Lisa Colón DeLay

A time away, you probably need it.

When the frontline of life starts to weaken your reserves you need a retreat to revive yourself so you’re ready for anything you need to face.
- Starting June, 2013

Throughout my life God has provide spiritual guides to journey with me and encourage me when I needed it most.

In gratitude I hoped to offer this to others as well. It took a number of years, but I got the needed experience in mentoring, leading, and companioning plus my Masters Degree in Spiritual Formation, and now I enjoy guiding spiritual pilgrims, like you, (and from various faith traditions) in transforming, personalized getaways.

This experience helps you explore the ways of God and your own inner world in a very potent, personal, and rejuvenating way, for a few hours at a time or a few days at a time, which ever suits your circumstances.

It’s what you might call a “Boutique Retreat” experience because each time is an original, from the ground up. Each is specially designed with you in mind to breathe freshness and insights into your life in a way you have rarely or ever encountered. Great care is taken to nourish your soul and aid you in transformation, healing, and growth. You can even bring a friend.

Like readying a garden plot, I create a safe and sacred space for you to better encounter God through the Holy Spirit. Your needs like food and devotional material are provided for you, so you needn’t worry about the details. All you have to do is show up and be ready for the seeds of renewal.

You have complete permission to relax, breathe deeply, and encounter God in a way that most helps you, with as much structure or free time as you enjoy.

Following a preliminary conversation about your current spiritual needs or life circumstances, I tailor the experience to you and with gentle shepherding I include elements such as spiritual companioning, prayer, time for private reflection, and enjoying God’s creation as we journey onward.

Deep calls to Deep
Have you been feeling soul-weary, spiritually thirsty, or you sense God calling you to something deeper? It’s time to listen. Getaway and rediscover yourself as God’s Beloved. As you recover yourself you will sense God’s love more deeply become a greater blessing to others.

This sort of Soul Care doesn’t happen at a conference, in personal devotional time, or at a church service. While those things are usually helpful and needed, the occasion of a personalize spiritual experience like this one is truly unique.

• Some find added value in bringing a friend or two along to journey together, and that is encouraged if it’s a good fit for you.

The cost is minimal. The experience is priceless.

Within a gorgeous setting you will enjoy feeling deeply welcomed, revived, cared for, and blessed… and you will not go away unchanged.

LIST OF GUIDANCE OPTIONS:

Personalized, Specialized, and Focused on your unique needs = Boutique

These special experiences are drenched in prayer for you and are specifically designed to be potent by being limited to an intimate number of 1-4 participants only. (Prices below reflect per person costs. Groups of 3 or 4 may deduction %10. New referrals have the same discount.)

Retreat on a budget:
• Personal Guided Prayer and Refreshment Retreat 1/2 Day (4 hours) $45 per person.
(a.m. or p.m. options available)

To raise money for your retreat go here.

MOST popular:
• Personal Guided Prayer and Renewal Retreat Overnight option (at retreat center) 1/2 day  (4 hours) + full day (6 structured hours + free time) $140.
Includes 2 meals (breakfast and lunch 2nd day. Departure in afternoon), a snack (1st evening), modest room accommodations, and a personalized schedule with prayer, time for reflection, and guided devotional time.

Most Restful:
• Custom-crafted Guided Prayer and Rejuvenating Retreat Weekend (at retreat center)
Schedule: 2 half days (Friday and Sunday) and a special engaging schedule on Saturday. (includes snack Friday evening, 3 meals Saturday and snacks, 2 meals Sunday. 2pm departure.) $250 [limited spots]

• Leadership Development Retreat Weekend. For emerging and developing leaders, this personalize retreat experience focuses on vocation, self-discovery, interpersonal skills, spiritual growth, and leadership development to ensure success in leadership or correct problems in current aspects of leading. $275 (includes snack Friday evening, 3 meals Saturday, snacks, 2 meals Sunday. 2pm departure.)

A Must for anyone in ministry:
• Personal Guided Prayer and Resting Retreat–for Pastors or care-givers. This option caters to the special needs of those who minister and regularly offer care to others (such as lay leaders, helps professionals, parents, and those caring for elderly parents)

Often pastors and care givers empty themselves but don’t make the time to be adequately refilled. This is a gift a pastor or care givers should give to him or herself, but a healthy congregation will offer these opportunities for pastors. Ask your group to sponsor you for a needed getaway.

This particular personalize retreat experience focuses on refreshment, healing, spiritual growth, and development to strengthen the minster, lay leader or care giver for further service. A discount is provided to those in full-time ministry or care. Weekend option: $235. 1 Day Overnight option: $130. (Weekend option includes snack Friday evening, 3 meals Saturday, snacks, 2 meals Sunday. 2pm departure. 1 Day Overnight option: 1/2 day  (4 hours) + full day (6 hours). Includes 2 meals (breakfast and lunch 2nd day. Departure in afternoon.)

For the artistic soul
• Artist and Writer Guided Retreat Weekend. This retreat is designed with the artistic or creative temperament in mind. Focusing on Soul Care, encouragement, healing, and purpose/vocation this retreat will most refresh and invigorate those in creative fields like the arts and writing with guidance and exercises tailored specifically and personally for discovery and development. $275 (includes snack Friday evening, 3 meals Saturday + snacks, 2 meals Sunday. 2pm departure.)

Something different:
• Personalized Guided Dream Work Retreat Weekend. For those who want to discover or understand the rich world of dreaming for growth, discernment, and added personal and spiritual insights. Dreamers of all levels will benefit and see the rich history of God using dreams to connect with his people.

Reasons to Go…
•You rarely dream but want to dream more

•You want to gain a better understanding of your dreams and how God is using them to teach you

•You have trouble with nightmares and reoccurring dreams.

Learn how to generally decipher dreams, sleep better, have lucid dreams, and better understand how God really uses 1/3 of your life (the percentage of hours you sleep) to guide, heal, encourage, and transform you in a special way. Lots of fun, relaxing, and insights aplenty. $285 (includes snack Friday evening, 3 meals Saturday + snacks, 2 meals Sunday. 2pm departure.)

Spiritual Formation
Personalized (Boutique) Retreats usually include introductions and guidance to simple but effective spiritual exercises and disciplines in collaboration with several modest reading assignments, journaling and discovery opportunities, scheduled time for one-to-one guidance, free time/reflection time, prayer, enjoying God’s creation, and spiritual practices that are customized to your particular needs, tradition, learning style, and temperament. It’s time to go deeper!

(These experiences also make a very thoughtful gift for someone who needs a getaway!)

Some of the Spiritual Exercises and Practices we may explore together, as you wish:

• Exploring Christian Prayer Forms (praying the hours, breath prayer, centering prayer, Jesus Prayer, praying with a visual aid, imaginative prayer, lectio divina, contemplative prayer {prayer of the heart/apophatic}, prayer walk, labyrinth prayer, and others.)

• Spiritual Disciplines (silence, meditation, self-care, study, examen, rest, spiritual-companioning, communion, journaling, confession, prayer forms, and others.)

Limited Space 
I cannot accommodate all requests for personalized retreats, so only a limited number of spots are available. Please contact through the voice mail feature, the contact-me tab, or leave a comment below to get started or inquire further.

New to Guided Retreats?
A first session to determine if co-discernment, retreat, or spiritual direction is a good fit for you at this time is completely free. (Payment plans are available if needed, and no seeker will be turned away solely on the basis of inability to pay.)

Location:
Most Retreats are held in Wernersville, PA at the Spiritual Center (as seen in the photos). Click to view campus.

Need a Retreat closer to home?
Contact me and we can discuss the location options that will fit your needs.

To learn the reasons people seek guidance in this way click here.

I look forward to hearing from you. Contact me right away to reserve a time slot.

Upcoming Blessings!

-Lisa

(Please note that costs are set to increase in September. Reserve a Spring or Summer retreat experience soon.)

Non Retreat Setting Option
• Spiritual Guidance Session/Holy Listening/Co-Discernment 
Cost per spiritual session: 1 Hour, $30-45. (in-person or through Skype)

(above photo is an example of “The Classic-I got a re-gift face” which I found here.)

So, my Sabbatical from blogging is still in effect.
If you are able to read this tomorrow, Friday December 21st, the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t happen or is just about to. Tomorrow is also the shortest day of daylight of the year, which is like a tiny apocalypse of darkness with much better weather. 

I’ve given myself the gift of removing the obligation to post here for the rest of the year, with the exception of a year-end post that is to come.

However, today I did want to share some news which is a kind of Christmas present to all of you, seeing that this is my final post before Christmas day, that day when Jesus got rags and a hay bed for his birthday.

3 Books are FREE for download, Friday, Mayan Apocalypse Day only. Go and get ‘em! (If you’ve already downloaded them, consider re-gifting them, by passing along the news. I won’t tell anyone.)

I know something about re-gifting. My mom used to have a re-gifting sickness of sorts. It got to the point where my stepdad would have to guard his closet because some of his clothes that my mom didn’t like would make it under the tree as “presents” for my husband. AWKWARD! One year, Tim (husband) opens his gift. It’s a gigantic shirt, twice his size. Stepdad blurts out, “Hey, that’s mine. I liked that shirt!” What do you do then, hand it back and make mother-in-law the villain, or keep the shirt and get stepdad-in-law on your bad side? Yep. Fun times!

Other Points of Note, before the Christmasy part.

1. To ensure you don’t miss the next post (seeing that they are quite rare now), just subscribe to the blog using the button/field to the right. (RSS or email delivery options are there for your viewing pleasure.)

 

2. In the right column…the part that says “You’re invited to my email list” is not for post updates. It’s for the inner circle. I let this list of people…that you’re dying to be a part of—I can tell by your eyes…know things in advance (projects, newsy bits, books, freebies, what-have-you) with an occasional update email, only once or twice a month.

 

3. The Cadre. (Click the heading at the top of the page for that info). Consider praying about your potential involvement in this cohort of camaraderie and support. It’s a 100% free, 1 year commitment to community. Although it’s not officially launching until FEB 1, everyone involved is already starting to bond and know each other better. Such a beautiful thing. These people are probably some of the sweetest folks you’ll ever meet. Their friendship is like GOLD. I. kid. you. not.

Final bidding of holiday goodwill:

May your Christmas meet you where you are.
Whether that means clinging on to family and faith, getting some needed solace, soaking in with gratitude all the blessings at hand, or sitting with your pain and allowing the grace and mercy of God to wash over you, I pray and hope that you are somehow specially blessed in the next 11 days. I’m anointing this post in prayers of petition on your behalf, and I’m trusting in the Great unseen God who made heaven and earth as his abode to shine his face toward you. In this Spirit I bid you a most blessed Christmas.

I’ve surfed Niagara Falls.
It was a hyper realistic dream that I could control. I woke up inside my dream and went down that thing about 5 times.
Loved it!

It’s called lucid dreaming.

I’ve been doing it since I was about 7 years old.

Did you know that you can Learn Lucid Dreaming! You’ll love it.

Even someone that can’t usually remember dreaming at all can learn how to remember more dreams (sometimes 3-7 a night). You can learn ways to control aspects of your dreams (great when you have a nightmare or nasty reoccurring dream), and even become conscious and prolong a consciousness while in a true sleeping/dreaming state.

It helps with anxiety, building good relaxation habits, and empowers you in waking life! You can have experiences you could never have, or problem solve in ways you didn’t think were possible. It’s a huge creativity boost too.

You spend 1/3 of your WHOLE LIFE sleeping, why not make the best of it?

I just published a Guide with everything you need to know at Amazon. (Sparky’s Go-to Guide for Dream Control)

You may notice that it’s co-written by Sparky Pronto…that’s another upcoming surprise. I’ll keep you posted with more news soon.

Even better, this Go-to Guide is FREE this Monday, 11.12.2012.

I hope you like it!

One More Thing:

Do you have trouble sleeping, or with nightmares or unsettling reoccurring dreams? Do you want to know what a certain dream might mean? Contact me for guidance. There’s no charge for a consultation, but I can only accommodate 10 requests.

So enjoy

&

Sweet Dreams!

UPDATES!

• Storm SANDY is gone. Our cable and internet power is gone too (I’m at a McDonalds today writing this).

• I’m featured on the (Moody Bible Radio’s) Midday Connection blog. I hope you can read it!  ARTICLE

• Soon I’ll be selling my digital book on AMAZON.
Soul Care VOL1-5 (Themes covered in the digital book will soon be featured and summarized at RELEVANT magazine online. WIN! I’ll post the link once I get it.)

• Do you want to write about something similar to the themes you see here? I have two guest post spots up for grabs in November. Do you want to contribute? Drop me a line, and let me know. :)

Thank you ALL so very much for your prayers for us during this monster storm. Please consider donating to the RED CROSS to help the many victims hurt by Sandy. If you can donate blood, they need it very badly. The storm disrupted 100 blood donation drives.

Samples of Graphic Design Work.

Click for full image.

The whole collection of 5 Volumes is here on KINDLE.
(For a brief description click the volume number)

Volume 1: What is the Soul? & What is Soul Care?
Volume 2: Identity and Belonging
Volume 3: The 8 Paths of Learning
Volume 4: Slumps, Burnout, and Frustration
Volume 5: God’s Grand Story (I saved the best for last)

Enter the proverbial vehicle analogy:
When a car runs out of gas it doesn’t mean the car is abnormal, it just means that it needs the maintenance of being filled up regularly. Your “soul tank” empties out too. This Series gives you what you need to be a healthy and joyful message-bearer.

Here’s a video introduction to Volume 5, with a whimsical homage to author and influencer, Donald Miller.

If you have any problems with ordering, let me know!

Today, I’m neglecting my own ebook launch week to feature another author who is also launching his ebook at the same time. Don’t let today’s post confuse you. You can read yesterday’s post for the scoop on what I’m up to; and remember the get-the-word-out giveaway ends at the stroke of midnight tonight Eastern Standard Time.

Jeff sent me a free pre-released draft of “You Are a Writer, So Start Acting Like One”.

REVIEW -
Which is more like a mashup of honest observations, reflections, and snippets.

eBook Summary:
This is a practical advice and how-to book, mixed with some short personal stories, and some material from previous ebook efforts.

Favorite Quote: I love this quote from the foreword concerning red-pen correction marks: “I would cry and brush it off and just accept the fact that I wasn’t a writer, until the day I realized I was one.”

Why I love it: I love this quote because it’s about identity. When you are a Creator or Communicator, you can’t help but be one. It doesn’t matter how full of red pen marks your papers are. Writers write. Creators create. It’s a core need.

That’s Jeff’s story and his book title is something he told himself.
“You Are a Writer, So Start Acting Like One”

This ebook has universal appeal for Creators and Communicators most as a how-I-did-it piece. Jeff reveals the details of what happened when he did as veteran author Steven Pressfield advised concerning “going pro” in his amazing resource:  The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. This is a vital lesson to learn. Jeff made it work. In this ebook he stresses “…and so can you”.

The parts I didn’t like:
• Perhaps 30% or so of the content is the same information from Jeff’s previous ebooks, which is fine if you haven’t read them, but could be somewhat perturbing if you have. Let the buyer beware.

• I tend to read authors with a greater command of writing craft. His format reads more like a quickly rendered blog post. Some might appreciate the casual style, while others may perhaps surmise hurriedness or inability. It may shrink to personal preference on that part, but an honest appraisal demands I mention it.

One of the best sections is where Jeff unpacks this list:

3 important relationships writers need.

For whom this book is best:
How’s that for starchy grammar…?

This ebook is best for writers (and other communicators) just starting out who need the some tips and how-tos or need to learn the bones and practical ways to win the attention of editors in order to garner greater readership and establish their platform. It also helps muster one’s courage and gives a good boost to get started and keep going.

Personally: For me (though I’m not just starting out), I liked reading what he did to succeed. I learned that I’m actually doing bunch of things right, and I just need to keep it up to meet with success.

And hey! It’s only $4.99.

Photo Credit: M Sullivan via Compfight

Several thousand people arrive at my blog each month because of Ligers.

But maybe you’ve noticed that this isn’t a blog about Ligers. Actually, I rarely feature any big cats, or animals of any kind.

But for the magic of SEO, and Google, they come, massive web traffic, visitors in search of Liger related who-knows-what. If you google “name the liger” I’ll be the first entry.

People want to know if they’re real, or if Napoleon Dynamite was on to something about their skillz in magic. Maybe they want to see one up close. The Myrtle Beach Wildlife Reserve had a baby liger they were showing off, so boom! Liger fans. It’s all been a big flippin’ mistake…

Truth be told, I like Ligers. There’re pretty much my favorite animal. Back in 2010, on a lark I decided that a Liger would be a nice mascot here. After all, I’m a mixed breed myself. I popped up a post about it. “Name the Liger” I said. And still they come.

Lots of useless traffic…Or was it?

Instead of staying frustrated by this feline epic #fail, or even….well…you know being embarrassed by all the ligerish corniness, I decided employ some “Liger Leverage”.

See? They’re magic after all.

I just repurposed the post. In a spirit of general generosity, I worked on giving people something they were looking for.

I linked to the news some readers no doubt wanted about the wildlife reserve, I added some Liger info, and linked to a helpful resource with detailed information and stats on these and other hybrid felines. And I also added an invitation for [errant] visitors to poke around the rest of the site…you know for other flipping’ sweet stuff.

Guess what? In just two weeks, my bounce rate dipped about 35%! (That’s the stat that shows that people notice they’ve gone to the wrong place and click away quickly.) I might have even gained some regular readers.

Are people visiting your blog for the wrong reasons?
It turns out you can redeem the mistake. Use Liger Leverage!

(screen grab of an upcoming video)

Excerpt:

(BONUS: Here is a great audio document on her majesty Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song”. Her improv (scat) is pitch-perfect and sounds a lot like a clarinet.)

Check out the rest of the post I did on Ed Cyzewski’s blog today.

If you like it, you’ll LOVE Volume 5 of my ebook, God’s GRAND Story.
More details and a snazzy video coming soon.

For info updates and a free volume just sign up.

Subscribe to get 3 Volumes for Creators & Communicators (free) 

I met our next contributor in seminary. If you don’t know Warwick personally, it’s hard to describe him. Just reading his work one could get the false impression that he is just mildly eccentric, even understated. Don’t be fooled.

Warwick leaks out and away from every typical category. First of all, Warwick takes great pleasure in being unusual. He’s involved and conscientious. He makes frenzied gestures when he’s excited, his laugh is thoroughly concussive, and he devours books at vertiginous speed. He’s intense, yet surprises you with his sensitivity. He’s intelligent, but that doesn’t ever seem to help him for long. He’s both a marvel and a conundrum. I like him and I’ve learned a lot from him. Probably when it was least expected, and often where blood, or tears, or sweat has something to do with it. I’ve appreciated Warwick in the same way I grew to like dark lager. (In this curious photo, an unseen doctor checks Warwick for a mutant sty that developed after reading too many spiderman comics. Or, I made that last part up.)

Smart Authors Balance Honesty and Transparency
-by Warwick Fuller

We’ve just moved for the 4^th time in the past year. I just opened a box that was labeled desk stuff and found an old journal.   How I approach my journal is different from my blog.  My blog is mostly about my observations and the events going on in my life that are affecting me and the world around me.  Because of my faith, these observations are thru a certain lens.  I don’t think I’m bashful about that lens, but I am choosy about what I share in regards to that lens.  I’m choosy about what I share about my family.  I do know some of my readers.  I don’t know all of them.

In blogging there are certain ideals, and those that post them well are the people that have a high traffic volume.  Two of those ideals are honesty and transparency.  In being honest, we can see the writer’s flaws, and the true humanity that is behind the words and stories.  In being transparent, the writer becomes relatable.  These are trust issues.  A good author wants you to trust their work; wants you to understand and relate.

Being a smart author in such a personal medium is to know when to draw the line when it comes to transparency.  For me there are a couple of rules that I have employed in my head to help.

1.  Never paint your spouse/child/significant other in such a shade that they are degraded in the eyes of others.  I never want others to regret what I write about them, especially my immediate family.  It’s unfair; they never get to defend themselves on my page.  The stories I do share about them that I question I always run by my wife first.  If she feels uncomfortable then its off the table.
2. Never put your family in danger.  Honestly, there are crazy people out there.  My nana says more than there were when she was a kid.  The post that draws the most attention to my blog is a picture of the Marvel Comic Family Tree (nerd alert), and I’m not sure who is being drawn in because of it.   I am very careful in revealing certain details about where we are and what my kids are up to.  I’m honest, just not naïve.
3. It’s ok to make yourself the butt of a joke, but be redeemable.  Some reputations have been killed by what an author writes about himself on the interwebs.  Some comedians make a life out of self-humiliation.  I think that may be fine for others, but I want to be trusted by those who ask for my advice.  Because of the line of work I am in, others count on my opinion and advice.  I do not want that ruined by a misplaced, though true, story.
4. When in doubt, find a community to run your idea by first.  I have a wife who is understanding and is intelligent.  She also likes me, which helps when I tell her I want to put something on my blog.  She’s god at asking the right questions that help me not just know what to put up but how and why.  If you do not have a soundboard, then find one.  Or at least, write down your post and revisit a week later, before you post it.  This is just a good habit, anyway.
5. Be aware that the truth you find in your observations may not be what others saw.  It’s the old joke about the blind men and the elephant.  If you are writing about an event that took place, it’s not a bad idea to make sure you saw exactly what you saw.  Ask others that were a part of it for their own observations.  It makes a story round, and they can provide details you missed.
6. Don’t make yourself un-hirable.    I have no idea what the future holds for me and my family.  I do not want anything I’ve put up on my blog to put in jeopardy whatever God is leading us to next.  Neither should you.  A good reputation, to be trusted, is a desirable goal. I’ve heard better than silver and gold.  Weigh your words and see if what you read is how you want people to see you.

So, fellow bloggers, how close an eye are you keeping on your words?  What safeguards do you employ?  Can you ever be too honest and open?

Bio: Warwick Fuller is a blogger at www.warwickfuller.wordpress.com.  He names his pets after Anglican literary figures and wears bow ties. He is lead on his church’s Wednesday night Family Ministry, and is a USAR Chaplain.  He is married with three daughters and lives in Harrisburg, PA.  

Sometimes you find your niche. Sometimes a niche presents itself. And sometimes you get a bit of both and it feels like Paris in Springtime, which smells great and involves kissing (and I’ll just save that bit for some other post, or my dairy).

Finding one’s niche includes a merging of ingredients:

• Perparation

• Passion

• Education

• Opportunity

You put it all together and you make it with an “m” (for mission)

And you get patty cake instead of hokey pokey.

My niche is now helping and encouraging Creators and Communicators.

People who feel put on the planet to create things or communicate important things.

Have you found your niche yet?

Or would you like some encouragement or direction?

I’ve creating new resources for just that thing.

Tell us what you like to focus on or Leave a link so we can find your niche.

Photo Credit: asenat29 via Compfight

After the April Fool’s prank of telling our congregation that he and his wife were expecting a baby, our paster spoke on the topic of generosity.

I wasn’t fooled because I had previous insider information that “that ship had sailed,” as his wife once put it. So, you bet ‘cha…Mark’s no freighter. He’s strictly a Pleasure Cruiser now. 

He said there are 2 types of people in the word: Givers and Takers. Which one are you?

I thought about this. I thought, I sure hope I’m a giver, and not a jerky taker. 

Then I thought, Everyone must think this.

Then I thought, Hang on a minute, it just can’t be this binary. Sometimes, I give and sometimes I take. Hum. but which do I do more?…Then I felt hungry for barbecue. Whatever.

But, it’s a splendid thing to think about just in case we’re getting too grabby.

Mark said, these 7 things happen when we are givers–When we are generous people.

1. It creates community

2. It defeats materialism

3. It strengthens my fiath

4. It is an eternal investment

5. I get blessed in return

6. It produces contentment

7. It makes more like God (who’s incredibly generous)

Then, I thought, This is a good message for bloggers, too. Really, communicators of any kind. It’s time to get this to the blog.

We can forget this stuff about generosity. We can fail to make our lives, and our online lives generous, simply by not really thinking about it.

I’ve noticed that Jeff Goins is a blogger and writer who is a giver. He’s a big proponent of generosity in the blogging arena (it’s an “arena” right?). He walks the talk, and his blog and platform have truly reaped the rewards.

Who do you think is generous online?

Share your ideas about how we can be more giving online.

Carry out some generosity today. Ask yourself, “How will I be a giver?”

I’ll kick it off. Here’s a new way that I’m being more generous. I added 51 photos to Flikr. They are all free-use with attribution* (Creative Commons). Just click here. (Many more will be added.)

*To clarify what that means, it’s this: You are free and clear to use any image there, no charge, anywhere, if you give me credit (my full name and/or a link is fine) and don’t alter it, or make a profit from it. (Something like I did in this post with the gift picture.)

Ed Cyzewski has struck gold. In a brilliant merge of technology and the Holy Bible, this succinct new paraphrase of God’s Word becomes a perfect solution for our short-attnetion span culture! Now,  inspired reading is just 140 characters away!

Eugene Peterson, eat your heart out…in Christian love, that is.

The Acts of the Apostles retitled The Tweets of the Apostles premiers TODAY!

Only a fool wouldn’t love it.

Ed’s yearly book release tradition also includes the following:

The Lost Tweets of Jesus

Love Bites (Think Love Wins + Twilight)

(click for photo attribution)

WARNING: The following contains dark humor.

I know something about mistresses. My dad had one.

As a writer, a blog can be just like a mistress for me. Here’s why:

1. Stroking. The instant gratification that comes from being heard with such ease (blogging) is the simple sticky honey trap for a person of words, like me.

2. Quick fix over Commitment? Sure, baby. Pounding out 80,000 words grows wearisome. Why not just pop out 800, for a quick fix? Sometimes, I ditch the old ball & chain writing project for a bit of Miss Right Now (blogging). Sometimes my dreams suffer for it.

3. On-the-fly modification. Meeting up with a mistress (my blog) can be exciting because not only can I be impetuous, but I can modify a lot to my liking whenever I please. I switch things up for added interest, or improvement.  But, ink on paper…I’m married to it.

4. Familiarity breeds contempt. There’s nothing like living with your words to make them frustrating and lack-luster. Months on end of book project writing can just kill the romance, and lead to self-loathing at my own impotence. However, a short, hot rendezvous (a few hours) is the most I spend on any post. Hey, blog, don’t let me catch you leaving your toothbrush here, or it’s sayonara.

5. Adventure! Weekend trysts to exotic spots? Yes, please! I don’t have to be an expert when blogging. I can cover exciting, far-flung topics with just a few hours of pesky research.

My dad married his mistress, eventually. He still fought with wife #1 (my mom) all the time–but with the new wife, it was a new life of eggshell walking and apologizing. He probably didn’t anticipate this at the mistress stage.

I don’t think I want the same thing in terms of my writing. I have to keep blogging in check. The words, “Get back, you vile temptress!” comes to mind, until I realize that this would make it sound like it wasn’t my fault. But, it is.

Has your blog ever been like a “mistress” for you? In what ways?

And please share your insights.
What helps you stay on track with longer writing projects?

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Natural Sponge (click for image attribution)

For a short bit of background you can read Part I.

In the morning, our group gathered for a brief preparation to guide our personal prayer time. Sr. Maria McCoy shared some thoughts and gave 2 rather simple but profound analogies for God and God’s presence. As we entered an extended time of silence and prayer, these (theological, and ontological) ideas about God were to pervade our experience. And did they ever!

Spiritual Guidance Tip: To get a snatch of the experience yourself, try this: Block off 20 minutes, or more if you can, for prayer. Then, read the following 2 analogies and take them with your into your time. Talk with God about them. See what happens.

She kicked it off like this, “There was once a baby fish…”

I thought, “I don’t care who you are lady, but anybody who starts a pensive day of prayer like that is a kindred spirit!”

The rest went something like this:

There was once a baby fish, who went to his mother and said, “What is water and where is it? I’m so very thirsty, and I think if I don’t find some water soon, I will die.” Her mother said, “Water is all around you. Sometimes you can’t even notice it, because it’s so close and so real.”

God is like water and we are his fish. God is real and ever-present. There is nowhere where God is not. As we swim about, we may not be able to feel God’s presence or see the boundaries of God. We cannot see these boundaries, because God has no boundaries. God continues. God is.

And then another one something like this…

Think of an ocean sponge. Think of an ocean sponge where it is supposed to be…deep in an ocean. The sponge is surrounded by water. But, the sponge is full. Full of that same water too. The water is in, and through, and all around the sponge. You are that sponge, and God is the water. Realize that God, who is your Creator, and everywhere present, is present at the core of who you are. God is the center. God is indeed in, and through, and all around you.

So when sticking to Christian theology, God is omni-benevolent (throughly good) and omnipresent (everywhere present) I pray differently. Sometimes I act more like a dried out sponge, and I forget this basic stuff about God. I forget how this Truth* plays out.

Another amazing gift is that before I went to the retreat, I used the language of water to describe my reason for going (see that part here). I mentioned how physical and spiritual dehydration can, after a while, turn into a kind of lack of thirst–the very opposite of what is most needed. I think refreshing and retreat go together.

When was the last time you noticed your spiritual thirst?

Verses of reflection:

Eph 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Psalm 139:5-8 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths {hell}, a you are there.

*Truth capitalized to denote Truth as a Person (God). Found or experienced in relationship more clearly or fully than through propositional statements or systematics.

Don’t miss my guest post at Ed Cyzewski’s blog in his Women in Ministry Series! (Search hashtag #WIMSeries for many excellent contributions, too.)

We’ll gonna have to call him L.L. Cool–E. (Ladies Love Cool Ed)

The more stink and infighting I hear chirping on the blogosphere, the more I realize the internet is like The Ring (a la Lord of the Rings). It seems few can wield it’s power all that well. Good intentions can switch to division and vitriol.

This is not a new sort of problem. 

Have you ever acted differently in your car than you do face-to-face with people? I have. I first time I drove with my husband-to-be, the man truly surprised me. Hallmark placidity turned to zeal and strident use of a motor vehicle.

It’s a problem of the flawed human heart. It’s spiritual, not behavioral.

Something about the material confines of transport too often unleashes something worse than normal in our thoughts and behavior. The internet is the very same way.

Instead of road rage, we see web rage. Comment sections on many news stories, for instance, are filled with toxic language and malicious conjecture.

But, this is not the end of the story!

As we pull back and examine ourselves, we feel the call, even the duty, to do better. What may sustain that initial motivation and produce better actions and results is community committed to a higher way.

This is where The Spiritual Guidance for Bloggers Project enters the fray. It’s a spot where we agree to virtue over high blog traffic. It’s not just a place online to thumbs up “like”, but rather a community where we encourage each other to be more personally reflective as we encounter and broach challenging issues.

click for FB page

I ask you to be a part of the solution, not the problem of blogosphere rancor. Join at the Facebook community, where resources, support, and hopefully face-to-face gatherings will build better kinds of online interactions.

I’ll just bring up one more thing, and I ask that you would help me with your prayers and suggestions. I sense the entreaty to assemble a guided prayer retreat day for soul care for the weary blogger (essentially, for Creators & Communicators). 

Maybe toward the end of August. I’m not certain what it would look like, or even if anyone would care to come, but I envision a consecrated time of rest, prayer, fraternity, silence, unplugging, renewal, and vision-casting. Will you help me figure it out?

(click for image attribution)

My conversation with the foremost Pentecostal Theologian, Amos Yong, has 2 parts. First, we talk about the themes in his new book “The Bible, Disability, and the Church”.

Click for Video (part I)

Below is part II of our talk. We cover some excellent topics like healing, God’s will, social oppression in the church, communal prayers of lament, his Disability Bible project (and more).

Click to view Part II

Click for Attribution link.

If I were to caption this photo for the project at hand, it would say,
“Sweater cubicle? or are bloggers too isolated for their own spiritual good?”

As I promised on Timothy Dalrymple‘s blog a bit ago, I am covering the topic of spiritual guidance for bloggers (as a series). Thankfully, some talent bloggers are joining us, too.

In plenty of ways technology has outpaced our spiritual reflection. The needed inner gaze at the practice (spiritual or otherwise) of blogging itself has not been encountered effectively. Bloggers have specific spiritual needs and encounter spiritual pitfalls that are under-addressed…even on blogs themselves, where you’d expect them to be handled. Well, no more.

In the next few weeks, I’ll lay this topic out and do just that, with the help of some talented bloggers as featured guest contributors.

For me, it’s an EPIC mashup of blogging experience (since 2006), and three scores of credit hours with my seminary education (M.A. in Religion, Spiritual Formation concentration) cross-fertilizing at the perfect juncture to rock this thing out. Boom. Pow!

For example:
Pitfall #1. Bloggers can be grandiose when introducing a new series.

If you are a blogger, this is especially for you. You and I both need this.

If you know someone who blogs, please send them over. Encourage him or her to read and participate in this series. If they seem reluctant, or just too busy, just say, “See, that’s exactly the whole point!”

A peek at some of the upcoming themes:

• Seductions Specific to Christian Bloggers and What to do About it
• Overcoming the Spiritual Pitfalls of Blogging
• A Writer’s Mistress is a Blog (humor)
• The Best Spiritual Disciplines for Bloggers
• Blogging and Community: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Plus, Articles from fantastic Guest Writers:

- Thom Turner

- Joy Bennet

- Ed Cyzewski

- Anita Mathias

- Jennifer Luitwieler

- Sarah Bessey

- Warwick Fuller

- Ray Hollenbach

…and others.

This is Part II of my interview with 6th generation funeral director Caleb Wilde.

Caleb Wilde, Part II (click)

PLUS.

There is also Bonus Video material I decided to upload that largely contains my own thoughts on how we tend to wrongly respond to grief and suffering, followed by Caleb’s response.

It is an unbroken 4:24 min clip. This is also very unusual, as I usually feature very few of my own thoughts in Ninja Interviews. So, I didn’t even add the Ninja graphics into this clip.

Being that this is the season of Lent, it might be nice to hear your reflections on mortality. If you’d like to share you own thoughts about the theme of Lent, or what you’ve heard through watching the video, I’d love to hear them. (You can leave them either at the youtube channel, or here. Click the comments link at the top of the post, then scroll down to the comment field.)

Tamara Lunardo has only been blogging for a couple of years, but thanks to her openness on some touchy (and important) topics, her audience has grown rapidly. Sometimes Tamara uses salty language or speaks about the realities of life…and sex, and it turns out Christians have a huge fascination with that sort of thing. Go figure!

Enjoy a snapshot of our time together, were we discuss her community project through Civitas Press called What a Woman is Worth. Through a collection of essays, this book (due out in a few months) confronts disparaging views of women and affirms the female gender to do whatever God has uniquely gifted them to do. You go, girl! Be assured this video is all very PG, honest.

16 other videos interviews are at the YouTube channel (you can subscribe to the channel and never miss out on the latest enlightening chat).

By way of a recap, I’m suspending my blogging for a while, but I’m still going to post a few more interviews. I hope you enjoy them.

The bio of Rolf Potts reads like a who’s-who of celebrated travel writers. His NO BAGGAGE Challenge last year highlighted the idea that travel can be much simpler than we tend to think. He trekked over 30,000 miles without a single bag to weigh him down.

The same mentality can be helpful in life too, according to Rolf. Enjoy watching this short chat we had, (and subscribe to the youtube channel for more great stuff).

Besides his website that contains some great articles, blog posts, and case studies in vagabonding–here are 2 of Rolf’s book that make great reading:

I had a great chat with Alise Wright and we talked about her upcoming book project Not Afraid. Plus, we talk a bit about a few other things like marriage equality and Mark Driscoll’s new polemic book “Real Marriage” (and I may need to offer some bonus video material on that insightful stuff); can men and women be friends (best of friends, even when they are married to other people); and Alise’s upcoming personal work in keeping with her calling.

Find out what Jason Boyett is up to next…

To see PART I of the interview click here.

Here’s Janet chatting with me about courage and hope. Find out at her website how you can get her book FREE.