Celtic Christianity –St. Brigid Who is St. Brigit? Exploring Celtic Christianity will be the topic for this month's Tending the Holy Thursdays – a fitting subject for March and all the Irish among us. We learned about St. Gobnait last week and you can read about it here. This week St. Brigid is visiting our space here and sharing her story with us: St. Brigid's Story St. Brigid is one of the three patron saints of Ireland and was born around 453 AD. Due to much of her story being written centuries after she lived, it is unknown how much of her life is based on folktale and how much on truth. Either way, her love for the poor and compassion for helping others lives on. Her father was a chieftain named Dubthach, and her mother named Brocessa, a Christian bondswoman, not Dubthach's wife. Of course this new child by another woman doesn't set well with his spouse who persuaded him to send away both Brocessa to Limerick and Brigid into foster care. When she is about 10 years old … [Read more...]
Words Matter
Words Matter Do you realize that your words matter? Words are more powerful than we can ever imagine. Words encourage. Words empower. Words excite. Words equip. Words engage. Words entertain. But words can equally cause the opposite reaction. Words matter. Any one who has been bullied knows the power of words. I can still remember in sixth grade as we completed a study about the American Indian being called "Indian Fatso." Not only do I still feel the sting of the words, I can picture the classroom, hear the boy's taunting voice and even know which row my desk occupied. A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Ever notice how negative words remain seared in our hearts and wrapped their tangled, deep roots around our fragile ego? On the other hand, compliments and sincere comments drip off our skin like water on a duck. Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than … [Read more...]
Celtic Christianity – Tending the Holy Thursdays
Celtic Christianity Exploring Celtic Christianity will be the topic for this month's Tending the Holy Thursdays – a fitting subject for March and all the Irish among us. I am half Scot/Irish, so know there is a little green blood in me. Any other Irish here? With five Thursdays in March, I have an extra day to dive into this interesting piece of Christian history we have. This week I am going to feature someone I never heard of before until about a month ago and thought her story would be worthy to share. Of course we will hear from St Brigid and St Patrick and few other Irish tidbits. Since I have been traveling I don't have a free item yet for you to download to add to this study, but watch for it coming up in the next few weeks. UPDATE: Click the button at the end of this post for a free pdf of 10 Celtic Blessings to share with others. I think you will enjoy it. So "top of the mornin' to ya" – let's study the Celts and see what we can learn from them to nurture our … [Read more...]
February Monthly Musings – What I Learned/Observed in February
What are Monthly Musings? At the beginning of the month, I share lessons I learned from the previous month. I call these my Monthly Musings (I have a free cheat sheet if you want to help with this practice you (see end of this post) and/or a printed book, Monthly Musings Journal, available on Amazon if you are interested). These are ways to incorporate the spiritual practice of reflection into your life and often I see God's touch and presence more in this rearview mirror look-back on life. I have been working on a book proposal about the value of the spiritual practice of remembering and living a reflective life. Doing this column each month has grounded me in this practice and helped me capture those fleeting moments of joy, learning, and life. February Monthly Musings Lessons Learned: My spiritual director commented - "We are so madly loved by God, we just can't resist him." She later said, "Do you desire God or the things of God?" Both good reminders and thoughts to … [Read more...]
Writing a Rule of Life –Resources, Quotes, and Ongoing Upkeep
Writing a Rule of Life Our in-depth topic on Thursdays this month has been on Writing a Rule of Life. We first looked at what a Rule of Life is and the benefits of writing one. Then last week we explored tips and examples. This week will share resources, quotes, and ongoing care and upkeep of our rules. Remember a Rule of Life is a collection of guidelines for living. Its purpose is to help us keep our sense of balance by intentionally addressing all aspects of life: physical, emotional, socially, spiritually, etc. Resources for Writing a Rule of Life I found several books that were excellent is giving background, inspiration, and ideas for writing a Rule of Life. Of course I have to mention my own book, Creating a Rule of Life, Dancing to Divine Rhythms Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson – has a great chapter of writing a Rule of Life and is newly revised. Living Faith Day by Day – Debra K. Farrington At Home in the World – a Rule of Life for the Rest of Us – Margaret Guenther … [Read more...]
LEAP YEAR TRIVIA!! What Will You Do with this One Extra Day in Your Life?
2016 has a gift for us. February 29 – one extra day. It's Leap Year!! Here are some fun things I learned about leap year: If you are born on February 29 you are called "leaplings" or "leapers". The reason for a leap year is that the earth takes a little longer than one year to travel around the sun. Impress your friends knowing that it actually take 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds! So over the centuries we added an extra day occasionally to account for this. The Romans were the first to designate February 29 as leap day but it wasn't until the 16th century we began to include a leap day in years only divisible by four - 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, etc. Another trivial rule is no year divisible by 100 is a leap year, except if it was divisible by 400. Thus, 1800 and1900 were not leap years, but 2000 was. Feb 29th isn’t the only extra time added to the calendar. In 2008 an extra second was added to the end of the year. And what about women proposing to men … [Read more...]
10 Tips for Writing a Rule of Life
Do you have a Rule of Life? A Rule of Life is identifying the essential spiritual elements in how you feel God wants you to live this human life. A Rule for Life is a collection of guidelines for living. “A Rule of Life, very simply, is an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do… The starting point and foundation of any Rule is a desire to be with God and to love him” Peter Scazzero For February's Tending the Holy Thursdays, we are exploring Writing a Rule of Life. Last week we looked at the what and why about writing a rule of life and today I will share tips for writing your own rule. Next week resources, quotes, and how to live your rule as an ongoing practice will be shared. 10 Tips for Writing a Rule of Life Immerse this whole practice from start to ongoing in prayer. Pray, listen, read, go deep – allow the words of your own rule to slowly emerge from deep within your soul. Create time and space for it to bud and blossom. Block off … [Read more...]
What Will Be Your Legacy? Writing Your Eulogy
If you were to die today what would your obituary say? What words would be shared at your funeral? Though a somber thought, thinking about this eventual fact of life makes me and perhaps you too - ponder our legacy. Ever hear the quote: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”? Thinking this was from Mark Twain, I did some research and discovered it is actually a misquote, somewhat based on an actual incident. You can read the full story here. But essentially he said, "The report of my death was an exaggeration.” So let's hope the report of any of our deaths is a false overstatement too, but imagine what would words would be used to describe your life? How would you like to be remembered? What will be your legacy? I began thinking about this when I wrote last month about Finding your Purpose series on Thursdays. I suggested this practice before on retreats and in presentations as something to try. But last week I read the new book, Living Forward, a Proven … [Read more...]