My wife has this plant from South Africa—a “bush lily” or something like that—and it only blooms when the temperature and light are juuuust right. When the flowers happen, though, they look unreal to me; like God gave some kid the box of cosmic crayons and said to have fun. I call them “the cartoon…
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About: Tod Twist
Recent Posts by Tod Twist
Signs of Spring: The School of Lectio Divina
Signs of Spring The School of Lectio Divina Written by Tod Twist Springtime is an acquired taste in the upper Midwest—the warm days with their buds and blossoms team up alongside the surprise snowfalls and the grey rain for a package deal. The Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery had a long-awaited taste of Spring…
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Gratitude
Gratitude Tod Twist A few years ago, a friend was talking about the role of adversity in life, and he quipped, “So you made plans and they worked out—not much spiritual growth there.” He was channeling every coach I’ve ever had—ever. Everyone knows that the key to anything is pressing through challenge and adversity. We…
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Spiritual Director Profile: Tod Twist
Spiritual Director Profile: Tod Twist Meeting God at the edge of the desert How did I come to Spiritual Direction? I backed into it. No matter how we talk about mileage or baggage, life catches up with all of us. By the time I hit my 40’s, I was dealing with serious accumulated stuff in…
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Discernment Begins Now
Discernment Begins Now Discernment means a lot of things to people, but I like the approach of seeing discernment as a way of life. To put it another way, discernment is spending time in God’s presence today as a way to prepare for what’s coming tomorrow. The decisions or crises will still be hard, but…
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Cradle in the Corner
Cradle in the Corner Last Fall, a brief skirmish with some mice brought me to the far corner of my garage, where the breaker box is, right next to the driveway. That corner is the most chaotic because it’s the most convenient, and most of the stuff in that corner is damning evidence of my…
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The Hospitable Lathe
The Hospitable Lathe “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ ….” Rule of Benedict 53:1 My daughter, Katie, would impress you on several levels: a quick smile, a quicker wit, a keen sense of justice, lotsa’ golden hair, and a dynamic creative spirit. Part of her creativity also involves making things—drawing,…
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Sharper: Benedict’s Tools for Good Works
Sharper: Benedict's Tools for Good Works “Tools of the spiritual craft.” ~RB 4 How do you know when you need to return to your foundations? Last autumn, my Dad was at my shop, and we worked together for several weeks building a couple of saddles. For us, that means cutting, shaping, and decorating thick pieces…
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The Erector Set: Adapting to Others
The Erector Set “[The abbot must] accommodate and adapt himself to each one’s character and intelligence ….” – RB1980 2.32 I’m no abbot, but I am trying to adapt myself to my son’s character. Toby’s a little like a cat—he’s stubborn and private, and I have to coax him to get him to come to…
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Stability: The Benedictine Value of Locatedness
Stability The Benedictine Value of Locatedness An old saying touts, “Location, location, location” as the key to property value. Benedictine spirituality also values location, but not the way your real estate broker might. A prominent Benedictine principle is stability, or staying put within a particular community rather than continually traveling on to somewhere else. For…
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