In prayer, you encounter God in the soft breeze, in the distress and joy of your neighbor and in the loneliness of your own heart. - Henri Nouwen

What does it mean to pray? Sometimes we think of prayer as being consciously articulated thoughts, petitions, and thanksgivings addressed to God. We speak, or think, and wait for God to answer. But what if prayer is sometimes nothing more than a mood of being attentive to what is going on? Joan Baez has described prayer as Paying Attention.

Perhaps in the mood of Paying Attention, we can welcome God into our lives - our joys and sorrows - as one who is also Paying Attention, and in the attentiveness understands and shares our sorrow, even as God's love wraps us around in God's mystery, and makes us feel we're going to make it home.


Healing After Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman

It's Sunday and still no church. I just finished talking online, to an old friend of ours who I'd lost contact with...Kimmy or Cherakeegirl I think she called herself. She sends love to you all who remember her and she continues to struggle with health and family problems, $$ problems. And we did touch on how one finds comfort in this hard world and the old "what did I ever do to derserve all this" question that has no answer. But she did ask for prayers and that made me think of church.

I'm reading Shoot The Dam Dog by Sally Brampton. It's a memoir of depression. She has a very black sense of humour which makes it readable and the jacket cover promises that she "overcomes" it.

we are enjoying cucumbers and tomatos from the garden...still not sure what to do with those long red peppers I planted.

It's going to be in the 90ties today to I've jacked the aire up.

Hugs for the room.

That first post is so...pretty. I like it. Thank you Ms. Alffe.

And you talked to Kimmy!!!!!????? If you do again, give her my love please!

I remember Kimmy..... thank you for the update on her.

... now, those long red peppers.... are they hot???? If not i have a few idea on what you can do with them...

They are skinny, curl upwards and yes, I think they are hot! And there's a lot of them. lol