What's in a Name?

Have you ever had something weighing on your heart and finally something breaks through to allow you to move forward and much lighter? 

That was the situation with renaming our Knots of Grace VIP group. 

For quite awhile my heart has been urging me to rename our VIP group with something that better describes the intention of it. You see, you are Very Important People to me, but you are more than that - this space is more than that. My hope is that our community is one that will grow and eventually where we can share each-other's journeys ... our place of grace, our inner circle. 

So after LOTS of thinking and talking with God and Him leaving hints for me all around ... Our VIP group moving from more than just 'Knots of Grace VIP' to being part of the Inner Circle of Grace

Want to know why Inner Circle of Grace was chosen? Read the "behind the name" reasons below.

Inner Circle of Grace - Knots of Grace VIP Group

Behind the word "Circle"  There are so many reasons this word is part of our new name. When I first thought of the phrase, "inner circle", I thought of the legend of the Knights of the Round Table. Specifically, how none of the barons were supposed to consider themselves greater than the man next to them - they were equals. 

I also thought of meals and how much more fun they are when everyone can talk to each other - and a round table usually allows for that type of conversation!

Then, as I was sitting in the room where I do my morning prayers and journaling, I looked up and saw the artwork on our wall. Now, this painting has been on the wall next to me for 10 years and I've enjoyed looking at it time and time again, but last week, when looking at it, I was reminded of one place I've always felt comfort and at peace - around a campfire hanging out with friends.

 Watermark photo

(above) Aboriginal Artist, Trisha Mason's piece titled "Men and Women", 2012. She wrote this about the piece, "The campfire is a great place for men and women to come together to share ideas and experience and strengthen community bonds."

That is what I want our Inner Circle to feel like - a place of sharing, a place to feel comforted by God's graces, and a maybe even a place where our hearts are reignited by the love of Christ, who is at the center of why we are here together in this community! 

Behind the phrase "Inner Circle" - This is just a way that I wanted us all to feel special. If you're part of an inner circle, you're in a trusted group and you usually get some special treatment. 

Behind the word "Grace" - This is pretty straight forward. I wanted to include part of the company's name PLUS a way to remind each of us of the graces God has given us and continues to share with us on our journey.

More behind the word "Circle" -  Have you watched Bishop Robert Barron's, "Why Pray the Rosary?" video? As I was contemplating the name, I came across this video and watched it and BAM!, here was another way the Holy Spirit was helping me make this decision ... 

What do I make? ROSARIES! And what shape are rosaries? ROUND! Like a circle! 

Seriously, it was right in front of me all along?! *facepalm* 🤦 

I've included the full transcript to the video below, and like me, you may personally relate to all of the reasons, but within the 3rd reason, you'll see the, IN MY FACE, connection.

 

So for now I'm sharing the new name with you. In the next months, there are likely to be a few other changes to go along with the new name too and I'll announce them as the time is right. For now, I wanted our community to be more appropriately named.

As I mentioned above, I would like the Inner Circle of Grace to be a community where we can share in each-others' journeys. So, if you're a member and have something you'd like me to share with the group - an article, a bible verse, or something you've learned that you feel is aligned to our community - please message me and we can go from there.

So if you're not a member yet, I welcome you to join! (You can use the sign-up at the top of the page or click here.)

Inspired by Life; Comforted by Faith - Knots of Grace
----------------------------------
Transcript from Bishop Robert Barron's, "Why Pray the Rosary?" video https://youtu.be/vE247jOt4AA 
 
"Friends, the Lord Jesus has entrusted his Church with privileged means through which we can participate in His victory over sin and death. These include the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance, the Bible and specific devotional prayers, such as the Rosary.
 
Why is the rosary so important?
First, the rosary is embodied, concrete, and densely objective. It’s something you hold in your hand. The simple feel of the rosary beads can put in in a mystical frame of mind.
 
Second, the rosary is a way of disciplining the mind for meditation. When our minds are skittish, superficial, obsessive, we never move into the deeper realms of the soul. The repetitious prayer of the rosary quiets the mind and allows the depths of the soul to rise.
 
Third, the rosary slows us down – for me this is perhaps the most striking quality of the rosary. All the spiritual traditions witness to the face that the soul likes to go slow. The surface of the psyche is in constant motion, hurrying to its next thought, but the deep spiritual center likes to see, to hear, to savor. When we pray the rosary, we move in a circle arriving at the very place we started. The purpose is not to get particularly anywhere, rather it is to meditate upon the great Christian mysteries to look at the icons of Jesus’ birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension from a variety of angles, in varying moods with different emphases. The way we might muse over a Rembrandt portrait, this is just the sort of slow prayer the deep soul loves to do.
 
The rosary is a concretizing, quieting, savoring prayer that has enormous spiritual power and it therefore has enormous social and evangelical power as well. For Dorothy Day or Saint Teresa of Calcutta, the link between contemplation of the divine mysteries and the most radical work on behalf of the poor was perfectly obvious. Their practical mission grew organically out of the intense concentration upon sacred things in the rosary. We too, join together, not only in prayer, but in common purpose.
So, let’s begin."

Leave a comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.