Friday, December 30, 2016

Being alone is good; being lonely, not so good . . .

As 2016 ends, and life continues—here’s some of what I’m chewing over (ruminating) this sunny morning . . .

I know we are social and gregarious creatures, afterall we are made in the image and likeness of three persons who have been “hanging out together eternally” . . .        yet sometimes I need to not just be or feel alone, I need to participate in aloneness in my Christian spiritual journey  . . . 

The aloneness of my spiritual journey is not a synonym for loneliness.    To grasp and be refreshed by being with Jesus (and the rest of the Trinity) I have a gift of aloneness that’s really an oxymoron … “how can I be alone, when Jesus declared He would always be with me?”  

Aloneness is not isolation or insulation for I can be with others and be alone from idle or destructive social-interaction.   The key is to "give time to others and energy to them from a heart that’s attracted to Christ, not distracted by the values of this world . . ."

  • By “silence of speech” to be in the world, while not being of it.
  • Being intentionally alone emphasizes being apart from others, but it does not necessarily imply unhappiness.
  • The practice of being alone is commonly defined as “engaging the discipline of solitude.”


Murray Douglas - "Time alone at Haiti after the 2010 earthquake"

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Have a co-ruminate with me . . .

Been getting ready for church (it's Sunday morning here in New Zealand), breakfast has happened, with nothing "pressing-to-do" I've been reading, ruminating, and summarizing my thoughts . . . I started with Psalm 90:12 . . . 
Why not read along, and have a co-ruminate with me . . . 
  • Hey, you could even post (in the comments section below) your ruminating; not  merely a critique of mine, share your rumination with some of it's "meditative-voice" . . . 
Remember, "rumination is the fodder of meditation". It's thinking about our thinking, hearing what our thoughts are saying as we take listening-time in the presence of the One who said, "I will never leave you or forsake you . . . "
Cheers - JD

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Life is Liveable it’s just not easy . . .

More than once in my life I’ve had folks say; “John, you would make my life easier if you only . . .” If you only is a common and almost universal saying of request.

In fact I’ve said the same words on a number of occasions to God. Like God, I don’t generally listen well to such requests.

Now, I know I can be difficult; don’t plan to be—just successful at being and doing so on “occasions”—difficult to live with and around. Also know that while at times the Divine One can be difficult, in not making my life easy. For example, “He is never late; though from my perspective He misses so many opportunities to be early.” Early would make for easy. Since we generally want easy, now is a good time; not tomorrow or one-day--now. We know “the idea of easy” wishes for a lifestyle that’s achieved without requiring great labour or effort; one presenting few difficulties.

Problem: Life is not meant to be easy; it’s designed to be liveable


  • The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates of Athens
  •  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life – Jesus of Nazareth
  • For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better – Saul of Tarsus
Striving to make an easy-life-path increases frustration with self, others, things, situations, and yes-God. I can live with liveable, but easy is hard work.

Focusing on engaging one’s life as having liveability increases contentment with the journey toward one’s fulfilments. Simply we get a hold of grace.  More correctly, it gets a hold of us. Liveability requires learning to engage grace in frustrating times, and learning from the engagement.

Life is not meant to be easy; it’s designed to be liveable

Live it and love it before you leave it

Live it in ways that enhance, not limit the liveability of others

Sunday, May 15, 2016

You can get money out of the bank . . . if you put it in first . . .

I recall from boyhood how my “sage father” a constant poser of questions dropped one of his inevitable, this is going somewhere questions; “Johnny, how do you get money out of a bank?” 

My young mind raced for imaginative, innovative, even a criminal response to the enquiry; but my simple comeback was, “how dad?” 
“Son, you first put it in” . . .
  • Outcome requires investment. Its true there is no output without input
In our pursuit of spirituality capable of maintaining lifestyle marked by God’s abilities, strengths and enabling in our experience of the pressures of daily life, including hauntings of historic hurts seeking to make “re-runs” – we know we will need to make “withdrawals on banked grace”. One of the troubles with grace (there are more than one) is we know we don’t earn it, so how can we bank it? Is there any action we can undertake which enable a deposit we can make drawings against? Early Christians and those through the history of the faith have understood there is ... Christian baptism. Two summary statements (there are more) give us thought on the perspective of baptism as action we take to deposit God’s grace in our spirituality reserves.
  • We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4).
  • “ ... water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:21-22).
Sure God can “bale-us-out” ... no question, but who will really live well from a bale-out mentality? Better to have baptism in the bank. I’ve been thinking how Jesus gave his people baptism to be more than a personal milestone in spiritual pilgrimage ... been thinking over it as living grace-currency capable of bearing ongoing renewable interest. (JCD)

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Monday’s gift, a Psalm 23 mindset . . .

It’s not merely morning; it’s Monday morning.  

After breakfast spent some time reading/reflecting with a pen in hand on Psalm 23—thought, “post this on yon blog” . . .

Hey, while it doesn’t read as in King James’ English, it still rhymes thinking. Rhymes are for ruminating. This morning I ruminated the "ancient shepherd rhyme" from “The Message Bible” translation’s paraphrase, and also “wrote-it-up-a-bit” myself . . .  

God, my shepherd! Looking at you, I yet again remind myself “I don’t need a thing.”

I’m not reminding you, I’m reminding me . . .

You have bedded me down in lush meadows; you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word, you let me catch my breath send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.

Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.

You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.

I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.**

So God, thanks for two of your gifts . . .  

The “gift of Monday, and the “gift of my work

. . . help me to be "minded" to give through what You have given 


**Psalm 23 as an amalgam of the Message Bible and the DPV

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Have a laugh, think, and wise-up . . .


This cartoon got me thinking, ruminating actually . . . 

Its humour’s an easy one for me to think on, most of my flights around the country are "no-baggage-check-in's". While overall baggage check-in is down, I observe a high percentage (myself included) travel with their "stuff" with them in back-packs. One’s “on my back carry stuff” gets x-rayed, and examined. But, is it self-examined? Do I know what I’ve bought with me? What’s in the bag on the back is matter for scrutiny; security personnel look at on-screen shapes and patterns, asking occasional questions of us as we repack and move onto our destinations.

We travel with things on us and with us; things visible, and invisible—baggage. The invisible is not merely with us, it’s within us. 

Do we really know what's inside of us in our life-travels? We know there's seen baggage; we've got eyes for that; how do we “see the unseen emotional and attitudinal baggage on our back”? There’s unseen baggage; some of which is not only OK, its necessary and needed for our life-travels. 

Early Christian apostle, Saul of Tarsus’ rumination with the Corinthians connects with my previous paragraph. He was interacting with them on self-knowing and understanding, wisdom; simply, what “God-only-knows” (a common statement of my late mother) through the Spirit’s interactions with our spirits. Try doing some assisted reflective self-knowing—some ruminating . . . 

Hey, when ruminating about me or you, why not “chew-on-a-bullet-or-two”—here’s what the Corinthians* were offered . . .

·         The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.
·         Whoever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself?
o   The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it.
·         God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us.
o   We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions.
·         The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit.
o   There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness.
·         Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.
·         Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics.

Thot: While there’s often some unnecessary (or unresolved) baggage in our inner selves, most of what we travel with is highly necessary for our life-journey. Don’t just lose your baggage, evaluate and re-engage life through it—Paul infers “what we carry in concert with the Spirit, in fact carries us . . . "

*Bulleted selections have been excerpted from 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (Message Bible)