Posted on by kimhaynesjohnson

Spiritual Journey – December 2024


Scrolling in search of the next book to read on an upcoming flight, my right thumb becoming numb, I came to a screeching halt on Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May.  

This, I nodded approvingly to myself, thinking of all the exhausting change that 2024 has brought.  This may be just the medicine my soul needs right now.

Many of the changes life has brought throughout the year are positive ones, but even good change requires a period of adjustment.  The not-so-good changes, even more so.  

I clicked the Kindle sample download and examined the Table of Contents, organized in chapters by the seven cold months of the year starting in October and ending in Late March.  I read the reviews on Goodreads and delved into the sample text, asking at each decision point whether this would be the best investment of my time and cognitive energy – since both are forever fleeting.

After finishing the sample, I knew this was the book for me.  I downloaded the full book.

I realize I’ve struck book gold when I find a book that has me hanging on each sentence, savoring its power and meaning as I apply it to my life and feel the peace it brings.  Each thought, it seems, fits like a glove when I’ve found the right book for the right time.  It’s like a medicinal salve, like Candy Cane chapstick on parched lips whipped sick by the wind.  

All at once, my breathing deepens and my heart slows from its racing pace.  I feel my tongue stop pressing against the roof of my mouth in its usual stress-pressure position.  My shoulders drop and my neck muscles loosen.  I read May’s soothing words as I consider the approaching winter break: 

“Winter is when I reorganize my bookshelves and read all the books I acquired in the previous year and failed to actually read. It is also the time when I reread beloved novels, for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with old friends….In winter, I want concepts to chew over in a pool of lamplight—slow, spiritual reading, a reinforcement of the soul. Winter is a time for libraries, the muffled quiet of book stacks and the scent of old pages and dust. In winter, I can spend hours in silent pursuit of a half-understood concept or a detail of history. There is nowhere else to be, after all.”

And in this, I can rest with full hope and anticipation that the gas logs and my heated throw will bring needed warmth.  My dogs will bring peace and deep comfort as they vie for snoozing position next to me, and my books will bring the golden silence and space my heart needs as I sip a cup of honeyed hot tea and reread: …. there is nowhere else to be, after all.  

My next book will be Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton. What will you be reading, dear friend, in the sweet, snug nook of home, in the nestled bliss of nowhere else to be?

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Please link your blog posts in the comments below, and thank you for reading today!

24 Replies to “Spiritual Journey – December 2024”

  3. Hi, Kim,

    Thank you for hosting today. I enjoyed reading about May’s wintering book. Thank you for the intro. I love imagining you warm and nestled with the luckiest of dogs under your warm blanket before the fire. This winter I’ll be reading The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon and And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Two Libby checkouts newly downloaded to my Kindle.

    Here’s my take on wintering. https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2024/12/04/spiritual-journey-thursday-wintering/

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    1. Thank you, Denise. I will check out the McMahon book – thank you for sharing! I love Angelou. I left comments on your blog. You know I love a haiku. The pain of the winter is nothing compared to the promises in store for us.

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    1. Thank you for sharing your beautiful blog post today! I left comments there. Also, thank you for sharing the book below. I can’t wait to check out all the titles readers will be reading in the coming season.

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  7. Kim, I was delightfully surprised when I read your post since you and I both have found Katherine May’s book on Wintering inspirational. Since I read the sample and many excerpts from the book, this should be my Christmas treasure. Your theme is perfect for December ponderings. Thank you for providing me with your thoughts. I look forward to reading other Spiritual Journey thoughts. My post is combined with Poetry Friday and can be found at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2024/12/wintering.html

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    1. Thank you, Carol! I absolutely adored your post, especially the excerpt in May’s voice reading the text. I left comments on your blog. My next book is Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton, and I’m thinking these two may be very similar.

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  9. Kim, this post resonated with me and I adore your words. Your description of “striking book gold” is the best. I want to read this book too!

    I just finished The Christ Child by Adam S. Miller. My wintering plans include books I’m reading for upcoming book clubs: Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon and The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore. It’s very long, so I’ll probably listen to it. I’m always listening for/ looking for my next best book.

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    1. Ramona, thank you for sharing your book list! Looks like you have some fabulous pages ahead. I have heard that The Frozen River is excellent, and the book club friend who recently read it encouraged me to keep a running list of characters. She truly enjoyed this book. Warmth and blessings to you!

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  11. Kim, thank you for hosting this month. It is always wonderful when we find a book that speaks to us. These are gems to treasure. Winter is the perfect time to snuggle under a warm blanket and get caught up with books we haven’t had time to read during the previous months. The quotes you and others have included in your posts has me wanting to get and read May’s book.

    Here is the link to my post:

    Wintering | arjeha

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  12. Kim, just wanted to say how delighted I am to see you hosting SJT. It is something I have savored over the years – I’ve now lost track of the list of hosts and topics, but when I remember that it’s the first Thursday of the month, I will try to find someone’s post and participate. Now. As for May’s compelling book… I have it and love it. The restorative power of winter – I think it is something we sense deep in our being and something we desperately crave, although we do not always realize it for what it is. What I recall of the book in this moment: May writing of her healing and that little dormouse in its state of torpor. Utterly fascinating! I think it may be time for me to take it off my shelf and reread. I thank you for this post and the hygge you always impart – your words are like a warmed blanket for wrapping round and round oneself, beside a crackling fire… let winter begin!

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    1. Fran, first – thank you! This is my first time hosting SJT, and I have found such joy in it. Where so many times there is thrilling cerebral energy in the amazing blogs out there that I enjoy reading, what I have found with SJT is that there is reassuring heart and soul energy in the SJT blogs, and I have gotten so much from reading these and seeing all the varied perspectives. You inspire me to get a hard copy of Wintering, which I shall order today. I downloaded it on my Kindle, but I plan to return to it because it deserves a rereading many times – – and I want to mark it in a way that the Kindle feature just isn’t the same. I see that the author has written other books as well, so I also had a note to try another one of hers, too. I’m making a note to call the library and see if they have a copy – – or can get one for me! Thank you, as always, for your kind comments.

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  13. Kim, this is lovely…the book review and the sense of calm I feel coming over me from reading your post. I am duck paddling through this season. I have no complaints–it’s all good and I’m grateful to be face to face with friends, colleagues, students and my beloved family. So, I will get to reading SJT posts as I can. I’ve just posted mine. https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you, Linda, for sharing your beautiful blog and poem. I left a comment there ~ and…. you have me enchanted by the tapping at the brain for a poem to be written. I have this image of a poem as a baby bird tapping at the eggshell to emerge into the world. Gorgeous imagery in the poem with color, scent, and taste. I need the magic of writing poems while I drive and want to find it.

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