• Soulprints: A Year-End Inventory to Jump Start 2024

• Trailmix: Chicken Pot Pie from JanMaree’s Kitchen

• Cairns: Review of Creating a Life with God by Daniel Wolpert

• Viewfinder: The Parthenon in Athens

• Psycho-paths: Use Betterhelp online counseling

Soulprints: A Year-End Inventory to Jump Start 2024

During my teen years, the business my father owned included a dark, drafty, ancient warehouse. The end-of-the-year brought inventory time to account for all the assets on hand. Dad needed help for the big job, so I was mobilized to interrupt my relaxing holiday break from school for hours of wandering among stacks of dirty construction materials, counting them piece by piece. No scanning bar codes back in that day! My feet were freezing from the cold December days and my frustrations were boiling before the dreaded job ended! But Dad wisely knew the value of assessing where the business stood at the end of the year. And maybe he knew something about his lazy teenager learning the value of a long days work. I’ll admit I was more motivated to attend college after my inventory work finished!

 This year of 2023 will soon be closed in the history books, presenting an opportunity to apply the lessons of business by conducting a personal end-of-the-year inventory. It’s important to move beyond the material or financial assets that might come to mind, for those come and go quickly. More important is an accounting of what we have done during this year to create personal well-being and a positive community.

For your inventory, I invite you to use the following questions for reflection. The actions listed were the constructive experiences laid up as assets in your life warehouse. Try to find specific examples as you record your own end-of-the-year inventory by asking yourself:.

 “What have I done in the past year…

 …to help someone in trouble?

 …to build a deeper friendship?

 …to face a great fear?

 …to bless my children?

 …to forgive an old enemy?

 …to listen to God?

 …to heal a hurting soul?

 …to refuel a neglected passion?

 …to fulfill my partner’s secret wish?

 …to know myself more deeply?

 …to follow God more closely?

It would be many years after my warehouse job before I grasped the importance of the work. When Dad sold the business, he invested the proceeds and ultimately passed on the value when his estate was settled. The resources came to bless my family in a multitude of ways in the years that followed. Now I must certainly say, in spite of my memories of cold feet trudging along the aisles, a belated, “Thanks, Dad!”

 Look back over your answers and celebrate the great things that built your inventory of well-being. For those left undone, grasp the promise a new year brings. Replenish your vision. Use the list to set a goal in 2024!

Cairns: Review of Creating a Life with God

“Today I still feel deeply convicted about the value of contemplative prayer. And it is this passion and vision, first kindled many years ago, that inspires this book.” In these words, Daniel Wolpert captures the energy that brought old and new together for the challenge of life with God in the twenty-first century. As one whose doctoral dissertation focused on the practice of prayer, I believe this helpful volume, Creating A Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices, can open new insights for the believing community.

While prayer is common in the world, the deeper practices of prayer remain a mystery to most people today. Even more disturbing is the simplistic, transactional conception that is prominent, reducing prayer to a wish list that is presented to a distant deity. Wolpert aims to move our attention to a deeper, richer interaction.

Wolpert, the cofounder of the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing, begins with basic truths of the value of solitude and silence as a foundation for the encounter with God. Following this, other tools for devotion are explored, including the Examen, Journaling, Walking, and Community prayer. The chapters are enriched by connecting each practice with a historical figure. For example, the chapter on “Body Prayer” draws attention to the sensual language of the Song of Solomon, then to the tragic medieval couple Abelard and Heloise. This human connection draws the reader away from mere knowledge and closer to lived reality. Each chapter offers concrete ideas for exploring the type of prayer. Wisely, the author moves these ideas beyond individual practice to embrace a group encounter.

 Creating is intended for a lay audience. One might wish for more explicit theological grounding from some aspect of the vast resources of Christian thought. He acknowledges operating from a mainline Protestant tradition that is expanded by the thought of the Christian Mystical tradition. It seems the work could be strengthened by engaging the myriad of conflicting perspectives on prayer that populate the cultural landscape today.

The final two chapters add much to this 20th anniversary edition by focusing on how the contemplative perspective becomes actualized in the crisis today around climate and the issues of social justice. Many will be inspired to move beyond the prayer closet to the streets where the Kingdom is lived.

The Upper Room Publishers and the author have done the community of faith a service by bringing this work into the challenges we face now.

Find this at https://store.upperroom.org/product/creating-a-life-with-god-revised-edition 

Trail Mix:

Chicken Pot Pie from JanMaree’s Kitchen

A favorite hot-and-savory of our family is Chicken Pot Pie. It’s perfect for a cold winter evening to share with family or friends! 

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded

1 – 16 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables 

½ - 16 oz. bag frozen southern hash brown potatoes (NOT shredded type) 

2 T. onion bits 

2 cans cream of chicken soup  

1 T. Better than Bouillon Chicken 

1 c. broth 

Salt & pepper 

Combine soup, Better than Bouillon, and broth. Mix remaining ingredients together with the broth solution and pour into greased 9x13 inch pan. 

Crust: 

1 ½ c. flour 

1 ½ c. milk 

1 ½ stick margarine, melted 

Mix together and pour over top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350º for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Viewfinder: The Parthenon in Athens

Jan and I visited Athens this Fall and toured the Acropolis. Dominating the towering hill is the Parthenon. It was built in 438 BCE to honor Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). A huge gold and ivory statue to the goddess was featured inside. It stood intact for nearly 1000 years, then successive powers converted it into a Byzantine Church, a Roman Catholic church, and finally a mosque. In 1687 it was nearly demolished by war. Today the magnificent statues are in museums around the world. An extensive renovation effort is now underway (note the scaffolding in the picture) to bring the exterior back to the original. It was inspiring to visit this monument of diverse faith and God’s redeeming work without equal in the world!

This month I completed 5 years as a counselor with the Betterhelp.com company. Betterhelp is the world’s leading provider of online counseling. It’s been my privilege, working part-time, to work as a Licensed Professional Counselor with nearly 225 clients in over 1600 live sessions. Anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma recovery, grief, spiritual distress—covering these topics with those in need has been a blessing.

An important facet of Betterhelp is being matched with a therapist. When a person subscribes, they indicate the need they are having. Then they are placed with a counselor who has training to address that concern. Even more, there is no charge to switch counselors to make sure the subscriber gets the best fit possible. The counseling sessions can be by video chat, phone, or text—no need to ever drive to a counseling office! More than 4.4 million have used this amazing and reasonably priced service.

If you know someone who is going through a tough time emotionally or in rocky relationships, point them to Betterhelp.com. Click the logo to find more information at their website.

I welcome your questions, comments, ideas, and affirmations.

Email me directly at: [email protected]

Join the discussion with Comments on the Facebook Tracks for the Journey page