What a great start to the morning -on my second cup of coffee, checking the third item off my to-do list, and accomplishing numerous jobs. I was a multitasking fiend, zipping along like a road runner.WHACK! Hitting myself on the side of the head I said out loud, “I forgot to pray this morning.”Each morning I try to start my day with the Lord. I sit quietly and praise him. I lift up my prayer concerns for family and friends and I read a devotional. Often I also journal where I feel God is leading me on my journey.Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But to be honest too often I dive into my day without first honoring God.WHACK!Do you watch NCIS? This favorite television show of mine shows the main character, Gibbs, frequently slapping Dinozzo, another agent, on the back of the head -a mild, loving head slap to redirect Dinozzo’s attention back to where it belongs. Gibbs administers tough love on his agents.WHACK!As soon as I realized I forgot God, I quit all the important, urgent items in front of … [Read more...]
EXUBERANT SPIRITUALITY
What does it mean to be exuberant? Ever hear a word you haven’t heard for awhile, then all of a sudden you hear it and see it everywhere? EXUBERANT!Exuberant means to be fruitful, joyful, uninhibitedly enthusiastic, lavishly abundant and abounding in vitality. Wouldn’t that be a glorious way to live?Kyla, pictured here, displays exuberance when she squeals with all her miniature might like a Jurassic Park baby dinosaur. Zeal erupts from her very center and her chubby arms and legs gush with unabashed enthusiasm in every lively direction. Her face radiates with an eagerness adults too soon lose.LESSON: Exuberance involves my whole beingMy online writers group – all five of us – are participating in the National Novel Writing Month or NANO for short. The web site: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ describes the process as exuberant imperfection.People free write 50,000 word novels during thirty days, though a few of us rebels write non-fiction. The idea is to just dig deep into our souls and … [Read more...]
Weekend Reflections on the Word of God – October 25, 2009
Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded … [Read more...]
“Don’t Use that Tone of Voice with your Mother, I mean God.”
I pray in the shower. I cannot believe I am telling you this, but I do pray in the shower. That may sound like a strange place for you, but I find the warm refreshing water a wonderful time to share my concerns with God.So there I stood the other day, starting off my day feeling good and just babbling away in my bubbles, telling God about all my concerns and just want I needed him to do. I even expressed my impatience and frustration at several prayers that he hadn’t gotten around to answering yet. Perhaps the echo in the shower stall or my vulnerable state magnified my words but suddenly I realize just WHO I was talking to. Yikes! My demanding tone of voice and obstinate attitude did not contain much worship, respect, fear or love for the Lord. I stopped.I could hear my mother’s voice rise from a deep memory, “Don’t use that tone of voice with me, young lady. Off to your room!”Then I think I heard God laugh. I asked him for his forgiveness for being so arrogant and disrespectful. And … [Read more...]
Spiritual Wisdom from a Six Foot, Three and Half Inch White Rabbit
Harvey – a great black and white movie starring Jimmy Stewart, is one of my favorites. Elwood P. Dowd’s best friend is a six foot, three and half inch invisible white rabbit who accompanies him throughout his day helping him. The movie also has some great spiritual lessons too:Ponder these delightful quotes from Elwood:"Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty-five years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it.""In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." “I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whoever I'm with.” “Harvey and I warm ourselves in these golden moments. We came as strangers - soon we have friends. They come over. They sit with us. They drink with us. They talk to us. They tell us about the great big terrible things they've done and the great big wonderful things they're going to do. Their hopes, their regrets. Their loves, their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings … [Read more...]
Weekend Reflections on the Word of God – October 18, 2009
Lectio Divina - a holy reading of the Bible slowly, savoring it, and enjoying it with the Lord – is the spiritual practice of sacred reading of the scriptures. The intention is not to learn or gain information but to deepen our relationship with God. St Benedict encourages us to “to listen with the ear of our hearts.”Join me once a week for Lectio Divina. I will share a verse and a word that spoke to my heart. Read and listen to the verses here. And gently ask God for a word or phrase that speaks to your heart for that day – that is what lectio means. Once we find that gift, we hold it, meditate, and savor its meaning. This step is called meditation.Then offer that word back to God in prayer or the third step of oratio. In prayer we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the word of God.Finally, we simply rest in the presence of the One who has used His word as a means of inviting us to accept His transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded … [Read more...]
Spiritual Priorities
Remember the old Abbot and Costello skit: “Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third...”I have been pondering that question lately: Who’s on first? Who is first in my life? I wish I could say God was all the time but to be honest, that is not always true.I heard a speaker last week, Rev, Dan Schrock, pastor of the Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen Indiana, speak about five attachments we cling to instead of God. Many of these affections are not bad, but just disordered. We hold onto them tightly, putting them in first place – a place reserved only for God. “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14.What takes the place of God as priorities in our hearts and lives?1. Physical objects – that new truck, our laptop, the home we have lived in for 22 years2. People – This could be a highly regarded mentor, a close friend and of course, our family3. Images of self – Being competent, your education, your job, … [Read more...]
Teresa of Avila – Perseverance in Prayer
Every life tells a story – a story rich with spiritual lessons. One spiritual practice I follow is learning about other Christians throughout church history and their spiritual journeys. Their lives fill me with hope, guidance and ways to draw closer to God.My faith tradition – Lutheran – has added to the worship and lectionary readings what they call commemorations – recognition of individuals or events that have been noteworthy in the life of the Church. Our Catholic friends have for centuries honored saints on certain festival days. What I am really enjoying is the expansion of the names on the Lutheran list to include people from all denominations. Periodically in this blog I will feature someone from this list, a brief biography, quotes, and inspiration from their life.Teresa of AvilaMany of you may never have heard of this woman who lived in the 1500s. We celebrate her day on October 15th. Teresa was born in Spain and at the age of fifteen, after her mother's death and the … [Read more...]