Ash Wednesday
In my tradition, it is the practice to have worship in the evening on Ash Wednesday, during which ashes in the shape of a cross are rubbed on our foreheads. The ashes are often made by burning the branches of the Christmas trees used during the Advent/Christmas. I have always admired that connection between the birth and the death of Jesus even if it is a bit contrived.
Today is Ash Wednesday, 2020 and once again I have ashes on my forehead. Tomorrow, my book group is going to begin reading "Grounded: Finding God in the World" by Diana Butler Bass. I'm kind of excited that tonight I got grounded, as in dirt rubbed into my face; a reminder of the reality that life is death and death is life. It is a reminder to me that I am of the earth, and that I also am part of the cycle of life that includes dying so that life might continue.
It's a mystery for sure, this dying to live thing. And I don't have all the answers. And I'm sure Diana Butler BAss doesn't either. But I look forward to this time of Lent, when I will give the inward journey a bit more attention and intention.
The term "grounded" is interesting. What does it mean to you to be "grounded?"
What grounds you? How can you build a practice of grounding into your life, a way for you to remember the source of your life, a way to reach in and find nourishment for your soul?
--just jules, 2/26/2020
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Thursday, August 25, 2016
First steps
every step another adventure ~grandma jules, 8/25/16
Saturday, March 26, 2016
The Basement Excavation: Pushing through the Wall
Often when we go on a diet, we lose a lot of weight in the first couple weeks. The first ten pounds are pretty easy, although we have worked hard at the new habit of either not eating or eating healthier. It's great! We are proud of ourselves with good reason. We're making progress. It makes us want to keep going, to lose more but then something happens. Our body slows down the weight loss. The needle on the scale doesn't move. We hit the dieting wall. We work just as hard but with less results. Sigh!
Clearing my basement has been like going on a diet. It's been hard and it's been rewarding up to a point. At first it felt like I was making progress, emptying boxes. But as the days rolled on, it got harder. Four weeks into my 2-box-a-day commitment it began to feel like nothing was happening at all. I kept doing the work but it kept feeling messy, lost and confusing. Like the kid in the back seat, I kept wanting to ask, "Are we there yet? when are we going to get there?" Ugh! I have some days where I just wanted to close the basement door and forget it. Then I got sick with a cold this last week and that about undid the whole thing for me. Like in the beginning I would walk down the stairs, look around and then just come right back up. I really needed some new energy.
Fortunately for me a solution presented itself. Our son and daughter-in-law (Karl & Erica) live nearby. They are working on a project at their house too so we decided to do an exchange of help. So yesterday I got my burst. For the first time since I started the project, we were able to move furniture around and begin to create the new areas. We also did some deep cleaning as we moved things. The result makes the clearing much more real. Now when I look around, I can see the open spaces. It feels good. It feels like I might have actually done something. I still feel the burden of how much is left to do but I feel a renewed sense of commitment.
We will over time meet several walls in our lives. Some of these walls will be "dark nights of the soul." Some will just be piles of laundry or bills to pay. I confess there have been times when I sensed a wall and just turned myself around and went a different direction. It's hard to go through the walls, be in the discomfort long enough, sweat a few drops, get dirty and weary. But we don't necessarily have to do it alone. We can get help. It is amazing how much easier it is to push through that wall when we have someone willing to stand next to us, to be in it with us.
I pray that you will have someone willing to stand with you when you face your wall.
love, jules
Clearing my basement has been like going on a diet. It's been hard and it's been rewarding up to a point. At first it felt like I was making progress, emptying boxes. But as the days rolled on, it got harder. Four weeks into my 2-box-a-day commitment it began to feel like nothing was happening at all. I kept doing the work but it kept feeling messy, lost and confusing. Like the kid in the back seat, I kept wanting to ask, "Are we there yet? when are we going to get there?" Ugh! I have some days where I just wanted to close the basement door and forget it. Then I got sick with a cold this last week and that about undid the whole thing for me. Like in the beginning I would walk down the stairs, look around and then just come right back up. I really needed some new energy.
Fortunately for me a solution presented itself. Our son and daughter-in-law (Karl & Erica) live nearby. They are working on a project at their house too so we decided to do an exchange of help. So yesterday I got my burst. For the first time since I started the project, we were able to move furniture around and begin to create the new areas. We also did some deep cleaning as we moved things. The result makes the clearing much more real. Now when I look around, I can see the open spaces. It feels good. It feels like I might have actually done something. I still feel the burden of how much is left to do but I feel a renewed sense of commitment.
We will over time meet several walls in our lives. Some of these walls will be "dark nights of the soul." Some will just be piles of laundry or bills to pay. I confess there have been times when I sensed a wall and just turned myself around and went a different direction. It's hard to go through the walls, be in the discomfort long enough, sweat a few drops, get dirty and weary. But we don't necessarily have to do it alone. We can get help. It is amazing how much easier it is to push through that wall when we have someone willing to stand next to us, to be in it with us.
I pray that you will have someone willing to stand with you when you face your wall.
love, jules
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Wandering Off
I am one of the messy ones
wandering off the smooth road,
to smell flowers or greet a toad,
keeping the pace is daunting to me
left, right, left, right,
instead, I, distracted by the dance
the extra beat of the drum,
the heart murmur that longs for the song,
skip a step
there are others
who keep the march going
left, right, left, right
tending to the daily tasks as if
the chore is as pleasing
as painting a masterpiece
meantime,
not quite in line,
not really out of line,
I reach off the edge
grabbing hands and hearts,
celebrating high fives with the trees,
whistling tunes with the birds,
occasionally coming back for a few steps
on the straight and narrow
left, right, left, right,
and then wandering off again
studying the language of flowers,
learning the wisdom of thunderstorms,
planting seeds of hope,
where trees of love will someday grow,
to shade the travelers yet to come
grateful for the others
whose steady devotion
gives me a plumb line
to guide my wandering way
I love this blessed messy life!
jules, 8/9/2014
wandering off the smooth road,
to smell flowers or greet a toad,
keeping the pace is daunting to me
left, right, left, right,
instead, I, distracted by the dance
the extra beat of the drum,
the heart murmur that longs for the song,
skip a step
there are others
who keep the march going
left, right, left, right
tending to the daily tasks as if
the chore is as pleasing
as painting a masterpiece
meantime,
not quite in line,
not really out of line,
I reach off the edge
grabbing hands and hearts,
celebrating high fives with the trees,
whistling tunes with the birds,
occasionally coming back for a few steps
on the straight and narrow
left, right, left, right,
and then wandering off again
studying the language of flowers,
learning the wisdom of thunderstorms,
planting seeds of hope,
where trees of love will someday grow,
to shade the travelers yet to come
grateful for the others
whose steady devotion
gives me a plumb line
to guide my wandering way
I love this blessed messy life!
jules, 8/9/2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
TIME TO SIGN UP FOR WRITING WORKSHOP!
Writing As Sacred Practice
presented by Your Truly, Julie A. Bonde (jules)
We're only a couple weeks away and there's still room!
It's time to sign up for this writing workshop.
I am so excited to be offering this writing workshop. I can't wait to share the fun and wonder. Bring your friends. I hope to see you there.
To register just click here.
presented by Your Truly, Julie A. Bonde (jules)
We're only a couple weeks away and there's still room!
It's time to sign up for this writing workshop.
Writing as Spiritual Practice
Saturday, January 18th
10 am to 2 pm
Nativity Lutheran Church
3312 Silver Lake Road
St. Anthony Village, MN
$35 includes materials (bring a bag lunch)
I am so excited to be offering this writing workshop. I can't wait to share the fun and wonder. Bring your friends. I hope to see you there.
To register just click here.
Monday, August 5, 2013
I am a Rock....
 |
| Tumbling Rocks at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin photo taken by jules |
a chip off the mountain
a rock tumbling slowly
over the centuries
down, down, down
bumping into other tumblers
pieces of me breaking off
as I continue to fall
in slow motion
unique in my shape and size
but indistinguishable from the rest.
It is easy to see that all of us
come from the mother mountain
and will some day end up in the sea, finally at rest,
and then to become sand as we roll in the waves,
so that a soft foot may some day land safely on us.
Grain of sand, boulder, rock, mountain.
Inside, we're all the same.
~just a thought by jules...8/5/13
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