Tag: Joan Chittister

• Why in the World do I keep writing blog posts?

  

  When I sat down at my computer to draft this blog post, my dog Floey came up to me, sat down, looked up and asked, “Hey, Mom. Why in the world do you keep writing blog posts? Just think about how much time we would have for walks if you didn’t do all this writing.”…

  Marian

  December 8, 2015

  Blogs, God’s Love, Reflections

  blog posts, Floey, God’s love, God-given gifts, going for a walk, Joan Chittister, life calling, Monastic Way, passion for writing, reflections, spiritual beings, Teilhard de Chardin, term paper, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Blog, writing

• No Vacuum in this Mind

  

  My mind is incapable of tolerating a vacuum. It always finds something to be anxious about, or some problem to be solving, or at least some imminent decisions to be mulling over. Often there are multiple urgent thoughts competing for my attention. Then my mind might start thrashing – a technical computer term that kind…

  Marian

  November 10, 2015

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  choice, Choice is the holiest of the virtues, choice of action, choices, Christmas Mountain, decisions, getting a new car, gratitude, Joan Chittister, John Dewey, joy, kindness, MacBook, Monastic Way, mulling over, Prius V, selling the farmhouse, special word, The Monastic Way, The things we love tell us who we are, Thomas Aquinas, thoughts, thrashing, vacuum, Victor Frankl, virtues, Windows laptop

• I’m Getting Smarter Every Day

  “Congratulations, Floey. You did it. You graduated from Intermediate Class at Dog’s Best Friend Training in Madison. I was surprised your teacher decided to award you your certificate, even though you will have to miss your last class. Apparently you learned everything you needed to know in five classes instead of six. Wow! I guess…

  Marian

  July 27, 2015

  Goals, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  accomplishments, Dog’s Best Friend Training, Floey, getting smarter, Intermediate Class, Joan Chittister, learned everything, Monastic Way, open-minded, open-mindedness, right way, The Monastic Way

• Another Talk with My Friend Floey

  “Hey, Floey. What did you think about your new class last week?” Floey grinned at me and replied, “I loved it! When you first told me I would be going to another class, I really wondered why. I passed my class last winter with flying colors. I couldn’t imagine why you thought I needed to…

  Marian

  June 30, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Nature, Reflections

  different gifts, dog class, Floey, go to mat, God’s creation, human development, humans and animals, Intermediate Class, Joan Chittister, kinship with nature, Mim and her kittens, people and animals, people and dogs, relationship between humans and animals, soul, The Monastic Way, unawakened

• For Crying Out Loud

  According to the idioms section of TheFreeDictionary.com, “for crying out loud” is “An exclamation of anger or exasperation, as in For crying out loud, can’t you do anything right? This term is a euphemism for for Christ’s sake. For crying out loud, I’ve been reading Joan Chittister’s monthly pamphlet for more than four years now.…

  Marian

  June 2, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Anne Frank, avalanche, Brother Mickey McGrath, Cry Out, First they came for the communists, For Christ’s sake, For crying out loud, Helen Keller, Joan Chittister, Martin Niemoller, Monastic Way, silence, snowflake, spiritual narcissism, St. Catherine of Siena, the world is rotten

• A Roundtable Discussion that Makes My Day

  Imagine starting your day almost every morning in a roundtable discussion with six other people plus yourself. In my case, the people are Joan Chittister, Henri Nouwen, God, Jimmy Carter, Christine Dallman, and M. J. Ryan – and, of course, myself. Wow! Quite a group of seven we are. Usually, everyone speaks up in the…

  Marian

  April 28, 2015

  Blogs, Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  “Christ in Our Home”, aggravations, Albert Einstein, Attitudes of Gratitude, Bread for the Journey, Christine Dallman, Christmas Mountain, Edward Hays, Henri Nouwen, Jimmy Carter, Joan Chittister, M. J. Ryan, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, quiet, quietness, Revised Common Lectionary, roundtable, roundtable discussion, standing in line, The Monastic Way, The Personal Daily Prayer Book, Through the Year with Jimmy Carter

• Why Was I Created?

  Over the last few years I’ve had the practice of starting the day with reading from two or three devotional books by my favorite inspirational writers. This year I’m reading: The Monastic Way by Joan Chittister (a pamphlet that comes monthly, with the readings of each month based on a common theme), Bread for the…

  Marian

  March 10, 2015

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  called by God, change in my life, daily devotions, devotional book, failure, God’s love, God-given gifts, Henri Nouwen, Jimmy Carter, Joan Chittister, Korth-Jacobson LLC, life calling, life challenges, life changes, life purpose, listening for God, meaningless work, Monastic Way, reflections, self-employed, spirituality, talking with God, The Purpose-Driven Life, USA TODAY poll, wasting my life

• Canine Wisdom

  Floey came running over to me. Her tail was wagging as fast as it can wag, but she dutifully sat down and looked up at me. “Hey, Mom. Has it come yet?” she asked. “What’s that, Floey?” “My check for $50. Remember Ellen at ARVSS (Animal Rescue & Veterinary Support Services) where I came from…

  Marian

  March 3, 2015

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Animal Rescue & Veterinary Support Services, ARVSS, canine wisdom, Certificate of Achievement, daily devotions, diploma, dog training, Floey, graduation present, Joan Chittister, life challenges, lost check, Monastic Way, patience, reflections, SIT-STAY, spirituality

• The Best Family Tradition of All – Baking Christmas Cookies!

  For the month of December, Joan Chittister has been focusing on the role of traditions in our lives in her pamphlet, The Monastic Way. On December 11 she said: Traditions are meant to develop us emotionally, one layer of understanding at a time. It is our traditions – the Easter eggs, the Christmas trees –…

  Marian

  December 16, 2014

  Celebrations, Christmas, God’s Love, Reflections

  Berliner Kranzer, center of our souls, Christmas cookies, Christmas tradition, cookie cutouts, family tradition, gingerbread cookies, God’s love, God-given gifts, Joan Chittister, Kringla, krumkake, listening for God, love your neighbor, mixed marriage, peppernuts, reflections, spirituality, sugar cookies, talking with God, tradition

• ENOUGH

  Last December when I told Mim about the idea of selecting a special word for the New Year instead of making any New Year’s resolutions, she caught my enthusiasm and decided to select a word for herself, too, a word that would help her keep focused on one particular area for spiritual enrichment throughout the…

  Marian

  September 2, 2014

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  A Fruit Stall, Christian Century, concentrate on today, enough, enoughness, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, God’s love, God-given gifts, Helen Allingham, hospitality, Joan Chittister, just enough, kindness, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, manna, Monastic Way, reflections, sharing, spirituality, talking with God, The Christian Century, virtue of enoughness