longings

We all long for stuff. We all long for love and acceptance, things like that.

Some people long for wealth and luxury or a house full of children.

Many of our longings are realized along the path of life.

Many aren't.

My unrealized longing? The country. Horses.
When I drive by a pasture full of horses I feel a tight ache in my chest. An empty place opens up somewhere inside me.
Sometimes I get to ease it a little. Like today. Friends of ours own horses and invite us to visit their barn  now and then. My kids ride a little. I've been unable to because of my back problem, but I can brush the horses. Bury my nose in their necks and pet their velvety noses to my hearts content.
Well, almost. My heart doesn't get quite content, but for a little while it smiles.

What about you? What is something your heart yearns for?

God Alone is Enough

I'm reading God Alone is Enough - a Spirited Journey with St. Teresa of Avila by Claudia Mair Burney.
Most of you know that I grew up very not Catholic. In fact I've heard my share of anti-Catholic teaching in my time. Mrs. Burney is a Catholic. *

But at the beginning of the book she explains her Protestant upbringing and gives permission to see things differently than a Catholic might. So right away I was able to get past the whole Saint thing to look at Teresa as a believer who has gone before and who has shared from her experiences, like C.S. Lewis or Amy Carmichael.

This book is about Teresa's experiences with prayer. The core of the book is learning to pray without distractions. It's an introduction to Contemplative prayer.

Teresa is deep. To be honest, sometimes I'm not sure exactly what she's talking about. Mrs. Burney guides us and offers explanations, but it's a new concept for me. Still, I like thinking about things in new ways. I like learning about another person's walk with the Lord.

I'm part of a blog tour and was asked to blog on chapter 11. I think I'm also supposed to clarify that the book was given to me for promotional purposes. Just so you know...

Anyway, Chapter 11 is called Dwellings One, Two, and Three. In this chapter we learn about an analogy Teresa makes of the soul. She sees it as a gigantic castle in which the King dwells. In order to reach the inner room where He abides, we must pass through other dwellings. These dwellings are where we battle the enemy. Sins try to follow us, but we can't have intimacy with the King with sin hanging off us.
The lure of the world draws us and even our spiritual attachments can get in the way of seeing the King. These are the things we deal with in these first three rooms. I have to read on to chapter 12 to see what happens in the fourth dwelling.

If you are interested in learning more about Teresa of Avila, or how to deal with the distractions we face during prayer, I recommend this book. It is written in a friendly, conversational style that makes it a joy to read. I'm looking forward to seeing where the next few chapters take me!

*I need to add that my views of Catholics have changed greatly over the years. I have many friends who are Catholic and are strong believers. I think we need to be more open minded to the variety in Christ's body.

don't know what to pray

Lately I find myself praying simply: "Take care of him. Take care of her."
So many people hurting in so many ways.
I imagine the Lord pulling them to his chest, giving them exactly what they need.  Sometimes, I just don't know what else to pray.

friday fill-ins

1. __Nothing ever begins at__ 6:58.
2. It was the reason, of course, _why I can't put my head under water____.
3. _Spend hours on my hair__ is something I no longer feel the need to do.
4. I have another errand to run, then __I'll get a cookie____.
5. __Don't blame me that you lost your mind__...just go find it
6. What were once vices _are now common social behaviors___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _relaxing with the family____, tomorrow my plans include _getting the pee smell out of my house once and for all____ and Sunday, I want to __do something special for my husband and my daddy___!

from Friday Fill-Ins

baby books

My good friend Loretta Oakes has two books being published this year. They are board books for babies. It may seem like a simple thing, but you would be surprised at the amount of time and work that goes into these books. It's incredible!
So after literally years of effort my friend gets to see the project come to fruition.
I've seen the proofs and they are beautiful books. Little flap books. One is called Peek-a-Boo Jesus and one is called Peek-a-Boo Christmas.
The point behind playing peek-a-boo is to teach permanence. Mommy is still there, even if you can't see her.
And where is Jesus when we can't see him?

If you have a baby or a grand-baby go to Amazon and look at these books. They won't be released until later this year, but you can pre-order them now.

holey jeans

My husband and my daughter don't approve of my jeans.

They have holes in them. They came that way, brand new, which astounds them even further.

Why? They want to know.

Because they fit. Not only do they fit, they fit well. AND they are comfortable. That's enough right there, but the clincher was that they were only $9 at Kohl's. 

My husband looked them over and said, "Well, if you had said $1 I would have agreed that they were a deal."

Some of my friends wear holey jeans, too. So they actually may make me a little bit cooler. Literally and figuratively.

The weird thing is, my daughter is a teenager. Isn't she supposed to be the one who is getting grief for her clothing choices?

LOL

I seem to have the ability to make people laugh. I love that.
But I find I seldom laugh myself. I chuckle. I grin. But rarely do I bust a gut or even guffaw.
I spent five days this week with people who laugh easily and loudly. I was jealous. I used to be that way and I'm not sure what's changed. But this isn't a dig deep and philosophize post, so I'll not get into that.

There are some things that still make me literally laugh out loud:

Physical comedy. We watched an episode of the old Dick van Dyke show and I laughed several times. He's a master. Jerry Lewis. Steve Martin. Mr. Bean. Even Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow or when he's Willy Wonka and walks into his glass elevator. I laugh every time.

Puns. Okay, so mostly I groan. But if they're really good, you'll hear the dulcet tones of my laughter. And perhaps a snort or two.

I also get a kick out of things like badly written headlines. Improper or idiotic use of words can pull a giggle fit from my belly.

What about you? Are you a laugher? And what makes you laugh the most?

Ok, that picture that I found on morguefile made me laugh, too.

re-inspired

I just returned from my annual experience at the Glen Eyrie Writers' Summit.

I am tired. I am achey. I am a little grumpy.

I am also re-inspired.

I am re- charged. I am re-dedicated.

I am re-born.

Ready to go. Ready to write. Ready to actually finish a book rather than starting more new ones!

And I'm ready to kick fear out the door. Being afraid of failure (and/or success) has gotten really old. I got sick of it this week.

I know these feeling and the new burst of creative energy will be short-lived and it will all fall back on my commitment. But I'm committed. See how brave I am telling the whole world that?

The photo is of the wonderful mentors, James Scott Bell, Kathryn Mackel, Angela Hunt, and Nancy Rue as they form the Universal Mind. (it was a skit, not some weird religious thing.)