Tornado
Saturday, we were blasted with remarkably high winds and rain. We were not, however, in the line of fire that those to the south east of us were where
tornadoes ripped through small Arkansas towns and caused a lot of destruction. It's always interesting how ambivalent we are when it comes to disasters - natural or man made. The language of Christians is baffling to me at times. My town wasn't hit by a tornado, so we were "blessed." Another town WAS hit by a tornado, so they were . . . um . . . cursed? Not blessed? How to react when something tragic misses me? How to react when tragedy does? I think the larger issue here (at least for me) is that life is fragile - yet remarkably
resilient. Every moment is a treasure - and that is the true blessing - to know that at all times.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Ash Wednesday
I just returned from Ash Wednesday services to commence Lent, the forty day spiritual preparation for Easter. This is time for personal reflection, self examination, devotion to prayer, meditation, fasting, and service. The smudge on my forehead is a mark of repentance and limitations. Easter brings that reality full circle to life and renewal.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Iowa Seminars
Today, I concluded the second of the two seminars that I taught for the Davenport Diocese. The commitment of these new friends to bring healing tools to survivors of abuse was truly encouraging. The weather here has been bitterly cold, but the warmth of those who organized and those who attended made the temperature unimportant. After the seminars, I met with the Hope and Healing Ministries team to coordinate the Committed to Freedom retreat here in May. I know that great healing took place during these seminars. I also know that the seeds I planted here will blossom as people use the spiritual tools that I covered both in the seminars and soon in the retreat.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Iowa
COLD!!!!!!!!!! I left my home yesterday and just THOUGHT it was cold! Then I arrived in Iowa at about 5 pm and the temperature was 3 degrees F and dropping. Wow! From St. Louis to here, the earth is just white - white everywhere!! Last night, once I got over the shock of the temperature, I had dinner with the board from Hope and Healing Ministries of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. We had a wonderful discussion about the upcoming seminars and the retreat that we'll have in May up here. This will be ground breaking for several reasons, but a big reason is because this retreat will be for both men and women. Today we travel to Newton where I will teach the Pastoral Care Training Seminar. I look forward to sharing our work with a diverse audience of priests, deacons, parish and diocese leaders, and people from area community groups. Tomorrow will be the seminar for survivors and their friends.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Iowa Bound!
Getting ready to fly to Iowa this morning. I will teach two seminars there for the Catholic Diocese of Davenport and their Hope and Healing Ministries. Friday I will teach the Pastoral Care Training seminar and Saturday I will teach the Beyond Abuse seminar. I will also be meeting with their board of directors to begin development of a plan to expand Committed to Freedom to include local chapters. This project will help us to enlarge our capacity to reach more abuse survivors with effective spiritual tools to facilitate abuse recovery. I hear it's COLD there right now!!
www.committedtofreedom.org
35 Year Old Kiss
Thirty-five years ago today my husband and I kissed for the first time, taking our good friendship to an entirely different level. About a year later, we married, taking our romance to an entirely different level. That kiss took place in the Philippines in a high school gym as we decorated for a school dance. Under a giant paper smiley face that I had painted yellow for the basketball goal, he helped me down from the ladder. Waiting for me as my foot stepped to the floor was his embrace and our first kiss. I love my friend and he kissed me again this morning.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Weekends
I am still absorbing all that took place during our men's retreat this past week. Sweet healing, overwhelming emotions, precious presence of God, deeper levels of encounter with the Holy Spirit - I'm still absorbing this, and that's a good thing. It is now the weekend - the end of the work week. For most Americans, that's Saturday and Sunday. I'm not sure exactly what that is for me, but it is important that I take some days to rest, listen, dwell, and play. That's what I'm doing for now, therefore, this is my weekend. Resting and playing are as important as working and praying.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Men's Retreat Amazing
We concluded our Committed to Freedom Men's retreat yesterday. It was a truly amazing time for these twenty-five men. As always, they arrived with great apprehension, doubt, and even fear. Some were jaded. Some were broken. Some were numb. Some were bitter. As happens with every retreat, God gently cared for each one in a unique way. Some truly life changing moments occurred for many of them. Softness and strength emerged from the rubble of childhood abuse. The broken little boy inside a man's body found comfort, encouragement, and the courage to walk through and then beyond the debri of childhood abuse.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Men's Retreat Today
For the next two days, I will be teaching a retreat for men who are childhood sexual abuse survivors. Twenty-five men are registered. I look forward to giving these men practical spiritual tools to help them continue their recovery process. There's always fear, apprehension, and dread, but by tomorrow, these men will understand a lot about themselves, God, and the path forward. Please keep this retreat, these men, and my leadership team in your prayers.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Integrity
I removed the past two posts after a friend cautioned me not to become like others in ministries that turn their platforms of communication into fund raising campaigns. Bottom line, the ministry is in need of funds, but that is not my purpose or focus. God knows what we need and what we do. I thank God that he brings people into my life to keep me balanced and focused. So, if you read the last two posts, I apologize for getting off message. My message is simple: God's love is the passage to freedom. Overcoming evil with good is how the pain of life changes into something beyond it. Peace is not a slogan, it is my heart's desire.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Flare Up
I have some kind of weird condition where my joints flare up and I break out in hives all over my face and neck that make me look as if I've been stung by a swarm of bees. It's been awhile since this happened, but it started again yesterday afternoon. I've got some serious contact allergies that took about two years to figure out, but I can't quite identify what I came in contact with yesterday that would cause this reaction. Thank God I don't have any public speaking to do until next week! It's always a bit
embarrassing when I look this way and have to give a seminar or retreat. That's GOT to be tough on an audience! For now, just my family and staff have to look at this. It's always important to know that my strength and beauty come from a completely different place - my spirit. God has given me life and it is good.
www.committedtofreedom.org
The Promise of Snow
We were semi prepared to wake up to some winter ice this morning, so last night I kind of got in my "we're going to have an unofficial day off" mode. Woke up this morning to cold, but no precipitation. For many, many people in other parts of the US, this sounds like a blessing, but I live in the South and it's a rare thing.
Tornadoes and floods - yes. Snow, not very much!! So, today I was hoping to be a bum, but I'll just bundle up and get going! There are lots of school kids who are sad too!
www.committedtofreedom.org
