O, friends—what a day. Pre-orders are now open for my book Recovering Racists: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming Our Humanity.

[ squeal !!!!! ] 

I am so excited and also facing all the fears. You are going to read my heart, my deepest shame, my wrestling with identity and also the humble journey of beautiful liberation that comes with  saying, I am a Recovering Racist.

This journey has taken 30+ years and it continues, of course. I am so humbled.

Releasing Spring 2022.

Pre-order yours from your favourite book sellers:

In the United States:

Baker Book House

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christianbook

Books-A-Million

Hearts & Minds

In Canada:

Amazon.ca

International Orders:

Book Depository

The post Recovering Racists: Pre-Order is Now Open appeared first on idelette.

Hi friends, I’ve opened up a few slots in January to walk with and accompany any of you who might want a listening and discerning ear to help you with your One Word for 2022. Perhaps you need a little encouragement for your One Word journey? Or a few new tools to spice up your process?

Choosing a One Word is a sacred practice for me.  I’ve done it publicly since 2011 and privately for long before that. In fact, I remember choosing my first One Word in 2003 on New Year’s Eve in our living room. Gabi was a baby. I remember it was the word “Light.” I sensed an invitation—not so much out of darkness, but away from a heaviness.

It was an invitation to Liberation, indeed.

Since then I’ve had words like:

Roar
Flow
Exponential

One of my favorite words was: Systems.

When I first realized “Systems” might be my One Word that year, I knew it would ask of me to expand and grow in new ways. It was quite the word for a creative; but exactly the One Word I needed at the time. It was a profound invitation to Liberation that year.

Last year, my One Word was Fire. And I am still reflecting on all that it did in me.

A few years ago, I wrote a workbook to try and capture my process. My process is intuitive and yet, there are questions to ask, things to do, a process to follow.

I would be honored to accompany you as you listen for you One Word or to walk with you as you discern or hone your One Word this year.

If you book a one-hour session with me, I’ll also send you the workbook. I am also happy to share some other resources I have used to guide me on my journey. I would also love to check back in with you mid-year and at the end of the year. (See options below.)

I would be honored to listen with you for your Sacred Invitation into this new year and as it unfolds in you.

2 STEPS to MAKE THIS HAPPEN

1. Pay for your one-hour session (clicking on the image will take you to Paypal) (Cost is US$60) 

2. Schedule your first time slot here (clicking on image will take you to Calendly):

{ Please note: if you are in a timezone in which these time slots might not make sense, I will do my best to accommodate you. Please simply email me. }

WANT TO GO DEEPER? 

If you’d like to continue your journey, you can also book:

• a mid-year check-in with me
• an end-of-the-year check-in with me.

If you book 3 One Word sessions now, the rate is $150.

If you book 2 One Word sessions now, the rate is $110.

I am so looking forward to walking with you. Journeying with a One Word has been such a rich tool for me and I would love for you, too, to experience it in a transformative way this year.

The post One Word 2022: May I Listen and Discern With You? appeared first on idelette.

FIND THE ANCIENT PATH

Our path
Isn’t our path
Until it connects us
To that Ancient Route
Of meaning and purpose,
carrying treasures
And stories
Across generations
And continents.

Our path isn’t our path
Until we find the Ancient Route
Calling us to
Wholeness
love
Water
life.

Find this Ancient Path
And we become pilgrims—
Seekers and finders—
together.

May you walk your path with courage
May you know the Ancient Path
Of Meaning and Love
May we become the soul of the world.

—Idelette McVicker

I wrote this blessing for the International Women’s Day celebration in West Vancouver, March 2020. It is my heart for all of us.

The post Find the Ancient Path (A Blessing) appeared first on idelette.

That you may find an invitation
And a room with a red couch.
A place where lights are dimmed, candles are lit and it’s well known that this is a sacred space.
That you may find a place where there’s a cup of warmth in winter
and refreshment in summer.
That you may find what you like:
a big pot of tea with vanilla rooibos, or oolong or earl grey.
A glass of water.
That you may find the kettle that boils until everyone has enough of what she needs.

That you may find the place with the open door and the welcome.
That you may find the hug at the door and the knowing that your presence matters here.
That you may feel seen, also for the courage it takes to show up.
That you may find the place where you have been prayed for … and where you are prayed for.
That you may find the place where there is no secular and sacred. Only sacred.
And where there is thanks for the blessing of being together.

That you may find the place where your heart fits and your feet rest.
That you may find the place where you can exhale and speak from your heart.
That you may find the place where you listen as you are listened to.
That you may find comfort for your soul.

That you may find an invitation into the mystery of belonging.
That you may find the place that asks you to show up and be authentic and the place that meets you right where you’re at and says, You’re welcome here.
That you may seek and that you may find
That you may sink your roots deep into the soil and become planted by a river of Life.

That you will keep meeting together
That you will keep showing up
That you may become stronger, sturdier, wiser, more of yourself.
That you may bear fruit in season.

That you may take off your shoes and let go of distractions
That you may shed what needs shedding
That you may be fully present.
That you may find the connection you crave and enjoy the blessing of belonging.

That you may know your belonging to the One who Loves you first, and then the belonging to each other.
That you may know your belonging to something larger than yourself.
That you may recognize the Sisterhood that both nurtures you and needs you.

That you may know the God who has gone ahead and prepared a place for you.
That you may find that place.
And that we, your sisters, may find our place of belonging right alongside you.

The post A BLESSING FOR BELONGING appeared first on idelette.

What is that old flag doing in his hands?

The punch in my gut also brought the tears.

Today I weep for and with the people of Charleston. The more I think about the one who held that old flag, the more I want to shout, You don’t get to speak for our Humanity!

Racism, you don’t get to win. Even on days like today when it feels like it could.

Lord Jesus, help us.

So, to the one bearing that old South African flag:

You don’t speak for me. You don’t speak for my white skin or even for every white body that lived under that old flag.

You speak for Fear.
You speak for Evil.
You speak for Supremacy.
Not Humanity.

You speak for small and tight and white.
Not Freedom.

You don’t speak for me.

You may have a white skin, but you are not my brother.

My brothers and sisters are the ones who sat in that prayer meeting on a Wednesday night.
My brothers and sisters are the ones who are weeping at the injustice of your hatred.

My brothers and sisters are the ones who will keep going to church, who will keep worshiping the God of all nations, who will keep walking through the barriers and boundaries, in spite of so much hurting.

My brothers and sisters are the ones who keep rising against racism, keep lifting against oppression and keep leaning against inequality.

My brothers and sisters are the ones who keep choosing Love.

Stop speaking with your gun and your violence.
Stop speaking with your Fear and your intolerance.
Stop speaking with your skin.

White is not a language.
White is not even a future.
White is not a thread that ties us together.
Humanity is.

So, enough already.
Enough. Enough. Enough.

The post White is Not a Language appeared first on idelette.

I was contacted by an Afrikaans Christian magazine in South Africa today, asking permission to publish an excerpt of the Manifesto (Let Us Be Women Who Love) in their November issue. They’ve taken the initiative to translate the excerpt into Afrikaans. They did a good job of translating the words.

But my heart was raised in Afrikaans; it’s the language of my mother and my grandmothers. So much of that Manifesto is out of my story as an Afrikaner woman and how God has moulded and shaped my heart.

So, this morning I tried to catch the spirit of Let Us Be Women Who Love and express it in Afrikaans. In my own words. It’s not the complete version, but it’s a start.

Any Afrikaans readers out there? I would love to hear your input, especially because that very first line “Let Us Be Women Who Love” is so tricky to translate. I chose to go with a different take, to still convey the essence, but also this sense of “let us.”

Here goes:

Kom Laat Ons Liefhê

Kom laat ons liefhê.
Kom ons lê ons swaarde neer, ons skerp woorde en flitsende oë en die manier waarop ons somtyds neersien op ander.
Kom ons erken ons onkunde en ons onbarmhartige stilte teen die druising van ongeregtigheid.
Kom ons vul die aarde nou eerder met Liefde in oorvloed.

Kom ons gooi ons hart se deure oop en sprei ons arms wyd vir ‘n eerlike omhelsing gevul met hemelse glorie.
Kom ons dra mekaar, soos susters.
Kom ons gee uit ons oorvloed.
Kom ons staan vas en strek wanneer dit moeilik raak en kom ons doen wat nood van ons vra.
Kom laat ons liefhê.

Kom ons bou ‘n laer vir Vrede.
Kom ons asem Hoop net soos suurstof
Kom ons maak hierdie wereld mooi
Mooi met die liefde wat uit ons harte straal.
Kom laat ons liefhê

Mag ons lewe ‘n tempel wees waar God woon.
Ons hart ‘n tuin vir brose siele en ook
‘n baarmoeder vir nuwe Lewe.
Kom ons dek ‘n tafel en nooi die wereld uit om te kom eet van die goedheid van God.
Kom laat ons liefhê.

__________________

Of course, writing this filled me with tears. My cry of my heart and my heart language get to meet here.

__________________

Another option for that first line could be: Kom ons lewe uit die Liefde

Any other suggestions?

Much Love,

idelette

xoxo

Image credit: Sarah Joslyn

The post Let Us Be Women Who Love: In Afrikaans? appeared first on idelette.

I mourn for Michael Brown

My heart is broken,
shattered even,
but not as broken and shattered
as his body
spilled out onto the streets of Ferguson.

One more life was taken.
A life that crossed a road,
raised hands
and surrendered
and yet, misunderstood
judged
killed
before his moment to make his case.

Before he could speak the Life and the hope and the future that also pulsed inside of him.

I mourn for the humanity that was not seen
for the story shot short
I mourn for the message spoken,
over and over again,
that some lives matter more than others.

Lord, forgive us.

Our world is broken
and your Kingdom hasn’t come,
not on this street.

Where I am a participant in the brokenness
and not the healing,
forgive me, Lord.

A son,
his blood
spilled
onto the streets of Ferguson,
into the story of slavery
and oppression.
His blood spilled onto the pain of
inequality
and fear.

Lord, forgive us.

One more son is just too much.
Too much, God.
One more son or daughter
too much,
every time.
Too much.

How can we not see that we are one human family?
How can we not see that Michael Brown is our brother,
our son?

May his blood speak.
May his blood never be in vain.

Michael Brown, we speak your name.

On this day when his body is laid to rest,
May his blood
that was spilled
cry out for peace.

May peace rise into
the streets of Ferguson
and the hearts of Your people.

May his blood rise up to meet us
in our history of oppression
and our story of segregation.

Forgive us, Lord,
for we know that what we do.

May your son, Michael Brown, rest in peace,
but may his story always speak.

_______________

Image credit: Roberto Verzo

The post A Lament for Michael Brown appeared first on idelette.

I have found You
and You are Beautiful, o God.
O, Life.
O, Strength.
O, Light.

Teach me Your ways every day,
take me to the expanses
the utmost corners of
Your heart.

My life is packed.
I’m ready,
now.

Take me, guide me, fling me wide
open
scatter me like stars
in the Point Roberts sky
to the places
needing Light and Love and warmth.

Take these words
and make them
fire.

The post Ablaze [ A Prayer ] appeared first on idelette.

I sent her off to her first sleepover with my old-ish, blue sleeping bag.

It’s the sleeping bag we bought at Cape Union Mart in Cape Town aeons ago, preparing for my first trip to Germany.

I was 16.

She’s 8 and she’s excited. She’s been preparing for two days for this sleepover. And her friend’s mom asked that we bring a sleeping bag.

So, there it is, bundled into the back of the van, along with her zebra and pink suitcase and pillow pet.

I got to drive her to school this morning. The other four wanted to take the bus, so I was happy for the two of us to have some time by ourselves. I make sure she knows our phone numbers and how to dial. We talk about safety. Again.

Just yesterday I read in a book that we need to tell our children more stories about where they come from. How they belong.

“The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.” –The Secrets of Happy Families

The blue sleeping bag, I think. I need to tell her about the blue sleeping bag.

Did you know that was Mommy’s sleeping bag?

She knew.

I tell her how it traveled with me on my first overseas adventure to Germany.

I tell her how it traveled with me to Taiwan.

It’s made for big adventures!

She laughs.

And then I tell her about the night I packed up my stuff in Taipei and left my boyfriend and piled my backpack and this same blue sleeping bag on the back of my scooter and went to find a safe place to sleep.

I found a bunkbed in in a hostel down near the city center. Me and that blue sleeping bag.

She asks many questions and I wonder, Maybe I said too much, especially right before school?

We talk about how it’s never ok for men to hit women, or women to hit men.

But I want her to know what lines the walls of our family story. How not everything about our story is always rosy or easy or fun. How sometimes you crumble down a set of stairs and then you take what you have and you find a safe place and a blue sleeping bag to sleep in.

And how God can take that moment and turn it into where we are now.

It comforts her. Gives her courage.

I see it on her face.

_______________

This is my first time to post a Five-minute Friday creation on my blog. I am new to this and new to the fun prompt created by fellow lioness Lisa-Jo Baker.

The post That Old Blue Sleeping Bag is Story #FMF appeared first on idelette.

As I work on the book proposal, I asked myself this question today: What do I want to read in a book?

Here’s what I scribbled in pencil on white paper at my desk this morning:

In reading this, I want to become more of myself.

In reading this, I want to gather up the pieces of my life and see them as valuable, not wasted. I want to see them as Jesus sees them–through eyes of wholeness and Love. I want to remember that it’s not too little and not too late.

In reading, I want to expand in how I see my story–even the shame parts–and how it makes me who I am today.

I want to feel vast, larger, more connected with the God of the universe and the people of the earth.

I also want to feel the earth underneath my bare feet, like I am connected, deeply connected, to my place, here and now.

In one of my conversations at my desk in my room in Taipei, more than a decade ago, I said to Spirit: I want to know how it all fits together.

Audacious? Yes. But something I am still hungry for. I like to see the whole. The big picture. Perhaps I believe that, in seeing the whole, I can see more of my part in it.

I want to put down the book and feel more of that.

I want to read something that gives me glimpses into how Life works. Good, flourishing, Spirit life. Tree-planted-by-the-river life.

Something that says to me, I’m not wrong for dreaming Big. That little idea—the one that won’t go away–and the myriad of thoughts inside me, they have worth. I am not deluded.

Something that says, Dreamers + Doers unite.

Nobody wins until we all do.*

And: Women of the world, we’re all in this together.

I hope these very things I am wanting to read, will accompany me as I write through this project … as ideas become words and words become sentences and sentences become a whole big idea again.

__________________

MAY I?

I’d love to know: What would YOU like to read? What book or feeling or idea would you like to read that you haven’t read yet? (Is this something you need to write, perhaps?)

What would you like to read in my writing?

___________________

* That line is from a workshop I attended in Taiwan, called Business & You by David Neenan, based on much of the work of Buckminster Fuller.

The post What Do I Want to Read in This Book? appeared first on idelette.