Tag Archives: Contemplative Prayer

A friend of mine is using her knitting gift to make Ukrainian flags that people can wear as pins. Symbols are incredibly important because they keep our level of awareness high. We all know what the pink ribbon symbolizes. We see it and we think about breast cancer, we think about those we know whoContinue reading “Using our Gifts”

Lent is a good time to intentionally slow down. I don’t mean slowing down because you’re stuck in traffic, I mean choosing to find some time to leave the traffic behind. Many of us operate at a frenetic pace. We have to go from one thing to another to get it all done. This isContinue reading “Slowing Down”

The Jesus prayer is “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.” That’s it. One sentence. The long version is “Lord Jesus Christ, son of David, have mercy on me.” This prayer is meant to be repeated without ceasing day in and day out. Eventually, the prayer says itself. I knew a monk who recorded himselfContinue reading “The Jesus Prayer”

Romans 8: 26-28 (Translation The Message) “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knowsContinue reading “Tired of Waiting?”

Psalm 42:3  Send out your light and your truth; they shall be my guide, to lead me to your holy mountain to the place where you dwell. Light is necessary for growth. We all learned about photosynthesis in school. It’s the light that feeds the plants that creates oxygen for the rest of us. TheContinue reading “Send Out Your Light and Truth”

Being present to another person is one of the greatest gifts we can give especially in the age of distraction. I found it difficult as a young mother to give the kind of attention to my children that I give to my grandchildren. I had a thousand things on my mind back then – groceryContinue reading “Being Goal #3 – Relationships”

We have all heard the “put your oxygen mask on before trying to help others” speech but how often do we do it? Self-care is necessary if we want to help others and we need to be serious about it. Someone once told me to think about my physical, emotional, and spiritual energy as differentContinue reading “Being Goal Number 2: Self Care”

My number one “being” goal is to have a consistent daily prayer practice. I combine my praying with knitting for two reasons: I like to knit and I find it meditative and calming, and it becomes a visual record of my progress. If I set aside time every day to knit with God, my wholeContinue reading “Number 1 “Being” Goal”

When we got to our grandkid’s house, the dogs had gotten into the trash. They were supposed to be in their kennels but they escaped (or a grandkid forgot to lock the doors of their kennels) and really enjoyed going through garbage. When we lived in the Netherlands, the two of us only created aContinue reading “Going Through the Trash”