+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LifeRhyme Notes
June 2001
By Rev. Rochelle Melander, Coach
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WELCOME!
==========
Welcome to the June issue of LifeRhyme Notes, a monthly e-mail newsletter designed to reflect on how we can integrate spirituality into our daily lives. Thank you to all of you who sent comments on the first issue. I treasure your insights! I invite you to continue to comment on the newsletter and how you have applied it to your daily life. I encourage you to forward LifeRhyme Notes to anyone who you think might enjoy it! Remind them that if they want to receive it on their own, they need to follow the subscription information at the bottom of this message.

IN THIS ISSUE...
==============
Take Joy!
Single Step Challenge (TM)
Brief Book Reviews
Quote for the Journey

TAKE JOY!
=========
As we plan our days, my husband often asks me, "What would make you happy?" I will usually respond, "Getting some of this stuff crossed off my to-do list." It's the truth. In the midst of getting my work done, managing a family, and expecting a baby -- all I want to experience is stuff moving out of my in-box and into my out box. I love the feeling of crossing items off of my endless "to-do" list. Thankfully, I have people in my life to challenge my mixed-up priorities.

One of the most recent challenges to my priorities came from an unexpected source. We had a genetic ultrasound of this baby at eleven weeks. Throughout my troubled nine-week pregnancy last summer, I had, on average, an ultrasound a week -- so I knew the ropes. I wasn't expecting to see much more than a "Mr. Peanut" shaped blob. But this was a *genetic* ultrasound -- and the picture was quite detailed. I looked up at the monitor mounted on the ceiling and suddenly was confronted by this little individual. The baby had its hand in its mouth and was joyfully kicking its legs. The baby was kicking in the same way we might kick up our heels at hearing good news. When I saw that little being kicking with such JOY, I experienced one of those moments of clarity about life. I thought, this is what it means to be alive! This is what God intends for our journey here -- to be joyful! To kick up our heels. And babies understand this at some inner, cellular level. Children, too. It's us grown-up type people, with our to-do lists and our bundles of worries, who have forgotten about joy.

It's not all our fault. We live in a culture that values those who accomplish things with their lives. Both school and work are often about the product instead of the process. And if we value JOY in our culture, we often value it for the young -- not realizing that we need it, too. Once, during the opening hymn at church, I was followed down the aisle by a guy who was dancing. He danced throughout the opening hymn and into the beginning stuff of the liturgy. I admired his joy and his ability to express it. I was just the guest preacher -- so I didn't know him -- but I later learned that he was both mentally ill and addicted to alcohol. I later wondered why more of us cannot express that kind of joy in life. It seems that children and those on the edge of society are most able to let go and take joy.

I once heard this story about the next life. I would tell it like this. When you get to the next life, God will not ask you, "Did you get it all done?" God will ask you, "Did you enjoy yourself? Did you taste the mangoes? Did you see the sunset? Did you kick up your heels and dance?" I think about that story now as I look at my days. It's now part of my spiritual practice to "take joy" each day. As part of that practice, I have taken two steps. First, I've stopped taking on tasks that do not bring me joy. Second, I am trying to do at least one thing each day that I find to be joyful. Swinging in the park. Taking a splash through the wading pool. Walking. Reading something delicious. Eating chocolate. You get the picture. And, do you know what? In the midst of those experiences -- the to-do list doesn't matter. I am simply thankful that God has given me this gift of being alive and connected to this world. Those moments are kick-up-your-heels, dance-at-the-altar types of moments for me! This month I am hoping that you, too, can have some JOYFUL moments. Go on! Enjoy yourself!

SINGLE STEP CHALLENGE (TM)
===========================
TAKE JOY. Make a list of the experiences that bring you joy. Now, do them. One a day. Every day. Like a vitamin.

If that's hard...or you can't fit it in one day...try doing what you are doing joyfully.

Do these steps change anything for you? In what ways do you experience life differently when you "take joy" each day? How do the people in your life respond to you? In what ways does it change your perspectives on life? about God?

If you discover anything interesting, please share your insights with me.

BRIEF BOOK REVIEWS
===================
In Ann B. Ross' novel "Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind," the recently widowed Miss Julia Springer faces her husband's secret life (plus the small town gossip and meddling) with a grace and strength that brings the reader JOY!

The children's book, "Oh, Were They Ever Happy" by Peter Spier, tells its story mostly with pictures. It's a story that will bring a smile to your day.

"Finding Joy: 101 Ways to Free Your Spirit and Dance with Life" by Charlotte Davis Kasl provides some great ideas about how you might live a more joy-filled life.

QUOTE FOR THE JOURNEY
======================
At the age of two, our son, Samuel, did a little dance, a sort of jig, at the mention of something he enjoyed, be it ordinary or special -- eating graham crackers, going to his grandparents' house, or reading a favorite book. Samuel's joy over all of life's pleasures helps us to realize that each act in our lives, every moment we breathe, is holy. We don't need to spend our lives wishing for the grand and glorious moments. For even now, even this ordinary today, can be a joyful, jig-inducing time of celebration.

-copyright 1999, Melander and Eppley, Dancing in the Aisle: Spiritual Lessons We've Learned from Children (Pilgrim Press, 1999).

NEWS
=====
Check out our newest book: "Timeouts with God: Meditations for Parents" by Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley. It's available at most online bookstores!

A FREEBIE
=========
+Frustrated with juggling work and the rest of your life?
+Needing help figuring out what you want from life or how to get there?
+Overwhelmed?
Newsletter recipients are welcome to a free coaching session, done by telephone, with Coach Rochelle Melander.
Groups in the Milwaukee area are welcome to a free speaking session.
Call 414-771-1408 or e-mail Rochelle at rymhwe@execpc.com for more information