Lent is coming quickly. Are you ready? I know, I know what you are thinking. You just got Christmas put away. You barely remember your New Year's resolutions. And the Super Bowl is finally over. You can’t begin to think about the next holy season yet. But you can do a few things to get your heart and mind ready for the Lenten Season. Let’s talk about Lent this Tuesday and next week I will share with you some practices to consider trying during Lent. What is Lent? First, what is Lent? The 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays, comprised the season of Lent. It begins on Ash Wednesday which this year falls on March 1. The word comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “lencten” meaning spring. The symbolism of 40 days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry and being tempted by Satan. I like the sound of spring, but hesitate at the temptation and wilderness portion. LOL Traditionally Lent is a time of repentance, fasting, and … [Read more...]
How to Strengthen Your Prayer Life
One of the most common answers shown in last fall’s readers’ survey was this concern: How to strengthen your prayer life. Prayer is a foundation for all healthy spirituality and most of us have a strong desire to be with God more deeply in prayer. Exploring our prayer life and ways to strengthen and enhance how we prayer is this month’s Tending the Holy Thursday series. Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore. Prayer became an obvious choice after reading the survey results. Each month I also include a free download to accompany the month’s topic. This month I took a PDF I offered one time last year and expanded it to include new information. “Prayer: 13 Ideas for Keeping Prayer Fresh” is available at no cost by clicking the button at the end of this post. I added ideas for prayer triggers and included a list of well-loved prayers from others besides adding new resources. It is my hope and prayer that this series and the download will … [Read more...]
Monthly Musings –What I Learned in January
January Monthly Musings One-twelfth of the year is gone already. Wow. Time seems to speed faster and faster, doesn’t it? Just one reason why stopping and capturing the moments each month has become a valuable practice for me. Each month I pause and look back at what I am discovering, learning, and exploring in life – I call these my monthly musings. Living this reflective practice helps me slow down and savor this precious gift of life we’ve been given and all the gifts to be discovered given by such a loving, gracious God. Capturing these special moments gives meaning, depth, and delight to life. Let’s wake up to the wonders in the ordinary all around us. I record what I notice on the pages of my Monthly Musing Journal. You can use anything, scrapes of papers, a journal or a calendar. Copies of my Monthly Musing Journal are available on Amazon and are a convenient way to keep track of the little things in life we often miss. Or if you want to click the button at the end of … [Read more...]
How to Create Inner Sacred Space
We’ve purchased the 2017 calendar. Some of us (this is so me!) have geekedly planned our year – vacations, dreams, goals and inked them into the schedule. I’ve uncluttered my closet and began my organizational assault on my kitchen drawers. My outer spaces and my external sacred spaces are in order. Yet the restlessness, not feeling quite at home feeling continues. I have neglected one of the most important sacred spaces for all of us – my inner space. How do I find/create/restore my inner sacred space? This Month’s Sacred Space Series Silence is hard to find. Noise, distractions, interruptions, and the lure of busyness interferes with experiencing God’s presence. Even if we quiet and slow down the outside world, creating inner sacred space seems impossible. This month’s our Tending the Holy Thursdays series is exploring the practice of creating sacred space. Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. The first week we … [Read more...]
A Look Inside the Life and Love of Katharina and Martin Luther
Next October many churches will observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. I am on my church’s planning committee for the activities for 2017 which include our pastor’s 50th year of ordination, our church’s 150th and the Reformation observance. Quite a year, isn’t it? A New Book about Katharina and Martin Luther A new book by my friend, Michelle DeRusha, called Katharina and Martin Luther officially releases next week on January 31. I am on her book launch team and was lucky enough to read an early copy. I am thrilled to have this resource for helping me teach others in my church about the life and love of Katharina and Martin. This well researched and wonderfully written book is essential for anyone wanting to know more about how they lived and how they found each other. I knew some things about Martin Luther, but not very much about his wife and former nun, Katharina. Michelle offers an insightful glimpse into what marriage and the rights – in honesty, the lack of … [Read more...]
How to Create Outer Sacred Space
Ready to explore outer space? No, Healthy Spirituality has not been taken over by aliens from a distant planet. This month’s our Tending the Holy Thursdays series is exploring the practice of creating sacred space. Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. Last week we delve into what sacred space looked like and next week I will write about internal sacred space. Today is finding the sacred in the external, the outer spaces of our lives. Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again. — Joseph Campbell As usual, I wrote a free download to accompany this study, titled “10 Tips for Creating a Sacred Space at Home,” with suggestions for forming a space in your home and even some blessings for your area. You can get this PDF at no cost by clicking on the button at the end of the post. It is my hope and prayer that this series and the download will enhance your walk with God. Be sure to sign up to get … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Declutter Your Heart
Anyone else decluttering this January? I find it easy to throw away things I no longer want or need. My hubby’s mind works the opposite. He loves to keep things. (He is a “keeper: in more than one way. Gotta love that guy.) He relishes the moment he pulls something out of a drawer that he has stored for 20 years - just at the precise moment we need it. Decluttering my Closet A few weeks ago, I dove into cleaning my closet. I am a raving fan of listening to podcasts about organization and productivity and have been enjoying Lisa Woodruff’s Organzie365.com. I followed her suggestions in tackling my closet. First remove everything. Don’t sort while in the closet. Put all the clothes on the bed and try them on. Keep what fits and what you like and what you want – donate the rest. She estimates we may get rid as much as 50% of what we have in our closets this way. Then think about the big picture - what do you want your closet to look like in the end in that space? You … [Read more...]
Feed Your Faith by Creating Sacred Space
Let’s start the new year with our Tending the Holy Thursdays by exploring the practice of creating sacred space. Sacred space can be both external and internal and is a pause, place and/or position where we can find God and ourselves. Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again. Joseph Campbell Each month on my Thursday posts, I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. Today we will discuss the types and why we need sacred space. Next week external spaces will be shared and we'll end with ways to create more internal space on the last week. As usual I wrote a free download to accompany this study, titled “10 Tips for Creating a Sacred Space at Home,” with suggestions for forming a space in your home and even some blessings for your area. You can get this PDF at no cost by clicking on the button at the end of the post. It is my hope and prayer that this series and the download will enhance your walk with God. Be sure to sign up to get … [Read more...]