God’s Fire Kindled in Our Hearts – A Morning Prayer

I am working on a set of morning and evening prayers for reflection and meditation. Some like this one are based on Celtic prayers and their connection of prayer to every part of life. Kindling the fire was a very important part of the day that invited the fire of the Spirit into their lives.
I am working on a series of morning and evening prayers which I thought you might enjoy.

The Celtic Way of Prayer

The third book I read this last week is The Celtic Way of Prayer, by Esther de Waal. I have read this book a number of times over the last 10 years and never fail to gain fresh insights about the Celtic Christian movement and its lessons for us today.

This time I was particularly impacted by the comment:

They saw the world through eyes washed miraculously clear by continual spiritual exercise; they was with “rinsed eyes”. They was with such clarity because the seeing came out of contemplative vision (96).

This concept is one that I need reminding of time and again. Taking time to see the world, with contemplative vision so easily gets lost in the midst of busyness. Living in the present, being alive to the world around, totally listening to God, looking and listening for the sacred in the midst of every mundane act of the day, finding in the world in which we live the reflection of God’s invisible world, these are the things that I keep coming back to.

A couple of days ago in my post Am I Fully Recognized for What I am I wrote: for Celtic saints all of life was organized in light of spiritual realities. It was the same for the Trappist monks I wrote about yesterday. The centre of all things is meant to be the spiritual reality of our relationship to God. It is this that should control our time, our rhythm of life, our use of resources.

As I continue my journey this is the focus of my thoughts. The questions that keeps revolving in my mind is: What would it be life to give myself totally to God? How can I organize my time, my habits, my thoughts and actions to become instruments of spiritual formation? I hope that you will continue to walk the journey with me. And to guide me today I pray this prayer – one version of St Patrick’s prayer known as “the deer’s cry”

This day I call to me;

God’s strength to direct me,

God’s power to sustain me.

God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s vision to light me,

God’s ear to my hearing,

God’s word to my speaking,

God’s hand to uphold me,

God’s pathway before me,

God’s shield to protect me,

In the Power of the Triune God

One of the spiritual disciplines that is really helping during this season of my life is the writing of prayers. Celtic Christians believed that life was embraced on all sides by God and that God was present alongside, behind, before, above and below. They experienced God as guest, fellow traveller, friend, fellow worker, brother, companion and comforter. This has certainly been my experience over the last couple of weeks.

I hope that you enjoy this prayer I wrote a couple of days ago with these thoughts in mind.

I will enter this day

In the power of the triune One.

God of life,

Christ of love,

Spirit of guiding.

Ignite within me a fire of love,

Its flame in my heart for all to see.

Let it shine for neighbours

And be generous to strangers.

Let I express compassion for friends,

And show forgiveness to foes.

Let it reach the lowliest creatures that live

And exalt Christ’s name which is highest of all.

This day and every day

Triune God,

Creator of life,

Christ of love,

Spirit of guiding,

Ignite within me a fire of love.

Lord, let us walk into this Day.

I uploaded this prayer on Facebook a couple of days ago. It is one that I have found comforting during this challenging time. Because of its popularity I decided to repost it here with a photo added – enjoy.

Sunday Morning Liturgy For Celtic Retreat

Wish I was at the Celtic retreat today where they will be finishing with this liturgy. I am heading home to Seattle from Sydney instead. Lots of memories, lots of tears, much to remember and think about.

Godspace

Our annual Celtic retreat is over, one of the best we have ever had. Jeff Johnson’s beautiful chants and music are still with me as I unpack and prepare for the coming week. Those of us who stayed through the weekend finished out time together with this liturgy.

As this day begins Christ be with us,

Be in our hearts and in our minds,

Be in our souls and in our spirits,

Be in our thoughts and in our desires.

As this day begins Christ walk beside us,

Show us the love only you can give,

Show us the light only you can provide,

Show us the wholeness only you can reveal.

As this day begins Christ surround us,

Circle us with your presence,

Keep protection near and danger far,

Bring us the assurance of your love.

Pause for a time of silent reflection on the glory of God.

Lord…

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Celtic Retreat Evening Prayer

The MSA 22nd Annual retreat begins tomorrow evening on Camano Island. There is still time to consider attending, just email me for directions and pay at the site. However for those, like me who are too distant there are other ways to enter into the spirit of the event. Consider reading along with the liturgies which I will post over the next few days. We begin with evening prayers Friday evening, this year using the same prayers as last year.

Godspace

The retreat is only a few days ago. We are pulling out our tents, packing our bags and getting ready to head up to Camano on Friday. So many of you have told me that you wished you could come that I thought I would share some of the programme with you. (More to come next week). Hopefully you can be with us in spirit if not in person. For those that are undecided there is still time to sign up.

Here is the prayer that we will begin with on Friday night – a prayer to prepare our minds for a time of thanksgiving and gratitude towards God.

 

 

Friday Evening Prayers

God we gather this night to thank you for the many blessings in our lives,

We praise you for your generous goodness new every day,

To you our God we offer praise and thanks.

God…

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Walking is For Naming

While I sat beside my mother lost week I read to her from the book In Search of Sacred Places: Looking for Wisdom on Celtic Holy Islands. She loved the story of Iona and Columba often asking me to keep reading even after my voice was hoarse and I wanted to stop.

One reflection from the book really stood out for me.

Everything on Iona has a name. each physical feature of the island has been part of a specific human experience and therefore thought worthy of bearing a name….

These many names are a testimony to the human scale of life on Iona. As the scale of physical size diminishes as one travels to the island-England, Scotland, Mull, Iona-the scale of individuals and spiritual significance increases. Walking is the maximum desirable speed for seeing things fully enough to name them. And when we name things we begin to value them. No wonder we want to be named and known. (37)

To really see and fully enter into the world around us we must walk not run or drive. And when we walk we want to name everything and everyone.  We say hello to the people we meet, we look at the flowers and mention them by name, we watch the birds and identify the species. We even like to give our own names to landmarks we pass and houses we enjoy.

To give something an appropriate name that reflects its nature, we must be able to see it fully. To continue appreciating it we need to slow down and notice, not once but regularly. Only in walking or in stillness is this possible.

 

The High Crosses of Ireland

As many of you already know, while I am in Australia with my Mum, the rest of Mustard Seed Associates are getting ready for our annual Celtic retreat. We have a number of Celtic crosses we use for this event, all based on these High Crosses, so I thought I would post this as a respite to the journey I am living out here.

High Crosses or Celtic Crosses as they are also known, are found throughout Ireland (and Scotland) on old monastic sites. Along with the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, these High Crosses are Irelands biggest contribution to Western European Art of the Middle Ages. Some were probably used as meeting points for religious ceremonies and others were used to mark boundaries. The earliest crosses in Ireland were made of wood and metal and probably much smaller than the great stone monuments we see today. It was generally accepted that the Western Ossory group were amongst the earliest examples of High Crosses to be found in Ireland. Their design imitates the wood and metal crosses before them; but a recent study suggests they may not be 8th century but possibly mid 9th century. These crosses are found within a few miles of each other at Kilkieran, Kilree, Killamery and the finest examples at Ahenny. The majority of scriptural crosses are also believed to have been erected around the 9th century and there are several local groupings: the North Leinster group includes Kells, Monasterboice and Duleek; the Midlands group includes Clonmacnois and Durrow; and another distinct group of granite High Crosses are those of the Barrow valley that includes Castledermot, Graiguenamanagh, Moone and Ullard.

To find out more and for links to information about individual crosses check out The HIgh Crosses of Ireland. Or for a slide show of some of the high crosses click here

The Art of Pilgrimage part 3 by Mary De Jong

In this final installment of our Pilgrim in Residence Series with Mary DeJong, Mary literally brings it home by painting a powerful picture of what it’s like to return from a journey and the impression our journeys have not only on our souls, but also on our communities and ultimately the world. Read Mary’s first post in this series here and her second post here.

If you’ve enjoyed her posts, you can learn more about her book or joining her on retreat or pilgrimage here and follow her blog here. 

“IT IS A STRANGE THING TO COME HOME.
WHILE YET ON THE JOURNEY, YOU CANNOT AT ALL REALIZE HOW STRANGE IT WILL BE.”

-SELMA LAGERLOG (1858-1940)

COMING HOME: A STRANGE RETURN

It is in the going out that we discover what is really going on, both in our inner-heart’s landscape and in our physical home places. The journey away from home brings with it fresh perspectives and abilities to see our normal lives with a new sense of discovery and sensitivity. We return with a posture of being newly awakened — attuned to and aware of the Spirit all around us.

The daily challenge is to carry over the quality of the journey into everyday life. You want to integrate the new ways of being and thinking into your life as you move into the final stage of pilgrimage: reincorporation, or bringing back the boon.The intentional space created by a pilgrimage not only leaves a mark on our lives, but elbows out new permanent places in our spirit. So, while home once again, the hearth is not how we left it.  And it will stay in a state of strangeness until we are able to assimilate our lessons and experiences into stories of transformation and actions of justice.

Pilgrims return home with wisdom and the driving responsibility to share the truth gleaned from the profound experiences of the pilgrimage. The story that we bring back from our journeys is the boon.There is a universal code of sorts, which requires the pilgrim to “share whatever wisdom you’ve been blessed with on your journey with those who are about to set out on their own journey” (Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage).

The challenge, and bitter truth, of coming home from a pilgrimage is that we soon learn that what is a pearl to us is mere pennies to others, especially if our epiphanies are conveyed as nothing more than novel curios. But how can we even begin to describe the depths to which our soul has traveled?  Ultimately, it is our changed life that must tell the story of our journey; no picture slide show or souvenir will scratch the surface of the truth found at the sacred center.

Because of this journey to the sacred center, and the perils experienced to get there, you are transformed. And because you have changed, so will your home. You have encountered the Holy-experienced God in a fresh new way, and as a result of your sacrifice and struggle, you will not relate to your world or those in it as you did before.

Your challenge is to now live into the new edges of your life, inhabiting the unfamiliar spaces created by pushing through the trails of your inner-soul landscape. These are the places where dynamic opportunities lay for you to share your wisdom and bring back the boon of your journey. You must create new ways of relating to your home – to those within it and surrounding it, which are imbued with the meaning of your journey.

In Joseph Campbell’s popular book of essays, Myths to Live By, he described something pertinent to our theme of sacred journeys: “The ultimate air of the quest if one is to return, must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others.” This parallels the belief of the ancient wisdom teachers that the ultimate answer to the sorrows of the world is the boon of increased self-knowledge.

Interestingly enough, this responsibility resonates with Frederick Buechner’s definition of vocation as “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It seems clear that the great value of a pilgrimage is to return with a knowledge of self that will enable one to engage the world’s needs in an authentic and passionate way.

Upon re-crossing the threshold home, the mystical methods of pilgrimage begin to unravel. The freedom from systems and modes begins to dissipate as sacred time quickly returns to linear time, and sacred space is replaced with vistas of cityscapes. It is all one can do to refrain from hiking the pack right back onto the shoulders and heading straight back out the door. It becomes evidently clear that there is real work involved in unpacking the gifts of the journey and relating them to our homescapes.

For years I have been challenged with the notion that ultimately, the pilgrimage calls us to return home and live forward on behalf of something other and greater than ourselves.  This idea that the road out actually causes us to be beholden to something back home is something that I’ve been personally working on for years. For our lives to truly reincorporate and reflect the stories of our journeys there must be effects behind and beyond our front doors; if there isn’t, the travels and travails of the road quickly get reduced to petty ramblings and narcissistic knock abouts.

Ultimately, the greatest influence we can have on ourselves, our families, and the world around us is to live out the effects of our sacred journey on behalf of Other and the Future.  I acknowledge that this could appear trite and formulaic; however, the notion’s simplicity allows for a focus of energy around a transformed state.

I believe that when Campbell talks about a “wisdom and power to serve others” on account of our wayfaring, he is getting at a fundamental aspect of the gift of pilgrimage. We go out on these personal, intimate soul-adventures to connect to God in fresh, inspired ways.  But if these encounters aren’t having a greater result on the world around us, they are worthless. I believe that by applying our gained wisdom on behalf of Other and the Future, we are re-gifting our communities and the earth with our God-given blessings encountered on the road.

Living on behalf of Other and the Future is a scalable metaphor; that is, it may refer to simply anyone or anything other than yourself and decisions that impact the future. In broader, and more challenging terms, “Other and the Future” is a way of embracing all of life, especially those that are without voice and marginalized in society, and intentionally orienting lifestyle decisions that will have a positive outcome on our earth and future generations.

As a result, our personal sacred journey is global in both scope and impact, and we are invited to transformative micro-practices that overhaul how we view our homes and home environments. Our return home requires us to leave the door open to the world just beyond its threshold, maintaining a posture of looking out for opportunities to give of our blessings.

SET UP WAYMARKS FOR YOURSELF,
MAKE YOURSELF GUIDEPOSTS:
CONSIDER WELL THE HIGHWAY,
THE ROAD BY WHICH YOU WENT.
-JEREMIAH 31:21 

We long for and are called to a journey that will not only renew and refresh us, but also transform the very lives of those around us. The gifts of the pilgrim’s path are ultimately not to be pocketed away and subsequently displayed like a well-traveled trinket or souvenir. The ancient call to go on pilgrimage is ultimately an archetypal instigator to recover one’s sense of self through God so that, upon returning home, the boon of the journey can be translated for the benefit of the greater good, for the common good, for all and for our future. Other and the Future become touchstones for our journey, tangible waymarkers to which we can apply our transformed lives.

Through the ancient practice of pilgrimage, we are challenged to live forward into deeper understanding of ourselves and our God-given talents and gifts. Because the inner-journey has righted priorities and passions, we embrace the gift of relationships in our lives — loving and respecting those who have been given to us to nurture. We answer the call to apply our gained wisdom to justice, knowing that however we employ our calling that it must somehow serve the Other – those surrounding us in need of a voice and advocacy. We respond to the realities of our planet with care, concern and conviction, knowing that if we don’t, our children’s earth-home will be one less hospitable and fecund. We leave home on our journey only to come back with a greater sense of it, with a greater impression of how to serve it, and an inspired way of how to live in it. We live forward with a renewed sense of knowing home.

__________________________________________________

GO FURTHER…

Questions to contemplate about your journey…

How will home be different after I return?
How will I be different after my return?
To whom am I beholden and how can I live on behalf of these relationships
to revitalize my personal homescape?

Questions to reflect on in the comments below…

What were the waymarkers that truly transformed you?
In what ways can you continue living forward out of these places of transformation?

– See more at: http://asacredjourney.net/2013/07/mary-dejong-3/#sthash.PbKnaUHT.dpuf

The Art of Pilgrimage part 2 by Mary De Jong

In Mary DeJong’s second Pilgrim in Residence post, she shares stories from Iona, as well as more wisdom for the journey. Read my introduction of Mary and her first post in this series here. Mary’s final Pilgrim in Residence post will be published on tomorrow.

Bertil went to Iona from Sweden with a pack lighter than a feather and a prayer he couldn’t even speak. A retired vicar of the Church of Sweden, this thin, long-legged man was as genteel as tea, and diligently spoke in a bass of broken English with long spells of Swedish woven in. But for years this sonorous voice had been silenced from song, a gift that had been dutifully practiced and trained in choirs for over fifty years. Bertil had not been able to sing for quite some time, a strange phenomenon without a cure, according to consulted doctors and specialists. With a mute melody, Bertil decided he must go to Iona for Pentecost, prayerfully hoping that Spirit would blow through his caged chorus, renewing both his voice and life-wearied soul.

I met Bertil at the Iona Hostel, and we attended services together at the Iona Abbey. I sat and sang along with Bertil at the Iona Community’s weekly service for healing, a precious and powerful space dedicated to restorative prayer requests for loved ones all over the world. We laid hands on one another and repetitiously offered prayers on behalf of our mutual needs and for those surrounding us. Following this moving service, I commented on Bertil’s lovely singing voice, speculating that he must be in choirs and performing groups. He looked at me with wet eyes and told me of his story…and his healing, as fresh and new as the tears on his face.

THE JOURNEY TO IONA

People come from all over the world to Iona, Scotland – and have for almost 1500 years – to experience God in new and life-giving ways. Whether a person is carrying a question, a prayer, or a need for healing and refreshment, this Sacred Isle seems to release something of its prayer-soaked soil to its pilgrims. I met a woman from Germany who came to be soothed and sanctified and was surprised to discover that Iona’s plant life was the deliverer; she wandered the beaches and heathered hills discovering flora and fauna that, quite literally, appeared to be calling out to her. She reverently gathered these plants and for a week drank teas and made poultices, and felt closer to God than ever before, on account of this good earth.Another fellow pilgrim was returning to Scotland to reconcile a tragic accident that took the life of her father while visiting this land over thirty years ago. The stories of why they come are as varied as the pilgrims that carry them, but come they do, ardent to leave their homes and arrive on holy ground.

Pilgrims come to pray here, believing that the accompanying candle, lit in the Abbey, will hasten the petition. They come to this place searching for a change that doesn’t seem to exist at home. They come for a reason that appears abundant in Iona’s surrounding sea, but lacking from their own tap. And there is something to this ancient belief that going somewhere else will bring you closer to the Divine. History heralds the holy events and lives that were lived out in places like Iona; to be able to come to these places with our own feet and walk the same paths as these great saints truly does come with a sense of mystical import. While the arrival to these sacred sites is absolutely necessary in the pilgrimage process, it is the getting there that highlights and underscores the gifts that are received at the destination.

It comes down to this: Solvitur ambulando. It is solved by walking. It is the tension that causes us to awaken to ourselves in the first place that subsequently requires an exit, a leaving of all that we have come to know and trust as our homelands. Here, in these comfortable places, it is a challenge to see God, the world and our lives with clarity; furthermore, it is difficult to be awakened to the needs of our communities when we are dictated by clocks and cubicles, consultations and concerns. However, when we choose to respond to the Longing and the Call to leave the familiar behind in search of answers found in far-away places, we are deploying our soul to interact and intervene with the surrounding environment, the result of which is an energizing and heightened awareness of ourselves, of Others and the Spirit amidst it all.  

“IT COMES DOWN TO THIS: SOLVITUR AMBULANDO. IT IS SOLVED BY WALKING.”

This kind of invited alertness requires us to depart, to leave and to walk, to become intimate with the path upon which we tread, and others with whom we share it. The path that leads to the pilgrimage destination is critical for this process; for along this road, with no vehicular/insular walls to tune us out, we must tune in to the measured mode that invites contact, conversation and company. The structures we use to define who we are in ordinary life become irrelevant. Pilgrim space has no regard for class, race, or social/economic standing. There are no more random run-ins with strangers; there are no more lucky or misfortunate moments. In sacred travel, every experience is uncanny; every contact attests to some greater plan. No encounter is without meaning. There are signs everywhere, if only we learn how to read them. Peculiar people turn into much-needed messengers.  The natural world speaks candidly and profoundly. The road has been transformed into grace; it is now a place where souls are nourished and renewed.

Phil Cousineau, author and pilgrim, says that,

“IF THE JOURNEY YOU HAVE CHOSEN IS INDEED A PILGRIMAGE, A SOULFUL JOURNEY, IT WILL BE RIGOROUS.  ANCIENT WISDOM SUGGESTS IF YOU AREN’T TREMBLING AS YOU APPROACH THE SACRED, IT ISN’T THE REAL THING.  THE SACRED, IN ITS VARIOUS GUISES AS HOLY GROUND, ART, OR KNOWLEDGE, EVOKES EMOTION AND COMMOTION.” 

-PHIL COUSINEAU, THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE

I remember sitting on the tarmac in Philadelphia awaiting our Atlantic departure to Glasgow in 2009. On pilgrimage to Iona, why should I have been surprised that we were grounded for FOUR hours while the winds and rains of a Hurricane Bill whipped around us, lightning lighting up the jet-black night outside our plane? What really brought the rigor close to heart was upon collecting our backpacks in Glasgow; is was evidently clear that our luggage was unable to be loaded on our flight during the storm, and also due to the extreme conditions, abandoned, not even covered against the torrential rains. My pack containing all my teaching materials for Iona was completely SOAKED, much of it rendered useless. All I could do was laugh knowing that indeed, I was on the road of a true pilgrimage!

The inevitable chaos that surrounds one’s journey to the place of their heart’s longing is set in place to distract and possibly even derail the most hope-filled plans. When one leaves on a pilgrimage, they are making an absolute commitment to a sojourn towards self-knowledge, which in Christian mystical tradition, is the understanding that knowledge of self and knowledge of God are one. And there are energies at play within and around us that are desperate to ensure that divine connection doesn’t occur. This happens in the guise of uncertainties and doubts, details unwinding, or appearances that even the weather is commiserating against you!

 The purpose of the pilgrimage is to ultimately make life more meaningful. It is regarded as the universal quest for the self. Though the form of the path changes, one element remains the same: renewal of the soul. The essence of the sacred way is “tracing a sacred route of tests and trials, ordeals and obstacles, to arrive at a holy place and attempt to fathom the secrets of its power” (P.Cousineau). Once again, the act of listening is emphasized here. The way of the pilgrim is one of an inner-quiet, an inner ear attuned to the subtle sounds of the Spirit while on the sacred road.

“THE PURPOSE OF THE PILGRIMAGE IS TO ULTIMATELY MAKE LIFE MORE MEANINGFUL. 
IT IS REGARDED AS THE UNIVERSAL QUEST FOR THE SELF.”

Ultimately, we choose the way of the pilgrim’s path to get somewhere. We aren’t electing to be sojourners forever. We prefer the pilgrimage because of its archetypal stages: Longing, Arrival, and eventually, returning Home. The Arrival stage is especially poignant as this is the location and/or place toward our heart has been bent the whole while. It is the place that strengthens our resolve when the going gets rough, or the road seems too dark and dismal. We cast our eyes upward and outward towards this place for which we have longed and to which we have attributed purpose and answered prayers. The required posture on the Pilgrim’s Path has prepared you for your arrival; you have practiced the necessary way of seeing and listening to the surrounding greater community of things. So it is that when you arrive to your sacred destination, you are equipped to receive that which is for you.

ARRIVING WITH INTENTION:
PREPARATION, SIMPLICITY, + OFFERING

It is hard for me to say exactly what the Arrival stage looks like, as everyone absolutely has his or her own emotional experience and physical response to the day when you finally get there. I have witnessed people respond with tears of rapture and remorse, giddiness and gaiety, and silence and solemnity.  But common themes are woven through the lives that have risked much to respond to the longing and leave for a place beyond the hearth and home:  preparation, simplicity and offering are always present with a well prepared pilgrim at the point of arrival.

When I talk about preparation, I am looking beyond travel itineraries and packing lists. A pilgrim will immerse themselves in the poetry and prose of a place and/or region in an attempt to soak up the Spirit’s presence and inspiration in a culture. Intentional prayers and blessings will cover the time spent packing, journeying and will highlight the preceding minutes as one approaches the sacred site. This kind of preparation hallmarks the pilgrimage mode of travel as starkly contrary to the typical trip or vacation.

An easy way to practice simplicity is in how you pack. By packing light, you allow for the stranger to show up and supply a need. This posture positions you as open and ready to receive the Divine, guised as an Englishman at the Iona Hostel quite possibly! (Indeed, it has happened to me!)  It is also important to engage a spirit of simple expectations. Don’t expect WiFi, a Starbucks or cuisine de la USA at your destination; in fact, if it is available, spin on your heel and discover where the locals get their mid-afternoon cup of wake-up, and indulge in regional cooking. To a degree, it is a little like the “when in Rome…” way of thinking. Don’t make it complicated. Engage the culture of the ways around you; it will be apart of your soul’s salve and a reason for coming.

Lastly, be prepared to offer something. As you approach your sacred site and your heart leaps with the proximity of answered prayers, posture yourself in such a way so to give something back to this place. A pilgrim decidedly journeys not to pick up souvenirs and trinkets along the way, but to look for circumstances to see others’ souls, and give out smiles and kindnesses for nothing in return. I challenge my retreat participants to bring along a physical item on their journey that represents their reason(s) for making the pilgrimage. The idea is that this item can be placed on the altar, or given to someone at the place of arrival as means of engaging the offering. For we know that it is only when we give that we truly receive.

Your pilgrimage began long ago as the yearning to go relentlessly etched itself onto your heart. Because of, and out of, your preparation you have expectantly traveled toward this wisdom site with hands upheld to the One who is the origin of all things, including both questions…and answers.

Your posture is submissive and your soul is surrendered.  May what has been silenced in you for far too long, begin to sing!

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GO FURTHER…

How have you made meaning out of trials faced on your journey? or
Have you traveled to Iona? How did you prepare and practice simplicity? Were you able to offer something back?

Share your experiences in the comments below.

– See more at: http://asacredjourney.net/2013/07/mary-dejong-2/#sthash.ieNvUYwI.dpuf