How do we find or make the time for God? Too often I let busyness distract me or allow my to-do list and calendar to control my day. This sounds horrible, but I find there are times I am just too preoccupied with things of the world and not of God. After many of you completed the survey here last fall, I realized I wasn't alone with this struggle. Charles E. Hummel observed, “We realize our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess: We have left undone those things that ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.” Or, as a cotton mill manager once told him, "Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important." I think it is ironic that we find that we have little time in our lives for the One who created and gave us our time. Many of us want to take some time out for God, but somehow we never quite get there. So how do we spend more time with God? I've been … [Read more...]
Feeding the Mind and Heart for a Healthy Spirituality
A healthy spirituality balances the nourishing of the mind, heart and spirit. The spiritual practice of reading and studying is one habit that feeds us and keeps us going. Holidays and the days when we end one year and launch into another can be crazy and chaotic, but I did find a few segments of quiet time to read. I hungered for moments of solitude to rest my soul and to feed my spirit with God's word and what others write about our experience with God. I thought today I would share what I read the end of the year. 1. Nelson's Annual Preachers' Sourcebook - I received this huge resource from Thomas Nelson in exchange for a book review. I am under no obligation to give it a good review so this is my honest opinion. As a newly commissioned Associate in Ministry at my church I am thrilled to add this to my bookshelf. This book gives sermon outline for weekly and special occasions. It is full of lots of ideas for when writers presenters' block pop up. What I really like … [Read more...]
This is my Son, the Beloved, with Whom I am Well Pleased – Lectio Divina
This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3: 17 Lord help me remember my baptism. Every morning when I arise, may I feel the mark of the cross on my heart, claiming me as your child Remind me that every breath contains your Holy Spirit, filling me with life. Prompt me to hear you as you guide my steps that I may follow only your path Soften my heart so I recognize the things that break your heart. Provide your life-giving water to my dried soul. Fill me with courage to risk all for you and to give all to you. Only through you, Lord, will I find the rest for my deep longing. Remembering my baptism each day, knowing who I belong to, and experiencing your loving guidance, I know someday I too will hear you call me "your Beloved, with whom I am will pleased." … [Read more...]
You Alone – Prayer of the Week – Thomas Merton
Give me the strength that waits upon you in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens. Possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for You alone. Thomas Merton … [Read more...]
Polar Vortex – Spiritual Vortex
The harsh winter weather in North American introduced a new phrase into our vocabulary - polar vortex. The meteorologists loved to say those words over and over again to describe the dramatic rush of snow, wind and cold blanketing this part of the world. January can be cold here, but not this frigid. A polar vortex is super cold air that whirls around the Arctic. Occasionally this mass changes course and comes south to regions it normally doesn't visit. I found the words to describe this weather system interesting: lopsided, distorted, intense, turbulent, and even dangerous. A vortex is a whirling spiral of motion around a center like the water spinning down the drain of the bathtub. Once formed, vortices don't keep neat circles, but can move, stretch, twist, and interact in complex ways. A vortex seems pretty chaotic, unpredictable and ever changing to me. Mmmm, that sort of sounds like life, doesn't it? The metaphor of a spiral is often used to describe … [Read more...]
2014 Point of View
I have been pondering my point of view today. Northwest Ohio is experiencing a bitterly cold start to the New Year - snow upon snow, winds more than 40 mph and wind chills minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I only can see harsh winter from my office window. Yet a week ago I walked without a jacket in the Miami sun, cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes at the Orange Bowl. Quite a different perspective. Many of you live in warmer climates. I know some of you live in other countries where it is summer, not winter. Just because I only see miserable winter weather doesn't mean that is the only point of view. Practicing Critical Awareness I am rereading Brene Brown's wonderful book, The Gifts of Imperfection (more on her writing on Thursday's post). She has this quote: "It's in our biology to trust what we see with our eyes. This makes living in a carefully edited, overproduced, and Photoshopped world very dangerous. if we want to cultivate a resilient sprit and stop fall prey to … [Read more...]
Finish Well – Lectio Divina
So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 (The Message) Every year, Lord, I start with a bang of enthusiasm, launching new goals and plans for the coming year. I ask you for your blessing and guidance on each year’s new beginning. But this verse in this unique translation stopped me cold. “Finish what you started last year” shouted to my heart and shook my good intentions into the light of day. What does this mean, Lord? I recognize the sound of your quiet whisper and am aware of your touch upon my spirit. I feel your nudge - “look again upon 2013 - finish what you have started.” I want to close the door on 2013. I want to move onto the fresh newness of … [Read more...]
Open the Book on the New Year – Quote of the Week
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. - Edith Lovejoy Pierce … [Read more...]