I facilitated a discussion about spirituality with two small groups last weekend at a synod wide educational event. We talked about many of the spiritual practices that open our hearts to God. The reality is we do nothing to make God come closer. He is here already. We just need to learn to let go and trust him. That reminded me of one of my favorite stories from Henri Nouwen. I shared it here on this blog a couple of years ago but seems the time is right to repeat it: “The Flying Rodleighs are trapeze artists who perform in the German circus Simoneit-Barum. When the circus came to Freiburg two years ago, my friends Franz and Reny invited me and my father to see the show. I will never forget how enraptured I became when I first saw the Rodleighs move through the air, flying and catching as elegant dancers.  The next day, I returned to the circus to see them again and introduced myself to them as one of their great fans. They invited me to attend their practice … [Read more...]

  INFJ on the Meyers-Briggs. Three on the Enneagram. Now that you know my inside secrets of my personality, please don't leave! Ha! I have always been fascinated by these personality profiles. While I don't want to be pigeonholed in some box of identify, I have gained insight and deeper self-knowledge by learning through these scales. Knowing myself better has helped me shed the false self - the masks I put on to appear what the world, others and even myself thought I should be.  I feel more comfortable in the skin of this true being, accepting my strengths and my flaws.    Knowing my "Achilles heel" has also been useful since I've learned the devil also know where he can sneak into my ego. Being aware of that has more than once opened my eyes early on to missteps and disbeliefs. “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and … [Read more...]

Who are you?  As a blogger I wondered who read these words I hurl into cyberspace four times a week. Thank you to all of you who took the time to give me some feedback and insight into who glances at my writings by filling out the survey I sent out a couple of weeks ago. How wonderful to meet you as a whole.One question generated a slew of interesting answers and remains one we probably all need to ponder.  What do you struggle with?I thought I would try to group some of the answers to share with you today and promise to bring many of them back to this space for our conversations in the future.One big struggle for many of us is finding time, keeping God as our first priority, and being consistent in spiritual practices.We also wrestle with trusting God, especially in times when he can't hear him and wonder if he is hearing us.Quite a few people mentioned their lack of self worth, and self-esteem, self-doubts, discouragement, alone-ness and knowing God/Jesus really loved them without … [Read more...]

    Researchers are identifying common ways to build more happiness in life. I recently read an article that listed ten ways to move towards more joy and was fascinated how simple and short these were. Here is the link to the full article about the 10 simple things you can do today that will make you happier, backed by science. Why do I want to make everything more complex and difficult? I have been pondering this and concluded I am really just seeking excuses. "Of course I would be happier if only I could do that impossible thing! But it is too hard so I will just stay here permanently in Whiney Ville and wallow in my sorrow." Here is the list and I think you will see just how simple these actions are: 1. Exercise more - 7 minutes may be enough. 2. Sleep more - you will less sensitive to negative emotions. 3.  Move closer to work - a short commute is worth more than a big house 4. Spend time with family and friends 5. Go outside. 6. Help others - 100 hours a … [Read more...]