FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, contact me on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Twelve Books (Besides Mine) You Should Be Reading via Shawn Smucker (take a look at this great list – and be sure to grab a copy of Shawn’s book, which released this week!)

Daily Lectio Divina: Psalm 97:11-12 via Laura Cavanaugh (a guided lectio divina podcast)

Exploring the Silence and Laughter of Eternity with Carl McColman via Contemplify (listen to Carl being interviewed on mysticism, silence, and . . . laughter!)

A Forgotten Poet Laureate of Nature on How Beauty Dissolves the Boundary Between Ourselves and the World via Brain Pickings (attending to the transcendent fragments of nature is a way to inhabit our own wholeness)

Why I’m Over Building a Platform via Carrie Stephens (a writer weighs in on this hot topic; what’s your opinion?)

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Tweet of the Week:

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Look for Hildegard of Bingen in our Book of the Month feature beginning this Monday!

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Welcome to Friday Favorites! I have to tell you that this week’s favorites really fed my soul. In the midst of everything going on in our world, our fellow writers and Christians have responded with rich offerings to help us pray, write, grow, and navigate the stormy waters. I’m grateful for their generous outpouring of words this week.

The list below begins with a prayer for cities affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and ends with two fantastic podcast interviews. I hope you’ll dig in and enjoy.

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A Prayer for the Cities Under Water via Kaitlin Curtice (“Calm the storms
That rage outside And inside us, We pray.”)

Finding God in the Routine & the Slow via Traci Rhoades (learn to be intentional about your everyday routine)

What I Wish St. Augustine Had Said via Lisa’s blog (I re-posted my essay on St. Augustine in honor of his feast day on Aug. 28)

Rachel Carson on Writing and the Loneliness of Creative Work via Brain Pickings (a haunting yet also encouraging exploration of the link between loneliness and creativity)

Tips for more productive writing sessions at home via Pat Olsen (if you write at home, like me, this is a must-read!)

Flee, Be Silent, Pray with author/contemplative Ed Cyzewski (Ryan Cagle interviews our founder, Ed Cyzewski, on the Lessons from Dead Guys podcast)

Theo-poetics (in the wild) with guest Michael Wright (Lisa DeLay interviews Michael on the Spark My Muse podcast)

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Tweet of the week:

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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What I Learned from the Solar Eclipse via Carl McColman (what can the eclipse tell us about contemplation?)

8 Ways to Start a Project (Even If You Feel Clueless) via Emily P. Freeman (this hits home because I so often feel clueless)

Reform our Deformed Lives via Renovaré (a prayer by Walter Brueggemann)

I Am Because We Are via Elisabeth Barahona (honoring the I in we with contemplative practices)

Here’s What Happened Along the Way via Michelle Andrea Williams (a writer wrestles with God’s direction)

I Had to Say No to a Good Thing – This Writer’s Life via Andi Cumbo-Floyd (when “no” is your best option)

FRIDAY FAVORITES: CONTEMPLATIVE RESPONSES TO CHARLOTTESVILLE

Hello friends – for today’s Friday Favorites, I wanted to feature a variety of contemplative responses to Charlottesville. So many writers and bloggers wrote thoughtful posts and prayers about this difficult time in our country and our lives.

Knowing that the community here at The Contemplative Writer (myself included!) stands for love and denounces fear, racism, oppression, and white supremacy, I thought that you would want to see these responses. Some are prayerful, others a call for action. Both are needed.

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A Prayer for Resilience in the Face of White Supremacy via Ruthie Johnson

How to Pray Against Racial Hostility via April Yamasaki

Why I Fail to Understand and Weeping Prayer – A #Compline for Weary, Broken Souls Longing for #Peace via Marvia Davidson

Charlottesville via Carl McColman

Our Work Just Got Harder and austinchanning.com/library/ (book suggestions) via Austin Channing

Calling All Gardeners: A Beginning via Mallory Redmond

Facing Our Legacy of Lynching via D. L. Mayfield

For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies via Courtney Ariel

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What contemplative, prayerful, or call-to-action responses have touched you this week?

 

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Quieting the Mental Committee to Hear God by Jan Johnson (a Renovaré podcast on contemplative prayer)

Who Are You? by Rich Lewis (how does one become the authentic man or woman that they truly are?)

The Shout of Sacred Consent by Eric Leroy Wilson (learning to live from a place of sacred consent)

My Friend, Francis by Abigail Carroll (on finding spiritual friendship with a beloved saint)

Returning to Rest by Tina Osterhouse (going to the the other side of fear, into a place of rest and companionship with God)

Why I Write (because don’t we sometimes need to remember?) by Leslie Verner (concerning one of my favorite questions – why does a writer write?)

What a Social Media Break Taught Me about Soul-Care by Karen Gonzalez (on developing practices, social media and otherwise, to foster a healthy pace of life)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Resting Takes a Lot of Work? via Ed Cyzewski (Why is rest so much work?? Read Ed’s take.)

The Spiritual Practice of Honoring Milestones via Jean Wise (honoring the stones along the path of life)

For the Well-Seekers via Caris Adel (“there is a place for you, where your words are wanted, where your feelings are not too much, where the loneliness can be abated.”)

The Belly of the Whale via Richard Rohr (the way of descent in the spiritual life)

Are You Real? via Seth Haines (in a digital world, what does it mean to be real?)

The Adventurous World of Medieval Maps via Lisa Deam (on the Spark My Muse podcast, I am interviewed about medieval maps as guides for our spiritual journey)

State of the Blog Union via Tsh Oxenreider (what does the changing world of blogging mean for you, your writing, and your voice?)

Tweet of the week:

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

We’re back with Friday Favorites! I hope you enjoy this selection of links I’ve found around the web.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Living Wholeheartedly Today via Alia Joy (living with faithfulness in the here and now)

Sacred Interruptions via Lisa Deam (this is my article for the Redbud Post on learning about parenting from a medieval mystic)

Living Is Part Of the Writing Process via Lyndsay Knowles (could a short break help your writing process?)

The Spiritual Journey of Self-Publishing :: Writing as an Act of Worship via Kris Camealy (writing, refining, self-publishing, and obedience)

So You’re an Author Without a Social Media Presence: Now What? via Jane Friedman (the pros and cons of social media plus links to other helpful articles)

The death of reading is threatening the soul via Philip Yancey (fortunately we’re all readers here, right?)

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Exit Through the Wilderness via Zach Hoag (a guest post on grace and giving up at Shawn Smucker’s website)

Daily Riches: The Practice of Waiting via William Britton (we all have to wait sometimes- how can we wait well?)

What You Can Learn From Declaring a Mystery via Tania Lombrozo (on learning from unexplainability)

Before you can be with others, first learn to be alone via Jennifer Stitt (in case you’re still not convinced of the benefits of solitude!)

7 Slippery-Slope Reasons Writers Shouldn’t Blog via Leslie Leyland Fields (so interesting considering just about everyone I know still has a blog)

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Hey y’all, I wanted to let you know that Friday Favorites will be taking a break next week. We’ll see you on July 28!

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Keep Not Quitting via Sarah Bessey (perhaps you, like me, really need to hear this message)

When You Don’t Have It All Together: How to Live a Flourishing Life via Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel (a guest post for Ann Voskamp)

3-Minute Retreat: Living in Freedom via Loyola Press (take a 3-minute guided online retreat)

The Spirituality of Imperfection via Clint Sabom (this is a spirituality I can wholeheartedly embrace!)

What the Enneagram Can Teach Us About Beloved Community via David Potter

7 Things to Do When You Want To Give Up (Instead of Giving Up) via Brian A. Klems (practical advice from Writer’s Digest)

11 Brutal Truths About Creativity that No One Wants to Talk About via Benjamin Earl Evans (very thought-provoking and myth-busting)

Books by Christian Authors of Color via Deidra Riggs (check out this awesome reading list!)

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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Prayer Made Sense When Henri Nouwen Told Me To Give Up via Ed Cyzewski

Martin Sheen: Spirituality of Imagination via Krista Tippett

The Contemplative Way as a Practice in Death via Drew Jackson

101 Books to Dive into this Summer: A Massive Reading List via Rebekah Barnett and Chelsea Catlett (TED-speaker recommended books – just in case you don’t have enough piled on your nightstand right now)

7 Prayers I Pray for People I Love via Judy Douglass

Nothing and Everything (Reflections on a Retreat) via Lisa Bartelt