Bird's Eye View My four-year-old twin grandsons saw him first. A young robin had fallen from his nest in the large tree in our front yard “Don’t touch him,” I cautioned. Of course being boys, they didn’t like that advice. I explained to them that the mommy and daddy bird may be watching us and may still take care of the baby if we let him alone. We kept a far distant eye on that little fellow the rest of the day. It wasn’t until evening that I remember our tiny buddy and wondered how he was doing. I peered out my front window to that area of the yard and sure enough, one of the parent robins hovered near her prodigal son. Over the next few days, every time we looked that direction, a vigilant robin was either on the ground near the baby, finding worms to feed their little one, or watching above from the telephone wires. Whenever one of us would be in the front yard, the sharp-eyed guard would squawk multiple warning shrieks. Extra protection under watchful … [Read more...]
Keeping a Spiritual Journal
Keeping a Spiritual Journal Exploring the practice of keeping a spiritual journal is the topic for June’s Tending the Holy Thursdays. Each month on my Thursday posts I pick one theme (or person of faith) to explore deeper. This week we will explore why you would want to write a spiritual journal. Next week will be the tips and how to’s, followed by different types of journals on the third week. The last week I will share the practice within this practice, my secret sauce, that makes me such an avid journal keeper. Like usual I did create a Keeping a Spiritual Journal Tip Sheet and you can get this free by clicking on the button at the end of the post. It is my hope and prayer that this series and the tip sheet will enhance your walk with God. Be sure to sign up to get Healthy Spirituality in your inbox so you don’t miss any of the weeks (I promise I never oversend stuff to you – just tell you when a new post is published). AND PLEASE, those of you who never journal, stay … [Read more...]
Monthly Musings – What I Learned in May
Monthly Musings Each month I pause and take a look back at what I am discovering, learning, and exploring in life – I call these my monthly musings. Living a reflective life is a spiritual practice that adds depth and gratitude to our lives. Often our busy schedules make it difficult to keep a daily journal, but we can find the time to take notes of the some of the highlights, lessons, and joys by waking up and paying attention.I record these 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. What I Learned in May Lessons Learned Notice what repeats in our lives. God whispers in the ordinary. I think God often has to hit me with his spiritual 2x4 multiple times before I wake up enough to hear him. Kind of like that loving Gibbs slap to the back of the head moment … [Read more...]
Lessons from Dorothy Day
What lessons can we learn from the life and writings of Dorothy Day? For May's Tending the Holy Thursday theme where I delve into a topic or a person of faith for several weeks, we have been exploring Dorothy Day. Today is the third of this series; here are first two: Introduction to the life of Dorothy Day 12 Quotes from Dorothy Day Remember I created a free Reflection Guide for you to download by just clicking the button at the end of this post. I think this guide would be great to copy and keep in your journal for further contemplation. It has several quotes divided by topics, followed by a writing/reflection prompt and questions with space to write. I hope it blesses your journey with Dorothy. Lessons Learned I have been “walking” and learning from Dorothy Day since 2005 – she has been quite a companion. As soon as I think I have read everything about her and know what I need to know – a new insight, quote, or reflection pops up. Social Ministry – Just as our … [Read more...]
What is so Ordinary about Ordinary Time?
Ordinary Time On the church liturgical calendar, we have entered the long season plainly called “Ordinary Time.” Another mundane name for this time of year is "the Season after Pentecost." Ho-Hum. Yawn. Boring….You would think our collective churches could create a better name and even break this time up in more ingenious fashion. Why Is It Called Ordinary Time? Some scholars think the name Ordinary time derives from the word ordinal, meaning "numbered," since the Sundays of Ordinary Time, as in other seasons, are ordered numerically. Our Focus in Ordinary Time Ordinary Time extends from now until Advent, late November. From Advent to Pentecost, we celebrate what God has done to inaugurate the new creation through Christ. In the season after Pentecost, we celebrate what God does to empower us to live out the Gospel day to day and week to week in the context of our ordinary lives. In our churches in Ordinary Time, we hear stories about how Jesus lived out his mission on … [Read more...]
12 Quotes from Dorothy Day
12 Quotes from Dorothy Day For May's Tending the Holy Thursday theme where I delve into a topic or a person of faith for several weeks, we are looking at the life and words of Dorothy Day. Today I am sharing some of her quotes and then next week we will discuss what her life means to us today. If you missed the introduction about this fascinating Christian woman, here is the link for the first in this series. Remember I created a free Reflection Guide for you to download by just clicking the button at the end of this post. I think this guide would be great to copy and keep in your journal for further contemplation. It has several quotes divided by topics, followed by a writing/reflection prompt and questions with space to write. I hope it blesses your journey with Dorothy. Dorothy Day Quotes “I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions.” ****** “I really only … [Read more...]
Beauty – Even in the Weeds
I slammed the brakes. Slowly down enough, I turned onto the side road to get another look. What a beautiful sight! The field on the south side of the road erupted in vibrant yellow mustard. Maybe God splashed some sunshine on earth in a new way. Or maybe he has a craving for butter as he created an abundance of this shade all over our county. The pasture glowed in bright canary yellows. Interesting enough, this wasn't a preplanned, carefully cultivated field of flowers. No, the field overflowed with weeds. Weeds are nature's graffiti. J.L.W. Brooks Since I was seeing so many pockets of this weed in these fields, undulating like seas of yellow, I did some research. Most websites referred to a plant called the cressleaf groundsel. It has been spreading throughout the Midwest for the past 20 years, especially in no-till farming and in a wet spring. We certainly have had a cool wet spring in Ohio. Weeds – yes. Beautiful – yes! As one grows older one should grow more … [Read more...]
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day Dorothy Day has been my companion for more than 10 years now. I always learn something from her. Her social justice beliefs and how she lived every day following the Sermon on the Mount yanks me from my comfort zone and makes me question if I do enough, speak up enough, give enough. She inspires me to seek God and follow him in deeper ways. For May's Tending the Holy Thursday theme where I delve into a topic or a person of faith for several weeks, we are going to look at Dorothy Day. Today I will share some of her background, next week will be rich with her wonderful, challenging quotes to consider, then the last week we can discuss what her life means to us today. I created a free Reflection Guide for you to download by just clicking the button at the end of this post. I think this guide would be great to copy and keep in your journal for further contemplation. It has several quotes divided by topics, followed by a writing/reflection prompts and questions with … [Read more...]