How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place: Searching for a Spiritual Home

This is the title of the October 12-17 retreat I will be leading at Ghost Ranch in northwest New Mexico. I have had the pleasure and privilege of going to Ghost Ranch almost yearly since 2002, finding renewal and growth in the mystery of the high desert, the limitless sky, the quiet yet so alive earth, and the amazingly diverse and interesting people I meet there. I've offered what I could and it has been well received.

Never in my wildest imaginings, however, did I expect a book publisher to notice. But notice she has and I am engaged in serious plans towards a formal proposal to her company. This opportunity is not something I sought, but not something I can walk away from either. I'm won't go into more detail here, but I have good reason to believe this is an upstanding and successful company.

So much of our society is "homeless". Too many are literally so; but millions more are homeless in the depths of their beings. And that's what I'll try to write about. How and where do we find and effectively dwell in our homes--our inner home, the deepest most mysterious part of ourselves; our outer relational homes and communities? How do we dwell in and with God? How do we dwell in and with the Earth and all its inhabitants? This is what I will be pondering as I move forward with this project. It may never be published, but I can't not try. I feel God nudging gently and encouragingly. I am afraid; I am thrilled; and I am willing to take on the challenge. No matter how it ultimately turns out, today I am grateful for what I am learning, for the challenge this presents, and for the loving support of many friends. I feel more alive than I have since before my husband died. May it all be blessing!