Prayer

Bread and Wine, a Lenten and Easter companion

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For those of us who observe the Christian liturgical year, we have come to the end of Lent, and are now in the Easter season. Lent always feels long and this year even more so with what is happening here in the US and around the world.

When I am feeling the cold and bleakness of Lent, or when I am feeling anxious and fearful, I am always thankful for the words of wise people who have gone before me. And this is why Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, is a book I’ve kept close by throughout the Lenten and Easter seasons for many years. When my own faith wavers or my spiritual fire gets low, I can be inspired and uplifted by the insights and experiences of others, which fan the flame of my own spiritual hunger, and help me to keep walking.

Within these pages, I read (and re-read each year) passages from Barbara Brown Taylor, Wendell Berry, Amy Carmichael, Karl Barth, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, and Dorothy Sayers, plus many more.

So I was delighted when Plough Publishing House sent me a copy of their new revised and expanded hardcover edition of Bread and Wine to review.

And I’ve been encouraged by these readings, such as by these words from Kahlil Gibran in the chapter entitled “The Crucified”:

“Jesus was not sent here to teach the people to build magnificent churches and temples amidst the cold wretched huts and dismal hovels. He came to make the human heart a temple, the soul an altar, and the mind a priest.”

Or from the chapter entitled “Not All Right” from Tish Harrison Warren:

“The ones Jesus calls are the weary ones, the ones who snap at those they love after a long day, the ones who battle addiction, the ones who aren’t who they wish they were, the ones who know they are not strong, the ones who wrestle and repent, who fail and fail again. This is the church, these ones through whom Jesus is strong.”

Or “Waiting With Mary” by Kathleen Mulhern which both honors Mary’s experience as mother and disciple of Christ and helps us imagine what it must have been like for her as he was crucified, buried, and resurrected.

If Lent is a season you observe, Bread and Wine may also become for you a companion to take you through the reflective season of repentance, fasting, and prayer to the celebration of Easter and beyond, all the way to Pentecost. Find Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter at your local bookstore, online at Bookshop.org and Amazon.

What I’m Doing About Anxiety

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For the past few weeks, I’ve had higher-than-usual anxiety levels. Lots of activity and a full house are definitely part of it, plus the changing weather, and my ongoing post-divorce inner work/healing. Yes, I know, we’ve all got stuff to deal with and we have to do the best we can every day. So, here is a list of some of the tools that are helping me get my anxiety under control each day.

Calming Aromatherapy Blend:

(4 drops Cypress, 3 drops Lavender, 5 drops Sweet Orange essential oil.) When my anxiety seems to be peaking, this blend helps me almost instantly. I put it in my diffuser, sit down to work at my desk, and within 10-15 minutes I feel that tightness in my chest ease, the inexplicable sadness and worry lifts, and I come back to myself.

Calmsense:

I’ve said it before and will say it again: This blend of B vitamins and herbs really works to calm me down, boost my mood, and relieve stress. Whether for everyday anxiety issues or for situational anxiety, (before a performance, for example), it works for me within twenty minutes. You should have this in your natural first aid kit.

Walking outside for at least twenty minutes each day.

Just get out there! Your mood will lift, your ability to focus improve, your stress levels will drop, and your overall sense of well-being will rise. Feel the sun or rain or wind on your face, connect with your surroundings, and remind yourself that you are part of the planet, and the planet is part of you.

Meditation/Yoga/Prayer/Pranayama:

Pick one or do all of them, but whether you are praying, practicing yoga, meditating or doing breathing exercises like Pranayama, you will benefit with lowered stress levels and a calmer, more positive outlook. I enjoy meditating and practicing yoga with the YogaGlo app on my phone.

Watching something that makes you laugh.

I can get so serious and stuck in my head, trying to solve problems and get work done, that I forget to take a break and just laugh. Whether it’s I Love Lucy episodes, a movie like Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah or a TV show like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, a good laugh session will do wonders for your mood and you’ll stress less.

Reading books on contemplative prayer and mindfulness:

Peace of Mind by Thich Nhat Hanh

Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton

Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

I would love to hear about what tools you use to help yourself when you are feeling anxious.

Sunday Offering

Kim2 Comments

Sunday Prayer

 

I come to you at a slant, like a reverse sunbeam

from self-imposed exile. Was it easier with manmade ladders?

I’m not sure my sincerity always showed up.

Does it disappoint you that I am not in a row 

with the rest, doing my best to fit in, and failing?

 

Do you mind if the familiarity of sameness and routine 

has been cast aside in favor of singing praise

to you like falling rain or as the trees, simply by standing? 

 

I don’t want to hurt your heart 

or muddy your name with my red-lettered life. 

If you asked me if I loved you I would tell you 

I do and always have done.

 

Saints are called so for a reason and I am not one. 

Just a person with a few parts missing 

or in need of repair, coming to you 

looking for love and absolution. 

 

Some see you as dead as Zeus. 

Some don’t see you at all.

I see you everywhere mothering, fathering 

tending. Winsome and kind.

 

It is how the wind breathes into the hair of firs and 

the light gleams down on the dead brown grass.

How the birds return in spring and fly away again in the fall that I know. 

 

Perhaps my tears really are in a bottle that you keep. 

Perhaps it does matter to you if I bleed. 

Perhaps you will forgive my trespasses and 

welcome all the versions 

of myself that I present to you. 

©2018/by Kim Zimmerman/All Rights Reserved

 

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