As you begin reading my blog I invite you to inhale slowly, filling your belly with a deep breath. Hold it briefly, now let it out as slowly as possible. Take two more full deep breaths. Taking deep breaths, usually three, is a practice I use in therapy with my clients and in my own Read more »
This is one of my favorite feasts of the year, but happening in the midst of our Lenten Journey. I found this very special poem, that I wish to share for your reflection on this Feast Day.
It is time to review our Lenten practices. Perhaps we have chosen something that did not serve its original purpose. A friend passed the following to me. She had unearthed it from her treasure box. There was no identification as to its original source. I made a choice to send this out anyway. I hope Read more »
Lent is here and we’re still in the first week. For me that means that the “first fervor” is still with me. Hopefully I can maintain my positive Lenten spirit in the in the weeks ahead. I think we all know that Lent is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. What that means for Read more »
Are you one who dreads Lent? Suppose one viewed Lent as a time of possibilities, opportunities for renewal. Pope Francis refers to Lent as “a season of conversion, a time of freedom” because “God does not want subjects, but sons and daughters.” Conversion is often portrayed as something painful, difficult – but the origin of Read more »
Yesterday was the feast day of St. Walburga. She was an Anglo-Saxon nun in England who lived around 710-779 AD. Her uncle was St. Boniface, an English monk, who went on mission to do evangelization in Germany in the eighth century. Both of St. Walburga’s brothers followed Boniface to Germany. St. Walburga followed them when Read more »
Have you noticed how many towns have biblical place names? Do you know what state has the most? Do you know that OH, IN, and KY all have a Hebron, a Lebanon, and a Salem? There are over one thousand biblical place names in the U.S. The eastern and central states have more of them, Read more »
I’d been working for a few days on an idea for this blog. It would develop to a certain point, then freeze. No progress. So, stuck, I pulled out one of my favorite poetry books to see if I could find a different path to follow. After browsing a while, it struck me that many Read more »
For my birthday in December a friend gave me a small magazine (99 p.) entitled Cat Happiness: fill their lives with joy. The magazine focuses on different things that seem to make cats happy: catnips, indoor fountains, soft blankets, a cardboard box, hammocks, play toys, pheromones, cat trees and the important slow blink. The slow Read more »
I love to read. Always have. I got my library card when I was nine years old, frequenting the Covington Public Library on Scott Street. The children’s section was on the second floor. I am pretty sure I read everything they had on prehistoric times and Nancy Drew Mysteries. Several decades later I am still Read more »