Gracelines Blog

Pace, Space & Grace Found Here

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

Stories matter: mine, yours, theirs.

I’ll be sharing my story along with those of others, found wisdom about authoring an authentic life.

Interested in more? Be sure to subscribe to my monthly GraceLine newsletter for more inspiration, straight to your Inbox. As a gift for signing up, you’ll receive a free e-book about incorporating Spiritual Reading into your everyday life. (Hint: it’s easy!)

Thanks for walking alongside me on the intentional path toward deeper spirituality and more loving humanity.

Jean

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Creative U-Turns: Finding Hope & Faith in Failure

We are all co-creators with the Great Creator, even when our projects “fail.”

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

BY JEAN P. KELLY

A SINGER-SONGWRITER I know recently shared the backstory of her “overnight success,” a first-ever professional recording skyrocketing to number 20 on Billboard’s Christian chart. “I honestly think I blacked out for two hours while I wrote the song,” she said, adding that surely a Divine force guided the notes on the guitar and the lyrics to go with them plucked from a collective imagination. Her co-writer, she believes, was God.

While that declaration might seem “woo-woo,” for some, I am convinced this creative of deep faith was a channel for God’s ongoing creation of her and others. Why? Just before composing a heartfelt anthem, my friend, a long-time Christian church worship leader, attended a meeting with other queer believers in the congregation. To each other they vented anger, hurt, frustration, but also their abiding love of Christ and desire to live it fully. “Everyone got really vulnerable,” she explained, “It was beautiful. We decided we have something to offer as queer people to the church.

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The grace available to those who wait

Prevenient grace means God is praying in us before we ever join in.

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

BY JEAN P. KELLY

DURING THE LAST FEW growing seasons, I’ve created garden makers not only noting the variety of expected produce—garlic, potato, beans, onions, but also their expected maturity date. My handwriting in Sharpie reminds me that gardening requires a discipline that is not always easy for me: waiting. Each little note, transcribed from a seed packet, assures me that no matter how much I water, fertilize, worry about pests, guard against marauding deer, and otherwise fuss and fret, I cannot rush the harvest.

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Martha, Mary, and Benedict invite you to rethink the meaning of hospitality

Scripture tells us to have no anxiety? But how? Learn how St. Benedict’s Rule teaches a stress-free approach to hospitality.

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

BY JEAN P. KELLY

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”

The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

“POOR MARTHA, Martha,” I always think when hearing the Luke 10: 38-42. “I’ve been there, sister.”

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Finding Self-Acceptance in the Music of the Divine

Especially in times of distress, meditating with music unlocks new portals of self-awareness and healing.

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

BY JEAN P. KELLY

BEFORE PULLING my minivan from the driveway of our South Carolina vacation home, I cued up a playlist of post-punk club jams, which were once the soundtrack of my single days. Tunes by New Order, the Clash, and Joy Division helped me recall how long ago I had “danced like no one was watching.” Pounding synths connected my heartbeat to a past pulse of life and creation, just like the “om” mantra of Eastern meditation practice does.

Because music offers gifts that can fill a soul, Spiritual Reading can be practiced using songs, rhythms, and other sounds as “texts.”

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The Power of Hope, the Misunderstood Virtue

Only grace can elevate our senses beyond what we wish for and toward virtuous hope.

Jean P. Kelly, Faith WriterLeave a comment

BY JEAN P. KELLY

WITH CHILDLIKE excitement, a kind woman hosting our family near her home on the shores of Flathead Lake, Montana, beckoned my three girls to the edge of the water. “Look,” she said, pointing to dull, grey rocks lapped by glacial melt water, still frigid in July. They were as confused as I until she said “Do you see wishing stone?,” indicating one ringed with a bright white stripe, continuous and uninterrupted. “That’s a gift from the Missouri River, one that can make your dreams come true.”

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