Imagine that you have a beautiful crystal vase. When you put it in a sunny window, the light streams through, breaking into dancing rainbows. What delight! But as time passes, you notice that the rainbows are faint, or disappearing altogether. Your vase is getting dirty. It needs cleaning so the rainbows can dance again. The…
Category: A Faith in Process
Notes from the Journey
Making Space
How can I detach from Chronos long enough to make room for more Kairos? I think the answer lies in those basic Spiritual Disciplines. ********** Solitude: making space around myself.When people are around, I focus on them. To hear God, I need to be alone. Solitude is a choice to disconnect from my surroundings and…
Being Present
“The average person looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness and talks without thinking.” Leonardo da Vinci Author Joan Chittister tells the following story of a conversation between a wise one and their disciple: “Where shall I look for enlightenment?” the disciple asked.“Here,” the wise one…
Two Views of Time
“Chronos (croh’-nohs) is sequential time. The Bible speaks to Chronos when it says, Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 NIV We are hyper-aware of Chronos. We hear, “Don’t waste time”, “Time waits for no one”, “Time is of the essence”, and “Time is money,” and…
I Will Not Hurry
************ As the Sunday feast approaches, let’s think about rest. On the 6th day, God created human beings:So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!And evening passed…
“Slowing”
Jesus had no clock or calendar in the wilderness. No appointments to keep. No responsibilities to discharge. Nowhere else He had to be. Nothing to do except be present with His Father. Does that sound as good to you as it does to me? Sometimes it seems that our whole world has gone Through the…
Secrecy
We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ days in the wilderness. Only 6 verses mention it (Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2) outside of the temptation. All we know is: 40 days and nights, fasting, very hungry, tempted. Apparently, that is all we need to know. The rest was between Jesus and His Father. Jesus…
Simple Charity
Yesterday, I wrote at length about a refrigerator that doesn’t function the way I want. I said that it was a simplification for me to just drink tap water. That is not completely true. I am greatly blessed to have clean, available tap water. That is not true in places like Africa, Flint, Michigan or…
Simplicity
One thing Jesus encountered in the wilderness was simplicity. There were no distractions, no complications. Just nature, and God. Nothing else was needed. Nothing else was wanted. ********** Not that life was simple in those days. An agrarian society was at the mercy of nature. Poverty and slavery were rampant. The Jews were suffering under…
“Centering”
The Quakers have a tradition called “Centering,” also known as “Palms up, palms down.” It is similar to the steps I posted on Saturday, consisting of Release, Receive and Rest. PREPARE*Sit comfortably, with your hands resting on your lap. *Gently notice your breathing as you become still. RELEASE YOUR BURDENS*Turn your palms down and allow yourself…