Tag: special
Save-the-Date: Next Trip to Narnia
Here’s what some of the previous retreat-goers said about the experience:
To learn more or sign up, join the Retreat list click HERE.
THE STORY…
Suppose you found a place…like Narnia…a magical parallel place…
This happened to me, and the only way it makes sense to tell you about it is to tell you that the land of Narnia comes to mind.
I spotted no White Witch, but I’m certain that Aslan was on the move!
I keep going back and it keeps getting better.
I’ve tried to sketch out something of what it’s like with my words. My strings of syllables are full of adjectives and I start to gush and make a fool of myself.
These words and my intensions fall short. Maybe a photo will help, I think. No, not really.
I try to tell people about it and say “come and join me”. Several of my closest friends knew to trust me and come “in faith” and it turns out that you sort of “catch something” while you’re there that draws you back again and again.
Yes, I can say, it’ll be restful, or I can say, it’ll be refreshing, or life-changing, or amazing…and of course I sound a little crazy because I’m making such a big deal about it.
But, I hope it doesn’t seem so absurd.
When you are really thirsty, water sounds wonderful.
Yet, it’s only when you taste it that you are satisfied.
Maybe you have some kind of deeper thirst. Then come!
~ABOUT THIN PLACES~
A “thin place” is where you see this dominion of the kingdom of God come into clearer focus.
And dominion doesn’t refer to a location per se, or sometimes at all.
There, the world as you know it grows strangely dimmer and smaller. You notice a threshold that separates heaven and earth too much. It seems much thinner.
This thin place can even be manifest in a person.
When you are near him or her, you sense something greater at work in a richer and more powerful unseen reality. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know it’s real. There is weight there.
The epitome of that is, of course, the Son of God. Jesus was the thinnest place of all when he walked among us.He is our model.
But a thin place is a location too, right?
Yes, sometimes a you sense a thin place in a location that has been somehow, or intentionally, consecrated and set apart for apprehending the deeper realities of existence. A house of worship. A garden. A home where love abides. A bookstore. A mountain perch. A bench at the beach. Everyone has probably felt a thin place, at some point.
(If you have, let me know where in the comments section)
The retreat center were I go at least 3-5 times a year is one such thin place. If you haven’t gone to a place like this, it’s nearly impossible to convince you that being there, just being, will improve your life.
I’m left “pitching the benefits” to you, like a giddy salesgirl, because conveying the actual experience is so obtuse and ethereal.
Postcards, paper ones or verbal ones, never really share a place properly.
I have a plan to return soon
Your story will unfold in new ways there.
I’ll be the guide. I’ll show you the grounds and acquaint you with the places for quiet reflection and rejuvenation, and provide you with some devotional reading and prayer material to guide your time, if you want the structure. I’ll get you started and you’ll have nothing else to do but enjoy yourself.
Are you thirsty?
We’ll meet for a (provided) hot lunch at 12:30, than after we will “gather the graces” we’ve been given, and leave for home when the time seems right. It could be the half day that changes your life. The cost is a tiny $15.
Let me know if you’re interested by signing up HERE, and I’ll prepare a spot for you and send details.
To be on the update list, click HERE.
20 Case Studies
This is all very exciting!
Several people who tried the Marketing Jump-Starter Kit asked for real-life examples to make the learning easier.
The updated version of the Kit has more of that, but I just created a special resource that gives you 20 Case Studies to learn from.
These are stories from regular people who used simple methods to boost awareness or grow their ministry or business.
Click the image to download a sample.
or…
Check out Marketing Jump-Starter Kit!
(there’s a surprise you won’t expect)
Re-inventing how we use Money?
When you don’t have enough money, you start to question the idea of it in the first place.
Who controls it? Why? and how?
You start to wonder if the typical system makes sense or if it’s really up to any good.
I’ve often wondered why the most important work doesn’t pay well. The answers are more complicated than I can talk about here or even truly understand without a lot of research. Nevertheless, many of the answers tend to stem from issues of power, the sources of control/power, and the desire to keep things a certain way for people who have amassed wealth and power.
The capital of the United States is now the richest city in the country and awash in new millionaires and billionaires; not because these folks created important and noble things, but because they are following a gravy train of money, special favors, and power for a very few.
I don’t subscribe to all of Charles Eisenstein‘s views, but what he has to say about money and what we can do to make our relationships better and the world a better place are worth hearing.
It’s good to question the influential things in our lives. It’s smart to vet them for their goodness and test them for their true benefits. If our ways are left wanting, it’s good to re-invent how we interact and exchange with one another.
Today, I give you this video as food-for-thought. How could we do things differently?
I’m planning a webinar on April 24th with my friend Bill Fox. I’ve learned that he is beginning to use a gifting model for his work. It’s intrigued me and I’m starting to investigate it for my purposes too. More on the webinar (topics and schedule) will be coming in the next week or so…stay tuned!…
OKAY UPDATE! My newest resource is now available using the gifting system. Check out the details HERE!
Please share this post with others. It costs you nothing :)
A Season of Returning : 2014
This is Ash Wednesday, 2014.
It wasn’t a special day or season as I was growing up in my particular Christian faith tradition, but with the new connections and resources I found through graduate school and the kindred spirits I found on the internet over the last ten years, I have been able to tap in and reconnect with this very ancient, rich, and reflective seasonal observance, each year.
This time of year, and especially during this particularly harsh winter, we can feel isolated, burned out, discouraged, troubled, or restless. It’s not just a state of mind, it’s a spiritual thirst.
Lent is a whole season that specifically helps us work through the darker, profound things that reside in the deepest recesses of our hearts, and prepare us for Spring (in every sense of the word).
This year, my husband and I are using a YouVersion Bible App reading plan called Lent for Everyone which includes a daily commentary by N.T. (Tom) Wright. Each day, the Lenten scripture reading and commentary brings the season into a richer light.
(Click to see all the Lenten plans.)
Why not do a reading plan this season?
Here’s another resources you might like.
It’s from Ruth Haley Barton’s Transforming Center.
(Click it to read the whole thing.)
“‘And yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart . . .’” —Joel 2:12