From where does joy come?

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THINK

True joy does not come from things or from possessing, no! It is born from the encounter, from the relationship with others, it is born from feeling accepted, understood and loved, and from accepting, from understanding and from loving; and this is not because of a passing fancy but because the other is a person. Joy is born from the gratuitousness of an encounter! It is hearing someone say, but not necessarily with words: “You are important to me”. This is beautiful.... And it is these very words that God makes us understand. In calling you God says to you: “You are important to me, I love you, I am counting on you”. --Pope Francis

PRAY

God, sometimes I get so distracted by things. I want my family to have opportunities and possessions and I am busy from sun up to sundown providing them. Help me to stop. Help me to breathe deeply and to know  that what they really need is relationship. Don't let me be too busy for relationship. And remind me that the most important relationship they need is the one they have with you.

ACT

Ask God to tell you who needs to hear, "You are important to me" today. Make sure he or she hears it--but don't use words. Remember, you are important to God, who loves you and is counting on you. Do this.

 

Running again.

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I never intended to stay away from this space as long as I did in January. And I never intended to run as little as I did in January. But one thing after another, the days without firm purpose or intention drifted away from me. I know better than to be without intention.

I need to run.

I need to start the day with firm purpose.

I'm back. Back on the treadmill on days that are too cold or too icy or too dark. Back at the keyboard even though it seems like there might be a million more pressing things to do. Back at it, but with some reinforcement this time. All the running books and blogs and magazines say that a running buddy is a major key to success.

I usually run alone.

My friend Jen joined my gym. She's an accomplished runner. I've always wanted to run with her and always known we'd be sorely mismatched. But now? We could definitely run on side-by-side treadmills, each at our own pace. And my husband? The one whose stride is twice mine and who held track records in his youth? He won't even touch the treadmill now, but he can make that elliptical do some crazy things. Right next to me. 

And, {well, I'm whispering now}, but I promised my friend Nicole I'd run a half-marathon with her in the fall and she promised back. So, we're both going to have to get over our "I only run alone" thing sometime this year.

Yes, indeed, 2015 is the year I'll run with friends. 

A few years ago, one of my best friends in the world moved away. Before she left for the jungles of Costa Rica, we talked every day, sometimes two or three times a day. We planned school things together. We shared some of life's most unimaginably difficult moments with each other. We held each other up and walked, dragged, pushed, and pulled each other along a faith journey. 

Then she left. And we have found that telephones--once our greatest connector--are our biggest obstacles. The easy connectedness is nothing but easy. But we know we need each other. We need the dailiness. We need to have mission together.

We need to be running buddies.

Colleen is going to join me here. We're going for a morning run together. Every day. We hope you come along. We'll share what is inspiring us and we'll share our prayers and firm intentions. (By the way, as far as I know, Colleen doesn't run in real life; you know, like with her feet. You can be sure I intend to work on that;-)

 

THINK 

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. --1 Peter 5:10

PRAY

Lord, help me to remember that in the suffering, I am refined. I need to cling to you in those times, to be faithful and to know that you are there and that you have a purpose and a that the purpose is to draw me closer to You. Bring me that point where  you will restore and strengthen me. Let me know that that is where we're going. Together. 

ACT

Did January get away from you? Did all your resolve kind of melt away as you recovered from the holidays and tried to get ahead of the business-as-usual January? Me, too. Can we call this beginning of February a new beginning and put to paper five things which will strengthen us? Just five things that we can resolve to do to better equip us to journey in faith. Make a real list. 

Go!

Are you burned out, boxed in, and beat up?

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I have something for you!

If you are feeling weary, frayed around the edges, or even falling apart at the seams, let's make something beautiful together. If you go to bed exhausted and wake up tired and it all seems like to much to do, let's journey together to a place of rest and peace. If you are willing to dig deep, do some soul-work, and seize the abundant joy that is Easter, let's begin the restoration. First, let me share some thoughts from last year, when Restore was first introduced.

This year, the time together has been expanded to include all of Lent and Easter week. When we begin, it will be mid-winter February. We'll stay together throughout march and emerge victorious in early April. We've added new written content and new podcasts (in addition to all the wildly popular original podcasts). There will be some beautiful new printables joining the ones we offered last year. The price will remain the same as last year and those of you who subscribed then and have told me you really can't wait to do it again can come back at a reduced price. (Check your email on Saturday for a discount code!)

Still not sure this is for you? Perhaps it would help to hear from women who traveled the path last year.

I'm so glad I invested in the workshop. I initially found it hard to justify spending money on myself, and questioning whether I was really experiencing burnout. From the very first essay, I was in tears realising this was exactly what I was experiencing and I wasn't alone. Every aspect of the workshop ministered to my soul and I'm so glad I now have all the resources available to revisit when I recognise the triggers of burnout resurfacing. I can't thank you all enough for your faithfulness in putting all this together - and I have a friend in mind that I will be recommending the workshop to. --Annette

Restore changed my life. I did not realize that there were other women out there with the same struggles of keeping God in the forefront. During this retreat, I found myself more calm and focused on what really mattered. I am so looking forward to getting back to that place as the accountability with the group really keeps me on track --Ashlee

Restore was such a gift for me. Coming off of the holidays and major changes in my life, I didn't realize how weary and spiritually parched I had become. Restore did exactly what it's name says, it helped to restore my joy, re-set my priorities, and renew my relationship with the Lord. Knowing a new devotion, video, and focus was in my inbox actually gave me courage to face the day and the community of women that formed was precious and sweet. Elizabeth and Joy are one of us--moms that have been in the trenches for quite a few years, who have weathered storms of motherhood, and who fight for their own joy daily. They put together a workshop that truly reached my heart and blessed. Can't wait for the next one! --Betty

Because I already felt like I was drowning, adding Restore to my packed schedule felt impractical and pointless. In fact, during the entire workshop, I was unable to implement any of Elizabeth's wise advice beyond the first few days. Nevertheless, just reading her gentle words daily was like a healing balm to my soul, and over the next several months following the workshop, I began to find balance in caring for my family and myself. Elizabeth has blessed me with a new understanding of my own dignity and worth and countless practical strategies to live out my vocation as a wife and mother with peace and joy. --Jenny

Although I'm not a wife or mother (yet), I have benefitted so much from Restore. After becoming broken in every aspect of my life (right down to broken bones), I needed help to put even the most basic parts of my life back into perspective. This retreat gave me the daily guidance and traction that I needed to begin to care for myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The lessons from Restore continue to inspire me and remind me that I glorify God when I make time for things that bring me life and joy. --Kate

Click here to take the first step.

all the things I want to share with her

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During the week between Christmas and and the new year, my husband took five boys (four of ours and one we love like he's ours) to Disney. Stephen had a tournament. The others were along for the ride. That left me "alone" with our four girls. We made a list of lots of girly things to do. Some of them happened. Some were relegated to another list some time in the future. 

The three littler girls bounced between my house and my friend Nicole's. One night a sleepover with me, one night with her, back and forth as they soaked up time with Nicole's daughter, Brynn. Sarah even managed a night where she spent half the night with Nicole and the other half with me. Once, we had a pajama party with a bunch of girlfriends of Mary Beth--the whole gang of bigs and littles together in a haze of nail polish and glitter. And the night the boys were driving home, we stayed awake until 3:00 AM watching Gilmore Girls for the first time.

But it was the quiet moments that were the most valuable to me. Nicole's gift to me was time alone in my house with my big girl. Mary Beth and I had the rare luxury of lots of uninterrupted conversations away from little ears and curious brothers. It was golden time, really; time I will treasure forever. She could ask questions and I could offer thoughtful answers. She taught me a lot in those days. 

She will be home for another 18 months or so. She's begun full-time college studies. She's working two jobs. She's active in her youth group. Her life is full and filling with all the things that will take her out into the world.  And still, there's so much left to share. I know that her leaving won't be the end of our friendship. Actually, I know that as she grows, our relationship will, too. But there is so much of my heart I still haven't spoken into hers.

So I began a project. I've bought a journaling Bible and I'm spending the next 18 months or so annotating it for her. I'm searching my favorite verses and I'm writing to her the words God has spoken to me in those places. I'm pouring my soul into the margins and hoping the Holy Spirit will take my offerings alongside His and make them into something beautiful for my girl.

When I posted a picture on Instagram, people asked for details. I ordered three different RSV versions of the Oxford Bible that I loved in college (only with margins for note taking). I even expedited shipping. Each time, it took 3 weeks or so to get the news that there are none of those Bibles to be had. Finally, I ordered this one. I'm a little sad about that because Sirach is such a beautiful book for a young woman, for any woman really. My plan is to put Sirach notes on the end pages. 

I've been using and loving these pens. I'm not drawing or clipping scrapbook art or much of anything fancy. I'm just using this Bible to make notes. Sometimes, it's just notes on the Mass reading of the day. Sometimes, I'm going back through Bible studies I've loved and transcribing notes from the margins of those books into the margins of the Bible. Sometimes, I'm lifting my notes from my journal. 

I'm not going to lie. When you have cancer at 24 and no one is really certain what the longterm effects of chemotherapy and radiation mean for different cancers in your future, and when a dear friend is dying of the cancer that is the greatest apparent risk, the thought that your daughter might navigate young womanhood without you does cross your mind from time to time. I don't want this book to be morbid and I hope that there will be many times when she sits with a baby on her lap or waiting out soccer practice and she calls to say, "You know that passage in Ephesians? I understand exactly how you felt when you wrote that." I hope we get those times.

But if we don't, she's got my heart between the pages. 

~*~*~*~

Anticipating further Bible questions, I'm reposting answers to last year's questions here,just to make things handy.

When I wrote about how I am called to serve my family and what I do to fuel myself, Lynn asked

I have decided to buy a new study Bible & have been looking at the Ignatius NT study Bible, but now am torn as the the C.S. Lewis Bible.

Do you have a preference ? How do you find the notes?

And the answer is BOTH and then some;-). Sorry, I think I might be a bit of a geek like that. I love the C S Lewis Bible. It's as if C.S. Lewis spent a lifetime journaling in his Bible and then gave it to me. On every page, there's insight from a truly great teacher. It's wonderful to be able to sit and read scripture and then see a bit of Lewis. And then, two things might happen. The first always, always happens: I crosscheck in other Bibles. The second, happens when time allows--I find the Lewis quote in the context of his books. This means that I have a bunch of other Bibles and a fairly extensive Lewis library, both of which are accessible online (though I much prefer the book method, as the computer can take me out of the contemplative mode very efficiently).

I use the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible as often as the C S Lewis Bible. The notes are rich and reading them is fruitful. Its only shortcoming is that it's only the New Testament. I eagerly await the release of the Old Testament. In the meantime, I keep the Ignatius Catholic Bible-RSV handy. I prefer the RSV translation and this one enables me to have both Old and New Testaments and some notes for each. I noticed that Biblia.com now has the RSV Catholic translation, so there's that online option. The other Catholic online option is the USCCB has the entire version of Bible online here. Because this is the New American Bible version used in the Lectionary, I take the Lord, Hear Our Prayer scripture quotes from here. There are some notes on reading the Bible privately here at the USCCB site that might be helpful for people who are wanting to begin this practice. God willing, I look forward to coming back into this space and sharing some Bible journalling ideas with you soon.

The notes in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible are extensive and very enlightening. I also like to use the Catholic Bible Dictionary to dig deeper. The C S Lewis Bible doesn't have typical notes for exegesis; it has Lewis quotes that have been selected topically.

And, since we're talking about Bibles in the morning, my basket is also stocked with a Bible for my little ones. Typically, when Sarah Annie first awakens, she'll snuggle still and quiet onto my lap for some time while I finish my thoughts and prayers. Then, I'll read to her from The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's truly beautifully done! I highly recommend it.

This basket didn't fill at once. It's been gathered over time. It is the most treasured gathering of items in my life. This is where the day begins. It's food for the journey. It's consolation in times of grief and a steady hand when I wobble. This is where the soul work happens, the work that gives light and meaning and wisdom and joy to any other work I do. The basket has been gathered thoughtfully and at some sacrifice, but graces overflow from it, far exceeding what I ever imagined when I made those purchases.