Category Archives: Popular Posts

Go Pray Outside

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed,” Jesus said, “But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Similarly these vibrant evergreens have each grown from a single seed buried in the earth. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Popular Posts, Prayer, Songs | Tagged Earth Day, Forest, Genesis 2:15, John 12:24, Luke 10:27, Maltbie D. Babcock, prayer, Rain Drop, resurrection, Texture, This is my Father's World, Twila Savigny | 2 Comments

Christ Has Died

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

Homeless they take him down from the cross his PUTcold body pierced PUTbruised mouth silenced PUTsoft eyes blind as he began now at end PUTwrapped in cloth strips PUTlaid in wrong place helpless God stone heaved tomb sealed sudden scream PUTmine guards curse push me PUT“Go home!” can’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Holy Week, Lent, Poetry, Popular Posts | Tagged Caravaggio, Christ has died, Easter Saturday, Entombment of Christ, homeless | 1 Comment

The Unending Miracle of Love

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I felt my heart “strangely warmed,” like what happened to John Wesley at Aldersgate in 1738 when he knew for certain that he was saved, The same thing happened to the two travellers on the road to Emmaus. While they didn’t recognize the risen Christ walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Mystical, Popular Posts, Praying with the Imagination, Stories | Tagged embracing God, Emmaus Road, Fred, heart strangely warmed, Jaison Cianelli, John Wesley, Luke 24:35, mystical experience, The Cloud of Unknowing, unending miracle of love, Warm Embrace | 5 Comments

Resisting the Sirens

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I remember the first time I identified the delicious desire to disappear. I felt enticed to float away into another world where nothing was expected of me. Sirens,* born of innocent angst, sang to me from the shore. They continue to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Popular Posts | Tagged Acedia, and me, disappear, Edward Armitage, grounded, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, Kathleen Norris, Nan C. Merrill, noonday demon, psalm 1, Psalms for Praying, unteathered | 3 Comments

Closed for a Reason

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

Words bounce off my heart like rain on pavement. Not just any words. God’s words. They won’t go in. It’s like I’m closed, locked up tight. I sit with my Bible open on my lap and remember another time when … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Popular Posts, Stories, Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim | Tagged Astronomical Units, closed to God, Ecclesiastes 3, Exodus 17:5-7, hard heart, justmakeit, Psalm 16:2, Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim, We're Closed | 2 Comments

Trapped

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

Frustrated, stuck, trapped. That’s how I felt. That’s what I recorded in my account of a spiritual direction session. I had directed the session and was discussing it with five other spiritual directors who gather monthly for peer supervision. In supervision, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Popular Posts, Poverty of Spirit, Spiritual Direction, Stories, Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim | Tagged Behind That Locked Door, Childhood, criggchef, feeling trapped, God in the Dark: Theory, innoxiuss, Open Doors, panic, Psalm 139:12, sacred space, spiritual direction, supervision, triggered | 1 Comment

What’s a Bucket to Do?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I keep thinking of myself as that leaky bucket. I marvel at the fact that I don’t need to put myself into God’s ocean of love; I’m already there. The first illusion, which I talked about last week, is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Helpful Images, Popular Posts, Poverty of Spirit | Tagged abide in me, Breath, Darrell Johnson, Father Thomas Keating, God's love, John 15:4, John 17, leaky bucket, one with God, Open Mind Open Heart, Regent College, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 2 Comments

Immersed in an Ocean of Love

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Esther Hizsa

I awake with an emotional heaviness at 4 a.m. and remember what caused this feeling. I got hoodwinked by fear in a legitimate disguise: I saw an injustice and pushed the panic button–again. I ended up making a fuss over … Continue reading →

Posted in Helpful Images, Mystical, Popular Posts, Poverty of Spirit, Praying with the Imagination, Rob Des Cotes, Stories | Tagged Chris Niekel, Donna Geissler, fear, God's love, Imago Dei Communities, immersed in God's love, leaky bucket, ocean of love, Psalm 139:18, Rob Des Cotes, Sandy Beach, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Waves, weakness | 10 Comments

Getting (Sort of) Ready to Celebrate Christ’s Birth

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Esther Hizsa

In two days Advent begins and with it comes that stress-inducing question: Are you ready for Christmas? Those words produce a flurry of images—shopping, decorating, baking, Christmas cards, and list making—that sends chills of expectations through my soul. I’m overwhelmed … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Christmas, Poetry, Popular Posts, Poverty of Spirit, Prayer | Tagged Advent, Advent Poem, Advent reflections, Godspace, Kathy Krahn, Kelly Dycavinu, Linda Smythe, New Life Community Church, Popcorn with a Spoon, preparing for Christmas, Susan Horikiri, Tanya Eichler | 4 Comments

Feeding a Fragile Desire

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Esther Hizsa

I guess it’s time, I thought as I biked along. And in my spirit I knew I was ready to face my shame about overeating. I meet with Karen, my spiritual director, regularly. The sacred space we share allows me … Continue reading →