Ruth ... Chapter 4..... This was a long chapter and I wish I had posted in sections so I would remember more of the details. I enjoyed reading about St. Teresa's mansions. i had heard about them but did not know much more than that... except for hearing of the "dark"night which sounded like something I wanted to avoid. ...... I really appreciated the overview. If and when I read St. Teresa's books I will appreciate them more for having this overview. I liked reading about the levels of prayer to a point but when it got into the mansions I began to question if I would rather just experience rather than analyze. It is kind of like finding a spouse. Did I want to read books about finding a spouse or did I just hope it would happen.(Fortunately it did.) Do I want to strive toward those levels of prayer or just strive to love and serve the Lord with my whole being and go from there? ..... Those were some of my thoughts about the manions. Yet if I should be graced with some of the experiences it will be nice to know what is going on..... .... On page 126 I really related to the following. "....our life, in the fullest sense of the word, is a developing relationship with God and a journey toward Him. We cannot describe our life without describing our pryaer, nor can we describe our prayer without describing our manner of living. Our personal expression of life is characterized in our interior prayer as well as in our exterior "prayer", which is our manner of living. Our prayer, and our way of living, are two expressions of one relationship with God. ... God enables us to grow toward Him in stages" Amen... I like that because I can grab onto it. This book is challenging me to go deeper into prayer and the Lord, for a long time now, has been calling me to spend more time with Him in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I could not have done this when the kids were young but now I am blessed and have no excuse except for lack of discipline. Let us pray for each other that we "go deeper" but always staying aware of our state in life and the responsibilities the Lord entrust us with. Together we all "strive for the fullness of life with God." Many blessings.... Ruth