Monday, March 3, 2014

Winner of a Free Book and More Resources for the 40-Days of Contemplation

I was so excited to read all the comments and enthusiasm of the invitation to join me on a 40-Day Lent season journey. You all had great thoughts and ideas to share.

But without further delay, the winner of a free book, chosen at random (random.org), is:

Julie from Julie's Musings! 


Congratulations! Please email me at julieluek@gmail.com as soon as possible and let me know which book you would like. I hope which ever you choose offers you inspiration for the next 40 days.

Lent officially begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5th and ends on Easter Sunday, April 20th, 2014.

Whether you are celebrating the Christian celebration of Lent or taking this time for a 40-Day renewal and spring cleaning of you life and spirit, here are a few resources to help you with your journey.

Christian Emphasis- Suggestions and ideas specifically with spiritual pursuits in mind.

Lent Retreat- One of my favorite morning meditation sites, Pray As you Go, is offering a weekly Lent guided retreat with audio and text meditations.

Spirit Home- A great overview of what Lent is, how to practice it and audio devotionals. It also has links for additional resources.

40 Ideas for Lent- Rachel Held Evans has been compiling a list of ideas for Lent for several years. She also includes family-friendly ideas.

Retreat Ideas- A site with spiritual and non-spiritual ideas to plan a stay-at-home retreat day.

Personal Expression- Ideas to dig deeper.

370 Journal Prompts- Creative ideas for writing in your journal. With 370 to choose from, you're sure to find 40 that will inspire you.

Monthly Personal Retreat Ideas- Ideas to create a space to explore higher personal awareness.

More Personal Retreat Ideas- From the Life Liberated Project.

Nurture Your Creativity- Part of any spiritual journey includes nurturing our creativity. To me, this is the ultimate conduit of God's or our own inner voice.

Pinterest Simple Art Ideas- Creative play ideas. (I always need to keep it simple.)

13 Ways to Spark Creativity- A few good ideas here that may even inspire a few of your own ideas.

101 Artist's Date Ideas

Create Life, Creative Work: tools, resources, musings to enhance your creative potential. A Fun Resource of Creative Thought and Play

Meditation and Prayer

How To Meditate For Beginners: Ten Essential Tips

YouTube Guided Meditations

Pray As You Go- Audio daily meditations on scripture with lovely music.

Richard Rohr's Daily Email Meditations


Whether you approach this through a traditional Lent celebration or a personal Spring Renewal journey, please follow along over the next 6 1/2 weeks and join us in this online retreat. Plan to share what you're experiencing and let's grow and rejuvenate together.



13 comments:

  1. Great resources! Can't wait to explore the possibilities!

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    1. Me too Sally- I need to spend some time this week thinking about how I want to dig a little deeper. I like the idea of intentionally focusing on Easter for Lent.

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  2. Congrats to Julie!

    You know what? This is the first post of yours I've bookmarked! It's not that the others weren't as good, but I love all the resources and want them at my fingertips.

    And the Chicken Soup book looks great on your sidebar! :)

    M.L. Swift, Writer

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    1. It's something bound to add. ;)

      Glad you found the resources helpful.

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  3. I used to always give up chocolate, but one year I decided I would consider adding something to my life...so I added prayer and Bible reading daily. It quickly became a sanity saving habit!

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    1. You know, a couple people spoke about that in the last post and I think one of those sites on Lent (in the first resource section) also talks about that. A very good idea. I need to figure out how to work that in, as well.

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  4. Wonderful list of resources! As you know, I'm embarking on my own 40 days of contemplation and I'll be referring back to this post throughout. I have really enjoyed Pray As You Go for a while now. Thanks for inviting me to read!

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    1. Hi LeAnne, I may refer to your posts in my blog, if that's all right. I loved the 40-Day Journaling book you suggested and wished I'd seen it for my give-away. Great idea! Thanks for stopping by. I'm going to follow your blog too. ;)

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  5. What a lovely list! Happy, blessed day, Julie!

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    1. Hi Mary Ann-- been enjoying your blog. Thanks for stopping by. :)

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  6. I misunderstood your intent - I thought you would be conducting a day by day guided Lenten retreat. If anyone does want to participate in such a daily group, suggest you look up Abbey of the Arts for the guided retreat she lists, plus she has a group on Facebook called Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks I think many of you would enjoy. Also the Jesuits have guided Lenten Retreats and Creighton University also has a spiritual site on their website. Blessings.

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    1. Julett, I'm doing a little of both, but I want to make sure people can follow along at a level that is good for them. If you look at my post today, you might see a bit more of that. But I hope you stop back, either way. I have appreciated your comments.

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