This is a guided prayer practice using a happy food memory. Take ten minutes of quiet time and try it. I don’t appear in the video at all, but there’s a red-headed woodpecker that comes and goes.
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What food memory did you use? How did that work for you?
There’s a funny story about the end of King David’s life—a story we don’t usually read aloud in church. This is from 1 Kings 1:1-4, in the King James Version:
Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
Gat no heat? Ouch … I hate it when that happens …
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So, on a more serious note: what does a healthy stance toward the Bible look like to you? Scroll down and tell us about it.
Here’s my favorite bread recipe: cloverleaf rolls.
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Is there an activity like this in your life — something that might seem mundane, but that is (or could become) a spiritual practice for you? Please tell us about it!
Best blessings,
Adam
P.S. For those who’d like to try it, here’s that recipe for cloverleaf rolls.
1. Stir a packet of yeast into half a cup of warm water, with an eighth of a teaspoon of sugar. Give it five minutes or so to show you it’s alive.
2. Mix together three and a half cups of flour (that’s about a pound), two tablespoons of butter (I grated it in, because I couldn’t find my pastry knife), two teaspoons of salt, half a cup of milk, a third of a cup of water, and one egg. Once it’s thoroughly mixed, let it rest for five minutes or so.
3. Knead it — roughly fifty times, but who’s counting? Then put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it, and leave it in a warm place to rise. Allow an hour or more for this — it should rise to at least one and a half times its original volume. (In the video, I let it go a bit too long — it more than doubled in volume — but that’s okay too.)
4. Punch it down and knead it briefly again. Cut and roll it into small balls, and put three balls in each cup of an oiled muffin pan. It takes two 3×4 muffin pans — I usually get 18-20 rolls. Cover the pans (I used oiled cling film) and let them rise again.
5. Brush each roll with melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 16 minutes, until lightly browned.
Blessed baking!
Here’s a special holiday confection from The Merry Mystic.
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Be the Light!
Best blessings,
Adam
In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a new hymn about the earth. Three weeks ago I shared an upbeat, celebratory one: “The Harmony of the Incredible Earth.” Today’s offering is more of a lament. It balances out my feelings about this wonderful earth we inhabit. Sometimes the earth is so overwhelmingly beautiful that I just have to join in its song; sometimes the harm we’re doing, the harm I’m doing, to the earth is so sad that I just have to lament.
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Sheet music for “Compassion’s Sting” is now available in the Free Stuff area.
Please leave a comment below: are you celebrating the earth’s beauty today, or lamenting its abuse, or some combination of both?
Best blessings,
Adam
In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a story about a fascinating weekend I spent with a Wiccan group.
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Do you have any experience with the modern faces of paganism? Please leave a comment and share it with your fellow merry mystics.
Blessed be,
Adam
In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a little song that celebrates the way my kids used to participate in our table grace.
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Do you have a story about saying grace? Please leave a comment and share it with your fellow merry mystics.
With continued thanksgiving and best blessings,
Adam
In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a new hymn about the earth. It’s upbeat and lively, with a simple refrain.
There are two of my scores for “The Harmony of the Incredible Earth” available in the Free Stuff area: one with hymn parts and one with a piano accompaniment. (You’ll need the password for the free stuff. If you don’t have that password, you can get it by subscribing to my weekly letter, The Merry Mystic. Please do: it’s free, and if it doesn’t suit you, you can always unsubscribe.)
In the video, I also discuss the choral arrangement made by Michael Monroe, music minister at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. He’s made his score and practice recordings available on his web site. Thanks, Michael!
Best blessings,
Adam
In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a new chant about God. It’s a chant that imagines God as a trinity: Mother, Child, and Breath of Life.
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The music for “Mother, Child, and Breath of Life” is available in my “Free Stuff” area, including the vocal score and some accompaniment ideas. (You’ll need the password for the free stuff. If you don’t have that password, you can get it by subscribing to my weekly letter, The Merry Mystic. Please do: it’s free, and if it doesn’t suit you, you can always unsubscribe.)
I hope you’ll scroll down and leave a comment. How would you suggest using this music? Have you used it, and how did it work for you? Do you find God in these three-in-one images? Please scroll down and share your thoughts.
Best blessings,
Adam
This week’s installment of The Merry Mystic features me dancing. No, really.
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Have you ever seen liturgical dance that touched your heart? Is physical movement a part of your spiritual practice? Please scroll down and leave a comment.
Best blessings,
Adam