Super Bowl Comeback 2023

Super Bowl Comeback 2023

“Ask yourself what is absurd in your life right now. Then, recall that the roots of the word refer to being “deaf.” If you have stopped listening, try to begin again, first with what you love, then with what is difficult for you. Something may be trying to reach you—a voice, a destiny.”—Philip Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage, page 39.

Super Bowl Comeback 2023

Beginning the second half, the Kansas City Chiefs were ten down to Philadelphia. Using a wise tactic, they returned to the second half to score points whenever they had the ball.

On second down, they would try a play to see how Philadelphia would react. On third down, they repeated the play but adjusted to where they could get through the Philadelphia defense. They learned from what did not work and adjusted to a new way, sometimes only slightly different. If only we could do that in life.

I share this image sent to me from a major Kansas City fan in Missouri, Donna, whom I met in Daughters of the King.

We have a tendency to keep doing things the same way every time. Those in 12-step recovery call this insanity.

Sports do have a spiritual side for us to learn from.

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

Looking for God In Our Lives

Looking For God In Our Lives

“I search for the Spirit as I take out the trash. The sacred is revealed in brilliant light only rarely, in the flash of some great insight unexpected, but much more than this, the holy is to be discovered in our daily lives, in the moments when we are simply being ourselves. Putting the kids to bed, working in the garden, sitting on the porch in the evening: the beauty of eternity is that it hides in plain sight all around us. We are all prophets of the predictable pattern, witnesses to the wonder of the average day.”—Bishop Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook Page.

 The God of my understanding uses every bit of our lives to call us to God’s love. I remember walking around my block one morning when I noticed all the trash bins in front of houses. On this walk, I realized that many spiritual disciplines we practice are simply to clear our minds—literally taking out the trash to hear God speak to our lives.

Bishop Charleston reminds us again of Brother Lawrence’s experience in The Practice of the Presence of God, seeking and seeing God in every aspect of our lives. He tells us we don’t have to live in a monastery to find and live this kind of life. He believes we can know God’s presence more in our daily routine than in some St. Paul-like, blinding, falling-off-our-horse, spectacular event.

Bishop Charleston is also practicing the family system’s axiom of trying to live a less anxious presence in the world around him. He is looking around with awe at the ever-changing beauty of God’s immanence in the vastness of nature and being transformed by what he sees. He actively seeks Christ in every place and every person he encounters. This is the spiritual discipline of living in the present moment. This is where God meets us.

Joanna     https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

 

gratitude

 Gratitude

“Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light. Give thanks for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. And if perchance you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself.”—Ascribed to Chief Tecumseh.

Gratitude is one of the secrets to a Spirit-filled life. Those in 12-step recovery groups believe we are less likely to return to our old addiction—what they call “a slip”—if we continue to be grateful each day. Therefore, whenever someone in recovery is not doing well, the most suggested remedy is to make a gratitude list to refer to daily, especially at night.

The insight from Trees for Life founder Balbir Mathur is that he “travels in a boat called Surrender. His two oars are Forgiveness and Gratitude,” which also serve as a guide for our life. We live a life of peace as long as we can surrender to a power greater than ourselves and are willing to forgive and remain grateful for what we have been given. As a result, our blood pressure stays closer to normal. We are less likely to become irritated at all of life’s hiccups: our computer is not responding; our phone is dying, but the Apple store is closed; someone has said something unkind; we have expectations of ourselves and others that are not being met; our body is not working the way it should; we are not getting our way or achieving our plan for the day; we miss our family and friends; we are losing our job; we are afraid of this virus. Guided by forgiveness and gratitude, we can live assured that there is a grand plan beyond our own. Our job is to be grateful for this one more day to make a difference, and to offer love to the lives around us.

My husband and I once made fun of an older man, a friend of his father’s, who often said, “You must have an attitude of gratitude.” We both know now that there is no greater wisdom for living than this simple formula.