This is the 2nd year I’ll use my birthday month to shower readers with gifts. It was fun last year, and this year, with quadruple the readership here, it should be even better!
And yes, it is a “custom” in the tradition of hobbits. (hobbits -give away gifts on their birthday)
I have a photo below of just a few things that will be up for grabs. I’ll be popping up every few days in February to offer you goodies, gadgets, books, surprises, and combo packs just for interacting here at this blog. (No strings, no money, I just enjoy mailing packages of gifts.)
Sometimes, word spreads fast when it comes to gifts, still, I thank you for passing this news along where you can. Watch for more informative posts, especially in February. If you enjoy giving more than receiving, and feel so moved, give your present away, and “pay it forward.”
Thanks, friends!
Just *some* of the gift items for blog readers in Feb.
I’m giving out something especially fun this Christmas, but first, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that 2010 will be a blessing for you.
When I started this blog in February 2009, I didn’t know what would happen. I couldn’t imagine the outpouring of kindness and devotion that would come. I started with about 10 hits/visitors a week, and now I get that many by 6 a.m. Thank you all for coming along with me this year. I will be working on this blog, writing almost every day to engage the heart and mind, and injecting fun and humor as well. Plus, in February, I like to give gifts, because it’s my birthday month, so stay tuned for that too, if you like getting amusing, or helpful goodies in the mail.
I thank you so much for your friendship and support. Technology can produce wonderful connections, growth, healing, and joy. It has for me, and I hope you find it here too. I encourage you, if you haven’t in a while, to check the blog categories, and archives to see what you’ve missed.
This is the time of year when my family and I celebrate the advent (arrival) and the most gracious gift of Jesus, the Incarnation. In the spirit of generosity, inspired also by St Nicholas, and many other spiritual giants, I’d like to extend an opportunity to all of you, by way of a contest for a special and very fun Christmas gift. I wish I had the resources to give each one of you this funky gift, I found while cruising around the “interweb,” but alas, the joy of giving will still be there, and I’m SO excited to send it out!
This handmade wallet is quite the neat treat. Made from genuine legos, it’s a snazzy gear for holding plastic cards, bill money, keys, tissues, mints, coins, chap stick, receipts for Christmas gifts you have to return, or other small objects. It’s a fun conversation starter, or a unique gift for a lego lover, (especially a “boy,” ages 5-55). It will also be enjoyed by anyone (male or female) with a taste for fun, or a penchant for innovative, and creative design.
It will be given to the 100th responder that does one of the following:
1. Follow Life As Prayer on Facebook and Twitter http://LifeAsPrayer.twitter.com, and send out a message about it.
2. Retweet this: < @LifeAsPrayer has a funky Lego Wallet Christmas gift for the 100th RT > *(Please include 1 reason why you like Life As Prayer, or how you found out about it.)
3. Send 2 friends (new visitors) to view the LifeAsPrayer blog, and have them leave a comment containing your name.
A little while back, I responded to a reader asking if drinking coffee, (and other such things) were actually spiritual. You can look that up if you want to, if you want to read the post in full. But, in the post I talk about a truly interesting spiritual practice monks have used with coffee.
It gives me pause to realize how I may incorporate what I usually think of as “secular,” or everyday/common things, into the realm of sacred. This way, all of life is both a physical and spiritual experience, and a way to revere, love, and acknowledge our Creator. It is doing all of life as prayer.
As for me, I love coffee. I have since age 5. I would wait until my dad wasn’t looking, and I’d slurp down his milky sugary mixture, even if it had gone cold. Spiritually it does play a part in my life. It’s a way to sit back, and take in life, and to be more “in the moment.” I love to remember God is not apart from me, “over there,” or “in the sky,” but always with me. And, I enjoy realizing he delights in my enjoyment of things he has given me, even such things as simple as a good hot brew. So, I invite him into that experience fully, (when I have the right mind, and will to do so.)
I have a bag of delicious coffee to give to the visitor who best reveals, in the comment section below, how and why coffee (or tea, if you must) is, or has been, an enjoyment to them, or even a spiritual aid to their journey with God. Have at it.
If you know a coffee lover, point them in this direction. Hopefully, we can contribute to the dialogue on this topic.
Book excerpt from page 129: “[A walk with God]…is an encounter and experience when we become aware of his presence, and this experience reminds us that we are not alone, that “God is with us.” The movement from being alone to be being with God is a life-giving step in soul care.”
This goodie this month is a book give-away available to visitors from now until the end of September. To be eligible, simply leave a comment below stating your interest. One recipient will be picked at random. (Detailed book information below.)
(info from Barnes & Nobles dot com)
Synopsis
We live in a high-maintenance world; cars, homes, computers, and even relationships need continual attention. But what about our souls, the center of our selves where our passions, gifts, and individuality unite? Do we ever consider what it means to care for our souls? In a world where the quick fix and instant gratifications are many people’s most immediate focus, author Steve Smith invites the reader to focus on what truly matters most; the lifelong process of nurturing our souls by focusing on relationships, spiritual and personal growth and healing, and living out God’s purpose for our lives. Step off the hamster wheel of endless activity and purposeless action to find a deeper sense of self and spiritual transformation. Foreword by Dr. Gary Chapman.
Publishers Weekly
Smith, a confessed former workaholic, introduces readers to the unique joy of caring for the soul, which he says “contains the deepest part of who we are.” This founder of the Potter’s Inn Ministry, which helps people experience soul transformation, shares his wealth of knowledge about the soul in 92 brief chapters presented in 13 sections that address issues such as soul identity, soul formation and threats to the soul. Each chapter includes several questions to help readers address their own soul struggles. Smith certainly covers all the bases of the soul, but one wishes for more depth. Staccato chapters whet the appetite for deeper exploration, but Smith moves on quickly to new topics. The book, however, does bring important issues to light. He speaks often of the need for those who believe in God to slow down; he urges readers to use their senses to nurture the soul and highlights the importance of companionship on the soul journey. Studying the soul, he says, “is an incomparable journey to explore the depths and heights of the soul, for we travel the contours of a holy land.” (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Biography
The founder of The Potter’s Inn, Stephen W. Smith has been involved in Christian ministry for more than twenty-five years. He and his wife, Gwen, are frequent speakers and retreat leaders who focus on the spiritual growth and transformation of individuals, couples, churches, and organizations.
Grief is the (normal) human emotional response to loss. It is a common part of human experience and may produce growth. We can lose people, places, objects, relationships, and even ideas. Some losses may not be actual, but anticipated, or a perceived loss. (25) Acute grief looks remarkably similar to a classic anxiety attack (same physical symptoms). It is similar to the feelings felt in fear. In grief one fears the loss of self through separation, and experiences separation anxiety. (28)
It is a function of attachment. It can be understood also as our emotions catching up with our reality. (38) The more we can love the more we can grieve. Our abnormal attachments show up (caused by an improper process of grieving) as permanent emotional detachment or heightened attachment. (30)
R. Scott Sullender, “Grief and Growth: Pastoral Resources for Emotional and Spiritual Growth” Paulist Press, 1985.
Have you lost or grieved anything lately?
Feel free to leave your thoughts or comments about grief or loss.
