Weekend Favorites: the ordinary rituals of October edition
Dear friends,
This week I’m noticing the ordinary rituals that have grounded my life during the month of October. Sometimes I get wound up at this time of year, trying to capture the fleeting showstopper that is autumn in New England. What is beautiful can become a kind of frenetic striving to trap it all down. So this week, which has been full of ordinary and even some unbeautiful emotional and relational moments, I’m giving thanks for the ordinary rituals that ground me this time of year: a particular tree in our backyard, my brother’s birthday, and digging out my wool hat from Ireland for crisp morning walks.
One of my hopes for this weekly post is that you’ll feel invited to spend a few minutes reflecting with me about the previous week and how you’ve been drawn to three spiritual practices:
Worship God
Love People
Enjoy Beauty
So how has your week been? Where have you noticed moments of worship, love, and beauty? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment or send me an email. I love to hear from you!
Without further ado, here are three highlights from my week to help me worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty.
1. Listening to Pray-As-You-Go on my morning walks but also listening to the waves.
I’ve been using the app for my morning walks near the water in our neighborhood. But then sometimes, when the tide is coming in, or a flock of geese is V-ing over the water, I remember to take out the earbuds and listen. (I’m also delighted when the weather turns crisp enough to wear my Irish wool hat!)
2. I got nostalgic about my brother turning 50.
He was my first best friend, and now I’m not the only sibling in my fifties. This meant I embarrassed him with a barrage of old pics of just the two of us (before there were six of us!)
3. I still can’t take my eyes off our neighborhood, and this week that meant my backyard.
We looked at this little rental house three years ago at exactly this week of the year. We signed a lease the same day.
That tree should’ve earned a commission.
Peace to you, body and soul,
Tamara
p.s. Each Saturday on Instagram, I share three favorite creators/cultivators helping me worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty in the previous week. If you’d like to share your own list, screenshot or save this image to your photos and fill in the blanks with your own selections. Then share it on IG Stories!
What I’ve Been Up to Lately
1. Book Updates!
The Spacious Path: Practicing the Restful Way of Jesus in a Fragmented World is now available for pre-order! While it won’t be released until June 2023, pre-ordering helps my publisher and online booksellers know that people are excited to read this book so please feel free to let them know by ordering your own copy.
You can pre-order the book from the following online booksellers:
Thank you!
2. Daybook Meditations for Ordinary Time
Did you know that I publish a weekly devotional guide? Each Sunday members receive a specially-curated post including art, music, and spiritual practices to accompany the prayers and Scripture readings found in the Book of Common Prayer.
Training our eyes for the small signs of God's presence takes a lifetime of faithful attention. Daybook Meditations help us develop habits that integrate our body, mind, and soul to help us pay attention to God's presence in both the silence, celebration, fasting, and feasting of the liturgical year.
For $5 a month, you’ll receive curated collections of Scripture, music, art, prayer, and simple spiritual practices weekly —daily in Advent and Lent—devotional guides plus access to my entire archive of devotional guides and contemplative retreats.
My prayer is that as each member engages with the Daybook Meditations, they will know that they are welcomed, loved, and respected, and sense the nearness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in each encounter.
Subscribe here:
3. Upcoming Speaking
How to Embed Spiritual-Direction Practices In Your Church Masterclass with Vibrant Faith
I’m grateful for the work Vibrant Faith does to encourage the big-C Church through training, coaching, and leadership development and delighted to be one of the instructors in their MasterClass series this fall.
Class description: “So much of our ministry life is formed in a “doing” model—gathering for worship and fellowship, giving service and resources, counseling, equipping, and teaching fill our calendars and our time together. In these normal activities of church life, we most often follow a pre-determined curriculum for continued life and growth in Jesus. Spiritual direction is a practice that flips the perspective from doing to being, from spoken communication to active listening, and from creating agendas to creating space for silence and honest questions. At its core, spiritual direction is growing in our capacity to be with God and to bear witness to God’s movement in our lives. The gifts that come from spiritual direction might be the simplest and most needed for parishioners of every age and season of life, particularly as we emerge from the collective suffering of global pandemic and upheaval. In this class, I’ll offer practical and pastoral guidance needed to not only embed spiritual direction in our church ministries but to also experience, firsthand, simple but meaningful practices of silence and listening to Jesus, each other, and our own hearts.”
Thursdays, November 10 & 17, 2022
12:00 - 1:30 PM EST
Purchase here (While you’re there, you can browse through all of the MasterClass options or purchase a season pass.)
Recent posts on Instagram
1. On a reflection from Thomas Merton and the story of Jacob Wrestling God
2. On the tree that made us rent our house 3 years ago
3. On a few phrases I’ve learned to describe what I do as a Spiritual Director
Weekend Favorites
A weekly celebration of creators & cultivators helping us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty!
1.Finbarr of Cork: Blessing upon Blessing from @PsalmPrayers
I had never heard of this saint until we visited Saint Finn Barre’s Cathedral in Cork City this summer during our sabbatical. An eye-catching block print, saint lore, story of a modern-day saint, and a prayer: what a treasure trove of a post!
2. Reviews of Beyond Welcome by Karen Gonzáles to celebrate this week’s book launch!
3. October nature walk inspiration from @TheNatureJournaler
I’ve been receiving nature journaler, Heather Winslow LeFebvre’s newsletter for a long time and am delighted to find her on Instagram. A mushroom hunt, anyone?
Currently Reading
This post includes affiliate links in this post because I'm trying to be a good steward, and when you buy something through one of these links you don't pay more money, but in some magical twist of capitalism we get a little pocket change. Thanks!
Blog Archive
Thank you for all the kind words about my sabbatical summary post. It’s a lot. And there’s so much more I could’ve written. I’d love to know if any of the 13 Things I Learned resonated with you. Drop me a line to share your story!
