A Spiritual Journey Through Creativity
From the beginning of my time at North, I’ve been blessed with a good amount of PTO (paid time off). However, I noticed that as the years went on, my pile of hours kept adding up. I wasn’t very good about using my PTO. Clearly it was given to me for a reason, but I… Continue reading PTO
I’ve been busy lately. Not in a bad way – I enjoy (almost) everything I do. However, my schedule has been full. Last week when I met with my therapist, I noticed I did a lot of talking about what I’m doing but not how I’m doing. I noticed that I was a little disconnected… Continue reading Gaps
Dear 3-month-ago me, Thanks. Thanks for thinking to plan a trip in the not-so-distant future to help us get through the winter - through the long, dark nights of the season. Thanks for being willing to spend a little more than usual so that we wouldn't have to think about where to eat or what… Continue reading Thanks
I'm a rule follower. It makes me uneasy to break rules. Even if it's not a "rule" - if it's strongly suggested, I follow that too. So, when Brad got me a FitBit a few years ago at Christmas, I knew what I had to do. 10,000 steps a day. I wanted to feel the… Continue reading Break
I don’t know how many times I’ve started and restarted my computer in the last two days. Sometimes it restarted on it’s own. Sometimes I get the chance to make the choice. There is something wrong, but it works just enough to give me hope that maybe this time it’s fixed. Since I have everything… Continue reading Patience
Here I am again, in the dark. I thought I’d been through this already. I thought I made it out of the dark. I thought I learned this lesson. But, there’s more to learn. The darkness has returned. In Jan Richardson’s book Circle of Grace, I’m reading and rereading her blessings for Lent. This selection… Continue reading Again
I imagine that for many people, when they hear the word “retreat” they think of relaxing in a quiet space for reflection. I think of that too. But the reality of “retreat” for me is work – very little relaxing, even less quiet space and, if I’m lucky, some reflection. Why? Because when I go… Continue reading Retreat
Thanks to my sabbatical last fall, I have a better understanding of what rest looks like. Previously I thought it was a nap or sitting quietly or meditating. Rest can be those, but it’s also much more. For me rest is slowing down – so instead of running, I walk; instead of reading a whole… Continue reading Rest
The other night I attended a book signing at Sustainable Faith Indy. Aside from my spiritual director, I didn’t expect to know anyone else at this event. As I was walking on the sidewalk, approaching the house, I thought to myself: “You are brave!” Normally when I attend an event like this, I either bring… Continue reading Brave
The weather here in Indiana has been strange recently. My mom, whose birthday is in mid-January, prior to 2017 had never experienced a birthday in the mid-50s. Last Saturday one of my kids from church turned 16 – she had never spent her birthday in short sleeves at a park. I saw an acquaintance on… Continue reading Winter
Anne Brock 