Thursday, July 28, 2016

Tea Time with Tiffany #59 - Spiritual dryness & a vodka tonic...

oooo la la! We have a change of venue for this week's edition of:

Indeed, I'm not at the office for this particular recording. I am at home, and waxing philosophical about life's challenges amidst a spell of spiritual dryness. Accompanied by a refreshing vodka tonic. Join me!





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Items mentioned in this episode:
Have you ever experienced a spell of spiritual dryness? Changed up your daily prayer routine lately to something that's really working for you? I'd love to hear all about it!

6 comments:

  1. At school, I'm really good about starting my day with the Morning Offering and the St. Michael the Archangel prayer. This summer, not so much. Since I figured out how to download your chaplets to my phone this week, I've been trying to pray one on my way to work every morning. ;-)
    Not in the morning, but what I have gotten in the habit of doing this summer is setting an calendar reminder on my phone every day at 3 pm. If I'm doing something I can stop, or not doing much of anything, I pray the chaplet. If I'm doing something I can't put down (or am with all the kids at work) I try to say the opening prayer at some point between 3 and 4. I still miss some days, but the alert helps.

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  2. Hi Sam! Excellent idea with the phone alarm, girl! I love that. I'm so glad that my chaplet recordings have been helping. It's so nice to know that people use those! At least, you and Maggi do. ;-) I'll take it!

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  3. I can completely relate. Hold onto your hats because here's a long reply for you...

    1) My husband is the bread winner but a lot of his job is hinges on other people. For example the space device thingy called Osiris-Rex is launching in September. It could have bad weather and be delayed. It could blow up. It could crash on the asteroid. One of his bosses is retiring so the new boss may not hire him after launch (although many of his colleagues think that is a ridiculous notion given what he does). We have absolutely no control over the outcome. So I just stop thinking about it. I remind myself that God is in control and as was said in the Sound of Music if God closes the door somewhere else he opens a window. My husband is not stupid. He has loads of connections. And as he shrugs and said he could go back to where he's from and get out of science or he could teach like your husband does to make ends meet.

    2) Then there's me...not this coming Fall but Fall of 2017 my youngest enters Kindergarten. I haven't worked for a while and what jobs I did do had no real upward mobility. I'm faced with the choice of career path. And my original career path, band director, was fine when I was single but wouldn't work for my family now. We've discussed things back and forth but the consensus is for me to go back to school and get certified in elementary education. But how does one know (in the discernment process) that this is the path God wants me to take? So hard when you only want to do what God wants you to do.

    3) I've also gotten a little more involved in my volunteer work. Not only will I be a linen person, I've volunteered to teach third grade first communion and I periodically cook food for funerals (gold star for doing a work of mercy). I enjoy volunteering but I worry about the stress it may (or may not cause) on my family. Is this the right path? We'll see.

    4) Then there's the stress of waiting for services for my children. I've been waiting for two years (roughly). And so far the only behavioral services we've gotten into was a food program to help HB with eating habits. Patience is so hard to have. And it's stressful because you want to help your child but you can't.

    5) So all of this has caused a level of spiritual dryness for me as well. I plug through doing so much that it's hard for me to unwind and really talk to Jesus not just go through the motions. I realize that I'm probably on the correct path and I probably don't need so much spiritual consolation at this point (or Jesus would send it my way) but I'm like a small child just having learned something new and am hesitant to do the right thing on my own without the big parent doing most everything for me. Time to put on the big girl pants myself.

    6) As for prayer (I promise I'm winding down here), in the morning the first thing I do is check my e-mail and I get several spiritual readings and prayers regularly so that helps. There's also having consistency in that we pray before meals and before bed as a family. My problem was having personal prayer time at the end of the day when I'm just so exhausted. So I've set an alarm like Sam does to remind me to pray (and to go to bed because I tend to not be consistent on that thus part of my problem also). Right now it's just the Divine Mercy Chaplet, but my goal is to try and do a Scriptural Rosary in baby steps and move the DMC to it's proper place in the afternoon once HB is back in school and routines are more tightened.

    7) Hang in there. You (and I) will get through this. Watch for the window. At least that's what I'm doing. Because you gotta trust that it'll be there.

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  4. I admit that I have not gotten in a long term prayer routine yet BUT I have prayed the rosary every morning for the past 4 days so I'm calling that a major win. LOL I need to follow Sam's lead and figure out how to get your chaplets on my phone, that would be awesome! I'd like to incorporate praying in the car, that seems like a good time to be able to focus on that.

    This was a great video, that vodka tonic looked delicious. lol I struggle a lot with feelings of, "Where is the money going to come from?!" lol So I understand how completely stressful that is, it's the worst really. lol I'm praying for you and hope the drought is over soon! <3

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  5. Delta, thank you SO MUCH for leaving this comment. I read every word, and I just...I UNDERSTAND. <3 It seems to me this stage of life has just so many decisions and new directions going on that it is easy to feel flustered and overwhelmed. I get it, I so, so get it. You and Sam have inspired me with the alarm - I am investing in a soothing soundscapes alarm so that I can pray for a few minutes in the morning (I need one anyway since I need to get up earlier than I ever have and don't trust myself!). I could also try this during lunchtime with my phone, and in the fall I won't have any classes then, so that would be perfect.

    Changes. So many changes, right? Even more so than 10ish years ago when I was newly married and having babies. Adjusting to new stages with the kids, to new stages in our relationship, new stages in my own personal life, job changes, money stresses associated with job changes, other family changes and illnesses, parents who are growing a bit more frail...gosh, it's all so difficult. Wow. That was cathartic. I feel better now, thank you! :0

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  6. Maggi, thanks girl! 4 rosary days, I'm calling that a win too! This morning when I left for work, I thought to myself that I didn't feel up to praying my rosary. And then I remembered my sister saying that when she's feeling overwhelmed, she tries to remember to pray a Divine Mercy chaplet right at that moment. So I did that, and it was perfect.

    What kind of phone do you have? Android? You can download them, but I don't know how easy it is then to keep tabs on where the files are to re-listen. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to set up a feed for them, but to be honest, that is NOT easy with Blogger, and it took me an entire day to set that up for Tea Time. :0 Note to self (and anybody else reading this ;-)), Wordpress is the way to go for podcasts. At any rate, could we set up a little folder or something on your phone for this?

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Thank you for commenting! I read and appreciate every single one, and I will respond to each one personally!