It is far easier to name obstacles that hinder the craft of writing than it is to make a quick case for getting words down on the page. Writers are persistently challenged by the sheer lack of time, a steady stream of distractions and staying motivated to keep working at the craft like clockwork. Moreover, the inspiration that tanks up the desire to write often dwindles when striving to really spot where the time invested is making a difference. Like salmon rushing upstream against the current, aspiring writers know they face stacked odds at being discovered any time soon. Building even a small readership today is quite difficult when keeping company with 32.7 million other bloggers in the United States alone, not to mention the 600 million blogs already established worldwide. Yes, the world is certainly a big place bent on pressing every nose against the tantalizing scent blazed…
Thinking about the summer activities still left to do? Summer-ween will be here in a wink of an eye! It comes when summer peaks its hottest temperature during the latter half of July. Thinking about that first cool breeze arriving on a crisp autumnal morning is refreshing. As August now beckons, it is a good idea to think about the summer activities that are still left to do. Now is the time to inspire well-being and personal fulfillment. Summer Activities Still To-Do Checklist: 1. Sprout New Ways to Grow Yourself. Summer surrounds us with everything green and beautiful. We happily spend time tending the garden, growing vegetables and planting flowers. However, devoting time to grow your capacity to “grow” from within is so important to personal fulfillment. As the world is always changing, seek ways to expand how you think about your life and the relationships that…
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the video where I share my special editions of the whimsical classic “Alice in Wonderland.” The idea that a world with magical characters could be at my finger tips through a rabbit hole brings the splendor of an encountered imagination. I certainly felt a warm kinship with Alice when she said “When I get home I shall write a book about this place.” Thankfully, that book was gifted through the wonderful creativity of Lewis Carroll. Recently, I came across this beautiful life-size statue of Alice Through the Looking Glass constructed by Jeanne Argent, and displayed on the Guildford Castle grounds located in Surry, UK. The figure was sculpted as a memorial to Carroll who lived nearby in the Chestnuts until he died in 1898. The statue beautifully captures Alice leaving one world and entering another. She is feeling…
The desert Fathers knew the spiritual power given in the arrow prayer. They committed to memory, the poetic words the Psalmist prayed to draw God down into their human situation and bless them right where they were. With one breath, the day began with the prayer, “Lord, be with us.” Chanting the words “Thank you Father for the beauty of all you created,” they praised the Almighty for the light given by the sun, shimmer of the moon and sustaining food from the earth. In sickness, their supplications lamented “Have mercy on me Lord, fill me with a length of days” or “Incline thy ear to hear my plea with mercy. For I am without help, make haste and deliver me.” When in doubt, the words “Lord, help me in my unbelief” stand ready. Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta also spoke arrow prayers into her work without end. She said…
Author and theologian Frederick Buechner described the way he saw God as a Shepherd this way… Recalling a memory of a man taking care of sheep, he states, “Some of them he gave names to, and some of them he didn’t, but he knew them equally well either way. If one of them got lost, he didn’t have a moment’s peace till he found it again. If one of them got sick or hurt, he would move heaven and earth to get it well again.” The metaphor helps us to understand why Christ gives Himself the title “Good Shepherd.” He is the One who searches for the lost and calls each by name. Those who hear his voice turn to Him, moving away from those places of worldly overwhelm, fear and lack. For He tells us, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know…
