Where do you find hope? I am an optimist. I work hard as an adult to be positive, look on the bright side and find the good in others. I’d like to think I am a realistic optimist, not a Pollyanna. But I will confess: when things don’t go as planned. When dreams and hope shatter. When it seems everyone else gets all the luck, the blessings and the good fortune, being hopeful become more difficult. Where do you find hope when feeling helpless? I found a refreshing surge of courage in a book I just finished: Through the Eyes of Hope by Lacy Buchanan with Bethany Jett. Through the Eyes of Hope is Lacey’s story about her oldest son, Christian, born with a rare birth defect called Tessier cleft palate. His face didn’t fully form together and the division included up through his eyes – he is also blind. This is a book of hope. Lacey is very honest and raw in sharing her struggles with her complex pregnancy, the issues with the birth defects, and bad news upon bad news … [Read more...]
Who are you? The Results of the 2016 Healthy Spirituality Survey
Who are you – the followers and friends of this blog? The results of the 2016 Healthy Spirituality survey are in, compiled, studied, scrutinized, and celebrated. Thank you for all of you who took the time to answer my questions. Your kind comments warmed and encouraged my heart and your honest sharing fostered a deepening connection and compassion for all of you. Again, thank you. You are the best! Results of the 2016 Healthy Spirituality Survey Three of the biggest challenges we all face are summarized here: We share a deep desire to stay consistent and focused on God during the daily grind, distractions, and detours that we face. We want to grow in our daily practices and not drift away from God. We hunger to draw closer to him, not be sidetracked away from him . We want to trust that God is in control. We long to know and hear his voice. We wish we were more patient. We yearn to remember and stay mindful of God. We crave being more aware of his presence, knowing God … [Read more...]
Always We Begin Again
St Benedict guides us with these words of wisdom: “Always we begin again.” January 2017. New year. Fresh start. Clean slate. Always we being again. The beginning is the most important part of the work. -Plato I love this time of year. I spent much of last week, rereading my journal – I call it harvesting my journal. I watch for patterns. I seek nuggets of God’s presence in my past recordings. I highlight and underline. I sort and sift words. I listen in-between the spaces of the letters. Wisdom, a gift from God, emerges. Always We Begin Again I knew joy was a thread in my life last year as it walked with me as my word of the year (Got a word of a year yet? You may like the recent post I wrote about it here). The surprise I discovered last week though, was how the Trinity also accompanied me throughout 2016. What a wonderful gift to find! I also uncovered the same old habits, periodic negative mindset, and ego driven hurts that seemed hard wired within my soul. Sigh. … [Read more...]
Monthly Musings –What I Learned in December
December Monthly Musings Each month passes so quickly and now it is the end of an entire year. Does anyone else feel time is racing? Wow. Each month though, 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, especially at this most sacred time of year. 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 this post to get a FREE copy of … [Read more...]
Have You Found Your Word of the Year Yet?
Do you choose a word of the year? Many people participate in this practice – yearly choosing a word or phrase to frame or accompany them in the next 12 months. Some people will even say their mind didn’t do the selection, but the word settled on its own in their hearts. I have followed this practice for the last few years and am always amazed how the word weaves itself throughout my life. The word pops up in quotes, in my reading, in conversations. I hear it in prayers and sermons and presentations. I will be walking and an image of the word bubbles up. I hear it in dreams and in emails. My word grounds me, gives me an anchor for the year and helps me focus. Only one year, did the word never add much to my spiritual growth. I should at some point go back and reread my journal from that year and see if that word breathed more life into my life than I realized or maybe another word intertwined that year that I never noticed. The Origin of a Word of the Year In the third and … [Read more...]
Christmas Ornaments Traditions
The tradition of putting Christmas ornaments on our tree each year brings back memories and smiles, creates a bright, seasonal ambiance to the room and tells the story of our faith, family and life journey through displaying family heirlooms and cherished collectibles. This month I have been exploring different themes of Advent and traditions with Christmas to help prepare our hearts for celebration of the birth of Christ. Something as simple as Christmas ornaments enriches our holiday and deepens our Christmas experience. Christmas ornaments provide several moments of connecting with our memories and generating a holiday spirit – as we unwrapped them and put them on the tree, as we watch them in the twinkling lights and tell others the stories behind the décor and as we gently wrapped them into safe keeping for another year. The History of the Christmas Ornament Bringing inside an evergreen this time of year began in Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries. Often these trees … [Read more...]
A Writer’s Prayer
I wrote a Writer's Christmas Prayer as part of an assignment for my local writers' group. Our homework was to create a fiction/nonfiction story or poem to answer the question: What do I want as a writer for Christmas? Our inspiration included all sorts of gift ideas for writers. Thought you may want to see a few of the ones that were fun and stood out for me: Jane Austen Socks - so fun! Antique Style Wood Folding Travel Writing Lap Desk - so cool! Go Away I'm Writing Tee Shirt - brought a smile to my face But I digress...or I will be wishful shopping all afternoon. Back to my writing assignment. I was at first going to explore physical gifts like these or even imagine a far away writing retreat but then the muse called me to listen. I wrote a Writers Prayer instead and thought I would share it here today. A Writer’s Prayer Dear Lord, What do I want this year as a writer? What gifts await me in 2017 as a communicator? Where are you inviting me to … [Read more...]
Christmas Traditions – Jolabokaflod
Never heard of the Christmas tradition of Jolabokaflod? The word Jolobokaflod comes from Iceland and means “Christmas Book Flood.” The people of Iceland share in the wonderful holiday ritual of giving books to one another on Christmas Eve. Then they spend the night reading. The BBC reported in 2013 that “This island nation of just over 300,000 people has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world.” Jolabokaflod dates back to World War II when currency restriction limited the number of gifts that could be imported. The regulation on paper was more lenient, so books rose in popularity. Some historians think the practice dates back even further as Iceland is a country rich in storytelling and folklore. In November, a catalog featuring all the new books is sent to every household. Commercials on television is less advertising for electronics, gadgets, and jewelry and focus more on books. What a wonderful … [Read more...]