Be Still

Be Still and Know that I AM God

~Psalm 46:10a

This half verse from the Psalms sums up my deepest desire as I withdraw physically from the world and enter into a time of retreat.  In this context, retreat means to me that I step off the hamster wheel of life in order to seek a place where outer silence and quiet can begin to still the inner being.  When I am able to "be still" then I am able to re-connect with God without life screaming at me.  I know many people do not feel the need for this but I do.  I find that life has great expectations of me, that I have great expectations of myself, and that I suffer from feeling overwhelmed with my own imperfections.  Somehow in the silence of my inner being, my imperfections are seen through the eyes of God, each flaw a beautiful vessel of grace. 

I try for 30 minutes of silence a day ... a day of silence in a month with spiritual direction ... and several days once per year, sometimes on my own and sometimes in community. 

What is your practice of silence and what have you learned?

The Great Silence Contemplative Retreat

The Great Silence

“True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit
what sleep is to the body,
nourishment and refreshment.” ~William Penn

April 16-18, 2013 Tuesday-Thursday

Fair Village Cabins at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center

$225/Private room with 2 persons per cabin
Check In after 1 pm and Gather at 4 pm on Tuesday, Sending Forth after Lunch on Thursday
Suggested Reading for 1st Timers before Silent Retreat: Inviting Silence, Gunilla Norris

Special Extended Retreat Option:  

Come on Monday for a special day of self-guided silence/Only $50 additional

The gift of this time apart is the open spaciousness it will give you to put down your calendar, 

your computer and your meetings, and simply “be still and know that I am God.”  

We will live in community with a daily rhythm of morning and evening prayer, 

home-cooked meals in common, 2-3 individual sessions with a trained spiritual director, 

and time in solitude to ponder and pray while embraced 

in a shared bond of contemplation and silence.   

This will be a life-giving and spirit-renewing experience! 

Space is limited … Register NOW! 

For Information or To Register 

Email: Cindy or Call 832-330-3973
Registration complete upon receipt of 

$50 non-refundable registration fee made payable to “Charis”
Mail to: Christ UMC, Attn:  Charis, 4201 Hwy 6 South, College Station, TX 77845
You will receive a confirmation email when registered and 

an information packet 2 weeks before retreat.

Silence

Within each of us there is a silence- a silence as vast as the universe. 

We are afraid of it- and we long for it. 

~ Gunilla Norris, Inviting Silence

the trees

pay attention to the trees 

they whisper in the wind 

i must pause and be silent 

so the trees feel safe 

they want to share 

their song with me 

before they die 

they sing of the time 

when the rain left 

only their tears 

kept them alive 

i come now and 

build an altar 

to honor their passing

At Lakeview Methodist Conference Center near Palestine, Texas.  We experienced a severe drought last year which caused the trees to suffer terribly. As a result the Conference Center has begun clearing the forest of dead and dying trees.  They say this will be good for the trees in the forest ... the circle of life, I wonder?  

Mary Oliver writes, "Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?"  Perhaps, but it is still painful ...

Praying with the Psalms

Cindy's Paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm ...

O God you are the tender of my soul, 
I have everything I truly need.

You walk with me and 
invite me to lay down in the green green grass

You walk with me beside the cool calm streams of living water

You refresh me as I breathe all the way to my toes …

You walk with me 
even as the darkness stalks me in the depths of despair

And yet I have no fear with you by my side

Your Being envelopes my being 
and I am wrapped in your peace

You sustain me with a feast as those 
who do not see my value look upon our togetherness

You pour healing oil upon the wounds of my soul and 
the hands that serve others with your love

I am so filled with love that it flows out into the world

O my God, all of your blessings are mine as we walk together

I am eternally bound with you and will dwell in Your Presence, 
always and forever.  Amen.

Sometimes when we are very familiar with a piece of writing, like certain passages of Scripture, we read or recite them without really thinking about the words and what they mean for our lives today.  We know we love it but we no longer remember why.  One of the ways we can get past this tendency to familiarity is to write a paraphrase using words that mean something to us as we understand them in the text.  It can help us to wade deeper into the living water.  

Using the Senses to Pray with Nature

I've been on retreat since Thursday ... I found myself 


Praying in the Four Directions, Praying with the Four Elements and I engaged with nature


We had a lovely Morning Prayer at an Outdoor Pavilion at the Wesley Center in Woodworth, Lousiana.  We were led by a soul friend of mine which makes this all the more delightful.  


We engaged in Visio Divina in 4 directions ... We were invited to turn from our inward circle to an outward facing circle and I began facing North.  I almost gasped as turned and felt the overwhelming presence of God.  I know I smiled as I breathed all the way to my toes.  After my lovely time day of prayer the week before, a time in which I experienced God as the Gentle Rain on my Soul ... well, the wind often changes quite abruptly and several days later things had shifted ... I wrote in my journal about God the raging thunderstorm in my soul.  I wrote about feeling as though I was a little dinghy floating about no longer moored at my soul dock.   

As I looked upon the lake to the North, there was a little boat one one side and 

feeling like a little dinghy ... restless and

there was the dock on the other side.    feeling no longer moored at my soul dock ...

Turn to the East and I was staring at a brick wall ... 

feeling the heat of the day, or perhaps the passion of a 

wild heart as I gaze upon the bricks fired in the kiln

Turn to the South and felt the breeze blowing gently across my cheek and through my hair ... ahhhh

feeling light and joyful

Turn to the West and Pine Trees growing in the Earth along the edge of the Lake.  

feeling grounded and 

reaching for God 

with the Trees

in Praise and Thanksgiving

As I pondered this experience, I realized I had just experienced the four elements in prayer ... the water of the lake, the fire that created the bricks in all their different colors, the air as the gentle breeze, and the quiet earth that held the long, tall pine trees ... It is enough.  Amen.

God is the Gentle Rain falling on my Soul

I spent last Monday in silence at the Ruah Spirituality Center of the Villa de Matel here in Houston.  This monthly day of silence is a regular spiritual discipline in my Rhythm and Rule of Life and it keeps my soul breathing.


I sat in my little room gazing out the window, watching the rain fall steadily upon the trees ... all day long, the constant sound of the rain wrapped me a deep sense of the holiness of nature.  Julian of Norwich says, "Nothing less than God can satisfy."  I am realizing that my deepest longing these days is to "be" as satisfied as the trees who stand with their face toward the rain falling from the sky ... greening in the process.  


I meditated on this line from Psalm 62:1a, "My soul finds rest in God alone."  Julian says, "God is our Full Rest."   Full Rest ... always I find that when I sink deeply into God my Full Rest, I sleep for a time in the safety of the silence with no one to disturb ... my "smart" phone tucked away so it cannot tempt me to check on the world.


In the morning, I took up my journal and wrote these first 3 lines ... fell into a light sleep and when I woke in the afternoon I wrote the next 3 lines ...


God is the gentle rain falling on my soul


keeping my soul alive


bringing life to the world




God is the gentle rain falling on my soul


drenching my soul with love


flooding the world with Presence




As I reflect on these words that emerged from deep within myself, I realize how "parched" my soul had been when I arrived to sit in the silence ... as the day unfolded my soul drank deeply of the silence and the love poured upon me.  In that present moment I felt the Full Rest who is God.


Dear Ones, may you be blessed on your journey by Full Rest and my you offer Full Rest to others with great love and affection ... Amen.

An Easter Moment

Christ the Lord is Risen today!  Alleluia!  Amen!

Easter Prayer Station at Ashford UMC

I invite you to take this Link to the Easter Moment Meditation on my weekly bible reflection arising from the Lectionary.    

On Easter Day the veil 

between time and eternity 

thins to gossamer.  

~Douglas Horton

Have a beautiful day! 
Peace and Easter Blessings, Cindy

Light a Candle for Someone today

It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Is there someone you need to pray for today?

Light a Candle

@Gratefulness.org

A Night of Lenten Prayer

Ashford Sanctuary

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Prayer Stations with Labyrinth Walk

Come as you are and pray as you need to 

Ashford United Methodist Church

2201 S. Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas

April 3, 2012

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Special Prayer Service @ 7 pm