Some RSS Guidance

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it is used to be notified when items are posted to blog sites primarily. There are lots of RSS readers out there, but I'll try to give you a run down on the one I use: Google Reader. It is free, and I assume most of you probalby have a Google Account already set up. If not, you can start here to get that going: https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount

After you have your Google Account (username and password) established, you can visit http://www.google.com/reader/view/

When you get to the Google Reader page, you can manually add the Living Stones Subscription feed by clicking the "Add Subscription" link and then entering the Posts Atom Link (it's listed at the bottom of our blog): http://livingstonesweb.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default . If everything is setup right, after you start using the reader, you can click RSS or Post Atom links on blog sites and Google will pop up and ask you if you like to subscribe in your personal iGoogle Page or your Google Reader App. I just hit the Google Reader button and all my blog updates can be found in ONE PLACE!!! If you have an iPhone, the Google Reader is really sweet on it!! I do a lot of blog reading in Grocery lines, etc.

I'm not too good at Technical Writing. So if these instructions don't work, or confuse the heck out of you. I can be reached on Skype, {mark(DOT)wills(DOT)tn} and I have a neat Remote Access program I can use to log into your PC and help you out.

More Google RSS Reader help can be found at: http://www.google.com/support/reader/?hl=en

Hope that make some sense.

Blessings,

Mark

Rocks as Prayers

I’ve shared before about child-raising as a spiritual practice. It’s a tricky thing because it includes tasks that conflict for me with contemplative practices. But it’s also an incredible opportunity because one of the goals of spiritual practice is to cultivate awareness during tasks—to do tasks in the moment.

One of my tasks is to keep Elea awake during certain several-hour stretches of the day to help her sleep at night. We’ve recently discovered a lake within walking distance from our house with a two-mile path around it and a number of walkways that extend over the water. Every day this past week I’ve taken Elea there in her stroller. Unfortunately, the stroller and the breeze off the water help put her to sleep so I have to keep taking her out of her seat and bouncing her. This constant “trying” interferes with practicing presence and awareness. I even hurt my back doing it.

I discovered something today—after Christine told me I need to be more creative about keeping Elea awake. I found a spot where there’s about a twelve-foot slope from the path down to the edge of the lake. I parked the stroller at the top, went down, and sat close to the water with Elea. We were next to a red canoe that was banked upside-down on the shore. I showed Elea some rocks and then tossed them in, and she watched them make a splash. As long as I hold her attention, she stays awake.

“Each rock will be a prayer,” I told her. “Jesus, bless Mommy who is sick in bed.” Amen. Splash. “Jesus, bless ____.” Amen. Splash. When we finished our list, we keep praying but without words.

Amen. Splash. . . . Amen. Splash. . . . Amen. Splash. . . .

--Paul Corrigan

Hello From England

Hey everyone. I feel a little far removed but it is nice to have this non-geographical community to return to. Everything is going great so far for Jen and I. We have arrived at L'Abri which is the community that we are going to be apart of for the next month. I have had some wonderful conversations and prayer times so far. Many of the people are interested in some of the same theological areas that I have been hashing out. I am making a valiant attempt to include mysticism in most of my conversations and am happy to report that I have received very positive feedback. Thanks for all your prayers and emotional support. It means a lot to us to have most of you back home awaiting our return.