In what will be a recurring exercise, we will take Monday to memorize a passage of scripture. This week our passage is Paul’s classic portrait of the Christian life in Romans 12:9-21. Write this passage on a note card or print it off–find some way that works for you to keep the scripture with you wherever you go. During any down time in the day, look at the passage and memorize it. There are several apps for smart phone users... Read more
Sunday for Christians is always a feast, just as Friday is traditionally always a fast–each week, through our eating, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. On Friday we ate nothing, as we realized the emptiness of a world without Jesus, but now on Sunday we celebrate as though it is a wedding feast and the happy couple have arrived. So eat something sweet, drink a little, eat for happiness as much as health. We Christians are not known enough for... Read more
Sit in silence for five minutes and think about what you are most thankful for. Then give thanks for five things, giving 1 minute to each. Read more
Eat no food until 5PM. Fasting is critical for two primary reasons–to tame our desires and to reorient our hungers. Spend the time you would spend at mealtimes focused on reorienting your hunger toward God. Ask God to tame the addictions of your heart and to focus instead on finding fulfillment within the good things of God. Read more
Place yourself before God. Admit you don’t know. Ask that God will guide you even in your ignorance, that God’s knowledge will be sufficient. Spend ten minutes in this prayer stance. Read more
Solitude can be difficult to find, whether we are around people or lost in loneliness. Solitude is a stance more than a situation–it is a way of being alone before God, unarmed with all of our protections. Being alone is only the easiest way to get to this stance, but it is not the stance itself. Today, seek solitude. This could be best achieved by finding some space and time away from others so that you can focus on being... Read more
There is a long tradition within monasticism and Christian asceticism of waking to pray in the middle of the night. Some argue that an interruption to our sleep in the middle of the night is natural, that eight solid hours is a modern invention after we extended our bedtimes far past the onset of darkness. Whatever the case, waking to pray in the middle of the night can be an incredibly peaceful experience of unique time with God. Tonight, set up a... Read more
The clutter of our stuff often reflects the clutter of our souls. Clear your stuff away to create space for God. Begin with one shelf, one desk, one cabinet or closet. Read more
Go for an early morning or evening walk. Delight in the creation and “rest in the grace of the world.” “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry Read more
The shootings in Colorado, call us again to face what we can only call the Unspeakable. To name it gives it shape, to fight it definition, when in fact we are up against the borders of being–the abyss that eats away at the Good creation God has given. Our only response can be the response of our ancestors in the faith–to lament. In lament we mourn, we do not answer, we do not reason, we do not try to make sense of... Read more
Word + Flesh
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