Where Does God Fit into our Schedule?

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Where Does God Fit into our Schedule? Face it. We are busy. Busyness is a badge of honor anymore – but one that wears quite thin for me. Life interrupts. People interfere. Chores need to be done. Others want and need our presence, love, and hugs.  Saying yes and wanting to help with good intentions overwhelm our calendars. Unexpected detours arise. Emails and text messages chirp. Instant responses are the assumption. Facebook and Pinterest lure our attention and drain our time. We set goals then wake up later realizing how far behind we are doing the things that really matter.  Exhaustion and distraction rule our lives more than our dreams and deeper desires. Where does God fit into our schedule? This is a question I have been pondering and want to explore more now and throughout this year. My desire is to have my life, my time, my schedule built upon God, not upon the weak crumbling foundation of busyness. Jesus didn't rush through life. I haven't found a parable describing … [Read more...]

Lessons Learned from 43 Years of Keeping a Spiritual Journal

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Yes, you read that headline right.  I have written in a spiritual journal for more than 43 years. And yes, I have them all. I haven't caught up with my great aunt Anna yet – I have her diaries from more than 60 years. Quite a treasure that I featured in this blog post. I reached high on the top bookshelf this past week and brought down my first three journals. To be honest, my 43 years have not been consecutive but since 1985 I have written every year – that alone is 34 years – still amazing to me. My first journal is dated January 19, 1976, married but pre-kids and I wrote about 5-6 entries. The following year I wrote 4 times in early 1977 as I was expecting my first child.  Wish I recorded more during this key life-changing time of life – one of my key lessons. In 1985 I began the regular practice of writing about my spiritual journey in a journal – averaging 2-3 times a month.  Interesting lessons emerged as I strolled backward through time. Lessons Learned about … [Read more...]

Tests, Themes and Threads, Oh My!

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Tests, themes, and threads turned up in my notes as I pondered this week's blog post.  Oh my, I thought what a start to the new year – a good start,  though and not one for panic. Busy but blessed. What do I mean? Tests I want you to know as readers of Healthy Spirituality, I am changing some background, behind the scenes structure of this blog. In January, there may be times the blog may not be available as it gets tweaked and tuned up.  For example, many of you have noticed the change in the web world from http to more secure https – that is one example of the structure renovation. Tests? I am hoping you never see much disruptions and I survive the details of working with a much more advanced techy person who speaks in words and language I don't fully understand. Yes, it is in English but all this techspeak is outside my comfort zone. When we remodeled the house last year, the project was messy, uncomfortable, and unpredictable.  But once the project was completed, the … [Read more...]

Spiritual Shuffle – Relinquishing the Old Year and Receiving the New Year

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Shuffle?  You know the movement – dragging feet, stumbling back and forth between two sides. Changing our body weight from one leg to another, moving only slightly when feeling awkward, embarrassed or uncertain. Or to intermix like the cards in a deck or shuffling papers on our desks into a different order. The movement between 2018 into 2019 shuffled in my spirit this year. I normally love this time of year and relish the fresh new year just waiting to emerge. But this year I found myself vacillating back and forth in my annual reflection of the old year and the yearly planning for the new year. But now as 2019 is birthed and time moves on, I am realizing the lessons I learned while doing this wavering spiritual shuffle. I needed the time bouncing back and forth to gain a new perspective about how I was feeling and recalling the past 12 months. And my opinion about 2018 did change during this spiritual shuffle. Guess an occasional swing between old and new brings … [Read more...]

What a Japanese Pruning Technique Can Teach Us about Our Own Souls

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I am excited to start the new year with a guest post from one of my favorite authors: Michelle DeRusha. Thanks for being here today Michelle with these insightful words to begin this first step into 2019. Two years ago on a warm June morning, my husband, our two boys, and I met Marsha, a volunteer guide, just inside the front gate of the Portland Japanese Garden. As we followed Marsha across petite wooden bridges, along with pea gravel paths, and overstepping stones set into spongy moss, the garden seemed to wrap us in a shawl of quiet. We spoke in whispers as we strolled, a lullaby of flowing water melding with the rhythmic crunch of gravel beneath our shoes. Our guide paused beside a large Japanese maple poised regal and elegant like a grand dame on a small, moss-covered hill. Its delicate chartreuse leaves fanned like antique lace over an elaborate network of dark limbs and branches spreading like veins beneath the canopy. Marsha explained that a particular Japanese … [Read more...]

Merry Christmas and a Free Gift too!

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Merry Christmas! I am a few days early but plan to take off next week - will post again in January, so wishing you a wonderful, blessed Christmas. And I have a free gift for you too! Did you know this is the 200 anniversary of the beloved Christmas carol - Silent Night? I compiled the story behind this hymn, plus other interesting information about it into a free gift PDF for you. I hope it blesses your holiday. Merry Christmas! Click here to get your gift   PS. Here are a few of past posts about Christmas if you want to read them: Christmas Ornaments Christmas Traditions Christmas Morning Christmas Shepherds … [Read more...]

How Does Art Enhance Prayer?

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How does art enhance prayer? I miss being creative. With my head dug deep into a graduate course this past 6 months, my spirit is dry. Time to brush off the creative juices and find joy in my life, especially in my prayers. This will be a major goal of mine in 2019 - to be more creative. I am so excited to share the words today from a wonderful creative and friend - Therese Kay. Therese is a writer and photographer, and lover of God.  She recently collaborated on a visual devotional featuring her photography called Messages from God: An Illuminated Devotional. You can read her blog here: https://therese-kay.blogspot.com/p/home.html and see more of her photography here: https://theresekayphotography.zenfolio.com/ Welcome, Theresa! Art and prayer have shared an intimate relationship since God appointed the skilled craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab, to create the artistic designs for the Tabernacle in Exodus 31:1-6. As humans, we were created and formed in God’s image – and … [Read more...]