FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! This is our final roundup before we go on summer break here at The Contemplative Writer. Enjoy these rich offerings from a host of talented writers, and accept our blessings for a fruitful summer.

Lisa and Prasanta

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‘I Wake With Wonder’: A Crowdsourced Poem Of Pandemic Pain And Hope via NPR (a community poem about the challenges of the past year and hope for times ahead)

A Litany for the Planet via Louise Connor (a prayer for all our neighbors)

The Prodigal Son: Visio Divina 2021 via Karen Hice Guzmán (a visio divina exercise from The Well )

Kintsugi and the Divine Potter via Gretchen Crowder (the Divine Potter and the art of repairing broken pottery)

How to Lose a Sense of Wonder via Debra Elramey (when were you last awestruck or seized by wonder?)

The Problem with Urgency and the Power of Letting Go via Sarah Westfall (the more we untangle ourselves from what feels urgent, the more we find peace where we are)

Attending to the Word: Reading as Spiritual Practice via Gregory Wolfe (a series of reflections on the gift and practice of reading)

Revamping the Raven–And Other Writing Mischief via L. L. Barkat (on crafting a well-rounded writing approach)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! We hope this week’s roundup, featuring some excellent writers and thinkers, will be thought-provoking and inspiring.

Enjoy, and be blessed.

Lisa and Prasanta

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Spirituality With A Dog In Your Lap via Casey Tygrett (the great mistake is to idealize the spiritual life)

AJB Recommends: Spiritual Practices for Personal and Social Healing via Amy Julia Becker (some resources for finding healing in mind, body, spirit, and community)

The Problem(s) of Susan via Matt Mikalatos (what to make of Susan’s fate in C. S. Lewis’s The Last Battle)

A Black Woman at War: Battling for God and a nation’s people via Natasha Sistrunk Robinson (the lie of white supremacy that’s killing us all)

What We’ve Lost in Rejecting the Sabbath via Sohrab Ahmari (in an age of constant activity, we need the Sabbath more than ever)

The Stories Between Us: Karen Swallow Prior Talks Frankenstein and Twitter via Shawn Smucker and Maile Silva (in this podcast episode, Prior talks about intentionality, writing, and social media)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

It’s time for Friday Favorites! Find prayer, hope, healing — and encouragement to keep writing and creating no matter your circumstances — in this week’s collection of posts and podcasts.

Wishing you all God’s blessings,

Lisa and Prasanta

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A Litany of Healing for a Time of COVID via Christine Sine (a prayer for healing during this time of suffering)

My Porch Is My Pilgrimage via James Laurence (a poem for shelter-in-place pilgrims)

Whatever Tomb You’re In via Tammy Perlmutter (although all may seem lost, your rescue is already in play)

Making Christians Great Again via Leslie Leyland Fields (“This leader is like no other. He bent like a slave to wash His people’s feet. He chose our lashes instead of His power…”)

Susanna Clarke on Piranesi, Illness, and Faith via Church Times (in this podcast episode, listen to Clarke talk about her novels and her struggles towards faith)

Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Relying on Perfect Conditions to Write via Cassandra Lipp (how to write when your circumstances change, you’re too busy, and so on and so on…)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! As we come to the end of another eventful week in an already eventful year, enjoy these posts that bring us poetry, the timelessness and constancy of God, and the pursuit of God’s voice.

Be well and be blessed,

Lisa and Prasanta

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In This Place (An American Lyric) via Amanda Gorman (discover more poetry by the National Youth Poet Laureate who read at the inauguration)

“The Cup” / “Maundy” via Matthew J. Andrews (two poems that look ahead to Holy Week)

The End Which is Really the Beginning via David Russell Mosley (the planets, stars, time, and God’s time)

A Regime of Small Kindnesses via Jen Pollock Michel (on how we imitate the constancy of God’s care)

The Wonder of Truth: Caring for Words as an Act of Discipleship via Charity Singleton Craig (how do we, as Christians, commit ourselves to the pursuit of truth?)

Listening For God In The “Unquiet City” via April Fiet (learning to listen to and discern God’s voice)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! This week, Prasanta Verma and I were struck by the number of posts and podcasts that wisely and gently help us through difficult times. And, dear friends, you may have noticed that the times are difficult. We urge you to keep your hope and faith alive. The words below may help — soak up these writers on finding God and tranquility in disruption and sorrow.

Be well and be blessed.

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A Liturgy for Embracing Both Joy & Sorrow via The Rabbit Room (a liturgy that feels particularly appropriate for this time)

Open or Closed: Welcoming an Expansive View of God via Gem Fadling (an Unhurried Living podcast episode that walks us through a practice to cultivate a greater vision of God during overwhelming times)

Searching for Certainty: Finding God in the Disruptions of Life with Shelly Miller via Sally Clarkson (how difficult times can become purposeful times of spiritual growth)

Poems for All Saints Day via C. Christopher Smith (from the Englewood Review of Books archives, some poems by and about the saints)

Bookish, Tranquil, and Wise via Joy Clarkson (in this podcast episode, Alan Jacobs discusses how to recover our tranquility by reading old books)

Hilary Mantel on How Writers Learn to Trust Themselves via Literary Hub (Mantel talks about routines, early readers, and trusting your writerly self)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

It’s Friday again . . . and that means it’s time for Friday Favorites! It’s such a joy to find and share these links each week. Good and true words bring hope into the world. This week, Prasanta Verma and I have rounded up an amazing collection of words that will help you pray, ponder, and read. Enjoy, and be blessed.

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Ode to Autumn via Brian Draper (a guided autumn walking retreat)

How the medieval practice of stargazing can change your prayer life via David Russell Mosley (look to the stars and remember that the heavens are telling the glory of God)

What does healing look like within faith communities? via Kimberly Pelletier and Samuel Ogles (an Ask a Spiritual Director podcast episode)

We Are All Related via Nathan Beacom (Black Elk’s spiritual vision for peace)

Reading Emily Dickinson with Job via Laura Cerbus (the resistance and obedience of Dickinson and Job)

Books for pandemic reading via The Christian Century (nine writers tell us about books that reframe what it means to be a person of faith)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites, our round-up of great links from across the web.

This week, Prasanta Verma and I are bringing you posts that give us hope and resources for the difficult time we’re in — how to pray, how to talk to your kids, what to read, what to see, how to write. Read . . . and keep your faith burning bright.

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A Quarantine Litany via Phoebe Farag Mikhail (a beautiful prayer)

Pandemic via Lynn Ungar (a poem for this time)

Spiritual Rhythms for Quarantine via Justin Whitmel Earley (a host of practices, good habits, and resources to keep and restore the rhythms of life)

Talking to Your Kids about Coronavirus via Shelly Wildman (gentle advice for talking to your children about fear and God’s love)

Six Books to Get You Through a Coronavirus Shutdown via Karen Swallow Prior (what to read with your extra time)

Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch via Andrea Romano (travel vicariously and see some beauty while you’re stuck at home)

One Thing Writers Can Do in a Pandemic: Document the Days via Ann Kroeker (ways to witness with your words)

 

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! It really is a joy to us to share the good posts we’ve found each week. There are so many people putting beautiful and hopeful words into the world. We hope the ones featured here will bless you today. So, without further ado, Prasanta Verma and I bring you this week’s faves…

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The First Sunday of Epiphany–Jesus’ Baptism via Malcom Guite (a sonnet for Epiphany plus a song written by Steve Bell inspired by the poem)

Aundi Kolber: Try Softer via Aundi Kolber and Caroline Triscki (an interivew with Aundi upon the release of her book about compassion, healing, and being God’s beloved)

How the Deep, Dark Season of Winter Nourishes the Soul via Judith Valente (what spiritual lessons does the darkest season teach us?)

Koselig via Ashley Canter (you’re not wasting time . . . you’re changing the world)

What’s a Woman Worth? via Quina Aragon (what does the Bible say about women? A spoken word video)

Spring 2020 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers via Englewood Review of Books (make your reading lists for this spring)

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

This is a wonderful season in the year and in the life of the Church. We recently rang in the New Year, and on Monday we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. Epiphany ushers in an entire season that lasts until Ash Wednesday.

For this week’s Friday Favorites, Prasanta Verma and I are including posts about the New Year and the season of Epiphany, as well as some good resources for reading and writing to kick 2020 into high gear.

Wishing each one of you a blessed season!

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New Year, Same Past via Cassidy Hall (the new year may not bring sudden joy, but it does bring the miracle of being)

A New Year’s Prayer for Nearly Everyone via James Martin, S. J. (how to do an annual examen on the model of St. Ignatius of Loyola)

What is the Season of Epiphany? via Daniel McDonald (learn about how Epiphany is more than just one day and how it ushers us into God’s story)

The Day of Epiphany Is Here! via Emily Huff (the Epiphany tradition of chalking and blessing the home)

7 Simple Ways to Read More This Year via Anne Bogel (tips and strategies if you’re resolved to read more in the new year)

How to Gather Momentum When Your Writing’s at a Standstill via Ann Kroeker (how to rev up your engines if your writing projects stalled over the holidays)

 

 

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites, my weekly round-up of great finds on the web. This will be our last Friday Favorites for the summer — but look for them again when the leaves begin to turn.

Friday Favorites features posts and podcasts on prayer, writing, and spirituality. Today’s finds offer a little bit of everything, from contemplative activism and contemplative history to a short story and a summer reading list. Read, and be blessed.

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Fast for Familias (do something today — fast for an end to the separation of children from families at the border; this event is happening today, June 29)

An “Outsider” Can Show Us How to Love Our Neighbors via Ed Cyzewski (what if the help we need — now or one day — comes from people we wouldn’t have chosen to help us?)

After the Death of a Dream via Tasha Burgoyne (God is at work even when your most cherished dreams come undone)

2018’s Ten Christian Women to Watch via Jenna Barnett (did you catch Sojourners’ list of women who are making and shaping history this year?)

Why Finding God in All Things Leads to Fullness of Joy via Carl McColman (finding joy with the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich)

Friday Feature — National Selfie Day via Prasanta Verma (a light-hearted but serious look at one of our more interesting “holidays”)

The Sparrow via Jane Tyson Clement (a mystical short story about the God who sees every sparrow fall)

20 short novels you can read in one day via Modern Mrs. Darcy (add these short but impactful books to your summer reading list)