Gerard and Chrissie Kelly
This mornings prayers are written by Gerard Kelly for his twitter feed twitturgies. I enjoyed them so much that decided I needed to share them (with slight adaptation). Gerard blogs at God Sees Diamonds. Gerard and his wife Chrissie are the cofounders of the Bless network and live in Normandy France. They are some of the saints who have influenced my life and for whom I give thanks today.
For all the saints denounced as sinners, who walk the narrow way.
Close to the edge. Open to love.
I give thanks
For unknown saints, guerrillas of grace,
who co-operate with their creator though they have no name for him,
I give thanks
For all who have stopped me in my tracks.
Who have loved unconditionally but insisted on change.
I give thanks
Thank you God for voices that called to me to take a walk on the wild side:
Voices I heard and heeded and found you there
Give me a vision higher than my horizon God.
Clouds on fire. Wheels spinning.
The beating of wings. Lift me from my mediocrity
This post is the third in a series on taking a spiritual retreat. It is adapted from a post I wrote several years ago.
You can check out the first two posts here:
Spiritual Retreats: Powerful Tools to Increase Our Faith.
Taking a Spiritual Retreat – Some Guidelines to Think About
If you have never taken a retreat before, you may like to use this spiritual audit as a pattern for your first time away. Having a structure like this can help us dispel those What on earth am I doing here? feelings that so easily overwhelm us when we try something new. Many of us struggle with a chronic gnawing anxiety because we don’t feel our spiritual life is adequate but most of us rarely spend time evaluating how healthy relationship to God really is. I was given this audit by a friend several years ago. I have adapted and changed it over the years but still find it to be an excellent outline for reevaluating my life. Combine this exercise with a more free flowing time of listening for God’s voice and direction. I like to start with some general questions about my life and then move to more specific spiritual questions.
Look back over the last week or month
- Consolations: what has been life gaining and deepened your sense of connection to God?
- Desolations: what has been life draining and made you lose that sense of intimacy with God?
- How is God speaking to you through this?
- What are the major pressures in your life? Where do you think the pressure comes from and what are the underlying causes?
- How do these affect your spiritual well being?
- In what ways could they be harnessed so that your heart could be broken open to new possibilities for a better future?
- What daily and weekly events set the rhythm for your life? Which of these contribute to your spiritual well being and which distract from it?
How well are you maintaining your spiritual life:
- What gives you joy in your spiritual journey at present?
- Where do you sense God is currently at work in your transformation? What would give God the most opportunity to continue that work?
- What do you do on a regular basis to nurture your spiritual life?
- What are the major distractions that interfere with regular spiritual disciplines?
How has God spoken to you in the last week:
- through prayer
- through scripture
- through the needs of others
- through the words of others
- through other means
What changes is God prompting you to make in order to further your spiritual growth:
- In your daily or weekly commitments and rhythms?
- In your spiritual routines?
How will you ensure that these changes are adhered to?
- What is one new practice you would like to institute to help maintain your new resolutions?
- What is one relationship you could nurture to provide accountability and encouragement as you walk this journey?
Harvesting apples with Tom & Kim Balke on Mayne Island
I am on a roll posting autumn recipes made straight from our garden. We still have some of the 160 pounds of apples I harvested a month ago left and have just made another apple cake from them. This recipe is one of Tom’s favourites for breakfast and I thought that it was worth reposting for those of you who love apples. I have cut down on the amount of sugar in the original recipe so if you want sweet just increase the sugar.
This recipe was given to me by Janet Hutchison the wife of our former Board chair Coe Hutchison. Janet’s grandmother became a widow with seven children (all under the age of thirteen) when she was still in her thirties. She was still climbing her apple trees to prune and spray even in her seventies. Janet was fortunate enough to grow up living next door and enjoyed her fresh pies, cookies and this delicious apple cake. Enjoy!
- 6 cups Apples,Peeled & Diced
- 1 cup brown or raw Sugar
- ½ cup Oil
- 1 cup Walnuts,Chopped
- 2 Eggs,Beaten
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 cups whole wheat Flour
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ cup Yoghurt
Stir together apples, sugar, oil, nuts, eggs and vanilla. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda & salt. Add flour mix to apple mixture. Bake in a 9×13″ pan at 350℉ for about 45 min or until toothpick comes out dry. Freezes well. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream
Serve as is or top with Cream cheese frosting 8 oz cream cheese, 3 tbl margarine, 1 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar OR top brfore baking with 2tsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp flour, 1/4 cup rolled oats
Per Serving (not including toppings which I usually leave off: 308 Cal (38% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 56% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 13 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 3 g Mono Fat; 44 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 30 g Sugar; 16 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 336 mg Sodium; 33 mg Cholesterol;
The joy of journalling
Yesterday I posted some thoughts on why we go on spiritual retreats and some guidelines on how to conduct your own personal retreat in this article Spiritual Retreats: Powerful Tools to Increase Our Faith. Today I thought I wanted to share the details of how Tom and I actually conduct our retreat. I hope that it is helpful for you.
I usually start our first retreat session with a centering exercise like a breathing prayer to focus my mind. Tom starts with reading the scriptures of the day and writing out the psalm of the day in his journal . It is amazing how often this speaks to where he is at and what God is nudging in his life. The second step which both of us do is to read over what we committed to on the previous retreat and then read back through our weekly journals for the last 3 months. I use coloured markers to highlight what quotes, ideas and comments stand out for me from my three months of journaling, often rewriting these book quotes and prayers I have composed so that they become part of that continuing journey. I find this is a wonderful way to explore the threads of the journey God is weaving in my life.
At the end of this session we share our thoughts and insights with each other. Sometimes we ask each other questions or give advice. On our last retreat, reading back over my notes, I read again about the Trappist Monks who are successful “because they worked from a contemplative centre fully present to God rather than to the business they are doing.” When I mentioned that to Tom he asked: “What does working from a contemplative centre mean to you? What are the concrete outcomes you want to accomplish as a result of this approach?” His question became the pivotal point of my retreat time, helping me to evaluate the effectiveness of my contemplative practices and their role in stirring my imagination and guiding my path. His question made me realize how important it is to listen not just to what we sense God says to us directly or through scripture, but also through the questions of those around us. Questions like this don’t tell us what to do or to think, they open our minds and our hearts to the answers that God has already placed within us.
The second session focuses on honestly evaluating how well we have adhered to God’s path during this period. After praying about this and often repenting for how little I have applied what I learnt, I like to spend time in contemplation. I use a modified Lectio divina, either reading scriptures that have stood out for me in the last few weeks or a book that I felt God had prompted me to bring on this retreat. Sometimes I read through short passages, on other occasions I skim quickly through the book or books, incorporating quotes that speak to me into my retreat journal. I often highlight or underline these and then spend time reflecting on them.
The last session is for setting goals for the next few month. First I work on my personal life outlining disciplines for physical exercise, scripture reading and prayer, other spiritual practices I need to be more rigorous about. I also set goals for balancing my schedule – making sure that I leave plenty of time in my day and week for fun and relaxation, for the garden and time with friends.
My second area of goal setting is for my relationships, starting with our marriage, then friendships, hospitality and mentoring relationships. I have loved the way that this area of goal setting has drawn me slowly into mentoring relationships as well as an intentional approach to some of our hospitality, using it to build friendships and collaboration for our ministry.
The third area I set goals for is my relationship to the world around me. For years I struggled with my lack of practical involvement in ministry out into our neighbourhood and so was delighted when I was asked recently to be part of the steering committee for an interfaith group sponsored by Seattle Tilth that is encouraging churches and communities of faith to start community gardens. This area of goal setting often reminds me of my commitment to “bring glimpses of God’s shalom into peoples’ lives” and though I know this is not a time for me to work overseas, it has led me to intentionally develop mentoring relationships with leaders of small charitable organizations whose work and passion I can encourage and help grow.
Autumn arrangement
I know that at this season lots of us are looking for creative recipes not just to use the pumpkins we are accumulating but to use the last of the fresh produce we are purchasing from CSAs or farmers’ markets or harvesting from our garden. The recipe that I posted last night was so popular that I thought I would continue to post others over this week.
This soup is one of our favourite. I have slowly perfected it over the years (at least i think so) as the produce in our garden has proliferated and I have needed to get more creative in the ways that I use it. It can be adapted to take advantage of what is cheap and easily available at this season or better yet what is still flourishing in the garden. The only true essentials are the beans, wheat berries or you could substitute quinoa, onions, tomatoes and cabbage.
1 cup dried beans (use Scarlet Runners from the garden or large lima beans)
1 cup wheat berries or 1 cup quinoa
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 14 oz canned tomatoes, diced or quart jar of homemade marinara sauce
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup carrot, peeled and cut in ½-inch chunks
1 lb cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 lb chard, kale or collards, chopped
½ lb green beans, trimmed and cut into ½-inch lengths
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable broth
1 cup winter squash, chopped
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
Soak beans and wheat berries in separate bowls overnight. Drain and set aside. Cook dried beans until just tender (45 min – 1 hour). In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until soft. Add garlic, sage, and rosemary and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add soaked wheat berries, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until wheat berries are al dente (1 – 1½ hours). If using quinoa no prior cooking is necessary. Add cabbage, squash, mushrooms, carrots, green beans, garden greens, and soaked beans with their liquid. Cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender (15 – 20 minutes). Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.
This soup can be adapted to take advantage of whatever vegetables are most plentiful.
Tom and I are just back from one of our quarterly retreats. This has probably been one of our best ever as so much seems to be blossoming in our lives and in our ministry. Reading back over my notes from the last retreat, I was struck again by the Trappist Monks who are successful “because they worked from a contemplative centre fully present to God rather than to the business they are doing.”
When I mentioned that to Tom he asked: “What does working from a contemplative centre mean to you? What are the concrete outcomes you want to accomplish as a result of this approach?” His question was the pivotal point of my retreat time and made me realize how important it is to listen not just to what we sense God says to us directly or through scripture, but also through the questions of those around us. Questions like this don’t tell us what to do or to think, they open our minds and our hearts to the answers that God has already placed within us.
Working from a contemplative centre does not come easily for me. My busy lifestyle and type A personality mean that my mind is quickly distracted from what God is saying to me through scripture, prayer and the voice of others. Setting concrete outcomes can be even more challenging – I like free flowing creativity. However, each time I go on retreat I realize that growing my faith and my closeness to God only occurs when I commit myself to structure and discipline. Listening, reflecting and responding to the whispers through which God seeks to draw me close is essential. And do do that I must slow down, take notice and then take action.
Coming close to God does not happen in a vacuum. We all need the questions that others pose for us to guide us into discernment. Years ago, I heard British theologian John Stott speak. He reminded us that “the answers we get depend on the questions we ask.” And we do not always frame the best questions for ourselves. The questions God would have us address may rise from within our own spirits but they more often come through the voices of others – through friends and relatives as in this case, or through the joys and suffering of those with whom we share the planet. They can also come through listening to God’s creation – God speaks through the beauty and the pollution we see around us.
So my challenge this morning is – what voices are you listening to? How do you nurture the contemplative centre in which you are fully present to God?
I normally post all of the Light for the Journey Prayers on Saturday but loved this prayer by John Birch so much that I wanted to make sure it was not overshadowed by some of the others from the week. And it reflected my feelings exactly as we visited Camano Island this morning and saw the pole barn at the Mustard Seed Village with the roof (at least the first stage) now on. More photos here
I enter this day with joy
knowing you are with me
every step of the way,
knowing there is a purpose
to each breath that I take,
knowing there is a hope
toward which I walk.
I enter this day with faith
knowing you are the strength
which I depend on,
knowing you are the love
that is all embracing,
knowing it is your peace
which calms my soul.
I enter this day with praise
knowing that I worship
with service as with voice,
hoping that my words
might reveal your truth,
hoping that your grace
might touch another heart.
© John Birch – http://www.facebook.com/
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