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Book Reviews

Elati Publishing – On Finding a Name

Elati Publishing – On Finding a Name

Sep 24, 2024

As you may know, I have been on an almost ten year journey to publish a book. I went through the process of writing an incredibly detailed book proposal that I polished over and over again. I knew it was time to send it out into the world when I was barely changing a single word every time I read it. Still, it took me months before I finally got my courage and a long list of potential publishers together. I submitted my proposal to all of the publishers I thought might be interested, which turned out to be 10...

The Mercury 13 – Women Pilots Aiming for the Stars

The Mercury 13 – Women Pilots Aiming for the Stars

Mar 27, 2023

Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought I would write this blog post about some courageous women pilots who have been largely forgotten by time and are not widely recognized today.  I am referring to the history of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees, more commonly known as the Mercury 13.  This group of women were secretly evaluated to see if they might be suitable astronaut candidates for America’s first human spaceflight program in the early 1960s. The thirteen women pilots, eager to participate in the space race against the Soviet Union, were subjected to the same rigorous tests that...

Liminal Threshold Process

Liminal Threshold Process

Dec 5, 2021

Sometimes change is our choice and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, change always comes.  You can call it change or transition or a crossing or adjustment or a turning point or relocating or course correction or passage or a shift or movement, and if it’s really big, you can call it conversion or progress or metamorphosis or transformation. However, I am calling what I’m experiencing now a “liminal threshold process.”  I suppose “liminal” and “threshold” are somewhat redundant, and “process” might be obvious, but nevertheless, that’s what I am calling it. An interesting and thorough explanation of the etymology...

The Courage to Be Seen

The Courage to Be Seen

Aug 21, 2020

On a daily calendar I used four years ago now, on Thursday, March 24, 2016, the quote attributed to Brene Brown reads, “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”  This quote arrived just two months before I launched this blog. It’s getting a little easier, but in some ways I am still finding that it does indeed take courage to allow myself to be seen.  Creating this blog and including personal stories definitely keeps me on my toes.  I operate so much in my secular life, that showing pieces of my spiritual self in public feels intimidating. ...

Do What You Have the Power to Do

Do What You Have the Power to Do

Jan 26, 2019

It’s no secret that I actively search out books that explore the historical and biblical importance of women and particularly those stories that describe their active participation in building the Reign of God.  In many cases, women in the Bible have been marginalized, located at a distance from the central actions described in biblical narratives so that you sometimes need to read between the lines. And in the New Testament, women are often hidden from view, relegated to servile, behind-the-scenes roles that supported Jesus and other leaders in early Christianity.  On the other hand, we also have stories of significant...

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Oct 18, 2018

Many religious traditions include beads as a part of their prayers and rituals because they help keep track, in an automatic way, of how many repetitions of prayers have been said.  Islamic prayer beads, called misbaha, tasbih, or sibha, usually have 99 beads, corresponding to the number of Names of God in Arabic with 2 smaller beads in between each set of 33.  The prayers recited include the Subhan Allah (Glory be to God,) the Al-hamdu lilah (Praise be to God) and the Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest.)  Members of the Sikh faith use 108 mala beads when reciting...

Mary Magdalene Feast Day 2018

Mary Magdalene Feast Day 2018

Jul 22, 2018

Last updated: August 5, 2024 Happy July 22 – Feast Day of Mary Magdalene!  Unfortunately, the timing was bad this year for hosting the MM feast day ritual at my house.  I am heading off to Santa Fe soon for a long weekend with my family to celebrate my sister Lori’s fiftieth birthday.  So this feast day I just thought I would offer a few comments regarding some resources related to MM that you may be interested in. Andy and I recently returned from a trip to Spain, and the last place we visited before coming home was the Prado...

Half the Sky

Half the Sky

Feb 26, 2017

Last updated: August 10, 2023 I look on this blog post as perhaps a little bit of vintage 1970s consciousness-raising, using twenty-first century tools.  I have just re-read the book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” written by the Pulitzer Prize winning husband and wife team Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.  Published in 2009, the statistics are surely not up to date, but it gives a thorough accounting of the many ways women (in developing and/or war-torn countries especially) are cruelly mistreated, and the risks that are associated with just being born female.  Kristof and WuDunn...

Seven Sacred Pauses

Seven Sacred Pauses

Dec 27, 2016

The liturgy of the hours is a traditional monastic practice of pausing for prayer at given intervals during the day. However, this practice can also be adapted for non-monastics as a way of entering more mindfully into the rhythm of each day. In Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day, Macrina Wiederkehr gives us a very beautiful and practical guide for incorporating gentle reminders of God’s graces into our everyday lives.  For each of the seven pauses, she draws upon a lifetime of Benedictine spirituality to describe the themes and images that are associated with the hour....

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Most Popular Posts

Here are the most popular posts from the last 30 days.

  • The Apocalypse is Here 567 views

  • Resurrection Art Iconography 517 views

  • Prayer Against Envy and Jealousy 494 views

  • Assumption of Hairy Mary 134 views

  • Stations of the Cross 71 views

  • Prayer for the Universe 56 views

  • Mary of Egypt 35 views

  • Acrylic monoprint, copyright © Julie Henkener, made to go with quote by Amma Theodora (fourth century.) Amma Theodora 33 views

  • The Figure 8 – Ebb & Flow 31 views

  • Karankawa Indians in Texas 24 views

  • Mary Magdalene and the Blue Tunic Relic 18 views

  • Mary Magdalene Rises Again 17 views

  • Black Madonnas Matter 14 views

  • Saint Josephine Bakhita 14 views

  • James Webb Space Telescope 13 views

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  All text and original artwork copyright © Julie Henkener 2025.