Pause - we all need a break to rest, take a breather, slow down. I will be traveling the next couple of weeks. I originally planned to blog ahead but simply ran out of time. I am giving myself grace and pausing so you won't get a new blog post for several weeks. I will be back! Take time in your life to pause. Give yourself grace too. We all need it! See you later in midOctober! … [Read more...]
The Ebb and Flow of Life
September invites me to pause, savor, and reflect on the ebb and flow of this past season. The joy of family and families gathering for celebrations. The tender moments of reconnection. The warm (perhaps too warm some days) sunshine on the back yard deck. My roses outdoing themselves in blossoms this year. But I reread my journal, spotted with tears and anger and sadness experienced in the darker moments of life. War. Suffering. Illness. Separations. I am slowly learning that life is more and/both than either/or. Ebb and Flow. Good ol’ Henri Nouwen says it best in this prayer: “Dear Lord, Today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.” You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to … [Read more...]
Day of Encouragement
Be encouraged, not discouraged! We just missed The National Day of Encouragement held yesterday September 12. This day is dedicated to encouraging and having a positive impact on those around us. I like having one day to increase our awareness of encouraging others and to inspire us to put this into practice and actually be encouraging. But why stop at one day? Let’s make this a daily discipline – try to encourage at least one person every day. Your words have the power to lift someone when they are down. They also have the power to motivate someone who might be struggling or encourage someone to pick themselves back up after a setback. A small act of encouragement could be the spark that changes a loved one’s perspective. To praise and encourage someone’s efforts is a practice worth having, no matter the day of the year. And just think: The day of encouragement follows Sept. 11, a day full of hurt, confusion and hopelessness. Sept. 12 seems an appropriate time to … [Read more...]
Trust the Slow Work of God
Trust the Slow Work of God, written by Teilhard de Chardin, is a challenging quote, but one that I repeat often. This year especially its words call to me. Sometime “borrowing” a prayer, written by someone else, expresses what your heart is trying to say but can’t find the words. This one encourages me and I hope it encourages you too to keep trusting. “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the wayto something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress, that it is made by passing through some stages of instability, and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.Let them shape themselves, without undue haste.Don’t try to force them on as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own … [Read more...]
Book Review – Seasons of the Soul
Seasons of the Soul, On Becoming Who You Are is a new book written by one of my favorite authors, Michelle DeRusha. The book takes you through the four seasons of the year with delightful detailed observations, thoughtful lessons from nature, and spiritual formation wisdom and healing we all can use. Michelle incorporates great quotes and personal antidotes that keeps you reading. I love Michelle’s raw honestly as she struggles to let go of ego and world driven expectations and her discovery of her true self. She models for us a way of discernment, listening to God, and how to allow ourselves to be how God created us to be. As a fellow writer, I loved her use of imagery and language. Here is an example: “This morning from my desk at the sunroom widow I caught sight of the yellow iris waltzing in the spring breeze, ruffled petals swishing like the hem of a flamenco skirt.” A shelf worthy and time worthy book! This is one book I am keeping by my prayer space for … [Read more...]
Pondering All
All is my word of the year. All walks with me. Shows up unexpectedly in books and conversations. Stops me and says, “Hey, take a moment and listen. I have something to tell you.” I am fascinated by having a relationship with one simple word. A word of the year becomes a companion, a wise fellow traveler, and a fun sidekick. I think that is what surprises me the most about this practice – a word of the year isn’t all serious, deep, dramatic lessons – the word sparkles with joy and smiles too. I hunt for “all” in stores. Maybe finding a great sign. A pin. Or special greeting card expressing this word in a creative way. I am one who overthinks the past and lives in the future, planning, organizing, trying to control out of fear of what might happen next. All grounds me in the present. All is what we have right now. All is all that matters. Pondering the word “all” this year has given me a new lens to see my life and the world. All has widened my view. Given me … [Read more...]
Share Four Somethings – August 2022
Share Four Somethings is a regular blog post where I feature bits of wisdom in four categories. I love this practice as it collects moments for reflection and growth. 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. I listened to my heart and to God and narrowed down my four categories and to see what they will teach me this year. Something Wise Something Wonderful Something Whispered Something Whimsical Each one reminds me to pay attention to these qualities in my life as gifts from God. I am learning that whimsical is the hardest one for me to capture and one that need the most coaxing to appear. This was true again this month. Something Wise Prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine. Kathleen Norris Prayer can be moments of letting go and leaping … [Read more...]
The Spiritual Practice of Questions
Questions! Do you have a curious faith? Some people belong(ed) to church that discourages asking questions. As a spiritual director I have learned the power in the spiritual practice of using questions to explore, understand, and hear God in new ways. I am a fixer and quick decider. I like the comfort of knowing answers or at least the next couple of steps on this adventure and gift of life God has given all of us. Tell me where I am going and what to expect and I will dig down and get there. But that isn’t God’s way, is it? Unanswered questions are the fertile ground of growth, formation, and surprises. I wonder why does this question nag my soul? What does it mean? What does it make possible? The best lessons emerge in the wrestling, welcoming, and wondering with each question. Lore Ferguson Wilbert has just released a new book, A Curious Faith, that looks at the questions God asks, we ask, and we wish someone would ask us. Questions grow from curiosity. Trying to … [Read more...]