July 2017.
© Alison Walker 2017.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Whispers of Rest by Bonnie Gray
A Book Review
For a long time I had a love-hate relationship with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. The following insight from Bonnie Gray affirms the okay-ness of my Martha-ness, while providing the loving reason Jesus corrected her:
Jesus didn't love Martha for what she could do for Him. He wanted her to receive everything He longed to give her — Himself.Pursuing rest is probably an oxymoronic phrase, but that has been one of my tasks in becoming #Wholein2017. I'm holding on to Jesus's promise to give me rest (see Matthew 11:28-30)!
Notice Jesus doesn't say, "Come to me strong, cheerful, without worries." We're invited to come to Him weary — whether confused, numb, anxious, angry, or stressed. Jesus tells us to simply come. Imperfectly His. As we are.For a good part of 2015 and 2016, I felt as though I were in a desert place. I love the image, instead, of being well-watered (see Jeremiah 17:8 and D&C 97:9).
Joy may feel selfish, but it isn't. ... The truth is, a well-loved woman who chooses joy will naturally bless others, like a river being filled by refreshing spring rain.One of the personal commandments of my on-going happiness project is Be still. I love the definition Bonnie gives of that phrase:
The Hebrew word translated "Be still" [in Psalm 46:10] literally means "Let go of your grip."As I've started to think about my goals for 2018, a re-read of Whispers of Rest seems to be a likely project!
Disclosure: As a member of the book launch team, I received a complimentary copy of Whispers of Rest. All opinions are mine.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
The Voice of God
"When things are too crazy, the only voices I hear are the voices of fear and shame. I stop being able to hear the voice of God,the voice of rest, the voice of hope and healing and restoration, the voice that gives new life to dry old bones.
"The voice of God invites us to full, whole living—to rest, to abundance, to enough. To say no. To say no more. To say I'm going to choose to live wholly and completely in the present, even though this ragged, run-down person I am right now is so far from perfect."
"The voice of God invites us to full, whole living—to rest, to abundance, to enough. To say no. To say no more. To say I'm going to choose to live wholly and completely in the present, even though this ragged, run-down person I am right now is so far from perfect."
- — Shauna Niequist
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Zerrissenheit
One morning late last year, I was thinking about ideas for my 2017 One Little Word my commute. I already had an concept in mind but hadn't settled on a specific word, and I was sorting through a lot of mental file folders for help to decide.
Out of nowhere, the phrase torn-to-pieces-hood came into my mind, with the recollection that there was a German word for that concept. My teenage son was still in the car with me, as we hadn't yet reached his school, so I asked him to Google it. He was skeptical that there was such a thing — but he quickly discovered the word Zerrissenheit!
It wasn't until a week or so later that I realized that I'd learned about Zerrissenheit from one of my all-time favorite books, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh — a re-read of which I had coincidentally (or not-so-coincidentally) already put on my 2017 project list.
I finished that re-read on July 4, and this is the review I posted on goodreads:
In Gift from the Sea, Lindbergh asserts that wholeness is not to be found in "more accumulations which supposedly simplify life but actually burden it, more possessions which we have not time to use or appreciate, more diversions to fill up the void."
Reference
Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Gift from the Sea, Twentieth Anniversary Edition. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
Out of nowhere, the phrase torn-to-pieces-hood came into my mind, with the recollection that there was a German word for that concept. My teenage son was still in the car with me, as we hadn't yet reached his school, so I asked him to Google it. He was skeptical that there was such a thing — but he quickly discovered the word Zerrissenheit!
It wasn't until a week or so later that I realized that I'd learned about Zerrissenheit from one of my all-time favorite books, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh — a re-read of which I had coincidentally (or not-so-coincidentally) already put on my 2017 project list.
I finished that re-read on July 4, and this is the review I posted on goodreads:
Gift from the Sea is one of the few books I've read multiple times. From my early twenties — when, as a recent college graduate living on my own in Los Angeles, I received a copy of the book from my mom — to the present — where my husband and I will soon become "empty nesters" when our son starts college this fall, I've always found relevance and wisdom in Anne Morrow Lindbergh's words. I continue to be amazed that what she wrote in 1955 applies to my life today!Torn-to-pieces-hood, of course, is the antithesis of what I've been seeking during 2017! But it describes well the fragmentation I often feel. The sense of being a sweater that is being systematically unraveled is not one that is new to me — but as we approached the end of 2016, I was definitely feeling the need to find a way to reverse the process of coming apart at the seams.
In Gift from the Sea, Lindbergh asserts that wholeness is not to be found in "more accumulations which supposedly simplify life but actually burden it, more possessions which we have not time to use or appreciate, more diversions to fill up the void."
[We] cannot live perpetually in Zerrissenheit. ... On the contrary, [we] must consciously encourage those pursuits which oppose the centrifugal forces of today. Quiet time alone, contemplation, prayer, music, a centering line of thought or reading, of study or work. It can be physical or intellectual or artistic, any creative life proceeding from oneself. It need not be an enormous project or a great work. But it should be something of one's own. ... What matters is that one be for a time inwardly attentive.I will need to practice this centering process for a long time before I become proficient at it — but for now, every intentional pause in my day, every bit of quiet time I schedule into my week, every conscious effort I make to create, every deliberate rejection of mindless distraction will help me become whole.
Reference
Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Gift from the Sea, Twentieth Anniversary Edition. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Where Can I Turn for Peace?
When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did — as I do most days — was check my iPhone for texts from my college-aged kids. At 6:23 my 18-year-old son Jonathan and my husband Dan had had this conversation:
Every morning, it seems, there is more bad news. A hurricane. An earthquake. The testing of a nuclear bomb. Another hurricane, and another. The suicide of a co-worker's teenage son. The deadliest mass shooting in recent history.
Sometimes it is hard to have hope, and when my heart is breaking, it's hard for me to feel whole.
What is the antidote? Where do I find peace amid the turmoil?
Credit LDS Media Library
Where Can I Turn for Peace?
Emma Lou Thayne (1924-2014)
Beloved poet Emma Lou Thayne wrote the text for this hymn during a troubled time in her family, with a daughter struggling with mental illness and physical health problems of her own, on top of the daily challenges of leading busy lives.
Who, who can understand? He, only One.
Jesus is the source of wholeness. He is my hope!
Every morning, it seems, there is more bad news. A hurricane. An earthquake. The testing of a nuclear bomb. Another hurricane, and another. The suicide of a co-worker's teenage son. The deadliest mass shooting in recent history.
Sometimes it is hard to have hope, and when my heart is breaking, it's hard for me to feel whole.
What is the antidote? Where do I find peace amid the turmoil?
Emma Lou Thayne (1924-2014)
- Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?
Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.
He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.
Beloved poet Emma Lou Thayne wrote the text for this hymn during a troubled time in her family, with a daughter struggling with mental illness and physical health problems of her own, on top of the daily challenges of leading busy lives.
Who, who can understand? He, only One.
Jesus is the source of wholeness. He is my hope!
Sunday, October 1, 2017
My One Little Word for 2017
Near the Great Salt Lake, Utah.
(Read about this work of art here.)
© Dan Kaseda 2014.
whole
hōl/
adjective : whole
1. all of; entire.
synonyms: entire, complete, full, unabridged, uncut
antonym: incomplete
2. in an unbroken or undamaged state; in one piece.
synonyms: in one piece, unbroken; undamaged, unmarked, perfect
3. (of milk, blood, or other substances) with no part removed.
4. healthy.
noun : whole
1. a thing that is complete in itself.
synonyms: entity, unit, body, discrete item, ensemble
2. all of something.
synonyms: all, every part, the lot, the sum, the sum total, the entirety
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