What if I really believed he cares for me, is careful with me, that he will not let me be blown away if I live lightly? This downy feather responds to the breath of the wind. It floats. It rests. It doesn't cast stones, but even without much substance, it casts a big shadow.  

It sounds morbid but I love to wander in graveyards and read tombstones. Last year on a visit to Scotland, we explored Glasgow’s Necropolis. Ornate statues, monuments, and mausoleums fill the hill overlooking the city. The oldest grave reads 1832.

 Beauty Refreshers features those who inspire me and give me and others hope. Charlotte, who is based in Birmingham, is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer who cultivates sanctuaries of exploration, acceptance, and connection. 

A spiritual director (also called a spiritual companion) invites you into a safe space where you experience deep listening and insightful questions as you explore your faith journey. Spiritual direction focuses on the relationship between you and God and seeking the Holy Spirit together.

It's been more than 12 years since Mary Jo committed to a daily art project where she finds something in nature that inspires her. She says "the art of dailiness" has changed her so she is often in a state of creative noticing or deep play.

Bill reserved a hotel room for April 7 in Fort Smith, Arkansas almost a year ago. Eight hours away. Because it was on the edge of The Path of Totality.

I wondered if that was a famous rock band.

No. It’s the last full solar eclipse in the United States until 2045.

Erin Nolen s one of the most intentional women I know. She's a wonderful photographer, writer, gardener, and "namer."  But she is also a wife, mother, and friend who's done lots of internal work to be present with and see and advocate for her kids and others.

I learned a new word. 

Perseverate. 
 
To repeat something insistently or redundantly. To get stuck, to ruminate, to loop back over and over. And over.
 
As in, “My 91-year-old mother perseverated.” 
 
My mom passed away a year ago. But I’m still haunted by echoes of her three looping ruminations.

Beth Smith of Mudtown Pottery makes some of the most touchable, whimsical pottery. I asked her how she was drawn to pottery as an art form and what she wants to give to the world through it.

My bucket list has shortened as the years go by. Maybe no marathon or New York Times best-seller. But hold me to this goal: I want to keep clapping until the very end. I never, never want to lose the sense of wonder.

Pandemics. Politics, Social struggles. Global tragedies. These past years have felt unreal. But what has been most crazy making for me is the deep divisions in the Church. How can we find our way back to loving each other and our neighbors and seeking His Kingdom? I need reality checks: Scripture; honest, diverse community; prayer. I need to continually recalibrate back to the Christ revealed in Scripture.

Jonathan Rogers is a rare combination: a great writer who is able to teach and encourage others. He curates and encourages a community of people who write (and some who still choke over calling themselves "writers!') at The Habit Membership.