Everyone has the gift of creativity. We just express creativity in different ways. All children are born oozing with curiosity and creativity. As adults we need to coax that childlike inventiveness out of its hidden corner. Some people excel in the kitchen. Some garden. Some tackle complex computer problems and get lost in the world of numbers and equations. Some take their ingenuity to work with broken people. Some of us nurture creativity in others. Some of us are painters or poets or potters. And some of us write – creating with words and crafting with letters and our tools of ink and computer clicks. “Every day is an opportunity to be creative – the canvas is your mind, the brushes and colours are your thoughts and feelings, the panorama is your story, the complete picture is a work of art called, ‘my life’. Be careful what you put on the canvas of your mind today – it matters.” — Innerspace I just finished reading a wonderful book by Robert Benson called … [Read more...]
Living the Questions
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Rilke I used to more uncomfortable with uncertainty. That tension between knowing and the living in the gray area of unknowing. I used to seek the supremacy of feeling you are in control, having your act together, wearing the prettiest mask. What happen to curiosity? To taking the risk to ask questions you know you won’t be able to answer for a long time, if ever? To not know and to question and live with hazy vagueness? I know I am not the only one who recognizes as life goes on, we don’t have the answers and the only real path to growth … [Read more...]
Chasing Francis
I am a non-fiction book fanatic. Rarely do I read fiction but just finished and really liked a unique novel called Chasing Francis – A Pilgrim’s Tale by Ina Morgan Cron. This is a story about a minister who faces a faith crisis, questioning everything he had promoted and believed. Taking a leave of absence he visits his cousin who is a Franciscan monk in Italy and embarks on a life changing pilgrimage. The history of St Francis and the basic beliefs of that order is woven into the main character’s search for answers. What a unique way to introduce readers to St Francis and to showcase his relevance for Christians today. Though the story obviously moves in such a way to give the reader all of the foundational information, it also gives us challenges to consider St Francis relevance in the 21st century church. Towards the end of the book, the main characters says, When I left here, I wasn't sure what a Christian looked like anymore. My idea of what it meant to follow Jesus had … [Read more...]
What I Am Reading in July
What books am I reading right now? One of my blogger friends, Lisa, shares this each month and I usually find a good book to add to my stack to read from her list – check out her books. I did find these great sayings about reading too from the Reading Room’s facebook page: Here what’s calling me this month: Chasing Francis – by Ian Morgan Cron. Lessons from St Francis to apply to today’s Christian walk that can be filled with doubt. Essentialism – By Greg McKeown – Lesson in pursuing less in life. I know I need help – once again – is subtracting, not adding to my to-do list. How do I pick what is essential in life? Hopefully this book will give me some ideas. No Problem – An Inner Workshop – By Robert Wicks. I love his writing and this words always make me think. In the past I have underlined so many passages in his books. This one is about turning the next corner in spiritual life. The New Spiritual Exercises – By Louis Savary. One of my spiritual … [Read more...]
Spiritual Whitespace – Book Review
Ready for a rest? Tired of fighting yourself? Find some whitespace in your life. I just finished reading Finding Spiritual Whitespace – Awakening your Soul to Rest by Bonnie Gray. Whitespace isn’t just blank – it is space in art or on a page that left white adds beauty. “Spiritual whitespace make room – room in our hearts for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God, room in our lives for rest, room in our souls for rejuvenation. This hunger for beauty, for space for the soul to breath, resides within each of us.” I liked this book for quite a few reasons. One: the practical questions and guidance at the end of each chapter. A reader could journal on their own or discuss in a small group. This is a book I read straight through but now want to reread slowly and journal after each chapter. A book to enjoy twice. Two: Great inspirational quotes to help guide us deeper into the concept of creating space and rest for God. Three: Bonnie’s honest, raw and at time … [Read more...]
The God Box by Mary Lou Quinlan
Do you have a God Box? Mary Lou Quinlan wrote a memoir about her mother titled “The God Box – Sharing my Mother’s Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go.” Keeping a God Box is a wonderful spiritual practice I just added to my routine. The God Box is any box where you keep handwritten notes/prayers to God. No fancy paper or pen, no lavish words, no long theological petitions – just simple prayers scribbled to God for everyday concerns and thanks. Quinlan writes that the only caveat to her mother’s practice was once she put the request in the box, it became God’s. “If you think you can handle it better than God, it’s coming out,” her mom would tell her family. What a way to give hope, comfort and the relief in letting go of the gunk we keep inside our hearts way too often. Her mom’s requests were simple and always dated. “Dear God, Please make my right ankle stop hurting, Love Mary. “ “Protect Jack in decisions about his job. Thank you for all your blessings. Love Mary.” After … [Read more...]
The Chronological Bible – A Fantastic Bible Study Tool
Ever read a chronological Bible? I’ve seen them, but never really dug into their pages before until now. I had the chance to review the NIV Chronologic Study Bible from Thomas Nelson and jumped at the chance. A chronological Bible lists the events in the order that they actually occurred. I really like this Bible. Now I must tell you at first the order of the books is jarring if you know the traditional table of contents of God’s word. Finding a verse or even a whole book was disorienting. I had to study the study bible to understand its arrangement. I quickly learned to watch the top of each page for the year and passage reference. For example don’t open to the middle to find the book of Psalms. The psalms were written over a span of many years so you will find Psalm 90 in the middle Deuteronomy. They are scattered throughout other books. The four gospels are merged into one reading – as aspect I really like. You see the scripture in a whole new perspective reading the words in … [Read more...]
Favorite Quotes from Spiritual Misfit by Michelle DeRusha
As I wrote on Tuesday, I really like Michelle DeRusha’s new book, Spiritual Misfit. She openly shares her struggle with her faith in a real and honest way. Her words remind me of an incident I experienced in a Sunday School Class a few years ago. We were studying different people of the Bible. I mentioned the old song “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” and how the whole story of Joshua being obedient to walk about the walls of Jericho seven times always spoke to me. The message in this story reminds me that my job is to obey God, so God could do his job of removing walls. God wins the battle; my assignment is to be faithful. One of the other participants responded quietly that she didn’t know that song and had no idea what story I was talking about. You see, she didn’t grow up in the church and didn’t know the lessons from the Bible like I did. I didn’t mean to intimidate her and she didn’t take it that way. She was just being honest and reacting to my comment from a very real … [Read more...]