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The Contemplative Christian
The Contemplative Christian

Christian Meditation and Contemplative Life: Connecting to the Holy Spirit Within

Jesus in the Wilderness: What We Can Learn from The Temptation

Biblical Reflections

Growing up, I saw Jesus as a fully divine being walking the Earth in a physical body. He clearly had spiritual advantages that other humans did not. I figured it was something like a math PhD taking a fifth grade math quiz along with a bunch of first graders (the rest of us humans) and […]

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Leaning into Grief: How to Heal from Losing a Loved One

Contemplative Life, Thoughts

Grief is different for everyone “Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.” Roy Sullivan, who survived being struck 7 times in his lifetime, would probably have disagreed with that statement. Our family, like Roy, is no stranger to repeat tragedies–I’m not the first in the family to grieve the loss of a spouse relatively early

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“Mine” vs. “Ours”: Becoming Rich in the Things of God

Contemplative Life

Daddy Cardinal Each morning, I enjoy a half-hour meditation in our family’s backyard. We claim ownership of the place, paying our mortgage, property taxes, and rather extensive HOA fees. I mow the lawn when the weeds begin to get knee high in our paltry backyard (most of the rest is moss and dirt) or just

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An Agape Marriage: A Eulogy for My Husband

Thoughts, Uncategorized

Four Types of Love How do you quantify the value of a human life?  Is it the number of non-traditional breakfast foods a man consumes, the number of Orioles games or Law and Order episodes watched, or how many times his one-of-a-kind humor makes us laugh?  I can only speak to my own experience with

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How to Be a Good Human in 3 Easy Steps

Thoughts

The Prelude My cousin Katie and I grew up as next door neighbors on the remains of a several hundred acre plot of land that our great-grandparents owned. I was older by a little more than a year. This was such a bonus as a kid. I got to do everything first–school, dating, driving, college,

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The Song Inside of My Soul: Why I Write

Thoughts

I don’t like writing Though this statement is no longer true (you are after all, reading my blog), for many of my formative 20 years, I DESPISED writing. From scratching out thank you notes to pushing myself through college literary analysis essays, writing was drudgery. Yet, when God plants a seed within you, he finds

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NYC skyline from Central Park.

Overcoming Our Negativity Bias Through Joy

Contemplative Life, Thoughts

Seeing Beauty Our family spent the past three days in New York City, enjoying the beautiful sights. We walked to the center of Brooklyn Bridge and took in the gorgeous free view of the skyline. The boys requested to go to the MET, so we spent three hours viewing ancient Greek and Roman busts and

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The Song of the Heart: Living the Lord’s Prayer

Biblical Reflections

What is God’s Name? When our oldest was in preschool, he would pray the “The Lord’s Prayer” (The “Our Father” to our Catholic brothers and sisters) at church every Sunday, loudly and proudly: Our Father, Who art in heaven, Howard be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is

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Haggai: Getting Our Priorities in Line

Uncategorized

The Minor Prophets: Big Fish, Bad Wives, and Doom My husband and I are blessed to be part of a wonderful Bible study at our church. At my husband’s request, we are currently studying the minor prophets. This week’s “prophet of the week”: Haggai. You never know what you’re going to get when it comes

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Laughter and Lessons of Faith from a Mountain Cabin

Contemplative Life, Thoughts

When a family friend offered us a free mountain vacation at their cabin on the Cacapon River, I did not expect the depth of insight the trip would offer.

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About Me

I am the author of At the Edge of Jordan and It’s Okay to Be Okay, a blogger, and a teacher of Christian Meditation on YouTube.  However, that’s my side gig.  I’m a lover of God first and a devoted Mama, wife, and daughter second.  I am also blessed to have the opportunity to serve as a high-school math teacher.   I look forward to connecting with you as we journey together towards a deeper relationship with our creator!

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