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  A Prayer Diary

Be still and know that I am God~

6/22/2015

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Here’s what I posted on my cottage-by-the-sea blog. I want to add that although there is always something more to say about prayer, there is also nothing more to say about prayer. As the psalmist tells us, Be still, and know that I am God.

"I’m home from one of the most satisfying pilgrimages I have ever made to Scotland and Iona. Maybe the reason has to do with the internet access that was undependable, and when available, very weak. Posting a single picture was slow; posting a slideshow, usually impossible. Then to top it off, I left my computer plug at the hotel, forcing me for the last two days of the trip to conserve my phone battery—no picture taking—and computer battery—no writing.

     "After my initial frustration, when I accepted how it was, I found I was relieved to be excused from my self-imposed obligation to post every day. I noticed that I stopped thinking about what to write, and in doing so, my thinking shifted and even stopped. I was in the moment, with nothing to say, which is still how I’m feeling now that I’m home.

    "I wonder how this will play out in the next few weeks? Will my commitment to keep the blog going continue? Will I have anything to say? Life at home for the next three weeks will be anything but solitary, silent or simple, but when activity abates, what will I have to add to what I’ve written in the past five years? Can I truly be alone in simple silence? Tune in and see. "


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What, no internet access?

2/4/2014

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I’ve turned the TV on up here for the first time this year but I have my reasons. Here’s the story. It’s all about the storm and my non-existent internet access, which has broken down here at the cottage. Everything looks like a go but nothing goes. I posted today’s quote from the library this morning without a hitch so the problem isn’t in my computer. Oh dear, that means that it’s in the service that I’m ‘borrowing’ from some neighbor.

      Tonight I’m at the library posting this and tomorrow’s quote, which will be a day early. In the morning I’ll stay snug in the cottage watching the snow, wallowing in the silence, solitude and simplicity just like in the old days-- without internet. I think I’m going to like it but I’ll return in a day or two when the roads clear.


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Gratitudes behind a simple gratitude~

11/3/2013

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Most mornings, on those mornings when we remember, my husband and I start the day sharing something for which are grateful. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, these gratitudes range from the simple to the complex, the mundane to the profound. Often they center around what on our minds when we first wake up—like coffee.

   Today when he offered gratitude for the cup of coffee that I would be bringing to him, I chuckled at his way of letting me know that he was ready for his first cup of the morning. But then we started talking about all the gratitude behind that simple thought: I was grateful that I had the physical ability to get the coffee, that I wanted to get it, that we could afford it, that we could enjoy it in a warm house. All those many gratitudes behind a single, simple one.  


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Socrates and 'The Three Sieves'

8/9/2013

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The story of Socrates and ‘The Three Sieves’ is posted all over the internet, source unknown.

    Read through a Christian lens, it feels like a parable Jesus that could have told. Read the story: it speaks for itself. The challenge is to perform the simple ‘Three Sieves Test’ in our daily lives.  

Once upon a time in ancient Greece, one of the acquaintances of the great philosopher Socrates came up to him and said: “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?”

“Hold on a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me, I would like to perform a simple test. It is called the ‘Three Sieves Test.’ ”

“The ‘Three Sieves Test?’ ”

“Yes. Before you say a word about my student, take a moment to reflect carefully on what you wish to say by pouring your words through three special sieves.”

“The first sieve is the Sieve of Truth. Are you absolutely sure, without any doubt, that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“Well, no, I’m not. Actually I heard it recently and…”

“Alright,” interrupted Socrates. “So you don’t really know whether it is true or not. Then let us try the second sieve: the Sieve of Goodness. Are you going to tell me something good about my student?”

“Well…no,” said his acquaintance. “On the contrary…”

“So you want to tell me something bad about him,” questioned Socrates, “even though you are not certain if it is true or not?”

“Err…”

“You may still pass the test though,” said the Socrates, “because there is a third sieve: the Sieve of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?”

“No. Not so much.” said the man resignedly.

Finishing the lesson, Socrates said: “Well, then, if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor useful, why bother telling me at all?”


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Put prayer first~

9/2/2012

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One of my challenges is not to let my blogging get in the way of my prayer time. As a start, I try to write about silence, solitude and simplicity on www.acottagebythesea.net every other day. At the moment, I feel I have a pretty good rhythm going with that one.

   
 

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       My commitment to get rid of something for 365 days has me blogging every day on www.lettingofstuff.blogspot.com. Along with writing the blog, I have to get rid of something, all of which takes physical and mental time, not to mention all the emotional energy involved. Consequently, sometimes when I think I ought to write for this blog, I realize that what I really need to do first is tend to my prayer and meditation, which is the scaffold for my spiritual life.

     So my message for today is, when in doubt, pray. When you can, put prayer first.

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Everyday Simplicity

3/23/2011

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         Has a book ever found its way into your hands at just the right moment in your life? Well, it has happened to me. Last week I discovered “Everyday Simplicity”, a gem of a book, in my bookshelf and decided to bring in to the cottage. Previous underlinings suggest that I had already read the book, right now I feel like I am reading it for the first time.
         As the cover tell us, author Robert J. Wicks offers “common sense advice on how to get a spiritual life—no matter how busy your day.” Isn’t that what why I have been coming to the cottage? To get a life. What kind of life? A spiritual life, of course. How could I have been so blind? I’ve known that I’ve come here searching for God, looking for the Holy, desiring to go deep into my Soul (hard to put into words) and feeling called to pray for people. But Wicks is helping me connect these spiritual longings to my everyday life. So obvious, and on some level, something I’ve known. I must say it’s very satisfying to have someone name what I have been struggling to figure out, and to give me some simple, everyday tools.
       Perhaps “Everyday Simplicity” will help you on your faith journey, will help you integrate your faith with your everyday life. I have offered a brief outline of the book, as well as a few quotes from it, in the section entitled Spiritual Books.  


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