What do you think of the idea that "the sacred must sometimes change shape to meet us"(p. 26)? Must we always reshape ourselves to meet the holy, or can we, as Anne Sexton does, demand that the sacred change to make space for us?
Do you have a favorite reading--a poem, a passage from a book, a line from a song--that you take comfort in, perhaps "like a rosary, say them over and over; like a prayer" (p.27)?
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
40 Days with Still: Day 6, February 28, 2012
There is something special about how the physical and spiritual come together in healing; Winner experiences this when she goes forward at church for healing prayer. Have you known people uniquely gifted in offering comfort and healing to you in difficult times? How have they helped? And have you experienced times where you have ministered to another, offering comfort and healing?
Monday, February 27, 2012
40 Days with Still, Day 5, February 27
What do you do when you feel God is absent? Pull away? Try harder to connect? Busy yourself with other things? Shut down?
In this meditation, Winner often returns to the refrain "Time passes." How does the passing of time shape your spiritual life?
When Winner tells a friend she is having marital trouble, her friend tells her: "I don't know if you will get divorced...I do know that, if you do, two years later you will some things about God that you don't know now" (p. 19). How do loss, absence, and emptiness sometimes give us a fuller understanding of God?
In this meditation, Winner often returns to the refrain "Time passes." How does the passing of time shape your spiritual life?
When Winner tells a friend she is having marital trouble, her friend tells her: "I don't know if you will get divorced...I do know that, if you do, two years later you will some things about God that you don't know now" (p. 19). How do loss, absence, and emptiness sometimes give us a fuller understanding of God?
The Day-late post, 40 Days with Still, Day 4
Sorry this is a day late! Sunday got away from me.
"Still--still we say thank you, dark though it is"(p.14).
Thankfulness, praise and worship in the midst of darkness, as poet W.S. Merwin and Winner affirm, can be beautiful and necessary, even in their apparent contradiction. When have you been able to offer thanks in the middle of darkness? Has there ever been a time when you agreed with Winner's aunt and uncle--that it would be dishonest to offer thanks in such a time?
Next up: Ode on God's Absence, pages 15-20
"Still--still we say thank you, dark though it is"(p.14).
Thankfulness, praise and worship in the midst of darkness, as poet W.S. Merwin and Winner affirm, can be beautiful and necessary, even in their apparent contradiction. When have you been able to offer thanks in the middle of darkness? Has there ever been a time when you agreed with Winner's aunt and uncle--that it would be dishonest to offer thanks in such a time?
Next up: Ode on God's Absence, pages 15-20
Saturday, February 25, 2012
40 Days with Still: Day 3, February 25, 2012, the late edition!
Sorry to be posting so late, y'all! A full day for me, including the Cathedral Chapter retreat. Hope your Saturday has been a good one!
Simple reading for today--page 10, The View from Ellie's House.
Winner describes feeling pathetic about moving into her priest's guest bedroom and sleeping in a twin bed at the age of 32. How have you responded to unexpected, difficult moments in your life? What do those moments have to do with your understanding of vulnerability, gratitude, grace or faith?
For tomorrow: please read pages 11-14.
Simple reading for today--page 10, The View from Ellie's House.
Winner describes feeling pathetic about moving into her priest's guest bedroom and sleeping in a twin bed at the age of 32. How have you responded to unexpected, difficult moments in your life? What do those moments have to do with your understanding of vulnerability, gratitude, grace or faith?
For tomorrow: please read pages 11-14.
Friday, February 24, 2012
40 Days with Still: Day 2, February 24, 2012
Winner writes about her marriage saying "God became an abstraction. God became puzzling, like field theory, and far away" (p.7). Have you ever reached this point, where God no longer felt close or clear, but rather like an abstraction? If so, what did that mean for your faith and your understanding of your spiritual life?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
40 Days with Still: Day 1, Feb 23, 2012
Text: Preface, Preface, ii
Winner writes: "When the Lord came into me, it was such a good feeling...but then there was all this stuff to do and to think about, and I don't remember the feeling all that well."
Do you have a conversion experience or do you remember the first time you experienced the nearness of God? What was that like? Are those experiences different in different life stages--as a child, an adolescent, an adult? Did you think that the feeling of nearness would last forever?
Winner talks about hitting a spiritual wall and the questions that arose once there. Have you ever hit a wall in your spiritual journey? What questions did you ask yourself or of your faith community? How did you figure out what to do and where to go next?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Please your thoughts in the comments sections!
Peace,
Sarah+
Text for tomorrow: pages 3-9.
Winner writes: "When the Lord came into me, it was such a good feeling...but then there was all this stuff to do and to think about, and I don't remember the feeling all that well."
Do you have a conversion experience or do you remember the first time you experienced the nearness of God? What was that like? Are those experiences different in different life stages--as a child, an adolescent, an adult? Did you think that the feeling of nearness would last forever?
Winner talks about hitting a spiritual wall and the questions that arose once there. Have you ever hit a wall in your spiritual journey? What questions did you ask yourself or of your faith community? How did you figure out what to do and where to go next?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Please your thoughts in the comments sections!
Peace,
Sarah+
Text for tomorrow: pages 3-9.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Lenten Book Study
Our Lenten Book study of Lauren F. Winner's book Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis begins on Thursday, February 23. Plan on reading a few pages each day.
For the first day, please read the Preface and Preface,ii (pages ix-xix).
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