Moments: A Few of my Favorite Things

Once a month, the women at my church have a gathering called "Otium Sanctum" which is Latin for "holy leisure." The phrase otium sanctum was used by the church fathers to describe their desire to pace and structure their lives in ways that would make them conducive to worship. We are currently reflecting on Sabbath and rest at Otium Sanctum.

Also each month, a different person shares a few of their favorite things with the group as a means of getting to know each other better. Last week, it was my turn. It was fun to reflect and think about my favorite things, deciding what to share with the group. I also realized that the "English-loving nerd" is alive and well in me because many of my items were actually symbolic for something else. In no particular order, here is what I shared...

*Flair pens for grading-the colors make it a little more fun. I also love Pilot G2 colored pens (not shown) for writing notes.

*My miniature, garnet Spanish Bible--Its compact size makes it great to take places, but it mostly represents my love for discipling children and youth and for speaking Spanish.

*My travel mug from the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market--It represents meeting friends at coffee shops and sharing quality conversation, one of my deep loves in life.

*Publix-the best grocery store ever where "shopping really is a pleasure"--It fondly reminds me of my mom because ever since I was little, I have been going on errands with her to Publix.

*My journals-one of the main ways I pray and process. I LOVE journaling and often measure the intensity of a season by how quickly I go through a journal.

*My U.S. passport--This one represents the fact that I love traveling all over the world to different countries for both pleasure and missions. I also love that no matter how many different places I live in for the rest of my life, my passport will always say Florida as my place of birth. Since I still consider myself a Floridian at heart, that is special to me.

*The Lakeshore Trail-I love running, walking, and being outside. I have spent many hours on that trail over the years. I would write more, but it would probably sound like a Nike commercial.

*Daily Light-This book has a compilation of Scripture for each morning and evening, every day of the year. Each entry has about five to ten verses on the same theme put together in a way where you can distinguish between the verse (should you want to look one up later in context), but reads like a paragraph. I love this simple way of starting and ending my day with the Word of God.