Therefore, my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.” Psalm 30:12I will give you thanks forever.Lord, the more I offer you my thanks and praise, the more I see the depth of Your blessings.Lord, the more I pay attention to Your gifts, the more words of thankfulness burst from my heart.Lord, the more I dig though the mud and muck of life, I find Your treasures and nuggets of love surrounding me.Lord, the more I try to express my gratitude to You with inadequate expressions, the more I fall before you with wordless tears.Lord, I will give you thanks forever. … [Read more...]
Praying – Exploring Different Types of Prayers – Thankfulness
How do you pray? Often my prayers slip into comfortable routines, predictable patterns, yet prayer is all around us – like our breath. So many different ways to talk with God are waiting to explore. The following is a part of a three-week series on prayer and its many forms. Come explore with me ways to address God when words are inadequate and let’s get to know God better by spending time with Him.The more I pray with thankfulness, the more I realize the power in gratitude. I have read that love and gratitude are the two most powerful emotions for humans.“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister EckhartWe are taught from childhood to say thank you, but as I get older I have discovered I never can fully thank God enough for all the blessings from Him.Each night before sleep I pause and review the day: What am I most grateful for and what am I the least grateful for?To be honest when I first began this form of prayer, I expected … [Read more...]
Praying – Exploring Different Types of Prayers – Simple Prayer
How do you pray? Often my prayers slip into comfortable routines, predictable patterns, yet prayer is all around us – like our breath. So many different ways to talk with God are waiting to explore. The following is a part of a three-week series on prayer and its many forms. Come explore with me ways to address God when words are inadequate and let’s get to know God better by spending time with Him.We make prayer too complicated and difficult at times. God wants us as we are – coming to Him in open honesty, with our defenses down and our ego set aside. I like what C. S. Lewis wrote, “The prayer preceding all prayers is ‘May it be the real I who speak. May it be the real Thou that I speak to.’”Simple prayer is coming to God just as we are, with all our faults, problems, and imperfections. We tell God how frustrated we are, angry or discouraged. Richard Foster says, “Sometimes this prayer is called the Prayer of Beginning Again.”We are not alone with praying this way. The Bible is … [Read more...]
God Can Do All Things – Lectio Divina
I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2You can do all thingsAll things, Lord.You can do all things – even what the ones I think are overwhelming and impossible. You can do all things – even the unattainable that the world shouts, “It’s out of the question.” You can do all things – restoring hope for our bleak circumstancesYou can do all things – whatever is Your will, will be done.Why do I doubt you?Why do I fear?Why do I hesitate to fall fully into Your more than capable arms?Once again I return to you with gratefulness and only through Your grace and mercy and place my trust in my God, my Creator, who can do all things.All things.All. … [Read more...]
Praying – Exploring Different Types of Prayers – Breath Prayers
How do you pray? Often my prayers slip into comfortable routines, predictable patterns, yet prayer is all around us – like our breath. So many different ways to talk with God are waiting to explore. The following is a part of a three-week series on prayer and its many forms. Come explore with me ways to address God when words are inadequate and let’s get to know God better by spending time with Him.The Bibles teaches us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) How do we do this?One type of prayer that has helped Christians across the ages to fulfill this command is the breath prayerA breath prayer is a very short prayer that can be said in one breath and repeated throughout the day. It is an ancient form of prayer, found in writings as early as the second century. The prayer communicates a sense of nearness with trust and dependency on God.Perhaps the best-known breath prayer is called the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." This … [Read more...]
Praying – Exploring Different Types of Prayers – Prayer Quotes
How do you pray? Often my prayers slip into comfortable routines, predictable patterns, yet prayer is all around us – like our breath. So many different ways to talk with God are waiting to explore. The following is a part of a three-week series on prayer and its many forms. Come explore with me ways to address God when words are inadequate and let’s get to know God better by spending time with Him.What is prayer?Prayer has been defined in many ways. Here are a few great quotes describing prayer to start our series:“True, whole prayer is nothing but love.” St. Augustine“A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening.” Soren Kierkegaard“Prayer fastens the soul to God.” Julian of Norwich“For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.” Saint Teresa"To pray is to work, to work is to pray." Motto of the Benedictine Order"Praying is simply a two-way … [Read more...]
Giving God my Entire Attention – Lectio Divina
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6:34 (The Message)Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now.My entire attention? You want it all? But I am so good at multi-tasking God. Couldn’t I just sort of listen, kind of pray, and pretend to fully love you and continue to work on my all important to-do list, cling to my worries, and fiddle with what I think is best for me?My entire attention? What would that feel like? Would it hurt me that much to let go of my ego and fully dive into Your presence?My entire attention? Divert my eyes from what I think is important – the shiny, the urgent, the busyness jumping up and down demanding my time? Look closely for You, Lord? My entire attention? If I did that I would have to let go of old habits, worldly desires, and comfortable ways. You may ask me to … [Read more...]
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite writers. An internationally renowned priest and author, respected professor and beloved pastor, Henri Nouwen wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life. Born in Nijkerk, Holland, on January 24, 1932, Nouwen felt called to the priesthood at a very young age. He was ordained in 1957 as a diocesan priest and studied psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. In 1964 he moved to the United States to study at the Menninger Clinic. He went on to teach at the University of Notre Dame, and the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard. For several months during the 1970s, Nouwen lived and worked with the Trappist monks in the Abbey of the Genesee, and in the early 1980s he lived with the poor in Peru. In 1985 he was called to join L’Arche in Trosly, France, the first of over 100 communities founded by Jean Vanier where people with developmental disabilities live with assistants. A year later Nouwen came to make his home at L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, … [Read more...]