Spiritual Journey First Thursday: Nudges

It's the first Thursday of the month
and time to show up with my friends 
for Spiritual Journey Thursday. 
I'm hosting this month and selected 
the word nudges for our theme.

I made the mistake of asking Irene who was hosting our gathering for September. She replied that there was no host and asked if I would be willing to host. And then of course, I got to pick a word/theme.

I chose nudges because it's a friendly, gentle word. And September is a good time for new beginnings, for starting over, and for listening to holy nudges that come our way.  

Holy nudges? Those are the times the Spirit whispers to us to be still, to reach out, to call (I'm old school and still love to hear the voice of a friend), to send a text or email, to write a note (and I still love getting real mail the old fashioned way), to listen with our heart, or to give our time to a fellow traveler. 

Sometimes a holy nudge comes to us from scripture -  "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15:13) When we feel despair at the state of our home, or our workplace, or the world, we can remember that we can be filled with joy and peace by the God of hope.

 Sometimes a much needed nudge can come from family or friends as we join together in a community of believers. Sometimes we are nudged by a podcast (as I was recently when I began listening to Emily P. Freeman's podcast, "Do the Next Right Thing"). And the podcast that provided a much needed nudge for me? #90 - Start with this Simple Rhythm. Click on the link to listen to the audio (it's only 18 minutes) or download the transcript if you'd rather read it. Emily tells us how she's currently creating room for her soul to breathe. And if you've read many of my past posts, you'll know that creating quiet time that includes prayer and scripture study is an ongoing quest for me. Emily's current practice follows the acronym, PRWRP and nudged me to a renewed effort for daily quiet time. You'll have to check out the podcast to learn more about Emily's five movement rhythm.

I look forward to reading your posts about nudges and being inspired (and nudged) by your words. Leave a comment with your link and I'll round up the posts later this evening. (Sorry, I don't know how to use Mr. Linky.) Thanks for participating and contributing to our Spiritual Journey First Thursday community. May you find many nudges to goodness coming your way this month. 

Ruth weighs in with a thoughtful reflection about nudges and the paths we take in life. 

Margaret discusses a little nudge in her thinking that's had a big impact as she has participated in a study group this year.

Carol lingered for a bit after yoga, observing her garden, and then gifts us with a double cherita that nudges us to notice the transitions in the seasons.

Karen shares a challenge she took on recently and the learning that occurred, all because she listened to a nudge.

Jan shares a sidewalk poem and wonders if we might be nudged to write more poetry if our sidewalks were filled with poems.

Tabatha and Irene dropped by to leave their comments. 

Thanks to all who dropped by to read and write and share their thinking for our September Spiritual Journeys. You can still join in. There's no hard and fast rule to post on any particular day.