Lonely No More

Lonely No More looks those lies finally in the eye and begins to deal with them honestly. "If my marriage is as perfect as I say it is, why am I so lonely?" "What are these dreams, these painful emotions, these attractions pointing to?" This book was extremely controversial in certain sections of ultra-conservative Christianity so I warn you, read it carefully. I stand behind every word, despite the controversy. It may even shake the ground beneath your feet. I will probably never write anything this well again. But I have certainly paid for the effort to be excellent, to be lovingly truthful, to want God. Covers age 45-52.

Any Help to Do God’s Work in the World

Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the every day occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings: I recently flew home from a ten-day trip overseas with one week to put the final details together for an Advent Retreat of Silence for thirty-some women. So much needed to be done, and even though our staff was in a highly busy space themselves, they assisted me in putting the final touches on the Advent Retreat with willingness, without complaint, and with a spirit that brought great kindness and grace to my jet-lagging physiology.Someone on the staff designed name cards (someone else found leftover nametags). Another individual pulled a list of alphabetized names together, showing who had paid and who was rooming with whom. A check was totaled and funds transferred so I could pay the retreat center. Handouts were copied and collated. Flyers were designed to list coming events. Every time I turned around, another task was done. I went to the Advent Retreat with everything organized, no last-minute panic, and with an hour or two to compose myself before the participants arrived. And yes, we all experienced a powerful time together waiting on God for the healing power of silence.One of my tasks at Mainstay Ministries is to write or gather the ideas for our monthly fund appeal. Since I have been raising funds for nonprofit organizations since the age of 18, this frequently becomes a tiresome process for me. Some days I would give anything for someone to step into our organization, tap me on the shoulder and take this whole load off my back. If I were not so certain about God’s help to do His work in the world, I would give it up. But, so frequently, there is the right idea, and the right quote, and the right photograph just when I need it most. Thus, I am encouraged by the reality that this is a collaborative process, one in which I am not working all alone.Other tasks, particularly the teaching tasks, are different for me. When I am putting together a teaching ministry, God frequently uses anything and everything to teach me. While developing a teaching program that used the metaphor of dance to show how to “step in time to God’s sacred rhythms,” it seemed as though all my spiritual reading, the conversations I had with friends, and the films, books, and magazine articles from popular culture gave me examples of this concept.Even better, during this period of time I was the plenary speaker at a women’s conference where one of the workshops was being taught by a professor from a Christian college who was head of the dance minor. I attended, took copies of all her scriptural notes, and in a half-hour she had us all improvising worship dance. It was delightful!I needed help to do God’s work in this world. Help arrived. I spy God!

Annual Advent Retreat This December 2011

Few weeks from now, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas. Today is the best time to reflect as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the most joyous season of the year, the season of giving and sharing.

We would like to invite you once again to participate on the Annual Advent Retreat of Silence this coming Dec. 1 to Dec. 2, 2011 which will be held at the Bishop Lane Retreat House, Rockford, IL. Sibyl Towner (author, Listen to Your Life) and I will be facilitating, and we look forward to entering into this time of corporate silence as a powerful way to begin the Advent Season. There are only 50 spaces available, and this retreat does fill up, so please let me know if you would like to attend. You can go to this link ==> http://www.breathingspaceorg.com/tiffany/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Advent-Retreat-Registration.pdf to register.

We look forward to seeing many of you again this year! Blessings on each of you this day. Wishing you a blissful Thanksgiving and Christmas this 2011.

Plant A Tree For Charity

Nowadays, green living has been a practice for most of us. Trees gives us shelter and beautifies Mother Earth. On Sept. 9-10, 2011, I will be holding a charity plant sale at my house in West Chicago. Proceeds will go toward defraying some of the above costs to underwrite the Global Bag Project. For more info, contact me at info@hungrysouls.org or leave a message on the office phone,630-293-4500. Any volunteer help the proceeding week or that weekend will be greatly appreciated.

Kingdom Tales

David & Karen Mains' Kingdom Tales consist of three volumes - Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration.

Each volume consists of twelve fantasy short stories, set in a city ruled by an evil Enchanter who has usurped the throne from the true King. The stories are all separate events often involving different characters, but are bound together as part of a larger story as the Enchanted City is rescued by the exiled King and becomes the Bright City, leading to a joyous conclusion as the people of Great Park and Bright City begin the Great Celebration at the conclusion of the Restoration.

The stories in the Kingdom Tales are heartwarming allegories of good and evil that draw the readers into the Kingdom through the open doors of whimsy and invention.

Face of Christ

Friends and Strangers written by Karen Mains contain true stories that make up milestones in the author's journey from isolation to community -- from haunting estrangement to a deeper, more vital connection with others. Karen Mains has discovered, that we grow into our real selves. And it is often those we meet in life's lonely places that show us the face of Christ.

Torschlusspanik: Gate-closing Panic

“It’s not so much a fear of diminishing opportunities that haunts me, as the fear of not finishing well. Of course, none of us knows the date or hour of our own demise, but I can’t think of anything more satisfactory than to rest my head, take a deep breath, and sigh, It is finished. How wonderful that would be.“

Read here as Karen Mains ponders on her torschlusspanik.

Note: torschlusspanik is a German word which means "the fear that time is running out."