Spiritual Journey Thursday: November Post

Jone Rush MacCulloch is hosting our gathering this month and provided this prompt: "You may have heard the word “Samhain” in connection with Halloween. It’s Irish Gaelic for November and “summer’s end” in Scottish Gaelic. Since November 1 is All Saints’ Day, our November SJT is about remembering those who have left us." Stop by Jone's blog to read reflections on this topic from our community.   I adore this focus on remembering those who have left us. I often save poems on this topic. I'll share a few and return tomorrow for Poetry Friday to share one more.   The first one that popped into my head is in Janet S. Wong's anthology, Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams.  I delight in waking up and remembering the visit of a loved one in my dreams. Janet has the right idea... "pull and gulp it down,/swallow hard,/ and those sweet memories/will stick/like cotton candy."   "Haunted Houses" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow speaks of the ways the dead inhabit our world. Haunted Houses Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 –1882   All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving to and fro. There are more guests at table than the hosts Invited; the illuminated hall Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts, As silent as the pictures on the wall. The stranger at my fireside cannot see The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear; He but perceives what is; while unto me All that has been is visible and clear. We have no title-deeds to house or lands; Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of the instinct that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires. These perturbations, this perpetual jar Of earthly wants and aspirations high, Come from the influence of an unseen star An undiscovered planet in our sky. And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light, Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night,— So from the world of spirits there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this, O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss. (This poem is in the public domain.)   Check out this podcast episode by Crista Cowan that I listened to recently (just 22 minutes).  A Person Dies Twice: How Family Stories Keep Us Alive I am an avid ambassador for family stories. I love collecting stories and photos of my ancestors. I encourage others to record their stories by participating monthly in a memoir writing group. We respond to a monthly prompt and share our stories.    In closing, I'll share this new-to-me Wendell Berry poem "The Loved Ones" I discovered on Instagram following his death.            The Loved Ones    The loved ones we call the dead depart from us and for a while are absent. And then as if called back by our love, they come near us again. They enter our dreams. We feel they have been near us when we have not thought of them. They are simply here, simply waiting while we are distracted among our obligations. At last  it comes to us: They live now in the permanent world. We are the absent ones.                   - Wendell Berry

Slice of Life: Book Club Field Trip!

My local church book club read Christy by Catherine Marshall recently. It was a reread for me, something I read 50+ years ago. Early in the month, our fearless leader sent this message to our book chat:

"I started Christy last night and then went down a rabbit hole of learning about the actual Cutter Gap (historic location of the setting for the novel). I kind of want to go see it. Anybody up for a road trip? I bet it's really pretty in October."

And so we planned a fall getaway for the last week in October. We arrived in Del Rio, the location of our VRBO, around five in the afternoon. Hillary and Ronda took off in search of the Appalachian Trail.  I wandered outside to snap some pics and to add more steps to my daily total. Trees were beginning to turn fall colors!

We had dinner, played games, and headed out midmorning to scout out Chapel Hollow, Tennessee. Our Google maps did not work on the backcountry roads, but aided by conversations with the locals, we managed to find the Ebeneezer Baptist Church and then followed the signs to the mission property. 

As we wandered the back roads, we recalled Christy's arrival. No one was there to meet her in Del Rio because she got off the train one stop too early. She spent the night at a boarding house which is still standing and now a private residence. The Runnion store (where she met the mailman the next morning) is beside the house, but currently vacant. Christy and the postman began their seven mile walk to Ebenezer Mission on foot since a recent snowstorm made travel by horseback impossible. 

I'm including a few snapshots from our field trip. We were concerned about the last leg of the journey, a narrow, one-lane, dirt road that might require a four wheel drive! Our intrepid leader piled all of us into one van (no four wheel drive) and off we went. At one point we abandoned the van and decided to walk the rest of the way. And then we met barking dogs! Back into the van we scurried. We were sad that the signage was in such a poor state, but enjoyed standing near each place and imagining it as it might have been when Catherine arrived in late December, 1909.

The best find of the trip was a six page handout about the area, available at our last stop. It included three pages of photos of original settlers, a short history of the mission and a list of characters and locations in the novel with their historical equivalents. This handout included great directions to the mission site which would have super helpful to have at the beginning. However, half the fun for us was in the search! 

We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner in Asheville. One group headed home, while the rest of us made a quick stop at a used bookstore in Asheville (perfect dessert for a book club trip).   

 Hillary and Ronda locate the Appalachian Trail! 

 

We played lively games of Five Crowns 

and Cover Your Assets.

 

 

Rachel and Hillary

Monday morning hikers on the Appalachian Trail

 

 

Ready for adventure!

Hillary (our long-armed gal), Lori, Ramona, 

Ronda, Rachel, and Leslie

 

The Ebenezer Baptist Church was moved next to the Mt. Zion Cemetery in 1940 and reconstructed from the original church-schoolhouse where Christy (Lenora Whitaker Wood) lived and taught school from 1910 until March 1912 

when the Woods left due to Lenora's health.

 

 

One-lane, narrow, dirt road leading to the mission property   

 

 

Site of the Mission House with foundation 

still standing 

 

 

Mission House Site

Mission Work established by 

Katherine Plantz 1899

House constructed 1901

Opal Myers residence 1935-?

Burned 1962 

  

 

Following its 1967 release,  

Christy spent thirty-nine weeks 

on the New York Times bestseller list 

and rose to the number one position.

 

I own  a hardcover copy (minus the dust jacket) gifted to me 

by daughter and son-in-law for my 60th birthday 

when I discovered our library did not have a copy. 

 

  

C

 

Christy book covers through the years 

Which version did you read? 

 

SJT: October Spiritual Journey

 Patricia Franz is our host this month and extended this invitation: "Where, how are you trusting – or struggling to trust -- in the slow work of God?" Enjoy her thoughtful post and those of other SJT friends at her blog, Reverie.

I'm late to this gathering, but wanted to share some verses and a small snippet from my morning devotional calendar. I'm currently reading Isaiah and was heartened to arrive at Isaiah 41 this week since it contains some of my favorite verses. These are the ones I share frequently with friends who may be in the middle of difficult trials and adversities. 

10 ¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

This verse reminds us to trust in the Lord, to not be afraid or dismayed. The Lord will strengthen, help, and uphold us. Anytime we feel fearful, we can turn to these powerful promises from the Lord.

13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

This verse reassure me that the Lord will help me and even hold my hand saying, "Fear not." Whether we are beset by personal trials or we are beseeching God to help our family or friends, or we are fearful for the future of our world, this powerful image of God reaching out and holding my hand is so comforting. It's no wonder that these chapters of Isaiah are called the comfort chapters. 

This oft quoted verse from Isaiah 40 is filled with the Lord's promise of renewal:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

These were the words on my devotional calendar for Isaiah 40:

"Waiting on God isn't passive.

It's leaning in with trust.

It brings renewal. 

Find strength in Him."

Leaning in with trust. What a wonderful way to illustrate waiting and trusting in God's timetable!

And now I'm off to explore your posts from this past Thursday, knowing that they will indeed strengthen and renew my trust in the Lord.

SOL: An Illustrated Haiku

 

First fluttering leaf 

announces fall's arrival,

her brilliance enchants.

- Ramona Behnke

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Rhythm

 

I'm hosting SJT this month and chose rhythm, my OLW for 2026, as our theme. 

I looked back at what I wrote in June when Carol asked us to reflect on our words for the year. I wrote about my efforts to establish several rhythms in my life: improve on my daily scripture reading (an ongoing challenge), continue my almost daily walks, and enjoy a summer of Tai Chi by finally taking a class. I have continued almost daily walks and fit in an exercise class when it's too hot to walk. Most weeks I reach my goal of exercising for five days.

Now about that Tai Chi class . . . we just finished our first round of lessons for beginners. I wasn't great about practicing on my own (even though we had videos), so I'll be repeating the beginner class, as will most of my classmates. It turns out that I need to be able to do the sequences by myself. I'm great at following the teacher, but I plan to practice more on my own when our new round of lessons begins in mid September. 

Now, I would like to reference a book I've been reading, The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls by April Fiet. In the introduction to the book, Chuck DeGroat invites us to marinate in it, and to approach each chapter as a living invitation to a slower, deeper life. I plan to marinate in the invitation posed in Chapter 10 - Crescendo of Celebration: The Holy Rhythm of Appreciation. 

The author reminds us that appreciation is a muscle we can exercise and strengthen. We can train our minds and our hearts to look for things to appreciate. She sums up this practice with these words: "As we learn to appreciate the small things in our lives and the small things we have accomplished, we also learn to love ourselves, we strengthen our muscles for loving our neighbors and for loving and appreciating the world we inhabit. Appreciation and celebration are a way of loving what's around and within us, and loving the One who made it all in the first place."

Fiet encourages us to dot our days with appreciation, allowing our gratitude to swell into a crescendo of celebration that will infuse our lives with the joy of God. I used to participate in a weekly invitation from Ruth Ayres called "Celebrate This Week." I learned that glancing back at my week opened up doorways for gratitude that I might have overlooked in my busy, hectic days. After looking for ways to celebrate each week, I found goodness that it was easy to overlook in the daily disappointments that can fill our days and far too easily become our lens for viewing the world.  

I look forward to focusing on the rhythm of appreciating small moments in my everyday life by paying attention and celebrating them.

Fellow Spiritual Journey friends, please leave a comment below and include the link to your post. Take a few moments to appreciate the comments of fellow travelers by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment. Thanks for being here!

Slice of Life: Reading Newbery Possibilities

It's been a few weeks since I showed up for Slice of Life. 

Today's slice shares one of my favorite activities. "Drum roll, please!" Reading Newbery possibilities!

I used to do this with my sixth grade students in book clubs. Some years King County Library selected certain titles and we read those. When they stopped doing this, I continued the practice by selecting a few titles, applying for a grant to purchase copies of the books, and moving forward with our book clubs. 

Now that I'm retired, one might think that I've outgrown middle grade books. Not so! I still follow the Heavy Medal blog's list of possibilities. I cross check this list with Betsy Bird's predictions (scroll down to find the Newbery list, Caldecott is listed first) to guide my choices. 

Here are three titles that I've read recently and highly recommend:

 A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania, Historical Fiction   

Novel-in-verse, a refugee story of the Hmong people. 

The Lion's Run by Sara Pennypacker, Historical Fiction   

Lucas, an orphan, learns to be brave and stand against injustice during the resistance in  WWII France. 

When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller, Magical Realism 

While Seattle faces wildfires, three 7th graders try to figure out a prophecy of fire and destruction. 

 Currently Reading:

 The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller 

Audio Book Ready for Listening on Libby:

A Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff 

Do you have any 2026 middle grade titles to recommend? 

SJT: A Morning Glimmer!

Linda Mitchell is hosting our Spiritual Journey Thursday for August. She asked us to write about what's in our hearts and in our spirits. You can read Linda's post and that of other Spiritual Journey travelers by clicking on Linda's blog, Another Word Edgewise. She shares a delightful summer gratitude post. Thanks for hosting, Linda!

I'm a glimmer seeker! It seems especially warranted when it's so easy to feel despair about our current world. Here's a definition for glimmers from the Calm blog:

For more about how glimmers can support your mental health and 5 tips to help you find them, check out this article on the Calm blog.

Since sharing glimmers is a way to help us find more of them, here's a glimmer from Wednesday's walk:

I was on my morning walk when twin fawns darted across the road just a few feet in front of me. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I snap pics of them looking at me. Or were they just looking at their mom in the bushes across the road? Three worried walkers stand in the road concerned for these two littles separated from their mother. A walker joins us from the other direction. Mom doesn't come because she's with a third sibling (triplets!). The other walkers continue on their way. I walk backwards (probably not wise to do in one's seventies), watching to see if the other two will cross the road to join the daredevil siblings. They don't come, but the adventurous two finally retrace their steps across the road to mother and sibling. I breathe a deep sigh of relief and turn around to continue my walk! 

This encounter was definitely a micro moment of joy, from the moment the deer bounded across the road in front of me, to the fellow walkers who worried with me about these little guys separated from their mama, to their eventual return to Mama and sibling across the road. What glimmers have you noticed recently?