Tag / Christian

by Karen Twinem

Celebrate Winter Sunset

Sunset in January and February brings more dread than joy. But we can change that when we make the winter sunset hour a time to celebrate God’s presence and care.

In a Fast Company article about staying sane while living in 24-hour darkness, Julia Herbst provides five tips for dealing with winter light (or the lack of it). One of them is “Don’t fight the darkness.” It’s an encouragement to enjoy winter through hygge, which can include Christian mindfulness. (Another is to get a light box or Happy Light, which I totally endorse! Here’s the one I use.)

Britain’s “The Simple Things” magazine suggests stopping the day’s events to enjoy tea and dessert at sunset in the winter. (This could lead to a Backwards Meal, which my kids and I used to do on April Fools Day.)

For those who practice Christian mindfulness, watching the winter sunset while practicing the presence of God is a quiet revelation. God is still there in the cold and the dark earth around us. And He is still making things of beauty for those who take the time to watch. Adding a gratitude practice … giving thanks for five things from the day … can only bring God’s presence closer.

Some may want to enjoy the winter sunset with some beautiful music or a book that makes you feel alive. Reading some poetry also adds an element of celebration to sunset. Here’s “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti: 

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
by Karen Twinem

Overcome Sunday Night Syndrome

As Sabbath closes on Sunday night, a sense of dread can set in. It’s even got a name: Sunday night syndrome. (Actually it has more than one name. The British call it Sunday night scaries. It’s also called the Sunday night blues.) A sense of anticipatory anxiety about the week ahead comes in and steals away the last remaining hours of the weekend.

It’s a common problem. LinkedIn’s survey in 2018 found 80 percent of respondents experienced it. 80 percent! The younger you are, the higher the figure: 90 percent among millennials and 93 percent among Gen Z. The No. 1 cause was worry, specifically about workload size, work-life balance and the things left undone last week.

Here’s how Christian mindfulness can help

Create a Sunday night practice. Do something different on Sunday night. It can be watching your favorite television show, watching a funny movie, reading a book, listening to a playlist, calling your best friend or otherwise doing something that makes the night fun. Keep your promises to yourself and do this every week. It reframes the evening so that it’s guaranteed to have pleasant moments.

Talk to God about your workload and your work-life balance. This is part of your Sunday night practice. As in all Christian mindfulness exercises, stay in the present moment in the presence of God. Share your worries and concerns about the week ahead. Ask for God’s guidance as you decide what to do.

Write every task down. It helps to keep it out of your head at night. Mark what can be delegated and what can be delayed (or not done at all). If your schedule allows, you can also do this last thing Friday afternoon so you don’t have to think about it at all Sunday.

Do a loving-kindness meditation. You’ll find out how here.

Put self-care on next week’s schedule. Block out times on your schedule for self-care during the week. If a micromanaging boss is reviewing your schedule too much, block out times with words that are acceptable in your workplace environment. Also, pray about looking for a different job. You don’t have to work for a difficult person these days.

Add a nature walk to your Sunday routine. Walking in nature, also called forest bathing, reduces stress. Just stay in the present and speak to God about what you see during the walk.

Keep your interior (and verbal) language positive. Whining and moaning make things worse. Try replacing “I have to” with “I get to.” Offer genuine prayers of gratitude for your work, your workplace and your co-workers.

Keep off your phone and emails. When the fun part of Sunday night begins, put your phone in another room. Stop looking at work emails. If it looks like you are fine with working on Sunday night, you’ll be working every Sunday night. There’s a worker shortage. Take advantage of it to take care of yourself.

Avoid drinking alcohol. You know, don’t you, that this makes it worse. Find something else to drink that makes it better.

Figure out how tired you are. If you still feel exhausted at the end of the weekend, go to bed early. Or plan to have an early night in bed on Monday evening.

Sunday night syndrome involves the opposite for Christian mindfulness. You are thinking about the future and you are not counting on the presence of God to help. Use these practices to move into the present moment with God and release those worries.

by Karen Twinem

Pray for Christian Love

This week in January is the traditional time to pray for Christian unity. And boy do we need it! Remember the old song “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.” Not so much anymore.

I know many, myself included, who have discovered to their shock that their Christian friends have entirely different political beliefs than they do. In the past, that was just a matter of opinion. Now it’s a source of division. Too many of us, on both sides, consider it almost an article of faith that “real Christians” support our own political beliefs.

I don’t think God is happy about that. He would prefer that we take up prayer during this time seeking Christian unity. Clearly, Jesus prayed on the last night of his life that Christians stay united in the Spirit and in love. He knew what was coming, and He prayed against it.

This prayer from “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers” puts it beautifully: 

Almighty and eternal God,
you gather the scattered sheep
and watch over those you have gathered.
Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.
You have marked them with the seal of one baptism,
now make them one in the fullness of faith
and unite them in the bond of love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

As we pray for unity, let's look at our intentions and our thoughts. Let us seek to be kind and open to those who disagree with us.  May people again come to know we are Christians by our love.

keyboard with sign that says break time
by Karen Twinem

Take a Mini-Break

Are you standing in line today? Take a mini-break. In the shower? Take a mini-break.

Why? Mini-breaks are rapidly joining the endangered species list of activities. When we can always pull out our phones, the opportunity to rest our minds and recenter our spirits diminishes.

Our brains are not designed to constantly take in data, wrote Jade Beecroft in an article in Breathe magazine, issue 44. We need pauses to reflect and, frankly, to think. Yet the transitional times for this are fading away. It’s a lot easier to scan email or Instagram during those odd moments.

Beecroft cites a University of Texas study that found even the presence of a face-down smartphone on a person’s desk reduced that person’s cognitive ability. Why? Because part of their brains were engaged in the effort of not picking up the phone. Yikes!

Beecroft’s article even includes some scary information: Constant use of the smartphone can create a condition called digital dementia. We underuse the frontal lobes of our brain, causing short-term memory issues, lack of concentration, anxiety, depression and insomnia.

In Christian mindfulness, we need mini-breaks regularly not only to think, but to reconnect with the presence of God. Saying the Jesus prayer is a good option while waiting for the microwave to reheat coffee, for example.

The way to take a mini-break is simple: Put your phone away in a consistent spot where you can’t see it. (So you don’t end up worrying about finding it.) Say the Jesus prayer. Be present in the moment.

The result can be a great idea. (There’s a reason that good ideas happen in the shower.) Or you can enjoy a deep moment of inner peace. Either way, it’s a better space than doom scrolling ever will be.

by Karen Twinem

Let 2 Index Cards Guide Your 2022

This Christian mindfulness exercise is one of the best ways I’ve found to find out why you love (or dislike) your job and/or your life. It starts with two index cards. Ideally, you can find two different card colors: one green and one yellow, for example. Depending on the size, you may need more than one of each.

You are going to carry those cards with you for at least three days. Every time you do a task that drains or upsets you, write that task on the yellow card. On the green card, record every task that gives you joy, pleasure or energy.

In just a few days, you’ll be able to see visually if you do more tasks you like or more that you don’t like. If you are doing lots of things you don’t like, you need to pray about that. Are you actually doing God’s will, or does He want you to change something about your life?

This exercise can help you decide if you need a different job, if you should change up your spiritual disciplines, if you need to work on a relationship or if you need to go get counseling.

You also can incorporate more of the tasks on the green card into your days, so you can enjoy more happiness. You can delegate or stop doing some of the things on the yellow card.

When I tried this in my second-to-last job, I found that the green card was actually a job description that I looked for in my next job. And later, the green and yellow cards helped me to plan my retirement, which has been joyous even in a pandemic.

Just be sure to pray over the results, so you don’t just see what you want to see. It’s an easy way to make 2022 a better year.

by Karen Twinem

Look Back … Do You See God?

New Year’s Eve is a traditional time for reviewing the past year. We create annual Good Riddance lists to burn during the evening. Those lists contain the things that we hated about the year.

This year, we also created two more lists: a gratitude list and a list of events where we saw God at work The gratitude list is self-explanatory. The list of God at work takes a little more thought.

I look back through the journals of the year to find days of unexpected blessing … when I can see God at work. Sometimes it’s obvious: a sermon that hit me over the head and changed the way I acted for the rest of the year. Or a family member who agrees to take medicine needed to improve his life.

Other times I can see God is little acts and coincidences: the time I accidentally knocked a treasured prayer candle I’ve had for decades off the mantle. The glass part separated from the candle and the metal, landing without injury in an empty basket. How did that happen? I think it was God, who demonstrated His presence in the tiny, but deeply important, aspects of my prayer life.

Looking for God in all the small places and the big events is an excellent way to begin 2022. Please join me in having a holy encounter on this New Year’s Eve.

by Karen Twinem

Mindfulness Behind the Wheel

Driving during the Christmas season is a chance to start a new habit: practicing Christian mindfulness behind the wheel. It’s an exercise in awareness and kindness.

So often we drive in a semi-conscious state, not truly sure how we got there when we arrive. Have you ever “accidentally” started driving to work, when you were going somewhere else? I know I have.

So first, we respect the reality: We are operating driving a potentially deadly piece of heavy machinery. We don’t want to be distracted. Staying aware helps us stay alive.

Awareness allows us to be intentional about practicing kindness and courtesy to fellow drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclers. Allow people to merge, for heaven’s sake. (And I mean that literally.) Watch out for those walking and cycling around you. And calm yourself when someone is actually obeying the speed limit in front of you. How many times have drivers raced around your car to find themselves sitting next to you at the next light? Plenty, for me.

Author Judith Hurrell, in a recent article in either Breathe or Oh! magazine (I lost the reference), suggested that we remind ourselves that everyone who is driving experiences happiness and suffering. She uses words from the loving-kindness meditation to bless people as they go by.

Blessing our fellow drivers helps us to recall that Jesus loves all of us, even the motorcyclist roaring by you without a helmet.

Bringing words of peace and kindness into the car with you also helps, whether it be a helpful podcast or beautiful music. In my former job, my commute could range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes depending on traffic. I truly enjoyed every moment because I was listening to calming (or funny) audio the whole time. I always arrived at work in a better mood than when I left the house.

The mindlessness of driving can be converted into a flow experience. When you bring intense focus to a task that involves skill and the ability to respond quickly, you can become deeply immersed in your driving. You can enjoy the shades of blue in the sky and the colors of the trees. This time of year, you can enjoy the lights and holiday displays, giving thanks to God for the joy that they create.

It’s a great time to communicate with God, who made all these things. Praising the Lord as you head to an appointment is a good way to be open and attentive during the day.

Starting now to be a holy driver can create a habit that brings joy all year.

Advent candles
by Karen Twinem

Five Ways to Celebrate Advent

The four weeks of Advent are the beginning of the Christian year. Bringing mindfulness and intention to those four weeks helps you create a different holiday season from Christmas … one that prepares you for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Advent is quiet, not festive. Simple, not overstuffed. Focused on the spiritual, not the material.

The season is best known for Advent wreathes and Advent calendars. (You can get a Christ-centered calendar in addition to one with toys or chocolates.) Other ideas include:

  1. Use a creche that you can fill gradually to tell the Christmas story. Week 1: Put up the empty creche. Week 2: Add the animals. Week 3: Add the shepherds and their sheep. Week 4: Add the angel. Christmas Eve: Add Mary and Joseph. Christmas Day: Add baby Jesus. Epiphany: Add the wide men and their camels.
  2. Wrap 20ish books in Christmas paper, and put them in a basket. You pick out one book per night to read to your children.
  3. Put out a basket to collect money for a cause during Advent. Keep a list in the basket of all the good deeds that the kids (and you) have done. Discuss the good deeds at Christmas Eve dinner.
  4. Find Advent playlists on Spotify to find out the difference between Advent music and Christmas music.
  5. Make or buy consumable gifts, such as food, to reduce clutter and waste.

Once you are in the Advent frame of mind, you can create your own traditions. When my kids were little, we had a small manger and a baby Jesus. When the kids did something nice, they got to put hay in baby Jesus’ manger to make him more comfortable. One year this did result in a hay-throwing situation, but overall it was successful.

Advent is a joyous time of year that prepares you for the Christmas season. Do enjoy it!

by Karen Twinem

Make Blessing Bags

Making blessing bags for homeless people is a nice addition to your Thanksgiving holiday. We all know Thanksgiving should be much more than turkey, football and family close-encounters. An approach based on Christian mindfulness turns the day into a celebration of gratitude and a chance to help others.

Blessing bags can be in your car or your bag (if you take a train or bus around town) all year. When you see a homeless person asking for money, you can ask them if they would like the bag.

A Blessing Bag

Use a see-through container – either a large ZipLock bag or a see-through plastic bag. Then fill it with items to feed and help the homeless, such as:

  • Warm socks
  • Gloves
  • Hat
  • Face masks
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Beef jerky
  • Trail mix
  • Granola bars
  • Peanut butter crackers
  • Mints
  • Lip balm
  • A washcloth
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Single-dose packs of pain reliever
  • Band-Aids
  • Comb and brush
  • Bottled water
  • Hand warmers
  • Deodorant
  • Soap
  • Shampoo
  • Tampons for women
  • Fast food restaurant gift cards
  • A few dollars
  • A note of blessing (You can buy a pack of blessing notes at Hobby Lobby.)

If you keep a place in your home for blessing bag materials, you can put packages you get at the dentist and other freebies in the bag. Assembling these bags can make a great Thanksgiving activity for kids and other family members.

Other aspects of a mindful Christian Thanksgiving can include:

  • Send thank you cards to people who have made your life better this year.
  • Create a gratitude pumpkin for your table.
  • Spend time writing down your blessings.
  • Thank God for answered prayers.

by Karen Twinem

Christian Mindfulness and Implicit Bias

The last two years have taught some of us that we might be more racist than we think, at least unconsciously. A research-based article in Mindful Magazine’s December 2021 issue argues that mindfulness exercises may give us tools to reduce unconscious bias. And I see the point.

Neuroscientist Wendy Hansenkamp, who is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Virginia, wrote the article. I cannot find the article online. But discussions about it and other information on mindfulness and bias are on the magazine’s website here.

She writes that “society, culture, media and power structures” can instill prejudice in our subconscious without us realizing it. The big idea is that engaging repeatedly in practices that increase awareness, focus on our similarities as humans, and develop care and kindness can combat this implicit bias.

Hansenkamp goes into several studies that indicate that this works. I believe it on its face, and I think Christian mindfulness gives us an even better chance of rooting out stereotypes and subconscious fears.

She focuses most on the loving-kindness practice, which I have adapted for Christian mindfulness here. This practice retains enough distance from the subject to emphasize our common role as God’s beloved children. Hansenkamp also discusses a 2014 Yale study that showed that participants who had been practicing loving kindness reduced their implicit bias, while those who only learned and discussed the subject did not.

By seeing each individual around us as a creation of God and blessing those people in our words and actions, we can come closer to ending any unconscious prejudice we carry. Take a look at your practice and see if you can incorporate the faces of those different from you in your work on your own compassion.