The Vigil of Waiting in Advent

We are officially in advent--that season of waiting and preparing our hearts to enter into the time of Christmas celebration. The entire church year begins with this season of waiting. Every 11 months, we get one month of waiting. It's an interesting rhythm which should affect our cadence of busyness and distraction.A word that has captured my attention for a while is the word "vigil." It's a focused time of being awake and alert. In times gone by, people would keep vigil for ill friends by staying up with the family; keep vigil with a pregnant friend who was waiting to deliver her child; keep vigil in the hospital as you waited on further word from the doctor about a loved one who was ill.We don't like waiting. We don't like vigils. We are consumed in a cult of speed and a flurry of activity.Currently, I have two very sick friends. Both have cancer. For both the prospect and prognosis is not good for healing. I find myself keeping a private vigil for them in my heart. They are most always on my minds as are there wives and children. I'm concerned. The vigil I keep for them morphs into prayer and releasing them to the hands of God. Keeping vigil is something I'm learning about and having two sons in Iraq has helped me enter a vigil time of life where everything it seems was put on hold.One of the gifts of Advent is the simple gift of getting a candle and practicing lighting it and sitting in the illuminating glow of beauty and a bit of warmth. That single act alone will help you enter the vigil a bit more. The simple act of even looking for the right candle to do it, can help you focus on the advent of waiting; of preparing your heart; of responding to an inner tug that something is amiss in your world and you want and need to stop; reflect on what is bothering you and then simply move out in the light of the candle.OK. For some of us, it will be simply putting the computer aside and lighting the candle of advent and turning down the music or turning off the TV and sitting for a moment in vigil.... sitting with our self and sitting with our God and allowing the quiet of the moment to assuage our fears of all the things we have not yet gotten done.When we light the Advent candle, we really are doing a very basic thing. We are practicing the sovereignty of God. By that I mean, we are simply keeping vigil... waiting and realizing that the world is not on our shoulders; we realize a very important fact.... Life is not up to me. It never was and never should be.Ready to light the Advent candle now? I think so.

Free Shipping and Lowest Prices Ever on ALL Potter's Inn Resources

It's our way of saying THANK YOU to all the Friends and Donors of Potter's Inn Ministry.It all starts NOW!

My Favorite Things

OK. I admit it. I watched, Oprah's TV show titled, "My Favorite Things." It's the one where everyone in the audience receives all of the favorite things that Oprah thinks are fabulous. If you were in her audience yesterday, you would have gotten a MAC IPad and a brand new 2012 VW Beetle-- your choice of colors! She also added a few other gifts of several thousands of dollars.Women in the audience were weeping. Men were fainting. The Paramedics were called into grab the faint of heart as they were lavished with gifts.To be honest, Oprah looked authentic in here giving spirit. And the audience seemed to be grateful because of all the lip reading I could do on several dozen lips was, "O, My God!"For reasons that still baffle me I will not be able to do anything like Oprah. I'm not sure I would do it the way she did it if I had the money to buy the gifts. But what I'd want most for my friends and family, I could also put under the category of "My Favorite Things." Here are a few of them that I'd wish for those I love:1. A Shalom Heart--by that a heart full of contentment not lust; peace not searching for more; satisfaction not always seeking the next big thing and serenity not a shelf full of accomplishments.2. A Soul Content--by that I mean, like a baby satisfied at its mother's breast after a very good feeding... I would hope that we could grow in our understanding of what we really need in this life to be content.3. An Undivided heart--by that I mean a person who is not conflicted inside about what role to fulfill in life--they will simply seek to become themselves and then offer themselves to a needy world. A life that is congruent.... not one where you're always doubting what you've done; or what you still need to do. A heart that is at one with self, God and others. Yes, that's what I want for us.4. A Posture of Gratitude---not taking anyone or anything for granted in life; but a lifestyle that is shaped by gratitude and graciousness.5. A cadence of reflection--by this I mean, not hurrying through life so quickly that we actually miss the moments that are sacred; that are a gift to us; a life that is awake, aware and a bit bewildered by the mystery of it all.6. A few friends who get it and get me--by this I mean walking this journey with just a few other souls who actually understand life, faith and the journey.I wish this for us all.My favorite things, you see are not really tangible or material when it comes down to it. They are holy and should be treated as holy.Blessings!Stephen W. Smith

Sabbath and Shalom

Last night, friends gather for a meal---not just an ordinary meal but a meal to celebrate the arrival of Sabbath. It had been a very long week for all of us. One friend was in two wrecks--one that almost cost him his life. Another friend had been out of town and away from his family for 10 long days. Gwen and I just just finished two different soul care retreats. We were all ready for the Sabbath--that one sacred 24 hour period of time that begins with the "Sabbath Supper" or Shabbat Meal.We lite our Sabbath Candles and waved the light of the candles---the symbolic light of Christ into our hearts. We needed the light. The week had brought enough darkness. But the Sabbath Candle pushes and dispels the darkness in the heart. The Sabbath Supper is a time of being together.We broke the bread. The picture you see here was the actually bread we used that one of our friends had lovingly baked for the Sabbath Supper. It was a visual reminder for us of the Bread of Life that we all needed which would be our true meal--our necessary Bread.We raised high the chalice of our life around that table. We toasted each other and the God who joined us a friends and community.We spoke some blessings and one of which the men read a passage of Scripture, honoring our wives. The wives read one honoring their husbands and then we blessed each child. Gwen and I had the chance to call the name of each of our sons and daughters by name around that table and in doing so, we shared that even though none of our family was with us--we wanted to still bless them.Then we ate. The Sabbath meal transported us to have a lingering conversation of curried chicken, steamed brocolli and brown rice. The food, though excellent and lovingly prepared---was simply the very thing that allowed us to finally find each other in the midst of busy weeks and tired bodies. The table was the gathering place for us to linger, talk and connect.Now, it's the morning of my Sabbath and I'm taking my dog, Laz on a long hike on a favorite trail. Gwen will join other friends for lunch and later we will be together here and in the twilight of this very evening, we will look at each other and say something that will go like this. "It sure was a good day for sabbath---the day to cease the rush of our lives and simply raise high the chalice of our own life to God and say: Thank you.Shalom Sabbath!

The State of My Soul In Helping Others With Their Souls

A medical confession.... A soul confession... a pilgrim's plea for help.In about an hour, Gwen and I are going for an appointment with a psychiatrist that we have come to know; trust; and open our own hearts to. It's one of the ways we've found to get perspective; feedback and evaluate our own work with others in the care of the soul work we do. Why are we doing this? Sometimes, the work we do gets dark; confusing and makes us throw up our hands and say, "What do we know about all of this anyway? We're not medical doctors. We're not shrinks. We're just two people who want to love people into health, real life and spiritual transformation."One of the other reasons we are doing this is to compare notes. I simply need to process with someone who is in the know about such things that I am not. This will not be the first time we are choosing to do this. We've done it when we've been so perplexed; so dumbfounded; so confused and so weary ourselves from simply trying to help. It's really about our care; our souls seeking solace; our doubts being addressed; our lies being de-bunked that we come to believe about ourselves when we hit a wall.So, in about an hour, we'll be going to the shrink! I'm kind of looking forward to it more than I can really express here.I have come to the conclusion that the Christian church is in the dark about mental illness. We sweep under the carpet the bruises, nicks and wounds that have simply messed up our lives. We are afraid to talk about depression; mood swings, manic living and confusing thoughts that bombard us in the night or even when we try to be quiet and get silent before God--before one another. We push people to the Bible but sometimes not into the light. In the dark, these wounds fester and grow like dragons seeking to flame us out of the life we most want to live. Most of us know so little and we excuse behavior and actions by folks around us by a number of different reasons when actually, the reason why some of us act so weird and bizarre is that we could just be a little bit sick in the head as well as sick in the heart. I simply do not want to be in that number. I want to know more. I want the truth to set me free, don't you? Problem is, some of us simply cannot find the truth for ourselves because we have believed the lies for too long.It actually feels good to have established a relationship with our "shrink" to help us work better; know more and understand our own boundaries in offering soul care. To be honest, some of us are pretty wounded. We have neglected our wounds for so long that for some of us, the disease and "dis-ease" has gone systemic and infected every relationship around us. We are robbed of joy. We are falling into a victim status thinking that "there's nothing I can really do to get myself out of this mess.' We are settling for a life that is so much less than the 'abundant life' promised to us by Jesus.The last time I went for an appointment like this, we walked out with our heads feeling clear; our hearts feeling humbled to be called into the sacred work of soul care and our cadence a bit restored from having the wind knocked out of us.

Dramatic Oil Paintings Inspired the Artist to Paint!

Dear Friends, I am thrilled to show you for the first time, two lovely oil paintings which are original oils by artist, Bruce Rehkop from Kansas. Bruce has visited our retreat several times each time working on the big, red barn. Out of the blue--so to speak, Bruce sent me the images of these beautiful oil paintings that were inspired by scenes at Potter's Inn at Aspen Ridge. "Golden Divide" shows the dramatic sunset glowing with dramatic colors and the landscape. How appropriate to name it, 'Golden Divide.' Many people, when coming to Potter's Inn at Aspen Ridge are at 'dividing' moments in their journey with God.The other beautiful painting is simply called, "Community." Eight men from Bruce's church journied out to our retreat to work on the big, red barn. Learning that Aspen trees only grow in community, Bruce, painted a community of eight Aspens standing strong in a small grove. It's a tribute to the eight men who invested their blood, sweat and tears at our retreat.These Oil Paintings will be loaned to the ministry to be hung in the future Inn--at the Dedication scheduled for late Spring 2011. If you want information about Bruce's work, please contact us.Thank you Bruce---our own Michaelangelo!Stephen W. Smith

Spiritual Direction with a Sister

This is Gwen and Sister Margaret. Sister Margaret was one of two Benedictine Sisters who attended our School of Spiritual Formation and The Care of the Soul in October. It was our privilege to share the week with Sister Margaret and Sister Joan. Sister Margaret is celebrating her "Jubliee Year", which is 50 years of service to God since saying her vows as a young woman decades ago. Now in her seventies, Sister Margaret has such love, wisdom and encouragement to offer us.I had the delight of serving as Sister Margaret's spiritual director during our School. I felt a bit nervous to serve this woman of God in this way because she herself is a very seasoned, experienced and wise spiritual director serving scores of people throughout South Dakota. During our School, we explored the distinctives of soul care and the ingredients in spiritual direction. I think I learned more in being with her; getting her feedback and her encouragement in my own style and methods than I have in years. As I sat with her, she taught me by following my lead--listening to my feedback which was somewhat daunting to offer.Since our time together, Sister Margaret has enlisted the other Sisters at her monastery to pray for me and for the ministry of Potter's Inn. I can't tell you how much I value their prayers because above all--these are truly praying people. At this time of my life and ministry, I think I need all the prayers I can get. How about you?Stephen W. Smith

Holding the Rope that Ties Us Together

I'm up at our retreat, Potter's Inn at Aspen Ridge. We are doing a soul care intensive, a five day private retreat, this week with a couple who told us today, "This is a last-ditch attempt to save our marriage." They are over in their cabin tonight. They are sitting with what happened in our first day together. I'm sitting here in my cabin wondering what tomorrow will bring.This morning, I read words from Henri Nouwen which seemed appropriate. He said that sometimes we need to tie a rope around our ankles when we go into the black holes of other people's desperation--and ask our community to hold the rope for us so that we, ourselves, don't slip into the darkness we are trying to help people escape from. It's a beautiful image---thinking that some people would actually care enough to hold the rope tied to my own ankles so that we can do our work; fulfill our calling and help rescue souls in danger.I'll not spend much time wondering who in this world would care enough to hold my rope for me but I do know there are a few who truly do care. That assurance gives me the courage to keep trying to help people; keep trying to find the light for people to navigate their way out of the darkness.I am reminded of a line in Mary Oliver's poem---one of my favorite of hers when she simply says, "The heart has many dungeons. Bring the light. Bring the light."Each morning, we'll do our soul work together--this couple and us. Each morning, I'll imagine this rope--this sense that we are not alone in doing this work.A last ditch effort to save a marriage is a high calling--don't you think? Much is at stake. Much!Hold the rope, would you? When you hold the rope, we are truly partnered together.Stephen W. Smith

The Middle Places of our Lives

"We seem to have focused so much on exuberant beginnings and victorious endings that we have forgotten about the slow, sometimes torturous unraveling of God's grace that takes place in the 'middle places."--Sue Monk Kidd (When the Heart Waits).The middle places..... these are the times it seems that Jesus lingers. The in-between times. The long, steady obedience in the same direction--that kind of middle place.Middle place might be the middle years. Middle place might be the in-between of jobs and desired vocation. Middle place might be the wilderness between love and being loved. Middle place might be middle school; half-way house, de-toxing from some dark and grabbing addiction. Middle place might be today or tomorrow.The middle place is the space between the logs in a fire--that hot place where the wind is drawn in which results in a hotter and brighter fire. The middle place might just be our journey on this Good Earth. Americans seem to squirm in the middle years and I wonder how much of our squirming is really due to not thinking through the middle places more in depth. Waiting and wilderness are so often the themes of the folks in our Sacred Book. Why do we resist it so?I'm wondering if the middle place might also be in the middle of the Potter's wheel---because all of the action seems to be happening either on the top of my clay; the bottom of my clay---but what if this is the truth...that where I need the most work of His hands in my middle places?I'd be interested in what you think? Feel free to write your comments back to me here. Stephen W. Smith