ContemplativeJourney

I'm continuing to ponder some things I heard in a conversation on Saturday morning. The topic of discussion was "change." Some folks really enjoy change...they look for change...create change when things become stagnant...they thrive on change. I've never been one of those folks. I enjoy routine. That isn't to say that I don't enjoy some amount of change, because I do. But in general, change isn't one of my favorite things. Routine...more often than not, feels secure to me, and stable...and I like security and stability. I heard someone tell a story on Saturday morning about working with her elderly parents to re-locate to an assisted living facility. The elderly couple committed to move...then backed out...then re-committed to move...then backed out again...and the cycle of indecisive decision-making continued. The reason given by the elderly Mom? Change. She didn't like it, and didn't want it...and she thought that staying in her home of many ye...

I wrote a few days ago about the wind...today is one of those days! The wind is blowing my windchimes, and blowing the leaves...and it is spectacular in the shade! If I had to sit in the direct sun, I would probably have a different assessment of the weather, but I'm sitting in the breezy shade, and loving what is! Earlier today I participated in a conversation about the subject of change, and how it effects us. I heard some things that made an impression on me, and that reminded me of tornado survivors from Joplin, Missouri who have been interviewed on TV this week. I'll start with the tornado victims...amazing people, really. I wonder how I would respond in similar circumstances...? Truly, I cannot see myself being as positive and resilient as some of the people I've seen interviewed. There was a woman interviewed last night who had on a pink "Life is Good" t-shirt...I couldn't help but notice the shirt. I love the "Life is Good" brand, and own num...

I love windchimes. How 'bout you? I'd buy more of them, if they weren't so expensive...the nices ones, I mean...they are expensive. I bought a new set just this last Saturday...longer pipes, deeper tones...beautiful sound! Last night we had severe thunderstorms in the Dallas area, and several tornadoes touched down, though I haven't yet heard about any major damage or casualities (thankfully). My windchimes weathered the storm, and were hanging quietly from the back of the house when I left for work this morning. Wind can be a fickle thing...gentle and quiet one moment, ferocious and threatening the next... I've always been fascinated by the wind...I love it actually. It can be bothersome to your hairdo, blow away your paper plates during a picnic, throw cars and boats around like tinker toys, or gently kiss your face on a quiet spring day. It's mysterious and wondrous, and for me, carries with it the sense of our Creator's presence. Sometimes I sit outside ...

Yes, I'm going to use last night's Dallas Mavericks win at Oklahoma City as the basis for a discussion about spiritual life lessons...hopefully, you won't tune out because you're not a sports fan, because life lessons are always universal, no matter the source of material! In last night's playoff game between Oklahoma City (OKC) and Dallas, OKC led for the entire game...and for the most part, had a pretty significant lead. With about 5 minutes left in the game, their lead was at 15...not insurmountable, but it was highly unlikely that Dallas would be able to mount a comeback substantial enough to win. Dallas took the lead for the first time...in overtime ...which got me to thinking... Sometimes, when the game seems over, it is not over. As the final minutes of regulation ticked away, and Dallas had tied the score, the fans in OKC were on their feet, rooting their hometown boys on toward victory...just a few minutes later, but before the game was over, the TV commen...

I had two slogans in mind when I sat down to write this morning: Let it Begin with Me, and Expect a Miracle. As I thought about both, I was struck by the fact that the ideas are somewhat at odds with one another...I mean, isn't a miracle something that's super natural, beyond our control or power to influence? And "Let it Begin with Me," on the surface, suggests that I am the one with the power. I don't know if the trapeze artists will pull the two ideas together for anyone but me, but the picture helped me to make sense of things...this process of letting go and trusting the miracle, while at the same time focusing on the part that remains within our control to influence. If you look at the picture, you'll notice that it's difficult to discern which of the artists is going to "let go" and trust their partner on the receiving end...and yet, someone has to let go. The one who lets go must trust the other. If I'm not mistaken, the process requ...

Well, before I had even had a chance to read anything inspirational for the day, I already had a relational "splinter" in the palm of my hand. It can be a gift and a curse to try and write about life and life's lessons, especially when my own experience reveals how far I have to travel on the road to maturity. I won't belabor the details of my splinter, because the truth is, the splinter could have been anything that I found unpleasant or painful...or, anything that you find to be unpleasant or painful. Here's the important thing: what am I going to do with the splinter? Will I rush to cover it up, avoid its presence, or otherwise miss it's available gifts? Or...will I take to heart the lessons of the pearl, and actively seek that which could become beautiful as a result of its presence? I suppose this is an opportunity to test that which I say I believe...that I have the ability to choose how I respond to every circumstance of life, and to determine whether I...

My daily reading today included timely wisdom on the subject of how we tend to deal with difficulty and conflict in our lives. For most of us, the prospect of dealing with a crisis or relational confrontation is an unpleasant thing...something to be avoided whenever possible. But what if we could see difficulties with new eyes, and actually change our perspective so that we could genuinely welcome difficulties and conflict as gifts to be cherished, rather than a curse to be avoided? I thought about the story I've heard many times about pearls, and the fact that they are created through a process of friction within the oyster. When I looked up the subject, I was surprised by what I learned. Apparently, the creation of a pearl doesn't even begin until a foreign substance slips into the oyster and irritates the oyster's mantle of protection. The process is compared to what we experience when we get a splinter under our skin. What is the oyster's reaction to this irritant...