Kitty Crenshaw's Blog, page 24
October 16, 2018
Julian of Norwich, Part 2
Betty Skinner, the inspiration for The Hidden Life Awakened, shares how 14th Century mystic Julian of Norwich deeply influenced her walk with Christ through her book, Revelations of Divine Love.
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October 14, 2018
October 15
It is in coming to prayer again and again that we are changed. ~Betty
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October 11, 2018
October 12
Jesus takes the mud and silt of our common humanity and transforms it by grace; resting all on the foundation stone of forgiveness. ~ Betty
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October 9, 2018
Walking
One of Betty W. Skinner’s encouragers in her intense desire to be present to God in nature was Henry David Thoreau, American philosopher, naturalist and essayist. He too rejected the norms of society and turned to nature to try to find Truth and spiritual fulfillment. Thoreau believed in and lived the art of walking, or as he so beautifully called it, “sauntering towards the Holy Land”.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…So we saunter towards the Holy Land, till one day the sun shall shine more brightly than ever he has done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts, and light up our lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and golden as on a bankside in Autumn.
On one of her many walks in the silence and beauty of the mountains, Betty wrote this in the margin of her little book, rain-warped and held together by a rubber band:
Silence gently draws us to our depth. By letting go of our many words, we are drawn to that one Word made flesh, that Word that gives life and power to all of our spoken words
And this from her story in The Hidden Life Awakened:
One morning I got up early to walk up the mountain. It was a brilliant sunny day, and I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than the early morning sunlight highlighting a color change. It is so exquisite it makes you cry. I walked and walked and walked and filled up and filled up and filled up, but I just couldn’t get enough of the warm feeling of God’s presence. So when evening came, I went to a place where the sun sets and closed my day with God, looking out over the glorious painting of creation that He had made and makes new every fall. I was experiencing a profound sense of oneness and knew that God was walking with me. I understood, finally, that God’s love encompasses all of creation and all of humanity with oneness. He creates it all, loves it all, and sustains it all.
I become a vagrant, a wanderer in these woods,
A hermit in my meadow cave,
Warmed by the inner fire of desire,
Besieged by Him Who is at the heart of everything.
The still, sad music of all humanity, its suffering
Sings clear, close incarnate notes of hope
Embraced through faith’s transcendent reason.
Autumn speaking in poignant flames
Of something, someone, beyond time or name.
When the heavy, weary weight of worldly cares are laid asleep
And the burden of life’s chaos is lightened in the Deep.
Of first Love whispering on the wind
Inconsolable longings from within.
BWS
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October 7, 2018
October 8
Living in the future produces anxiety, worry, and fear. Living in the past produces guilt, bitterness, and regret. The spiritual life can only be lived in the present. ~Betty
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October 4, 2018
On Retreat: October 2018
Our prayer is that On Retreat will help you break from habituated patterns of mind and frantic activity, make more space for God, and step into a new way of seeing, believing, and abiding.The descending way of humility is a movement towards our true self-realization. Each retreat will focus on a healthy body, a serene mind, and a powerful spirit. Your devoted guide will be modern day Christian mystic, Betty Skinner.
Affirming the Hope Hidden Within You,
~Cathy and Kitty
Desire
A Healthy Body
Hydrate: Drink a little water with lemon or green tea to begin.
Move: Do a few simple stretching exercises to energize your body.
Rest: Silently integrate the inner peace of your stretching practice for a few minutes.
A Serene Mind
Begin this portion of your time with God by sitting with a warm cup of coffee, tea, or water with lemon in a comfortable chair in a quiet place with your Bible close. Light a candle as a symbol of God’s presence with you.
Opening Prayer
Let Betty’s lovely Centering Prayer video help quiet and refocus your mind or read it on page 53 of our book, The Hidden Life Awakened. Listen for His voice in silence for a few minutes.
A Meditation from Betty
From the tears of my own confession
That flowed with the touch of His kiss
It was this
His caress, His compassion
That compelled me
To journey deep inside
Where all the beauty of forgiveness hides
Asleep and silent, still
Until aroused and summoned at His will.
Yet, in this darkest midnight,
My only light, that of my heart’s desire,
My every substance melted by its fire,
I recognized the Stranger, my Beloved,
My Companion through the years.
For sense and intellect were gone.
In His eternity of forgiveness,
My faith grew strong, my fears grew dim
And there was nothing, nothing, nothing.
Only Him.
BWS
For Reflection
Do we not all somewhere hidden in our hearts deeply yearn to experience this intimacy with God? But how do we begin? It is all desire. We must choose to desire it. As we come to prayer again and again asking God to intensify our desire, and as we choose again and again to take the next step as best we discern it, God finally meets us in the holy vacancy in our souls and, like a beam of light, pours through our transparency and connects with our spirit, filling us with this ultimate gift.
This movement toward God takes time and requires that we become partakers of solitude, silence, and prayer. It is not so much the quantity of time as much as the quality of your heart’s desire to be with God. Will you dedicate a little space in your life to be still and listen for His voice? Will you seek out and spend time with those who have already attained it? The great thirteenth century poet, Rumi, says,
“Receive the light from living saints or candles lit by those who have gone before.”
Our loving God is infinitely intimate and accessible. If you will cultivate the desire, God will make a way. Approach with humble trust, intentionally returning again and again. It is the pearl of great price. Scientists approach the laws of nature with humility and perseverance. If a theory doesn’t work, they simply intensify their desire and determination to find the answers.
May our heart’s desire for God be intensified as we respond to the Love waiting within us, continually coming to Him in prayer. The Hidden Life Awakened
A Powerful Spirit
Spend a little time now, letting the Living Word speak to your heart.
Divine Reading
Psalm 84 The Passion Translation
Rest Quietly with God
Use your imagination to visualize standing on the inside of the door of your heart, alert and listening for Jesus’ knock. If you are too busy or distracted, you may not hear it. Open the door. As air comes in and quietly does its life giving work, so Jesus will enter and do His blessed work in you. John 3:16
Reflective Writing
Journal every thought that arises without censoring as a child would. This is the indwelling Spirit speaking truth to you. Trust this for now.
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October 2, 2018
October 3
Trust is an expression of the gift of ourselves in deepest gratitude for the gift of God’s unspeakable love and kindness. ~Betty
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September 30, 2018
October 1
Retrospect is such a beautiful view. ~Betty
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September 27, 2018
September 28
Whatever God brings will be exactly what you need. ~Betty
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September 25, 2018
A Letter from Betty
Dear Ones,
Fragile and frail as I am now, I look back with beautiful memories of my mountain walks consumed by moments of Presence and Love. Though the shadows are lengthening and the candle is flickering, soon to be snuffed by the unwinding of time, I wait and rest in memories of the solitude and silence that were always filled with a precious intimacy with my Beloved. Again and again and again I climbed, for nothing stirred my soul at such a deep and maturing level as autumn in the mountains. It continues to affirm me in my belief that there is divine order in all things. It gives me a living sense of the holiness of time. Amid such beauty, I see God as an artist, painting a picture, a picture that speaks of creation as always in process, a lamenting, longing, suffering love that redeems. God is the Artist painting on the canvas of time the mysterious grandeur of creation.
In obedience then, and in His all compelling love, I wrote this meditation. Prayerfully might it touch your heart with a simple message yet ever so profound.
https://www.thehiddenlifeawakened.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/03-Gods-Cathedral.mp3
From His heart, through my heart, to yours. ~Betty
The music and poetry of The Hidden Life Awakened
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