Quiet

I have plans for a quiet weekend. I'm open to that changing, but, for the moment, I'm looking forward to the quiet.

I think I'm going to have breakfast with my mom on Saturday, and then, I think I'm going to go to the park again, and maybe to my favorite tea shop to pick up a tin of a fruit-infusion tea (lemon-mango) that I love and I'm out of.

I'm going to read, and maybe watch a movie or two.

I'm going to prepare and teach a Sunday school lesson.

I'm going to pray for some friends who are gathering and planning.

I'm going to spend time praying through an upcoming major life decision.

I'm going to listen to music, and maybe do some writing.

I'm going to sip tea and take in the recycling.

I'm going to grocery shop and buy bottled water.

I might buy a Christmas tree at the thrift store and decorate it (though it's a bit early for that).

I'm going to start planning my Christmas shopping.

I'm going to enjoy the quiet.

(But first, one more day of work - casual clothes, though!)

Better Day

I think I slept 6 hours last night! (Which still only makes for 9 hours in the last two nights, but it's definitely better!) I actually slept through my alarm to such a point this morning that I had 10 minutes from the moment I woke up to the moment I needed to be out the door. (And I made it to work on time!)

The work day is now an hour from ending, and I'm getting tired again.

I lead a Bible study discussion group tonight, but I think I'm going to push the kids to actually engage with the chapter on their own, and give them a journaling exercise for at least a portion of our time together. Less discussing, more engaging I hope.

I need to send several emails tonight too.

I need to spend some more time praying through a major work/school decision that is rather suddenly and urgently on my radar, but will affect the next few years of my life quite dramatically.

I need to just sit. (I'm going to watch Grey's Anatomy).

I'm glad that things were lighter today. I'm not sure I'd have made it through another day like yesterday.

I'm glad tomorrow is Friday, and that I can wear jeans to work.

I'm glad for a weekend with nothing planned (except sunday school teaching, and possibly a walk or tea with my mom on Saturday morning).

I'm glad there are leftovers in my fridge so I don't have to cook dinner tonight in the 40 minutes between when I get home and the Bible study starts. (I'm not often thankful for leftovers - take note of this moment - it may never be repeated!)

I'm glad for dreams (the waking kind today).

I'm glad for friends who love me, and made a point of telling me that yesterday when I was struggling so deeply.

I'm glad for really honest prayer times, alone, in the dark, with candles and incense.

I'm glad that I'm not ever as alone as I sometimes feel.

A Variety from Henri Nouwen

More great thoughts from Henri Nouwen...

Heart As Wide As the World

The awareness of being part of the communion of saints makes our hearts as wide as the world. The love with which we love is not just our love; it is the love of Jesus and his saints living in us. When the Spirit of Jesus lives in our hearts, all who have lived their lives in that Spirit live there too. Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents; our teachers and their teachers; our pastors and their pastors; our spiritual guides and theirs - all the holy men and women who form that long line of love through history - are part of our hearts, where the Spirit of Jesus chooses to dwell.

The communion of saints is not just a network of connections between people. It is first and foremost the community of our hearts.

The Fruit of Our Communal Life

Our society encourages individualism. We are constantly made to believe that everything we think, say, or do, is our personal accomplishment, deserving individual attention. But as people who belong to the communion of saints, we know that anything of spiritual value is not the result of individual accomplishment but the fruit of a communal life.

Whatever we know about God and God's love; whatever we know about Jesus - his life, death, and resurrection - whatever we know about the Church and its ministry, is not the invention of our minds asking for an award. It is the knowledge that has come to us through the ages from the people of Israel and the prophets, from Jesus and the saints, and from all who have played roles in the formation of our hearts. True spiritual knowledge belongs to the communion of saints.

Embracing the Universe

Living a spiritual life makes our little, fearful hearts as wide as the universe, because the Spirit of Jesus dwelling within us embraces the whole of creation. Jesus is the Word, through whom the universe has been created. As Paul says: "In him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible - all things were created through him and for him - in him all things hold together" (Collosians 1:16-17). Therefore when Jesus lives within us through his Spirit, our hearts embrace not only all people but all of creation. Love casts out all fear and gathers in all that belongs to God.

Prayer, which is breathing with the Spirit of Jesus, leads us to this immense knowledge.