I mentioned briefly last week that I’ve begun meeting with a spiritual director, the concept of which goes back to the fourth century. The idea of the practice is to provide a believer with a more intentional form of spiritual mentoring. A spiritual director is trained theologically and pastorally to do the work of listening, advising, and leading a believer in his or her own spiritual life. Having one is like having your own personal pastor, who knows all your... Read more
On this fine Thankful Tuesday I want to share with you a hymn that has been clinging to my mind (we’re talking nails dug into brain creases) this week. I’ve been a fan of Sandra McCracken since my friend John had a crush on her when he was in college (that’d be in the year 2000). And I’ve been adoring her work in the movement of musicians bringing fresh melodies to lyrics written before the 20th century. (See Indelible Grace... Read more
Of the vows Benedictine monks take, the one I haven’t yet mentioned is that of stability. I haven’t written about it because I’m struggling to figure it out. For the Benedictines, stability is all about place and everything place represents. When a Benedictine makes his or her vows to the monastic life, the vow is not only to the Order; the monk also commits to a specific monastery. A Benedictine monk does not move. The community lives together as a... Read more
Of the vows Benedictine monks take, the one I haven’t yet mentioned is that of stability. I haven’t written about it because I’m struggling to figure it out. For the Benedictines, stability is all about place and everything place represents. When a Benedictine makes his or her vows to the monastic life, the vow is not only to the Order; the monk also commits to a specific monastery. A Benedictine monk does not move. The community lives together as a... Read more
Monday, when I was feeling most content with our housing situation and was prepared to take our time and wait for the perfect apartment (no pressure), my husband sends me a link to a beautiful place that just went on the market the day before. It’s a block away. I say to Chris: If this is as good as it looks, we’ve got to snatch it up before anyone else takes it. He agrees. Tuesday morning, after dropping August off... Read more
What I’m thankful for today: Today August starts a full morning preschool art program! That means I get three (that’s 3!) full hours to myself once a week. I can’t explain how excited I am. He’s pretty pumped too. Two nights in a row of dinners with new friends. New friends = good. We got our car back with a clean, pretty, non-shattered window! And who needs a GPS anyway? I’m thankful for google maps. Speaking of Google maps, I’m... Read more
“To embrace the Ascension is to heave a sigh of relief, to give up the struggle to be God (and with it the inevitable despair at our constant failure), and to enjoy our status as creatures: image-bearing creatures, but creatures nonetheless.” -NT Wright, Surprised by Hope “Jesus comes back, but he doesn’t really come back. He comes back in a puzzling way, and then, shortly afterward, goes away again. The disciples don’t get what they were hoping for. The happy... Read more
For the past two weeks my husband’s job has kept him pretty busy. He has a demanding profession that he’s very good at, which has recently resulted in the kind of promotion that a woman like me loves (for her husband’s sake) and fears (for her husband’s and child’s sake). I don’t like how careers can chomp on people’s lives like an owl swallowing a mouse whole and vomiting out the skeleton. (Did you ever dissect owl pellets in middle... Read more
Friends, I sat for two hours last night staring at my computer screen with an utter blankness in my head. What was there to write about today? I wanted to find a meaningful poem to share…nothing. I wanted to tell some powerful story. Plum out. I wish I was funny but actually I think I’m just fake funny and it only comes out once a month. But I’m happy to report that in spite of my failures as your blogging... Read more
We should speak gently and seriously with words that are weighty and restrained. We should be brief and reasonable in whatever we have to say and not raise our voices to insist on our own opinions. -The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 7 On a sticky note above my desk, I’ve written the words: “Speak gently, truthfully, simply.” That phrase comes from David Robison’s book The Family Cloister and it’s his application Benedict’s instructions above (44). There are some aspects... Read more
Micha Boyett
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