Okay, I failed. My great intentions in the previous post to choose joy quickly evaporated amidst the muck of annoying frustrations.No major crisis occurred. I have friends who buried their 21 year old child/grandchild this week and another one whose daughter may be having a miscarriage – true joy zappers. On a whole, blessings filled my week so far.Yet an undercurrent of anger and frustration – not joy- ruled my heart.Little nuisances like waiting for an appointment that ran an hour and half late, a near miss with a deer darting in front of my car, being stuck behind a semi truck chugging along at 40 mph in a 55 zone, not getting answers from a customer service representative, and the never ending too many things on my list to do and not enough time. Looking back, joy left me not because of one incident, but because of many minor aggravations. They surrounded me like a swarm of those tiny flying bugs you bat about with your hand on a hot summer evening. Yuck! Like flecks of mud, they … [Read more...]
Choosing Joy – A Spiritual Practice
A great local Christian radio station is WBCL. (You can listen to them over the internet too. click here)As I drove to Ft Wayne yesterday, I turned to WBCL for their 9:00 talk show, MidMorning. Much to my surprise they played music instead of dealing with a subject matter. I enjoyed two tunes, then Lynne Ford, the host, came on laughing. Apparently the author she lined up to interview that morning forgot and was not available. “Good thing we talked about gratitude last week,” Lynne said. “No matter what happens I am choosing joy.”The next hour’s show was a delight as listeners shared the experience with reading the bible and the radio giving away numerous copies of God’s word.Choosing Joy.Lynne had no idea her perfectly planned Monday morning would change, but she made the most of it and listening that day lifted my spirits. I am sure her attitude blessed others too. Joy became contagious beginning with Lynne and radiating to many people including me.We do have that choice in life, … [Read more...]
God Cares – Lectio Divina
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Matthew 6: 26 (NIV)Are you not much more valuable than they?Lord, I saw a tiny brown bird flit by my car window this morning. Then I heard Your voice, “You are more valuable than my birds.”You care for and take of this small insignificant bird, no more than 6 inches long, flying above my car in the middle of Northwest Ohio on a cool November morning. No one else is paying attention to this little thing, yet You know its life. You provide its meals. You know its every move.And you care even more for me?How often do I have to hear those words before I fully believe them?You love me. You care for me. I see the flowers grow and bloom under your care.I watch the birds soar under your care.Why can’t I believe this lesson? I have to hear it over and over again.You love me. You care for me.I do believe. Help my unbelief.Thank you for … [Read more...]
In Blackwater Woods by Mary Oliver – Quote of the Week
Mary Oliver wrote a beautiful poem titled In Blackwater Woods. Read it in its entirety here:Its closing lines are selected for the quote of the week:To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes, to let it go, to let it go. … [Read more...]
What Would You Ask Jesus?
Once when I was on retreat, we introduced ourselves to each other by answering the question: if you were having lunch with Jesus, what would you ask Him? I was surprised by the answers – deep and personal, reflecting their doubts and fears. Many wanted to know how to know Him better and if they were doing ok in living their lives.As I write this blog week after week, I do pray for each of you as readers, but realized this week I have never ask you about your own spiritual journeys and explorations. Some of you do share those in the comments or by email and I love getting to know you better through those connections.But I am curious who you are and how you want to grow in the Lord. If you don’t want to share your answers publicly through the comment section, please feel free to send them to me by email (Jeanwise22@gmail.com)Looking forward to getting to know you better.What would YOU ask Jesus if given the opportunity? What do you really want to know that would help you on your … [Read more...]
A Feather on the Breath of God – Hildegard
I attended a one-woman performance on Sunday. The actress, Linn Maxwell, portrayed Hildegard of Bingen, one of my favorite Christian women in history. You can read more about the actress, see video clips, and hear her beautiful soprano voice sing a song composed by Hildegard here. Famous for her “illuminating” visions and spiritual wisdom, Hildegard wrote nearly 400 bold and feisty letters to bishops and kings, books about medicine and nature, music, and plays; she also undertook several preaching tours and called for church reform. Quite a feat for any woman, let alone in the 12th century!Her most famous writing is “Scivias” or Know the Ways of the Lord. It is a visionary guide to Christian doctrine covering everything from creation to marriage and is written not in ordinary language but in extraordinary images.Hildegard wrote and spoke extensively about social justice, about freeing the downtrodden, about the duty of seeing to it that every human being, made in the image of God, … [Read more...]
Too Lazy – Lectio Divina
Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest." Proverbs 20:4Too LazyCreator God, forgive my laziness.I delay the most important items, distracted by the noise and glitz of the world.And when the “right season” comes, I won’t have anything to offer or be prepared for opportunities to serve You.Lord, I do value down time, periods of rest and quiet times with You.But honestly, I know I waste time too.Time – a gift from You – thrown away like it had little value when each moment is a blessing.I know in my heart what I must do.But my strength, my will to complete what You have asked me to do, fails me. I need you, Lord.I depend on Your strength to complete the race you have set before me.I offer up to You my lazy spirit and ask You to enter its open space.I empty my heavy bags of inactivity in exchange for Your energetic abilities.You are the Lord; I am the servant.Help me start anew with Your strength and determination. … [Read more...]
Teach Me to Listen, Lord – John Veltri – Quote of the Week
Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers.Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, “Accept the person I am. Listen to me.”Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me– the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished.Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside — in the deepest part of me.Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence.Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen.This prayer was composed by John Veltri, S.J., a Canadian spiritual director and expert guide for those presenting the Spiritual Exercises. … [Read more...]