On New Year's Eve, I said good-night to my 11-year-old, and the weight of a decade hit me in the chest. Where were we 10 years ago? In another life. Another city, a different house, we only had two kids, neither in school yet. Time and circumstances have reshaped the way we spend our time … Continue reading What Does it Mean to Live Yes? (On Marking Time and Living Forward)
Before I get lost in the to-do list. Before I jot down lists of presents to buy. Before I stock my pantry in anticipation of Christmas baking. Before I get out ornaments and lights. I need to take a breath. I need to take another breath. I need to pull out my journal and sit … Continue reading What Does Your Soul Need for Christmas? (or preparing for a contemplative holiday season with questions)
"What is your question? Your question for today?" my wise friend asked me gently. "I can only choose one?" I asked nervously. Do questions swirl in your mind like dry leaves on a blustery day, thick and unsettling? Maybe your questions are more blizzard-like--a blinding morass keeping you from moving forward? Then maybe this question … Continue reading What is Your Question? The One You Need Today?
I stumbled across this prayer twice in the last few weeks. Once in Barbara Brown Taylor's book Learning to Walk in the Dark and the other in Ruth Haley Barton's book Sacred Rhythms. I love this. Everything about it. It seems like a good way to start out a new year. My Lord God, I … Continue reading A Prayer from Thomas Merton
I am being invited to live the story that I am in, where I am at, right now.
Isn't that what life is? An invitation. An invitation to live with eyes, heart, arms, and hands wide open.
Sometimes life gets too busy and too noisy to hear the inner workings of our hearts. We don't pay attention. Maybe we have forgotten how. Lost happens when we don't know how to listen. I think my invitation to Quiet has been like a long time out. The kind I sometimes give to my children, … Continue reading Can You Hear Who Your Heart Longs to Be?
A while back, some friends and I met with a lovely woman who wrote a book some of us had read about the different stages of the faith journey. She lived close by, and she was willing to meet with a handful of youngish women with big questions. I was really excited to find out … Continue reading What are You Listening For?
Who are you listening to? Do you listen to Them? I have. Why? Who are They? And why do I give them so much power? Paralyzed by what They might think. Nameless, Faceless Opinions. * * * Do you listen to Should? I have. Why? Should is an ordinary, but insidious word. The definition for … Continue reading Who are You Listening To?
Jessica Sanborn 