the fire curls quiet, Violet purrs on my lap,

my mug is the mug of a poet, rounded

and spotted with roses—God’s Word

gives light and peace

for the journey,

long before sunrise a window opens

The spiritual practice of getting alone with the Lord, in a quiet space, first thing in the morning is essential to the well-being of my soul. I just find it very good to be immersed in the Word of God, first thing. It sets the tone and charts the course for the rest of my day; and in some traditions may be called “Practicing the Presence of God.”

This features in my NEW BOOK of poems, LONGINGS OF THE SOUL, a poetic response

https://www.amazon.com/author/daynamazzuca

solitude: a vision of nothing

save the power of God to meet us where we’re at

and graft us in, a frail branch, isolated and lonely,

to a fruitful vine, bursting with health

vital and enduring

When we get alone with God there is this opportunity for him to pour His Life into our life, to renew the inner man or woman. To feed and strengthen the things of the soul; to restore our faith when it may have run dry or gone untended too long. Solitude is a time of Coming, not Doing. It is a rich (and rewarding) spiritual practice.

This features in my NEW BOOK of poems, LONGINGS OF THE SOUL, a poetic response

https://www.amazon.com/author/daynamazzuca

Solitude is an opportunity

to find the meaning of our life

outside of opportunity.

Solitude is not meant to be lonely, but an opportunity to expand our inner horizons and nourish the life of our soul. It’s an important spiritual practice to look into, consider how to frame time alone.

This features in my NEW BOOK of poems, LONGINGS OF THE SOUL, a poetic response

https://www.amazon.com/author/daynamazzuca

“Come to me

and you will find rest.”

We hear this…

and one day, we come, heavy, weary.

Enough ‘done’ to warrant

a collapse, nerves shot, hard to explain—

admit—how we got here.

Until we hear again—

“Come.”

And come to relate to Lazarus.

Weariness and burnout and despair are cousins. They’re related. One can easily lead to the other, and take us nowhere good. It’s important to be proactive, to work into our day spiritual practices that strengthen the life of our soul and ignite our inner vision.

And when we Do Grow Weary, simply to turn to the One who made us, who know us, who calls us his own. And who always seems to have TIME for US, to hear our story and to enter into it in a deep way.

When we grow weary, for whatever reason(s), there really is no time to lose in turning ourselves, our very selves, over to God. To wait upon the Lord.

This features in my NEW BOOK of poems, LONGINGS OF THE SOUL, a poetic response

https://www.amazon.com/author/daynamazzuca

for anyone prone to over-sharing

solitude is hard—

given its veiled, non-event like

nature

the change that comes over us

when we seek to be alone—

not lonely

This poem on SOLITUDE appears in my upcoming book on the nature of the spiritual journey, and the value of saying no to what fails to feed our soul, take us forward in faith; and the value of saying yes to the practices that deeply enrich our inner and outer lives, such as the deceptively spiritual discipline of solitude, spending time apart, to become holy. This is not nothing.

This features in my NEW BOOK of poems, LONGINGS OF THE SOUL, a poetic response

https://www.amazon.com/author/daynamazzuca