prayer

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is jury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled,
as to console;
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is dying to the self that we are born into eternal life.



This prayer was part of the labyrinth a year ago. I was struck by the simplicity of it…and how profound it was.

I invite you to read it through, slowly, at least two times and pay attention to what draws you. Meditate on that part of the prayer, throughout the day and let God speak to your heart about it.

Peace,
Deb

identity

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said:


“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey.
We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”



I love this quote. It helps me gain perspective on my life and my role. At the core of who I am, I am spiritual. I am made in the image of God. This is so easy for me to forget. I get so caught up in my life…my things…my plans. I can be upset about something that won’t mean anything two weeks from now, let alone be important in the grand scheme of things.

I can tend to live as if this is all there is. Fear sets in as I think of the years swiftly moving by and the knowledge that my days are numbered. I get so caught up in my earthly existence that I don’t give a thought to eternity.

Imagine what it would be like if we began every morning reflecting on the truth that we are spiritual beings on a human journey. If we constantly carried this thought with us through our day, how would it change the way we act…or react? What would look different? Be different?

I encourage you to think about this today. Live this day with the full knowledge that you are a spiritual being on a human journey. Look at all today holds for you through that lens and see how it changes you. And, consider offering today’s part of your spiritual journey to God, asking Him to allow that spirituality to shine through your human-ness.

Blessings,
Deb

surprises

Have you ever had the experience of praying for something and seeing, in your head, how it would work out? I do that all the time. But…you know what? It NEVER works out that way.

Or, how about this….you’re not sure what’s ahead, what’s around the next corner. You may be sensing that God is calling you into a new adventure but you cannot possibly see how it will come to pass. Or, you may be facing a very difficult situation that is full of uncertainty. If only you could see what’s ahead, then you could trust Him with whatever it is.

I used to fear these circumstances (sometimes I still do). I wanted to have more control, to be able to plan things out, to know what was coming next so I could better prepare. What I really wanted was for God to answer my prayers my way. This kind of living caused me a great deal of anxiety. But then, slowly, God began to change my perspective. I began to relax and truly trust that He knew what was best. I didn’t need to know everything.

I have been on this journey long enough to know that God always works it out. Not always in the way I want Him to and never the way I think He will, but, none the less, He works it out.

Now, instead of fearing what’s around the next corner, I am looking for the surprise. I know God loves me and that He will take care of me, even if it is in unexpected ways. So, instead of needing all the answers, I am able to live with the questions and anticipate the surprise, looking at it like a gift. It may not come when I expect it, be wrapped the way I think it should be or even be the gift I want…but it will always be the gift I need.

May your day be filled with “God surprises”. May you not be fearful and anxious about what lies ahead but learn to be open and excited about the surprises God has in store for you. Enjoy the gift; the gift that is, trusting Him with everything.

Blessings,
Deb

memorial day

Take a few minutes today to think about those in harm's way around the world and their families.

Peace,
Deb

sabbath

no posting today...please do something that brings both you and God pleasure.....

Peace,
Deb

awareness

Early this year, the Children's Ministry at Living Word held a conference for those who work with children. (Thank goodness others can attend as well!) The pre-con seminar was a retreat day lead by Pete Gannaway. One of the cool things (one of many) was the book that Pete recommended for us all to read. It’s called The Rest of God: Restoring your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan. I want to share a passage from that book that moved me:


“Waiting implies anticipation of something else; that this moment is not the moment. It implies that the expected thing, the hoped-for thing, is yet to arrive, that the present is only preliminary to the future.”

When I read this, I was stopped in my tracks. This is me! It seems I am always waiting. I am waiting to wear my bathing suit until I lose a few more pounds, waiting to have people over for dinner until I clean the house, waiting to pursue my hobbies until I have more time. Most recently, I find myself waiting for my daughter’s baby to be born. The baby isn’t due until August, so I am waiting. I realized, after reading this quote, that I am missing being fully present in this day because I am focused on the future. How much have I missed because I am not aware of what is right in front of me? When I look to the future, I cannot see clearly. It rarely turns out the way I think it will. But I do have the chance to see what is right in front of me, what is happening right here, right now.

I started asking God to help me stay in this day, in this hour, in this moment.

Think about asking God, today, to help you keep focused on the now…not in the future, not in the past, but in the present, because the present is more than enough.

Peace,
Deb

journaling

In March, I held a retreat. The women were wonderful. It was such a pleasure watching them discover new ways of being with God, becoming more comfortable sitting alone with Him and just enjoying being away from the everyday demands and responsibilities, soaking up the peace and quiet.

As I was packing up to come home, I remember putting my journal on top of a basket I was taking to the car. I got home, and while re-living the sweet moments we had shared over the weekend, I began to put things away. It wasn’t until the next morning, as I was preparing to spend time with God that I realized I could not find it. I looked and looked and looked and then looked again. I went through book shelves, looked behind the bookcase, and looked in the car, under seats and in the trunk. I looked everywhere I could think it possibly might be. I even went back to the retreat house and looked there. No sign of it anywhere.

You may be thinking that I am distressed because of what might be written on its pages and the fear that someone else might see it. There is an element of that. I try to be as honest as I can be when I write in my journal. It has become a spiritual discipline for me… a place to work through what I sense God speaking to me about and where I am noticing Him. So, it is very private and I certainly would prefer that no one read it. But, what troubles me far more is the fact that, that journal contains about four months of my life. It holds my memories, my thoughts, my insights, my hopes, my dreams, my pain, my disappointments….my reflections about my recent trip to Israel. And it is gone.

Now I trust that God will bring back to my remembrance all that I may need. But to think about what on those pages and the fact that it is lost to me, makes me sad.

I share this to encourage you; if you don't journal , consider starting and if you do, please continue. Losing mine has reinforced, to me, that it is such a precious tool we can use to process and record our journey. It can provide us with glimpses of hope and build our faith as we go back and re- read it and clearly see God’s hand and movement in our life. Start writing!

Blessings,
Deb

israel

Last March I had the privilege to go to Israel. I didn’t have any idea what to expect. I was a bit fearful given what we see on the news everyday but I completely trusted Vickie, the person who was leading the trip. I have traveled to several parts of the world with her and I trust her judgment. She has a deep love for Israel and I knew she wanted to share that with me.

The trip was packed full. It was frustrating to not have any time to reflect on what I was seeing and how God might be speaking to me. I would jot very quick notes down in my journal to help remind me later what had happened. The images I’ve held most of my life, of where Jesus was born, where he died and all the parts in between were dismantled as I saw shrines here, there and everywhere and all these different churches vying for these holy places. There also is the reality of the painful human drama that is unfolding in that region. Jews, Muslims, and Christians all staking claim to the part of the world that holds their spiritual heritage. And then ..... the Palestinians. I don’t have the words to express the conditions under which they are living, in the city where Jesus was born.

In the midst of all this information overload there were two times that I was moved to tears. The first was on the Sea of Galilee. We were in a boat and moving on the water. I was overcome with emotion as I thought about Him being here, teaching here, eating fish that had been caught here. It made me feel close to Him. One thing I love about the Sea if Galilee…you can’t put a shrine over it! It is there is all its natural beauty just the way it was when Jesus walked on its waters.

The second place that moved me was the Garden of Gethsemane. Again, it didn’t look like what I thought it would but, still, it was a place that was so meaningful to me. Some of the olive tress that grow there can be dated back to close of time of Christ. They are beautiful in a strange kind of way. They have thick, gnarled trunks that twist and turn into artful contortions. It occurred to me that they were a fitting background to the drama that was unfolding as Jesus spent His last moments of solitude with His Father before His death. Tears came as I thought about the love that sent Him to this earth, to this grove of olive trees, to His knees as He sought comfort from God, and strength to face the cross.

I don’t ever want to lose these images. They help me to stay in touch with both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus. I invite you to spend some time today, thinking about his love for you. Allow yourself to feel that love and rest in that love - for that love is the foundation of the relationship we have with Him.

noticing

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday. She had taken her child to visit a college over the weekend. In order to catch their train home, they needed to find a taxi to get to the train station. As they were crossing a busy street, her son, looking more for a cab than to the traffic situation, was nearly hit by a van. Needless to say, with the stressing over the possibility they might miss their train, and feeling frightened thinking about what could have happened to him, she was extremely tense. In addition, shortly after getting in the cab, a car darted in front of the taxi and she found herself applying the ‘air brakes’ on the passenger side of the car. The driver, an old man, with an accent that might suggest he was Jamaican, turned the radio on, to a beautiful Christian hymn, and then said to her, “Don’t worry…God is in control.”

The significance of that moment did not sink in until the next day, when she was telling the story. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the way God gently cared for and reassured her through the words and actions of an old taxi driver.

God will reveal himself to us in some amazing ways. We never know who or what He will use to speak to us.

Look for Him today…in the circumstances of the day, in the most unlikely people and places, in the faces of those you come into contact with, and notice how He shows up. He wants to reveal Himself to us all the time…we just need to learn how to recongnize Him.

Peace,
Deb

creativity

“And what of the human heart’s capacity to understand God? Here we need the help of passionate visionaries such as Dostoevsky. Sacred scripture is too important to be left exclusively to biblical scholars. Theology is too vital to be consigned solely to the province of theologians. To explore the depths of the God who invites our trust, we need artists and mystics……”

“Send in the artists, mystics and clowns. Their fertile imagination pours the new wine of the gospel into fresh wineskins (Luke 5:38). With fresh language, poetic vision and striking symbols, they express God’s inexpressible Word in artistic forms that are charged with the power of God, engaging our minds and stirring our hearts as they flare and flame.”

Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

I have many friends who are artists. Some act, some write, some paint, some draw, some make jewelry, some sing. I am always in awe of them. I draw ‘stick’ people. I paint walls. I make very basic jewelry that may fall apart by the end of the day. I have done some acting, some signing and some writing but I have never really considered myself an artist. Until recently.

God has given one of my friends, a vision of providing a place for regular people like you and me, to discover the artist within. She believes that we all have an artistic side. We just need encouragement and a safe place to experiment. She sees each of us as an expression of God’s creativity and we, being made in God’s image, have that same creativity inside. Hmmm….maybe I am an artist. My ‘stick’ people may just have a beauty all their own.

What is inside of you waiting for the chance to express itself? Have you tried and been discouraged by someone else's comment or even your own voice telling you that you are not an artist? I invite you to listen to what God is calling you to….and how He wants you to express it. Remember….you’re expressing what is inside of you for the audience of One.

Peace,
Deb

community

I want you to know that writing this blog has been such a pleasure to do. There are mornings when I think, "What am I going to write about??" But, God always gives me something. You have been so faithful in responding and making comments. I love reading your thoughts and how the entries are resonating with you.

Our “life with God” has this beautiful, intimate, personal component….meeting with Him in silence and solitude and having an on-going dialogue with Him all day. But it has another side as well – fellowship and community. God did not design us to live isolated lives. Although different than what we would experience on a Sunday morning, our ‘blog’ community can be rich as well. I would encourage you to respond to each other. As others write comments that impact you, write and let them know, or share a similar story of how God is working in you. I will be doing the same. I LOVE all the comments but there have been some that have moved me to respond. As Joanne wrote regarding the “friendship” entry, we are sisters and we can be open and vulnerable with each other, building those bonds of friendship. We can share joy with those who are seeing God in new and wonderful ways and we can encourage those who are struggling. (Kristen….thank you for sharing so honestly and we are here for you as you find your way back.)

If what you what to share is painful and you need a bit more distance, you can click on ‘anonymous’ and then write your thoughts.

And….I know for a fact, that there are a couple of guys reading with us. This is not a women’s only site. The majority of us are women but we welcome the guys who want to walk more closely with God in this way. Guys…feel free to comment. We welcome your perspective as well.

We are on this adventure together….

Peace,
Deb

sabbath

no new post today - enjoy the Sabbath.....

desire

Do you really want to live your lives,
every moment of your lives, in His Presence?
Do you long for Him? Crave Him?
Do you love His Presence?
Does every drop of blood in your body love Him?
Does every breathe you draw breathe a prayer, a praise to Him?
Do you sing and dance within yourselves, as you glory in His love?
Have you set yourselves to be His, and only His,
walking every moment in Holy obedience?

Thomas Kelly
A Testament of Devotion

How can one possibly live like this? For me, it isn’t a lack of desire. I so desire an intimate relationship with God. I know that I don’t ‘breathe a prayer’ every time I draw a breath (at least not consciously). I have ‘gloried’ in His love, at times but I definitely don’t walk in obedience every waking moment. So, reading something like this can be discouraging.

But, I don’t think God wants us to be discouraged by these words. In fact, I think He wants us to be very encouraged as this is what we can aspire to. I used to give up after a day or two of trying to live up to words like these. In the last several years, I began to sense that God was only asking of me to have the desire to live this way. He knows, that because I live in this fallen world, I will continue to struggle with brokenness and sin.

What I’ve noticed is that the more I desire intimacy with Him and set my intention on that, the more I realize I am living closer to the way He wants me to. Less effort, more change. It’s the Holy Sprit working in and through me…it is not because of my own efforts. Not that I don’t need to be open and cooperate with this work but it is so much less work when I let God take the lead.

I invite you to think about asking God to stir that deep desire in you for more intimacy with Him. It will be the beginning of a new season in your spiritual life. If you already have the desire for more, enjoy it and move with it as it takes you into a deeper place of being with Him.
Peace,

Deb

love

Last year I was reading a book by Donald Miller. It’s called Blue Like Jazz. This book spoke to me in a powerful way. I want to share with you what God showed me but I am changing the names in this story so don’t even go and try to figure out who is who. :)

My friend, Marge, asked my opinion about a moral issue. She had asked a few other friends as well. One of the friends, Laura, didn’t like the choice she was going to make and told Marge, if she made that choice, she wouldn’t be spending time with her. I think she did this to re-enforce her stand on this issue and on what she believed to be God’s standards on this issue. When Marge asked my opinion I gave it to her. I felt the choice was not a good one for her…not a choice that would take her deeper into her relationship with God but farther away from him. Honesty, I also thought about putting some distance between Marge and myself if she made this choice.

The same time all of this was happening, I was reading Blue Like Jazz. One of the chapters is on love. He talked about how we, as Christians, sometimes use our love as a weapon. We give it or withhold it to get others to do what we think they should. As I read that chapter, I felt convicted, deep in my heart. The author was talking about me. I had used love like that. I had considered using it like that in this situation.

That night – the night I read that portion of the book, I felt God say to me, “Deb….it’s my job to convict. She asked for your opinion and you gave it to her. Don’t punish her by withholding love. Speak lovingly to her about what she is considering and let her know that you will love her no matter what she chooses. That is how I love you. I don’t always like your choices, because I know they are not best for you. Even when you made really bad choices, I still loved you. Please ~ just love her.”

I did. I just loved her. She made a good choice but the lesson wasn’t for her, it was for me. I want to learn to love better……to love more like Jesus.

Love,
Deb

friendship

Last night I had the privilege of having dinner with three of my closest friends. We meet two times a month; once for spiritual friendship group and once for dinner. I love spending time with them, learning about what is going on their lives and discussing spiritual things. I can be myself with them…no masks, just me. And they love me, just as I am. They also love me enough to tell me the things I need to hear about myself, like when I am off track, or when I am being critical of others or myself, or when I am not following my inner longings. They, to me, are like Jesus with skin on.

I hope that you have people in your life who are like Jesus, with skin on. I think this is how God wants us to love each other and share in each others lives. I know that my friendship with these women and the other women in my life continues to grow me deeper in my relationship with God. I am so thankful to God for their presence.

Think about who these people might be, in your life, and let them know how they reflect Jesus to you. To all of you who are in my life as reflections of Him….thank you.

Blessings,
Deb

s p a c e

S p a c e……I need space! Yesterday was a long day. It was an awesome day, filled with incredible conversations and interactions. It started early and ended late. But it seemed like something was missing. What was it? S p a c e. I had not spent intentional time in the morning with God. It’s not magic. It just helps me center on what is most important to me….my relationship with Him.

What I say I want is to have all of my life reflect God…hopefully, that others would see Him in me. What doesn’t make sense to me is the relationship I say is the most important I can neglect. So many reasons why….I want to sleep in, I need to get a few things before I leave the house, or at night, I’ve already put in a full day and want to veg in front of the tv. So what gets moved to tomorrow? Sometimes, my time with God.

Thank goodness it’s different now than a few years ago. I work now to be more aware of God’s presence in my daily life, so my relationship with Him feels rich and deep. But I realize that when I don’t have my special time with Him in the morning…..I miss it. I feel a bit more scattered throughout the day…not quite as focused. And I love that I miss it…that I miss it because I love being with Him during that time and not because I feel guilty because I didn’t fulfill an obligation. I don’t think God wants us to come to Him out of obligation. I think He wants us to come to Him because we love Him and desire to just sit with Him.

May your times with Him be so special that when you are unable to spend intentional time with Him….you miss Him.

Peace,
Deb

trust

Why do you think it is so hard for us to know, in our hearts, that God loves us? That He wants the very best for us? Why do you think we fight that so much?

If we have spent any length of time walking with God, we know that God loves us. I am using the word “know” in an intellectual sense. We can have verses memorized (and that is great thing), we can read books about trust, we can tell others what ‘trusting’ in God is. But is that how we live our lives? There have been so many times that has not been true for me. Intellectually, I know that He loves me….but I live as if I don’t, taking back whatever it is I am fearful or concerned about.

We may know things intellectually but we live out what we truly believe. Take some time over the next few days to reflect on the following quote by Brennan Manning. Allow it to sink in and find a place to settle in your heart.

“The splendor of the human heart which trusts that it is loved [by God] gives God more pleasure than Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, the sight of ten thousand butterflies in flight or the scent of millions of orchids in bloom. Trust is our gift back to God, and He finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.”

As you spend time thinking about this quote ask yourself if you know that God loves you, in your head… or in your heart.

Peace,
Deb

sabbath

no new posting today - enjoy your sabbath!

fresh start

“Is there anyone I can level with? Anyone I dare tell that I am benevolent and malevolent, chaste and randy, compassionate and vindictive, selfless and selfish, that beneath my brave words lives a frightened child, that I dabble in religion and pornography, that I have blackened a friend’s character, betrayed a trust, violated a confidence, that I am tolerant and thoughtful, a bigot and a blowhard, that I hate hard rock?”

Brennen Manning
Ruthless Trust


I think this quote hits home for all of us. I know it does for me. I was reminded of the duality that we struggle with as I had lunch with a friend yesterday. (I know…thoughts resulting from another conversation. Soon, no one will talk to me! So often this is the way God speaks to me, so I think you may see this a lot.) We were talking about how, sometimes, we can hardly believe that God doesn’t just smite us (don’t hear that word everyday, now do ya!), that we both have thoughts, attitudes and behaviors that we know aren’t what God would want of us. But, the amazing thing is that He waits…He waits for us to come around, to acknowledge those things within ourselves, turn back to Him and allow His love to enfold us, once again. He knows that we live and move in a fallen, broken world and that no matter how much we try, we will never be fully whole until we see Him face to face. That means we will never be free of the struggle that Brennan Manning describes but it also means that there is hope and forgiveness found in God’s love.

May today be a fresh start for you. Know that we all struggle with the ‘dark’ stuff in our hearts but also know that God is waiting for you, desiring you to move back toward Him. Allow yourself to experience His love today.


Deb

prayer ~ again

Last night, I sat outside enjoying the spring evening. The smell of lavender was in the air...maybe because I have a huge lavender bush in my backyard. :0) It was a moment of peace in the midst of a busy day. I was reading a book called A Tree Full of Angels: Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary. I love that title....the idea of seeing the holy in the ordinary. I think I like it so much because 95% of my life is lived in the ordinary. And the thought that I can be looking for the holy in the mundane things of life is so encouraging. But, back to prayer. The author, Macrina Wiederkehr say this:

"So how do I pray? I listen. I talk. I weep. I am silent. I am embraced by the beloved. I gaze with reverence. I wonder and adore. I share my needs. I have tea with God. I give gifts. I receive gifts. I give thanks and I say I'm sorry. I scream. I get angry. I show God all of my life, including my very divided heart. I relax. I'm at home. Sometimes I read a poem or tell God a story. Sometimes I dance. God loves stories and poems and dances. Sometimes I get a bit dramatic with God."


This is how I want to pray; to pray with all my heart, with all my emotion, with all of who I am..in transparency, with honesty.


Today, take time to think about how you pray. Do you have a set pattern? Is it controlled and predictable? Maybe God is inviting you to share everything with Him...the good, the bad and the ugly. 'Cause that is beautiful...that we can be who we really are in His presence and still know He loves us.

Peace,Deb

And...thank you to Carmen, Bobbi, Carol and Kristen for being willing to share their thoughts. You all are an encouragement to me. If you haven't checked out the 'comments' section, please do. We can all be an encouragement to one another.

prayer

Last night I had a conversation with someone about prayer. We were talking about how she had been praying and praying for something to happen and not understanding why God wasn't answering. The question came up, "What do you think God may be asking of you in regard to this prayer?" and "Do you think you have an expectation about how He will answer it...what that will look like?" I could ask these questions because I have lived them.

Then, just this morning, God brought something to my attention that I had been praying about for years. In the past couple of weeks, things have happening and that prayer is coming to pass. But you know what? I almost missed it. Not only that, I was frustrated by what was happening, not seeing it as an answer to prayer but experiencing it as something negative. Because the answer didn't come in the way I had expected, I nearly missed it. ( God always surprises me. He never does things the way I think He should...thank goodness!) Once I realized this I was able to let go of the frustration and thank Him for the answer, which is beyond anything I had imagined.

Today I am thankful for answered prayer, no matter what shape or form it takes and for those conversations with others that God uses to bring clarity to our own relationship with Him.

Peace,
Deb

awareness

One of my favorite authors is Ken Gire. He has a way of helping me learn to pay attention to the movements of God in my life. He has written numerous devotional books. The first book I read by him is an excellent book called, Seeing What is Sacred: Becoming More Sensitive to the Everyday Moments of Life, (old title - The Reflective Life) that is written, specifically, to help you become more aware.

I want to share a quote from him:

"He[God] has much to say, not only from the Scriptures but from the circumstances of our everyday lives. However prosaic the pages of our lives may seem at first reading, within the lines or in between the lines God may be speaking. Every book we read, every movie we see, every person we talk with, every song we listen to, every moment in our lives, in fact, should be subjects for reflection and could be ways through which God is speaking."


Consider asking God to help you today...help you pay attention to where/how He may be speaking to you, perhaps speaking in ways you had not considered before. Feel free to share what you noticed.

May you see Him in a different way today,

Deb

community

I want to share my hopes for this blog site. I truly do not want this to be a one-way dialogue. Does that even make sense...one-way dialogue?? Anyway, what I would love to have is a 'conversation'....a place where women can share their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relationship to God. That is what this is all about. How am I, how are you, how are we experiencing God in every day life? How am I responding to what He is showing me? Maybe your question is how do I learn to pay attention and begin noticing His interaction with me?

Perhaps you have not thought of your relationship with God in this way before. I know that was my experience. I loved knowing about Him, learning more about Him and serving Him in many different ways. Then a friend talked to me about 'intimacy' with Jesus and I questioned whether or not that was what my relationship was about. I embarked on a journey of discovery. What did this 'intimacy' look like? What did I need to begin doing to move in this direction? It has been an incredible process, this inner exploration of my spiritual life.

My desire, for this site, is that we as women can share how we see God interacting with us, moving in our lives, speaking to us and then how those experiences are changing us. I will try , on a regular basis to post things such as thoughts I am having, reviews on great books that you might like, how to incorporate spiritual disciplines into busy lives, a prayer, a poem or anything else that may be inspirational. Although some of these may be helpful for you, it is more powerful when others are sharing what is happening in their journey as well.

So.....PLEASE do not allow this to be a monologue! I invite you into the conversation. For those of you who are new to blogging, just hit the 'comments' key you will see after the post. Type in your thoughts and then click "Publish your comment"...that's all there is to it. Then come back to see what others are saying.

Together, we can learn, grow and encourage each other in our walk with Jesus. I look forward to our 'conversations'.

Until tomorrow.........
Deb

welcome to sacredspace...

Have you ever felt a longing deep inside? A longing that you hesitate to speak of to others for fear they will not understand? Or sense that to speak it would be to bring life to the longing and thereby give it the power to hurt or disappoint you if it never comes to pass?

After years as a therapist, I desired to find ways to help women with their spiritual formation, deepening their intimacy with Jesus. I began teaching classes on the spiritual disciplines, and providing spiritual direction (sitting with and assisting others as they discern where God is moving and speaking into their lives). It has been the most satisfying work I have ever done. I also sensed God leading me to design a special ministry...a retreat ministry for women, providing a different way for them to move into a deeper, richer relationship with God. I was excited about the concept but not sure what form it would take.

I took a trip to Borders, with my husband, and decided to peruse some books on retreats. As I was sitting at the table looking through one of the books, a feeling welled up inside me. I felt it coming on stronger and found myself in tears. Jeff looked at me and asked what was wrong. This was my moment. Would I choose to give voice to my longing, to the physical ache I felt inside, to the palpable sense that God was leading me into something or would I keep quiet? I spoke. When I verbalized my longing, it was powerful, exciting, and scary, all at the same time. My sense was that women, many women, need the same thing. They desire a way to carve out time to spend with God. They need to know how to listen to Him and how to process what they hear. And....they need intimate community. SacredSpace was born that night.

SacredSpace provides exactly what it says...sacred space. Space in one's life for God; physical, emotional, and spiritual space to nurture this most important relationship. A small group of women (6-8) take a day or even better, a weekend, to leave behind all that pulls at them to find some silence, solitude, rest, reflection and community. Each woman spends time with God, discovering how He speaks uniquely to her. She comes away from the retreat with a deep desire to continue to create space in her life for God.

Because this ministry has met a need in women thirsting for a more intimate relationship with Jesus, I have decided to pour more of myself into it. As I plan for the future, trusting God for each step, I want to keep those of you who are on this journey with me, informed of where it's all going. A website will be coming, but until then, this blog will meet the need. My goal is to share my thoughts on just 'being' with God, looking at some of the ways we can nurture our relationship with Him, share information on other opportunities that may also enrich your walk (check out the links for ReflectiveSouls and Creative Juices...., you will LOVE them!), suggested books, and of course, continue to provide information on the retreats.

Thank you for visiting. I hope it will not be the last time and that you'll come back often and share your thoughts.

Peace,
Deb