Monday, February 20, 2012

Sisters in Spirit

This Saturday I spent a wonderful day with 200 of my sisters.  We aren't related, but we can relate.

The Sisters in Spirit Conference is a retreat for catholic women of all ages at St. Marks church in Norman.  A dedicated and diverse committee of parishoners work all year to make this retreat a special experience.  Their intent is to provide a sacred time and space for women to connect and grow in faith together.  Wow.

Our Opening Session was led by Mother Miriam.  She relayed her story of being raised in a conservative jewish home and her conversion to Evangelical Christianity and later Catholicism.  Mother Miriam had a lot to say about "living our faith in the midst of a world that is turned from God." She was hilarious and inspiring.  Mother Miriam urged us to let nothing hold us back, to live our faith wherever God has us.  Oy!

I felt so honored to be part of this event, and blessed by all of the incredible women that I met. Our break out sessions were so delightful it was hard to choose:  Question and Answer extra time with Mother Miriam, Spring Floral Design, Facebook for Grownups, Health starts here with Whole Foods, Wine Cheese and Chocolate, and more. I was grateful that I had an audiance to speak to about Motherhood, and Balancing your Busy Life! Abundance.

After our delicious La Baguette lunch LaDonna Gatlin (remember the Gatlin Brothers?) sang and spoke with us about "Tuning up Your Life." She DO RE MI'd us through choices we make in our every day life.  Do the Right Thing, Realize your potential, and Mind your manners, among the many pearls of wisdom.  She empowered us to pay attention to our choices. "You may be the only Bible anyone ever reads." Awesome.

When I wasn't speaking I made the difficult choice myself to attend one of many tempting offerings.  Knowing that Lent is days away, I prepared myself by attending Judy Reilly's "Quieting the Soul for Prayer." Judy is in fact a quiet woman with a loud message.  With her guidance I practiced a new (to me) form of prayer: The Prayer of the Breath.  Want to try? 

Clear your mind of clutter by focusing on your breathing.  I'll wait.
Now when you breath in say to yourself:  "Jesus"
Breath out:  "Mercy"
Try it you might like it. Peace.

Saturday's conference was a reminder to me of how lovingly powerful a community of women can be,  and how valuable it is to take time out to connect and renew our spirit--with our sisters. 

Wow, Oy!, Awesome, Abundance, Peace.

When is the last time you connect with your "sisters"?

5 comments:

  1. What a great weekend! How does anyone choose from among such enticing sessions? Thanks for sharing the Do-Re-Mi lesson.It's a good reminder.

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    1. The more hectic life gets, the more important it is that we return to the basics! Glad the reminder was helpful to you too.

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  2. Thanks. Stressful week this week, but I'll take your advice and just keep breathing, just keep breathing. It really does help.

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    1. Stress doesn't wait for us to rest does it? Important that we remember not to hold our breath until it is over. Glad the prayer was helpful to you!

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  3. Thanks for sharing the details -- the focus and peace you gained from this gathering are quite palpable!

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