Chris Manion's Blog, page 5

The Choice and Risk of Doing Nothing

Photo by x1klima









The choices we make can haunt us.

The choice and risk of doing nothing is easy to dismiss. It comes up in the parable of the talents, a touchstone scripture passage for my life. Luke 19: 11-28 gives us a variation on the talents using ten coins as the exchange between the master and his servants.

The idea that someday, sometime in my future, I will have such a moment of accountability, raised a red warning flag in my mind many years ago. How would I feel when God asks me what I did with all He gave me? I could feel my fash flush at the imagined scene in my mind. Aware of being given many gifts and talents, I have carried for decades a strong desire to make good use of all I have been given, without making myself crazy.

I have gone over the edge often, being one of those roll-your-eyes overachievers. I wrote in my memoir how my husband felt compelled to send me away for a weekend of rest because I had pushed myself too hard to use all my talents. My body rebelled. Jesus’ parable is not telling us to go overboard like that. It is telling us to do something with the mission we’ve been given, with the gifts we naturally hold within us.

The wrong choice is so easy.



Photo by x1klima

The one thing I won’t be accused of is wrapping my gifts in a handkerchief and handing them back untouched.

We all make many choices in our life’s journey—some good, some not-so-good—and this parable that Jesus shares assures us that God rewards even our smallest efforts. The only thing that seems to be offensive to God is when we choose to do nothing.

The choice and risk of doing nothing is a slippery slope. Doing nothing is so easy. Doing nothing is sometimes the correct action when faced with taunts, mean acts, name-calling. It’s not an action, however, that will ever please God when He’s given us a task to do for Him. Sister Meg Funk is right.

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Writing Fiction: An Author Tries Something New

Writing fiction. Yep. I’m giving it a shot. After I write this blog post. You don’t have to point out the procrastination. I’m watching myself do it.

photo by Kaitlyn Baker

You never know what you are capable of if you don’t stretch yourself. Yep. True enough.

I’ve written non-fiction for over thirty years. I enjoy reading fiction stories when I allow myself a break from non-fiction, but the desire to write fiction never kindled in me except for a children’s book or two. Too many topics I wanted to learn and teach tempted me like cookies on a cooling rack.

photo by ramiz dedakovic-jerh

I’m in a new season in my life now. Fiction has been peeking at me like a shy kitten from the corners of my creative jungle gym. I observe the kitten and leave it alone.

After a particularly difficult emotional struggle recently, my spirit needed to go to a safe, happy place. I bought a few romance novels and found delight again in reading stories with a happy-ever-after ending.

At writers conferences over the past two years, I chose one or two fiction workshops to attend, dipping my toes in the water with no commitment to go in for a swim. I took notes. I stored them away.

This year, I signed up for an online Deep Editing course by Margie Lawson, taught by friend and fellow writer, Suzanne Purvis. The course was excellent. After the second or third lecture, I realized the course focused on fiction writing. I applied the lessons to my non-fiction articles, the only works in progress I had at the time.

I noticed the universe’s pattern of subtle nudges toward fiction.

The course deepened my appreciation and long-neglected love for a good story. Presented twice a week online, the lectures encouraged all self-regulated students to find an editing partner and post assignments for feedback and critique from the course instructor.

Meanwhile, in my morning devotions, I read a profile of a person that held a tiny undeveloped detail. That little detail niggled and wiggled around in my mind. It squirmed and affirmed its desire for my attention. In other words, that little detail wanted to play.

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo kept popping up on my computer as November approached. NaNoWriMo stands for the National Novel Writing Month in which hundreds of thousands of writers participate in a fun-loving, happy-to-create community to write the first draft of a novel—50,000 words is the common goal—with prizes, games, encouragement and a line graph tracking your word count.

I’m following our family’s dinner rule. When my five siblings and I sat at the dinner table, the rule was to try what was being served. You didn’t have to like it, but you were expected to taste it.

Without enough experience to know if I had even the remotest chance at achieving 50,000 words in one month, I signed on. The goal was a big one which always motivates me.

I wrapped a little thread of ego around my baby finger to hit the goal. The timing felt right. I had a pesky idea wanting attention and a world-wide community inviting me to jump in. “The water’s fine,” they said. “It’s fun!” they said.

We shall see. I’m in.

Jumping into Writing Fiction



photo b Jeremy Bishop

Fiction floats in the water kinda funny. It doesn’t have the same weight and girth of non-fiction. It takes new muscles to move it around, adjust to the waves. Fiction feels funky to a non-fiction writer at first.

I’m standing at the edge of the ocean with a large, cumbersome surfboard I’ve decided to ride. Like learning how to surf, I’m on board with fiction and I will learn how to write it. Right now, I’m still on my knees.

Read my non-fiction here or learn about my memoir.

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Padre Pio’s Prayer for when you’re exhausted

Have you ever heard of St. Padre Pio? I did not know of him until a kind friend, Shiela, introduced me to the magazine that tells of his many miracles.

Padre Pio was a Capuchin monk born Francesco Forgione in Pietrelcina, located in southern Italy on May 25, 1887. His notoriety for sanctity and love for the people around him grew like wildfire.

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Padre Pio bore the wounds of Christ for decades, but more than the stigmata, he was known as a gifted, but demanding confessor. Penitents from all over the world stood in long lines extending well outside the church doors for an opportunity to go to Confession to Padre Pio. Stories of his knowledge of sins unconfessed cause most people to shake their heads in wonder. Hundreds were often turned away after he’d spent fifteen to nineteen hours in the confessional.

Here’s just one story of his spiritual gift as a confessor. When her turn to confess came, a woman kneeled in the confessional but felt terrorized and couldn’t utter a single word. “Do you want me to talk for you?” She murmured her consent.

 “He said word by word all the things I had prepared to say, and then added: ‘I will be your spiritual father.'” Read more stories like this here. He is one saint – if you ask the communion of saints to help you here on earth – whom you may want to consider asking for help.

Padre Pio in his confessional



When you feel depressed or blue

In moments when we feel down or depressed, our mind usually does not seem to be able to access inner resources or remember how to lift ourselves out of the mire. After hearing confessions for so long each day, Padre Pio himself needed reassurance and encouragement from God. Pray his prayer below. It is a way to reach out. And sometimes, that’s all that necessary for the God who loves us gratuitously and forever, can’t help but respond when we do so.

Padre Pio’s Prayer

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have you present so that I do not forget you. You know how easily I abandon you.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need your strength, so that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my life, and without you, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without you, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear your voice and follow you.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love you very much, and always be in your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be faithful to you.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for you, a nest of love. Amen.
~St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Prayer After Communion

Click here for another encouraging post like this.

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First Thing, Offer Your First Fruits

Scripture teaches about first fruits. Stephen Covey teaches the concept of first things first in his best selling book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. The latter is a principle I’ve tried to follow over the past thirty years when prioritizing my tasks, roles, and time management. The former came home to me last summer.

Share your prayer first thing in the morning

One day when I was praying, the Lord asked me to consider sharing our personal prayer time on Facebook – live. Really? I questioned Him. Really.

So the next day, I obeyed and went outside our townhome, sat with my phone facing the sunrise about to occur, and turned on the Live post feed in my Facebook account. Even if no one else was interested in my prayer time, I reasoned that enjoying the sunrise would be a bonus for those who like to sleep late.

my backyard view



The Holy Spirit whispers: “Do it again.”

The next day, I sensed the Lord asking me to do the same thing again. Really? I thought it was a one-shot deal? Silence.

After that, I learned it was my Lord’s will for me to share my prayers, reading the psalms and Scripture reading of daily Mass aloud. How did I know it was His request? When you spend enough time with a person, you become attuned to how they walk and talk, how they sneeze and what their reactions sound like. In my memoir, God’s Patient Pursuit of My Soul, you’ll find a few examples of this from my life. I knew enough to recognize God’s voice speaking in my heart. The hard part comes when you choose to act on it or ignore it.

Do you hold back your first fruits?

Once again, I obeyed even though it felt peculiar to be doing my private prayers in public. Heading out for another sunrise, I brought with me a commentary for reference. I eventually named this broadcast First Fruits because that’s how I view my early morning prayer time: offering my first fruits of each day–my precious time–with an open heart to love and serve the Lord.

Where First Fruits Comes From

First fruits is referenced in the Old Testament…

Exodus 23:19a: “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God…

and the New Testament when The Apostle Paul also referred to Jesus’ resurrection as a type of “First Fruit” where he says: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

(1 Corinthians 15:20)

Thomas touches Jesus’ side



Join us at First Fruits!

I shouldn’t have been surprised that so many people joined me or watched the video replay, but I was. Take a look here to see what First Fruits looks like. If you are dissatisfied with your prayer life or want to deepen your relationship with the Lord, you are invited to join us Monday – Saturday as we open our hearts to God, praise and listen to His living word in the readings of the day, and ask Him to intercede in our lives through intercessory prayers. We also enjoy an inspirational minute as we learn each day about one holy, blessed person. Join us.

Connect and Be Inspired.

I’d love to share more with your woman’s or volunteer group or next church event. Click to learn more about my speaking or book, or for an inspirational story of the gregarious young Pier Giorgio Frassati, a man of pipes, parties, and a lover of the poor. He is a perfect example of living a joyful social life and putting first things first.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

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30 Remarkable Books To Improve Your Life

Books by Poets and Children’s Writers

1. e.e. cummings. Not sure, but I think it was his A Selection of Poems which was the first book I read of his and it forever changed how I viewed poetry and self-expression. His avant-garde approach, rule-breaking, and visual presentation of a poem on a page broke my imagination into pieces in my early high school years.
2. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Do you protest too often about that which you do not like. Sam I Am reminds you to keep an open mind. A persistent plugger often prevails.
3. Mike Mulligan and His Steamshovel by Virginia Lee Burton. The story of a good challenge. You, too, may dig yourself into holes from which it is difficult to get out. A good reminder to create a way out for yourself when you’re in the thick of it.
4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Try not to smile as you read this. I dare you.
5. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Transformation through loving sacrifice.
6. Any poem by Mary Oliver. Her words are ice cream to your heart and mind.

7. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
8. The Gift by Hafez. Sufi poetry so stunning, you may have to remember to breathe.
9. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for her powerful voice. This is a book of fiction, but I think of Maya more as a poet than anything else.

Fiction

10. Frank Herbert’s Dune Trilogy. Any dripping faucet, while you read this trilogy, may drove you crazy! It still captivates me decades later.
11. Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. I still think about it forty years later.
12. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for its POV, first and foremost; also, its use of color, plot, character development and historical storyline. How books can feed the soul.

13. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Her unrequited love makes hearts ache.
14. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Finally learned there is a way to write with accents that don’t contain 155,000 apostrophes.

15. Michener’s Hawaii. He made me look up so much vocabulary! He taught me you could write the first hundred pages of a book about a volcano that was creating an island and not be boring. 16. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Two-to-three page chapters? Yes! I took five pages of notes. 17. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel will mesmerize you.

Reading by Majors Boris Ionovich (Russia 1031-1991)



Non-Fiction

18. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. Change the way you think and view failures and disappointments.
19. Seeds of Greatness: 10 Best Kept Secrets of Total Success by Denis Waitley helped me jump-start a multi-million dollar direct selling career by developing leaders.
20. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. Inspired insights and rules to live by.
21. Excuse Me, Your life is Waiting: The Astonishing Power of Feelings by Lynn Grabhorn.
22. Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life by Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch. It may change the way you view sports, life, and Tao.

Christian Books

23. A Tree Full of Angels: Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary by Macrina Wiederkehr. Crumbs take on a whole new meaning. 24. Enduring Grace, Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics by Carol Flinders. A Protestant vegetarian magazine writer writing about Hildegard of Bingen, St. Therese Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Genoa, St Catherine Sienna et al in their own words. Provocative, moving, and satisfying.
25. Out of the Depths: The Story of Ludmila Javorova, Ordained Roman Catholic Priest, by Miriam Therese Winter. Did you know the Catholic Church had women priests? Interviewed in the Czech Republic, a courageous woman tells her story of her secret ordination behind the iron curtain when priests Nazis imprisoned priests and no one was left to baptize, anoint, or consecrate the Body of Christ.

26. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Racy Biblical fiction from a woman’s perspective.
27. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. She holds a secret.
28. Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer by Catherine De Hueck. She felt like a wise grandmother explaining the depths of spiritual experience. You may hold your breath at some of her words.
29. Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen. You’ll never think of a broken glass the same way again.
30. He and I by Gabrielle Bossis. An introduction to colloquy by a French actress writing God’s responses.

I bow to these and many other authors. Comment below to add to this list. What books have made a difference in your life? The Bible, of course, supersedes anything written. It is the living Word of God, the most excellent transformer and Lover of all, the Author of life.

Read more, like tips on writing book reviews, click here

or on Battling Discouragement, click here

or this one on the One Habit the Rich Do, click here.

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Stay with me, Jesus.

A recent Gallup poll concluded 37% of Catholics wanted to leave the Church because of the sexual abuse scandal. Bishop Robert Barron www.wordonfireshow.com/letter has written a new book coming out in July 2019 addressing, among other things, why leaving the church is an easy choice for laypeople, but not one that will bring you closer to God.

In his new book, Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis (July 2019), Bishop Barron lists the sacraments, the saints, the Eucharist, and the Body of Christ as some of the many ways grace flows to us in times of need. Walking away from the Real Presence of Jesus is like refusing to drink water when you’re thirsty.

A Prayer to Jesus from Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Catholics have the privilege of receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus every day of their lives if they choose to. The Eucharistic celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper at the Mass brings us into union with God like nothing else that exists anywhere. Like everything in life, however, it can be easily taken for granted.

I found the following prayer by Fr. Pio in my files recently. Saint Padre Pio was an Italian priest who was known for his adoration of charity and love for the people around him. He bore the wounds of Christ, which is still something that cannot be explained. Francesco Forgione was born May 25th, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. He was the son of peasant farmers Grazio Mario Forgione and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio.

In August of 1918, he began experiencing a painful stigmata that would come and go for weeks. The wounds would soon become permanent, and remain on his body for the next 50 years. They disappeared miraculously a few days before his death in September 1968.

Countless experts and doctors looked at his wounds with no satisfactory explanation as to their bleeding day after day for 50 years. Read more about him and his ability to bi-locate here.

I hope this prayer and Padre Pio himself bring you into a deeper friendship with Jesus who comes to us in Holy Communion.

Photo by Walrus36




Prayer after communion by Padre Pio.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so taht I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon you.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, because I am weak and I need your strength, that I may not fall so often.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without meaning and hop;e.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for You are m light, and without You I am in darkness.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, to show me Your will.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, so that I can hear Your voice and follow You.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for I desire to love You more, and to be in Your company always.

Keep praying.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, if you wish me to be faithful to you.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish to be a place of consolation for you, a dwelling of Your love.

STAY WITH ME, Jesus for it is getting late; the days are coming to a close and life is passing. Death, judgment and eternity are drawing near. It is necessary to renew my strength so that I will not stop along the way, and for that I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. Oh, how I need you, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

STAY WITH ME, Jesus, because in the darkness of this life with all its dangers, I need you.

Help me, Jesus.

HELP ME to recognize You as Your disciples did at the Breaking of the Bread so that the Eucharist Communion becomes the light which disperses the darkness, the power which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to be one with You, and if not by Communion, at least by Your grace and Love.

STAY WITH ME, Jesus. I do not ask for divine consolations because I do not deserve them, but I only ask for the gift of Your presence. Oh yes! I ask this of you.

STAY WITH ME, Lord, for I seek You alone, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and I ask for no other reward to love You more and more, with a strong and active love.

GRANT THAT I may love You with all my heart while on earth so that I can continue to love You perfectly throughout all eternity, dear Jesus. AMEN.

Read about my favorite ways to pray here.

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Where is His Touch?

The following post is written for the Five Minute Friday community who provide a suggested word each Friday as a five-minute writing exercise. I always cheat and write longer. Today I shall try again to stick to the five-minute rule. Today’s word is touch.

God is one of those things in life that sneaks up on you. You need His touch. When you’re lonely, in trouble or in pain, you can’t seem to feel it.

You try to sense Him and usually fail. I know. I’ve been there.

When I think of my five senses, I might put touch at the bottom of the list if I had to prioritize them. I love the sense of sight not only because I’m a visual learner, but because I cherish the way the clouds blush as the sun kisses them good morning and good night. I linger waiting for a baby’s smile or a knowing glance from a loved one.

Photo by freddie boy

I cook a lot so I cherish and rely on the smell of baked bread and roasts or cookies in the oven to know when they’re done. The anticipation of tasting what I smell baking is one of the all-time delights of my life.

Several friends cannot hear. I know with a deep awareness of the loss and difficulties in their lives the absence that sense makes. When I walk amid the trees and listen to the birds, the sound of the leaves being brushed by the wind, and the creak of old branches, I forget about myself for a while. This is good. I walk the beach and some part of me reaches out to the sound of the waves.

I take the sense of touch for granted.

Photo by Pavel P.

My husband fell in love with my mother when she introduced him to the touch of soft flannel sheets. I had to sew a new silk edge to my son’s baby blanket because he ran his fingers over it so often. My friend, who’s a stained glass artist, stepped into my shower to feel the white and topaz-colored stones in the shower. It moves me to see the effect of a touch on people who live alone, starved for someone’s physical touch on their body, just a hand on their shoulder or a good bear hug such as I give one of our widowed parishioners every time I see him. “Oh I needed that!” he always says.

Your soul and mine hunger for God’s touch. Do not neglect recognizing this most important touch of all.

For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, His touch is everywhere. When you take the time to notice how He’s reaching out to you, you’ll hear deep within, “Oh, I needed that!”

Click here to read what more writers had to say about touch at the Five Minute Friday community.

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Transformation: when everything changes

You know the moment. Everything seems to converge at once. Sometimes it revolves around one bad thing after another happening. Sometimes, in the case of transformation, nothing will ever be the same again. All that you’ve been through, all that you’ve learned and suffered suddenly crystallizes in a breakthrough experience.

We’ve all been through a few transformation moments. Heck, we made it through our teens, didn’t we? But when transformation and Christianity combine, I get a little scared. I fear I’m going to be asked to do something I don’t want to do. Do you know what I mean? Jesus wasn’t all that popular, you know? If I’m going to be like him, I’m not sure I like that unpopular part. I still want to be liked, you know?

Sometimes I’m not sure how much I want to be like Jesus.

I know the devil encourages this fearfulness. I try to push it away.

Already I’m in trouble with this line of thinking. My terms. Self-centeredness. I’m supposed to desire to do the will of God, not my own. Okay, I hear my heart acquiescing, but it does so grudgingly. Does that make me a bad Christian? Photo by edenpictures

The apostles grumbled and mumbled a lot among themselves, so maybe you and I aren’t that far off base if you’re with me on being a little afraid of Christian transformation stuff.

You see, I’m feeling off lately. And I don’t think it’s just about moving (which we did at the end of the year) or Hurricane Michael (October 10, 2018).

Something was about to change.

Something was about to change. Do you know that edgy feeling? Like something is brewing inside? Like maybe God’s working on you somehow? I’ve been told that could be the Holy Spirit working inside us, removing obstacles, pains, old wounds… I’ve felt this feeling before. The apostles, I’m sure, felt it in the upper room.

Transformation makes me edgy.

I don’t like the word transformation. It sounds too theological and demanding. To transform means to change and that can be scary.

Transformation is an Easter word, a conversion experience—ultimately a Christian experience—for to know Jesus is to change. Some new Christians don’t change a lot at first. Some change for a while but revert since for centuries, we humans fall back on our old ways. The Bible is full of those stories.

But if we hang out with Jesus, if we do more than give Him lip service and send Him an occasional greeting as we do with social media posts, then we end up becoming like him, in other words, transforming.

Becoming more like Jesus

Photo by Tim Evanson

He loves you.

When Jesus called Mary Magdalene by her name on the morning of his resurrection, he communicated to her that he knew everything in her life and accepted her unconditionally. In this moment of hearing her name, she realized how much Jesus loved her. Fr. Thomas Keating called this her first step in transformation.

“The movement from the human condition to divine transformation requires the mediation of a personal relationship with God. The personal love of Jesus facilitates the growth of this relationship. The experience of being loved by him draws the Christian out of all selfishness into deeper levels of self-surrender. The simple utterance of one word, “Mary!” brought to focus all her longings. Her response was to throw herself into the arms of Jesus as she cried out in her joy, “Master!”

“We are not told how long this embrace lasted, but through that experience she was raised to the next level of contemplative prayer, which is the capacity to see all things in God.” Thomas Keating, The Mystery of Christ

As we continue our relationship with Jesus in these days after Easter, our heart may ask, “what’s “next?” What’s next in your relationship with the One who calls your name and loves you unconditionally?

Wouldn’t that be something, to see all things in God?

John Bartunek in his marvellous book, The Better Part, asked why Jesus used an angel to tell Mary that he wasn’t there. Why didn’t Jesus do so Himself? His answer is because Jesus would never force himself on her or us. He needs to see we’re ready, we welcome him, we “knock.” Or in the case of Mary, we go looking for him.

What’s next, Lord? I’m a little nervous about what you might ask me to do next, but you are an amazing God. And I do love you. So, I wait. What’s next? I’ve got my antenna up. Help me choose the better part.

If you’re looking for a story about how someone listens and learns from God in their everyday life, read or listen to the audiobook God’s Patient Pursuit of My Soul. Click here to read what others say about it.

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An Easter Message and Easter Memory

Easter brings memories of joyful celebrations, chocolate bunnies, gorgeous liturgies. And in 2003, it brought sadness.

In the same week we were to close on a second home in Florida we planned to retire to, my Mom was called home to her eternal life with Jesus. After writing a ceremony for the crematorium, and burying my mother’s cremains with my five siblings and Dad, my husband and I drove from Chicago to Florida for Easter. It was our first Easter in Destin. Little did we know that 2000 people show up for Easter Mass at a church that holds maybe 600.

We stood outside among the palm trees and palmettos, pressed on all sides by hundreds of others. A speaker projected the sounds of the Mass outside to us, but where we stood, people were carrying on conversations. It was hard to concentrate on praying. We could not join in the songs without the words or songsheets. I didn’t feel like singing anyway.

I desperately needed to feel the joy

and solace of that Mass. Perhaps as deeply as Mary Magdalene wanted to find Jesus’ body and anoint it as her last service to him. Only she couldn’t seem to find him. She had to be frustrated, a little like my family and I when we couldn’t get into the church on Easter.

Tears streamed down my face. I knew my mother had lived a holy life and was at peace with Our Lord. Was it so much to ask to be able to sing the Alleluia and see the consecration at Mass on Easter just weeks after she died?

Photo by Karen Roe

On Easter was it too much to ask

the people in the bushes with me to close their mouths and pray in silence?Most of the crowd left after receiving Holy Communion. They had a long walk to their cars and had fulfilled their “Easter obligation.” My husband, two children and I finally could enter the church and find seats for the final hymn. My heart sighed in gratitude as I sat down.

Photo by x1klima Another wave of grief poured over me. I kept reaching for joy. I kept thanking Jesus for his redeeming love and sacrifice. My heart remained heavy and sad. Like Mary Magdalene. I offered him my sufferings and prayed for my mother.

Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

John 11:25

I held two weights — life and death — within me. The joy of Easter. The death of my mother. Is that not the essence of our faith? Holding onto the Light of the world when we walk through darkness? Feeling our pains, anguish, and grief while we cling to the promise of new life? It was an Easter I shall not forget.

Mom and Dad

Read more stories like this here. Thomas Keating endorsed my memoir. Read about it here.

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On Being a Christian Writer: Always Looking for Love

This is my eighth day back from Blue Lake Christian Writers Retreat (Andalusia, AL). After a crazy quarter, I’m allowing my body and spirit to just breathe in the peace of a new home–we had to move three months ago unexpectedly because of a neighbor–and quiet stillness (I spent a month with my grandchildren: my five-year-old drama queen granddaughter, my five-month-old grandson who bears the name of my beloved father, and my daughter’s beautiful boys before and after she gave birth to her third son under five, a rainbow baby named Simon. It was non-stop physical demands. And a lotta love. A Christian writer is always looking for love…

One of my grandchildren, five days old



Babies Bring Everything into Focus

Whoever can’t sense the existence of God after witnessing the miracle of a baby being born is pretty heard-hearted. Whoever has written or published a book understands birthing in a whole new way. Just saying.

Also somewhere in this first quarter was a two-week vacation/study tour in Israel, immediately followed by an unexpected trip to Atlanta (my pregnant daughter had pneumonia), immediately followed by surgery for my husband to repair a double hernia.

When you’re well into your sixth decade, that’s a lot. When we push tools, cars, or relationships too hard, they break down. When we live inside a human body, we must understand and nurture its limitations or pay a price.

On the seventh day, God rested.

So this past week I rested a bit. I spent days listening deeply to our Lord, looking for direction in what He wants me to write. I hung a few pictures, worked on my notes and new contacts from the retreat, and prepared to polish a children’s manuscript/proposal for an agent with whom I’d love to work.

The “retreat” is a misnomer. It’s really a full-out writer’s conference on a small scale (90 attendees) and a schedule that’s a little less crammed with activities and workshops than the other conferences I’ve attended. Thank goodness! But I like the insiders joke on the newbies that it will be a restful experience.

If you are a Christian writer…

and have attended only secular writers conferences, please do yourself a favor and go to a Christian Writers Conference or retreat. Search for @FloridaChristianWritersConference on Facebook or check out one of the conferences listed below. Everyone shares! We’re all working to do God’s will and the fearful spirit that someone will steal my work does not find any open doors. Beautiful writers’ souls float in the hallways and sit beside you. Encouragement abounds. Friendships, deep and nourishing, begin to grow. God is praised.

It is well,

It is well with my soul.

Audrey Assad

Photo by waitscm What’s God brewing in you?

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Since this first quarter was paced like a thriller novel, my spirit’s grateful for this long-awaited rest. It’s still eager to please God, however, so I’ve been brewing in His grace like a tea bag that must sit quietly in warm waters for a while until the leaves have fully released their goodness. The Holy Spirit’s fire is working on me happily. And I’m warming up to new ideas and genres to write.

from the grounds of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA

I’m full of gratitude for all God’s blessings. How about you? Have you taken a little time to rest your soul? To thank God for all He’s done/doing to and through you? It’s a good day for that.

If you are a Christian writer or seek to know other Christian writers, or wish to join a critique group of Christian writers, I highly recommend Word Weavers. Now with over 60 chapters, we meet monthly to network and critique in a Christian manner that helps us practice how to present to editors and publishers. Check for a chapter near you, or join an online chapter.

Upcoming Christian Writers’ Conferences



The Kentucky Christian Writers Conference

Elizabethtown, KY June 20-22, 2019. Includes a teen track www.kychristianwriters.com

Catholic Writers Conference Live 

Juy 30-Aug. 2, Lancaster, PA

Catholic Writers Conference Online

Learn from home. No travel costs. Pitch your script. Learn your craft. Sept. 20-22, 2019

American Christian Fiction Writers
San Antonio, Texas
September 26th-29th, 2019
https://www.acfw.com/conference



Southeastern Christian Writers Conference
Oct. 25-26, 2019
Sonrise Baptist Church, Newnan, GA
http://www.secwritersconference.com



Blue Lake Christian Writers Retreat
2020

Andalusia, AL

Florida Christian Writers Conference. Oct 21-25, 2020

The Florida Christian Writers Conference isn’t the largest one on the circuit, but attendees who’ve been to others find FCWC to be more relaxed, while faculty and offerings take a back seat to none. Floridacwc.net

Check out my award-winning book, now also in AudioBook at Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.

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