Thursday, September 5, 2019

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.

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting and for the thoughts in your post!

    Here's my post: http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2019/09/spiritual-journey-first-thursday-nudges.html

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  2. "Nudge" is a charming word and "holy nudge" makes me smile. "Creating room for her soul to breathe" -- wow! That's poetry.

    The theme made me think of "nudge theory," which talks about how people can be nudged to make better decisions (like having trashcans labelled "landfill.")

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    1. ...and there Tab goes again, introducing me to something new.. off to research "nudge theory." xo

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    2. Tabatha, thanks for stopping by. I actually read a bit about nudge theory when I googled nudges to prepare for this post. A trashcan labeled landfill would give one reason to pause, wouldn't it?

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  3. I wasn't sure where I would go with the word nudge. I like your term "holy nudges." We need to pay attention to them.
    https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2019/09/05/spiritual-journey-nudges/

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  4. Ramona, after writing my post, I read yours. I found the words "holy nudges
    to be just the right ones to ponder over in the future. The thought will allow quiet moments for pondering and most importantly listening. My post can be found at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2019/09/nudging.html. Thank you for hosting.

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    1. Ramona, seeking holy nudges are going to be part of my practice today. I think the nature scene I saw yesterday was a holy nudge to be grateful for what the Lord provides.

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  5. I love this post, Ramona. Love how nudges can come from so many sources, and with such love. One of my dearest friends is a champion nudger in my writing life -- several stories I had given up on exist now as books because she kept nudging me! (A nudge can be a way to say, I believe in you. Keep going. You got this.) I wasn't able to get a post together myself, so I am just a (grateful!) reader today. Thanks for jumping in to host! xo

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    1. I for one appreciate you being a grateful reader. I think what you wrote about a champion nudger in your writing life is a brief SJ1stT response that deserves a comment. I like the idea that being a nudger means you believe in the person you nudge, Irene. We can all use those kind of nudgers in our writing lives.

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  6. Thanks for this, Ramona. I was thinking about having our nudge antennae up, and wondering if I could say something about that. You did so beautifully.
    Find my post at: https://kceastlund.blogspot.com/

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  7. Hi dear Ramona.
    Nudge sounds like a fun word. And It has sparked me.
    Will be posting soon at Bookseedstudio.
    Appreciations for sharing the links. I look forward to enjoying all.

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