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Showing posts from May, 2019

10 Years of Blogging

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Are personal blogs dead? Some people think so. This blog has been through several near death and resuscitation experiences, over the last 10 years. Yes, this month marks 10 years since I started my Seeker blog in May 2009. When I began, I had no idea what I was doing, not much idea of why I was doing it and no expectation of continuing beyond a few months. As someone committed to life-long learning, I enjoy learning new skills.  There are some things you can only learn by doing, cycling, swimming, marrying, praying, growing old - to name a few.  10 years ago, learning how to set up and use a blog was both easier and harder than expected.  Clicking 'publish' on that 1st post was a leap in the dark. I had no idea where it might take me. That 1st post had no image, was only 77 words long. I assumed it would be of no interest to anyone else. At that stage I simply wanted to lurk in the 'blogosphere' for a bit while I worked out how my blog would work. I wanted to master

Contemplating Julian of Norwich

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'Julian of Norwich' (not her real name) is commemorated today in the Church of England. In 1373, an unnamed 30-year old Englishwoman, had a visionary experience during severe illness. After recovering, she meditated on what she had seen, writing first a brief account and later a series of deeper theological reflection, “Revelations of Divine Love” , believed to be the first book written by a woman in English. We call that unnamed woman Julian of Norwich because by 1394 until at least 1416, she lived as an “anchoress”, in a cell attached to the church of St Julian, in Norwich . One of her cell windows opened into the church so she could share in worship. The other opened onto a street so people could come to her to seek her prayer and spiritual wisdom. In that cell she received more visions and contemplated God’s grace and love. She lived in really hard times, which makes her emphasis on God’s love all the more remarkable. In Norwich in the late 14th century, the plague kill