It was all worth it.
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well" (The Little Prince by de Saint-Exupéry). My journey to a WELL-adjusted heart, WELL-watered soul, WELL-educated mind, and WELL-tuned body. "Love the Lord your God with all your HEART, and with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND, and with all your STRENGTH" (Mark 12:30-31).
Friday, September 11, 2026
Friday Freewrite Fifteen: Finishing Well
It was all worth it.
Friday, August 28, 2026
Friday Freewrite Fifteen
Today, I will write on my blog and not my private journal. Combined with the other blog I lost but then I found again, I have been blogging for 22 years in October. There were only 24 posts on that blog (and I cannot remember how I lost it).
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Wednesday Freewrite
Oh, the picture above is from a meditation I did in Psalm 23 this morning. This is a page from a poetry book I read to the R girls when I was a nanny in Spain 44 years ago!
Friday, July 03, 2026
Friday Freewrite Fifteen
I am setting it for fifteen, and here I go. I love Fridays. I decided not to teach on this day, and I do mostly paperwork and tie up loose ends. Today, I need to clean up my Type Four Enneagram materials and send it to my directee. I need to read more of Spiritual Direction: A Practical Introduction by Pickering so I can get it ready for Module 2 of the spiritual direction training. I need to put the finishing touches on my manual by adding my new Examen and discernment visual images to my manual and add about being able to do sticky notes for the Blessed History Timelines that the people in the new RAD SEEL will be going through this summer. I want to give them plenty of time to do that. They will refer to it as they go through the first weeks of the Exercises and then when they look at Sin Patterns (that sounds so bad, but it is really quite freeing in every way).
Oh, I will also go through the CRFs that are in the Student Participation folder. That will be really good.
Friday, June 19, 2026
Friday Freewrite Fifteen on The Spiritual Exercises
I also asked dear C, who was one of the first (maybe the first) people I led through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises (I had led someone through the 18th earlier that year, but it was greatly modified because this person had not spent time with God in 18 years, but it was a requirement for them for their spiritual direction training - I know, not spent time with God for 18 years, and they were going to become a director? It was an amazing TRANSFORMATION for her though. So, I am so glad I did it with her and learned so much by leading people through it who are even reluctant and resistant, but I digress.)
Friday, May 22, 2026
FRIDAY FREEWRITE FIFTEEN
- engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought:"a pensive mood"
Of course, the gentle note was received well. I don't think it was shame producing. It was a heads-up for the person. It was a good interaction, but then it left me PENSIVE. I could focus on listening to the Narnia book I was listening to.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Has It Really Been a Month Since My Last Freewrite? Church Dysfunction Edition
Sunday, April 12, 2026
From the Penzu "Time Capsule" July 11, 2025
Yesterday, I set the timer for forty minutes, and I typed exactly 1000 words. So, that is what I am going to do today...1000 words.
Yesterday, I typed into Copilot (Microsoft's version of ChatGPT): a 150-word statement of what I am called to be, and this was the result:
I am called to be a vessel of God’s presence—anchored in love, shaped by grace, and led by the quiet voice of the Spirit. I am called to live with intention and depth, cultivating a life that listens more than it speaks, that seeks communion over control. My calling is to embody the contemplative path: to be still enough to hear God’s heartbeat and bold enough to act from that sacred center. I am called to create spaces where others feel seen, known, and invited into deeper relationship—with God, with themselves, and with one another. Through leadership rooted in vulnerability and faithfulness, I am called to nurture spiritual community, to walk alongside others as they awaken to their belovedness and purpose. I am called to be a bridge between silence and service, prayer and presence—leaving behind not just accomplishments, but a legacy of love that echoes into generations.
How did it know to type that without me putting in clues of what I feel called to? Does it know what I have typed in my Word Processor? Does it find my blog and scan it instantly? Does it listen in on my conversations?
That's freaky to me, but those 150 words are spot on? I am shocked!
I do want to be a "vessel of God's presence"! I want people to encounter God in spiritual direction sessions. I think they do. I desire to give them my brand of spiritual direction. There are no rules for direction. It needs to be spirit-led!
"Anchored in love, shaped by grace, and led by the quiet voice of the Spirit" - Didn't I just say above spirit-led? I want people I do direction with to know that they are loved. I can honestly say that I have loved each of my directees. There have been a couple who have been difficult for me, but what drove me to work with them for so many sessions was a deep love to see them FREE. They were both in the "idealist" triad...One was a ONE on the Enneagram and so bound, but we had a SWEET breakthrough...The other was an Idealist Type Four... (leaving out the rest of that journal entry for confidentiality reasons) ...
I'm on my "Sanctuary Deck" outside...I love hearing all the birds squawking! It is a cacophony of praise to welcome another day from God.
Oh, back to the 150 words:
"I am called to live with intention and depth, cultivating a life that listens more than it speaks, that seeks communion over control."
I was just on a walk yesterday saying that I was not "driven" but "intentional," and even in my most unhealthy times, I wouldn't say I was driven because I am too relational to be "driven," but I am very intentional. I love being intentional in everything I do! I love "depth" with God, with learning, with others. I do try to cultivate listening more than speaking...
And what about Deepen II, Lord? Would you make it abundantly clear that I am to go in the next day or so? I would be ever so grateful to have a confirmation!
(Background: I had said NO in March, but the director came back in July and asked again. I ended up saying, "Yes," and I am so glad I did, I LOVE and ADORE my small group. I would not have met them had I not done it. It is a BIG COMMITMENT that I am halfway through as of this Friday. The orientation started on October 10th and will end around then when I turn in all my evaluations, etc. I'm glad I did it. I really am. That training contained my biggest consolations of 2025 and also my biggest desolations! Also, parenthetically, I reached the halfway point of my commitment to Deepen II on Friday. How cool is that to see this past post. SO GLAD I DID IT!)
I am off! Bye for today!
Friday, February 27, 2026
Friday Freewrite Fifteen
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The Nightingale
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