Tag: adventures

Content: Not Needing More

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:11 NIV)

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I have learned to enjoy Christmas and all its trimmings. I don’t hurry to take down the tree or replace the Christmas music. The days following Christmas can be a countdown of sorts, just like Advent.

In a few days, we will welcome a new Year, and enter the next month on the calendar. More festivities, more reflections and the reality that winter will be more with us than not. My dislike of the cold days and dark nights tempt me to discontentment. A lack of holding on to the hope of Emmanuel.

Will I hold with the presence of God, no longer an infant child, but a pulsing, vibrant Spirit that dwells mysteriously within? Likened to wind and fire and wine, but invisible and illusive at times. My clamoring desires for more of this world crowds out the quiet Comforter who longs to fill me with peace, hope and joy.

The secret of contentment lies not in me doing more or getting more or finding just the right routine or cozy spot to relax, but to be still and let go more. I find myself sitting and turning my heart to listen. I listen to the howling, holy tune of winter beckoning me to try less, and rest more readily. Resting in the warm hope of God’s sheltering love will bring me the contentment once again.

I find myself contemplating an ancient, yet new to me song. Or reading a reflection on a poem that is congruous with my soul.

I try my hand at collage to settle my restless need to navigate the Twelve Days of Christmas, and this found poem emerges. (See photo above)

 

to place fresh
such as these
where they can echo
those.

layering
suggests
only–all;
anonymity
is one of the things
most endearing.

How does contentment allude you or find you this time of year?

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Concise: With Few Words

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7 KJV)

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Little zingers. Proverbs. One-liners. Concise statements catch my attention, like this groovy lawn ornament I couldn’t help but notice today. Unforgettable.

One word or thought can keep me occupied for hours.

I was pondering snow today, after reading Dawn’s prompt on the topic. At first, I was a little depressed because our forecast has not a trace predicted for this Christmas.

(Before I go any further, I do want to mention that “con-” words could be considered cousins to “com-” words. There’s a whole family of prefixes that translate into “with.”  “Col-” and “co-” are the other two relatives. Just in case there was any confusion about why I might be going down this rabbit trail with concise.)

Concise means with few words, and literally means to cut up, like into smaller portions. Right from the start I’d like to apologize for my verbosity in explaining all of this, because I really am trying to use as few words as possible. Not because it is necessary, but because I like to challenge myself to be concise. Being concise can take courage. Sometimes I have the false belief that the more words I use, the better  it will be for others to comprehend what I am conveying in words. But actually using more words, often complicates the situation leaving the audience buried under an avalanche of ideas.

Now if you are still with me, and wondering how any of this fits together, let me remind you that it all started with the word snow. Snow and how it can bring to mind so many memories, feelings and hopes, and even songs, like “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas . . .” or “Walking in a winter wonderland . . .” and other such sentiments.

What is it about snow that evokes such awe and desire?

Snow often brings to mind the famous cry of David:

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7 NIV)

After it snows, a fresh blanket of white covers the earth, softening the barren winter landscape. Snow transforms, just like forgiveness. These are the kind of thoughts that run randomly through my mind when I think of snow.

One way that I like to explore a word is to make it into an acronym. This practice of using each letter of a word or phrase as the spine for my poetic expression becomes a sort of playful and sometimes even serious, searching prayer.

I leave you with some short words and their poetic pairings to contemplate.

Something
New transpires
Oustide and in:
Winter wondering.

I was in a funk today, before I started journaling and pondering snow. Sometimes when I feel this way, I start denying myself the simple pleasures of life, which seems like an odd way to combat a depressed mood. So, I start trying various things to cajole myself out of it. Today, while I was walking around the block to shake off the doldrums, two words sparred with each other. Deny and Rely.

Do not touch.
Evade feelings.
No need to mention your needs.
“You don’t matter.”

Do not taste.
Erase hunger,
Negate desire–STOP
Yearning.

Do not treasure–
Enjoy
Not–
Yield to nothing!

 

Rejoice in
Everything!
Let go–be still–
Yield . . .

And one more about a snow laden memory from childhood:

Laughter
Echoed
That night,

It snowed.
Together we

Soared down the
Nearby hill with stars
Over our heads.
Wheee!

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 8

Holiday RE-Treat Journals and RJD

I run for dear life to God, I’ll never live to regret it. Do what you do so well: get me out of this mess and up on my feet. Put your ear to the ground and listen, give me space for salvation. Be a guest room where I can retreat; you said your door was always open! You’re my salvation—my vast, granite fortress. (Psalm 71:1-3 The Message)

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Once a month a few brave souls open to a random page from their journal to share. Here’s my offering for Random Journal Link-Up #57!

For this occasion, I chose a journal from my ADVENTure journals. I set aside a special journal to write in over the holiday season. Today’s choice is my version of a Holiday RE-Treat Journal from 2011.

I flipped to a prayer/plea that I wrote in the midst of finishing my English degree as an adult, self-publishing my book of devotions and welcoming my sister and her kids to St. Louis. Whew! What a year!

Here’s the entry dated 12.17.2011:

Father- I am here in your presence feeling a bit weak and weary with all the worries and wounds of life. Thank you for the gift of REST.

Direct my heart to your purposes and plans today. I confess that I am overwheled and wish that I had bigger blocks of time, rather than pockets of time. I wish I was sleeping better. I wish . . . I could accept my limitations, expel my frustrations, reduce my expectations and instead trust your revelations.

The entry goes on to record a confession of fear of not getting everything ready for Christmas. And then an affirmation to trust God with the impossible.

Looking back at this entry, I notice that I still need help with my limitations, frustrations and expectations.

I am so thankful for a journal where I can readily pour out my confessions and reassess where my help comes from.

I call this my “Holiday RE-Treat Journal” because it is a container where I can keep my sacred sanity. A place to retreat when life gets overwhelming. And it’s a treat that I can visit again and again, to see progress and to recall God’s faithfulness.

I hope you all carve out time, whether big chunks or small pockets, to treat yourself to some holiday respite in your journal this season.

You may find it interesting that the word, “treat” can mean “to deal with in writing” or “to represent artistically.” I find that this journal is a place where I can artistically create little “getaway” scenes with magazine images, which I later use to prompt my musings with my pen. I leave you with some images from my 2015 Holiday RE-Treat Journal. Enjoy!

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Below are future “retreat” pages, and a cookie recipe I want to try.

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Posted on by kelrohlf 16

Confide: Open Your Heart; Entrust

Silence is praise to you,
    Zion-dwelling God,
And also obedience.
    You hear the prayer in it all. (Psalm 65:1-2 The Message)

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Does a particular word ever catch your attention?

Often a word visits me, and won’t let me go until I delve into its origins. Confide came to me the other day. It suggested that intimacy develops and grows between people who confide in each other.

I wanted to know more. One way to get more acquainted with a word is to break it down into its pieces. Knowing the meaning of prefixes comes in handy at times like these, and a few semesters of Latin doesn’t hurt either. “Con” means with, and “fide” comes from “fidere,” which means to trust. It also brings to mind fidelity or faith. So literally, I began to think of its meaning as “with faith.”

With faith, I approach another person believing that I can entrust myself to them. It takes courage. And it takes time for the trust to deepen. We have to bide our time with each other, allowing faith to do its work.

Advent is like that for me. It’s a waiting time. A time to be silent. To sit at the table with our coffee mugs, while my husband and I stare at our Christmas tree. No words.

I gently pull the red candle out of the second day marker to place it in the third day spot. Time quietly moves forward. A ornament on the tree catches my eye. It encapsulates the scene at the table in its orb. I ask my husband how to capture the moment on the camera. We talk technique, and I scurry off to get my camera and tripod. He gets up to go to his office downstairs. I tell him have a good day at work and give him a quick kiss. This trust works for us. The moments, the days, the months and the years of living together in confidence is like an unspoken prayer between us.

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Prayer is silent communion. Prayer is getting up each day and doing what’s indicated. Accomplishing in faith the work given to each one of us. Prayer takes courage. And in time, while we wait, answers arrive.

God answers by sending messengers. Messengers who remind us to wait, trust and believe. And sometimes those messengers come in one simple word.

Confide.

Posted on by kelrohlf 8

Spiral: Circling Around a Central Point

Silence is praise to you
    Zion-dwelling God,
And also obedience.
    You hear the prayer in it all. (Psalm 65:1 The Message)

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Happy New Year! I love saying that this time of year, because you probably think I can’t read a calendar. But in the realm of the church calendar, it is the greeting to expect. The liturgical year begins with Advent.

We often associate Advent with counting down the days until Christmas. Many novelty and craft stores offer Advent calendars with pockets for notes or miniature doors with chocolate candy behind them. (I used to get the candy ones for our boys. Last year they agreed that they might be a little too old, seeing that they are in their mid-twenties. And they admitted the chocolates weren’t that tasty.) So we put a tradition to rest.

As a family, each year our Advent observances would vary. We had a wreath with the traditional purple, pink and white candles. One year, I bought a wrought iron candelabra for our Advent centerpiece. And a couple years ago, I spied this wooden spiral wreath crafted by a young man in Canada,which I would have purchased, except my husband thought he could replicate it. I agreed to give him the pleasure of crafting one for our family.

I don’t know why, but the spiral design intrigues me. It evokes movement. The spiral reminds me of a path that leads me along on a journey. A journey that looks like shepherds, flocks, angels and kings and a holy family. A holy family that invites me to take the pilgrimage to the interior landscape of my soul.

My soul being the place that longs for connections. Connections that intertwine present day expectations with memories of the past. The past cries out for me to hope into the future. Life can spiral out of control, yet the spiral circles around  to the central point.

The central point being: What will I center my Christmas desires around this year? Will I embrace the silence or scramble to recreate outgrown traditions? Will I rush to make rash judgments about others or will I walk in joyful obedience to love others? Will I see both silence and obedience as forms of prayer?  To be honest I will weave in and out of these questions on a daily basis.

The spiral reminds me that I don’t have to waver, there is a path that leads to joy-filled days. (See Psalm 16:11) The spiral reminds me that God’s grace surrounds me every moment, clearing away the debris of sin and ushering in His mercy and peace and forgiveness.

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How does your life spiral these days: frantically veering out of control or joyfully twirling in the presence of God? What connections are you making with the past, present and future as we behold the coming of the King?

Posted on by kelrohlf 5