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Inspiring Voices - MEd RNCS Cheryl Wunsch

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65 pages

English

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In Knitting, Praying, Forgiving: A Pattern of Love and Forgiveness, Cheryl shares her story of faith and her journey to forgiving the young man who murdered her mother .She provides a user-friendly pattern to experience love and forgiveness with the craft of knitting and an ancient monastic prayer practice: Lectio Divina. You may find encouragement in Cheryls story, and her pattern will help guide you to forgiveness one stitch at a time.A grace-filled book for knitters and contemplatives, Knitting, Praying, Forgiving is a practical and inspirational guide to the transforming power of knitting Gods love into shawls of forgiveness. Susan S. Izard, co-author of Knitting into the MysteryCheryl Wunsch has an amazing story to tell, and she does so with great courage and compassion. Knitting, Praying, Forgiving lays out the path to a new life for anyone who has suffered at the hands of evil. I love this little book.Paula Huston, author of A Season of Mystery and Simplifying the Soul. Thoughtful and touching, Wunsch weaves together deep appreciation of a centuries-old prayer tradition with the needs of today. Her approach reminds me of the weaving of baskets prayerfully performed by the desert monks of long ago. Both spiritual and practical, this approach is another way to pray always.Brother Bede Healey, OSB Cam.Cheryl Wunsch weaves in her tender book Knitting, Praying, Forgiving a simple pattern of prayer, reflection, and craft (knitting) that abides as the heart of a loving and forgiving life. In the manner in which she knits her story, her prayer, and her practice together, Cheryl creates a radiant shawl of quiet that speaks powerfully as the fruit of faith and forgiveness.Glenn Mitchell, spiritual director and director of training and programs for Oasis Ministries

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Inspiring Voices
Date de parution	16 juillet 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781462410163
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0240€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Copyright 2014 Cheryl Wunsch MEd RNCS.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
1 (866) 697-5313

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-1015-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-1016-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014912176

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 7/15/2014

CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part One A Forgiveness Journey

Chapter 1 Visits With Anna
Chapter 2 Forgiveness: A Path To Love
Chapter 3 Forgiveness Prayer Shawl
Chapter 4 Prayers From The Heart

Part Two A Pattern Of Love And Forgiveness

Chapter 5 Remembering: The Person Or Group You Want To Forgive
Chapter 6 Gathering: Your Thoughts, Feelings, And Memories
Chapter 7 Holding: God And Your Journal
Chapter 8 Gleaning: Knitting Into God s Word-Lectio Divina
Chapter 9 Transformation

Endnotes

Appendix A Scriptures For Knitting Into God s Word: Forgiveness, Love, Compassion
Appendix B Embracing God s Word, Lectio Divina
Appendix C Prayer Shawl Card
Appendix D Dorothy s Peace And Forgiveness Prayer Card

About The Author

For my mother ,
Dorothy Jean Griffin
1924-1971

FOREWORD
Through her own personal story of tragedy, heartbreak, and grief, Cheryl Wunsch has written a poignant and unfolding story, sharing with readers her spiritual evolution of forgiveness and personal faith journey. Using the ancient prayer technique of lectio divina , readers are guided through spiritual exercises-the framework for the contemplative practice of prayer, meditation, and personal journal keeping.
Weaving in biblical and modern-day quotes, readers are guided through her five core forgiveness foundations of remembering, gathering, holding, gleaning, and transformation. Insights and instructions are given for applying these techniques to create a love and forgiveness shawl, or some other form of a tangible gift, to honor a person or group.
Threefold blessings to Cheryl! She offers deep-filled insights, inspirations, and contemplative tools for her readers. As a prayer shawl maker myself, [I recognize that] she has laid a new path for creating forgiveness shawls that not only bless the recipient but the prayer shawl maker as well. For anyone who takes up her book, a journal, and set of knitting needles, her message continues to widen the circle of God s universal gifts of forgiveness and unconditional love.
Victoria A. Cole-Galo
Cofounder of the Prayer Shawl Ministry

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank God for the gift of faith and for my three beautiful daughters, two amazing sons-in-law, and two adorable, precious grandsons. I am blessed! A special thank-you to my cousin Meryl, for always encouraging me about my writing, and a loving thank-you to each of my cousins, my two sisters, my brothers-in-law, and my three fantastic nephews and beautiful niece. Thank you for your love.
My deepest gratitude to Daniel Stern, for daring to believe in me. A thank-you to Barbara for your kindness and patience in typing my early handwritten journal notes. When I first met Anna, I wanted to get my amazing miracle experience on paper, and my dear friend and then-colleague Jill typed as I spoke. Thank you, Jill; you always know my heart! I am forever grateful to Sister Jeanne for guiding Dorothy s Peace and Forgiveness Prayer Shawl Ministry after I moved to California. I never could have written this book without your love, support, and feedback. Thank you! Much gratitude to my dear friends Cheryl, Aye, Mary, and Susan, who listened, prayed, and supported my writing for many years. Thank you, Cheryl, for being a beacon of God s light when I would get lost in my writing. Thank you, Marge, for all of the good times while knitting and crocheting shawls and for teaching me how to crochet. I think of you with every ripple shawl I crochet. A special thank-you to our Pennsylvania prayer shawl group. I think of you all with love and prayers.
After moving to California a few years ago, I was blessed and welcomed at my new church, the Church of the Good Shepherd. Thank you to Monsignor Thomas Welbers, my pastor. Thank you, Sister Virginia, for inviting me to organize our church prayer shawl ministry and for your support. My sincere gratitude to all of our prayer shawl knitters and crocheters. A special thank-you to Nicole for your support and prayers-you inspire me-and to Ethel, for always having words of praise for our prayer shawl ministry. My heartfelt thanks to Father Colm O Ryan, Mary Ann, and each person in our meditation group. Thank you, Annette, for your encouragement and prayers, and my deep gratitude to Sister Audrey for your kindness in correcting my grammar. A thank-you to Jayne and Stephanie, my neighbors and friends, for your encouraging words. A warm thank-you to Father Robert, for your oblate guidance, and to Brother Bede, for deepening my experience in lectio. My sincere thanks to Paula for helping me early on to get my book off the ground. I want to thank Andrea and my fellow New Camaldoli oblates and monks. You are my spiritual family, and I carry you in my heart.

INTRODUCTION
You cannot forgive without grace, and grace is not something you can demand. You can only sweep out the chamber of your soul and be ready to receive it when it comes. 1
-Mirabai Starr
No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there s always a thread of grace. 2
-Mary Doria Russell
I did not plan on knitting a forgiveness prayer shawl or creating a pattern of love and forgiveness. I believe God revealed both to me, and He wants me to share my story and my pattern to encourage others. That is why I wrote this book. It is my prayer that my story and pattern will encourage and bless you on your journey to forgiveness.
It began when I was in my early twenties and pregnant with my first child. I was happy and very excited about becoming a mother. I never thought twice about my mother being there for me, and she was there-for a few short months. I am grateful that my mother met her first granddaughter and that she was there to help me learn some of the basics of parenting. I guess we never think of losing our mothers, especially when they are healthy and young, but my mother was taken from me, suddenly and unexpectedly, when she was only forty-seven years old. She was murdered. It was shocking. I was utterly and completely devastated. There are no words that adequately describe my painful, traumatic loss. As a psychotherapist for the past three decades, I have met and worked with many people who have suffered painful and traumatic losses and who also struggled to forgive. It is my experience and belief that we can only forgive life s big hurts through God s grace.
In this book, I tell my forgiveness story and share my faith journey to forgive the young man who murdered my mother. I share the beautiful ministry and amazing miracle visit that happened many years later and my simple, user-friendly love and forgiveness pattern . In the pattern, I knit together an ancient monastic prayer practice, lectio divina , with the art of knitting. You might be wondering, what is lectio divina ? It means divine reading. 3 It is an ancient practice of listening deeply to the voice of God speaking through sacred texts. It is a simple way of praying with scriptures or any sacred text.
First, read your chosen text very slowly and thoughtfully. Savor the words and listen for the still, small voice of a word or phrase that speaks to you and says, I am the word for you today. Then ponder, taking the word or phrase into yourself by slowly repeating it and allowing it to interact with your inner world. Then begin to pray, interacting with God as you would with someone who loves and accepts you. I practice lectio divina in the morning, and I like to knit and pray with my word from scriptures. Anytime during the day that I pick up my needles, I remember my word in prayer.
The earliest Christian forms of lectio divina were practiced widely in the desert monastic tradition during the third to fifth centuries. The desert monks did not have their own Bibles, so they memorized large amounts of scripture, and they would meditate on the sacred texts as they went through the activities of their day. 4 As Saint Benedict taught, the monks listened for a word or phrase during their communal prayer and then held it in their hearts. 5 Christians have always seen a scriptural invitation to lectio divina in the example of the Virgin Mary s pondering in her heart what she saw and heard of Christ 6 (Luke 2:19).
I am certain you know about knitting, or maybe you know a knitter, or you have picked up knitting needles yourself. In my story, I share how knitting became my prayer practice and how, without conscious planning, I began knitting into the mystery of God, a forgiveness prayer shawl. It was this forgiveness prayer shawl, which I had not planned on