books! What could more exhilarating for the true book devotee than shelves brimming with possibilities?” Revisiting my bookshelf will be the featured blog posts in August. I will share a title, its theme, a few quotes, and a small reflection/application. Maybe I will periodically do this again later in the year. When I slowly took the books from the shelf … [Read more...]
Hassles Happen
When you travel, hassles happen.When you don’t travel, hassles happen. I was thinking the other day about some of the glitches that occurred on our vacations. Moments of frustrations. Change in plans. Disappointments. Then I remember snags, detours, and mishaps occurred on almost every trip – some I remember, but often most fade behind the good memories. But hassles happen even when we don’t travel, right? Those everyday nuisances, interruptions, glitches. Internet that won’t work. Dead batteries. Missed appointments. Too many things to do. Dishes break. Forgotten birthdays. Misplaced items. Hassles happen. Glitches are a part of life, home or while traveling. Now I am not referring to major life events – a troubling diagnosis, a failing marriage, a job loss, or unexpected death or injury. But when I step back and look at life, it is the little annoyances that many times drain our spirits. Ever notice how these tiny gremlins accumulate? That is when I lose my patience … [Read more...]
Practice of the Presence – Book Review
Practice of the Presence is a new translation of the writings by and about Brother Lawrence. Carmen Acevedo Butcher is the author and I love the way she works with his words and brings them alive in our century. She includes her notes, so the reader also has a deeper understanding of her reasons for choices for translation. I have known about Brother Lawrence for quite a while, yet this new book animated his spirituality. I highlighted, journaled, and took copious notes. I didn’t just read this book, its practices seeped into my life. Brother Lawrence, birth name of Nicolas Herman, was born in1614. He lived in the time of the Thirty-Year War (when he was injured, a disability that he suffered with the rest of his life), bubonic plagues, poverty, and famine. When he was 18, he received “a profound awareness of God’s kindness and power there never left his soul.” He failed as a monk, but re-entered a monastery in Paris as a lay brother in 1640 when he received his new … [Read more...]
Empty
Empty. Simple thoughts stirring in my soul. Empty is a word unfolding in my heart lately. Holding space within me and for what will be, not full of my plans and to do’s. I become an empty cup. Empty of me.Empty of words.Empty in anticipation.Empty to receive. “God cannot fill what is full. He can fill only emptiness – deep poverty – and your “yes” [to Jesus] is the beginning of being or becoming empty. It is not how much we really “have” to give – but how empty we are – so that we can receive fully in our life and let him live his life in us. In you today – he wants to relive his complete submission to his father – allow him to do so. Take away your eyes from yourself and rejoice that you have nothing.” Mother Theresa I suppose being empty could also imply spiritual drying, times of not experiencing God. Loneliness. Fear. But this time empty is more of an invitation to feast, not a wilderness to wander. To be loved, not lost. More God, not me or the world. Letting … [Read more...]
Freedom Quotes to Feed Your Mind and Spirit
Freedom is celebrated in many ways but in the United States we set aside the Fourth of July to savor freedom, cheer in parades, wave the flag, and watch glorious fireworks. Here are a few quotes about freedom to consider. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” Herbert Hoover "May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right." Peter Marshall "But laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man may present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population." Albert Einstein "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine "All the great things are simple, and many can be … [Read more...]
Mid-Year Check-up
We have hit the mid-year point in 2023 – time for a check-up. Maybe a better word would be check-in as in assessing your inner self where are you, where you wanted to be, and where you are heading. Many of our yearly goals have long disappeared and lie in a pile of “I’ll get to that later” and “I know at the end of the year, I will regret not at least trying.” But I am a goal setter and do attempt to grow and accomplish what I set out to do. Guess it’s my nature or my paranoia. HA! But the end of June issues an invitation to each of us to pause and take a look. To evaluate and possibly realign our trajectory for the rest of 2023. To celebrate, adjust, forgive, and move forward with life. Goal Check-Up Yes I am strange when it comes to goals. I print them out. I divide them into quarters. I hang the sheets up on the wall by my desk. Then I only glance at them periodically. But I don’t give up. Or least I keep dreaming. I know I won’t … [Read more...]
The Spiritual Practice of Staying Steadfast
Steadfast. Now that’s a word I don’t hear often in conversation. “How’s your steadfastness?” “Holding on tight. How is yours?” Steadfast is a word we hear sometimes in our faith circles, but how often do we really check in on this virtue and how can we cultivate this practice? Bible Verses Steadfast appears in more than 125 verses in the Bible depending on the version and especially in the book of Psalms. Here are a few: Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15: 58 But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. Psalm 13: 5 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51: 10 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26: 3 May the God … [Read more...]
Four Somethings – June
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 I really enjoy reading and relishing Mary Oliver’s poetry. Here is one of my latest discoveries. I hope I can live this way: Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood. How grass can be nourishing in the mouths of the lambs. How rivers and stones are forever in allegiance with gravity,while we ourselves dream of rising. How two hands touch and the bonds will never be broken. How people … [Read more...]