Sometimes chewing is more profitable than swallowing

Recently, or better said –- again I’ve been reading “old friend” Thomas A'Kempis, one of his thoughts with me is of “Finding Peace and Making Spiritual Progress.”

Thomas has got me ruminating on habit change.


Here’s the “cud” I'm currently “chewing” ....

Yes, I do have some bad habits in my life. Not ones which disqualify me from public ministry – they’re ones which hinder the steady flow of my lifelong spiritual formation. The answer to eradicating these habits is not just dealing “death to them” … it is capturing and dynamically living life in fervour fuelled by faith, fortitude, fun and faithfulness … in exercising the self-discipline of living my vows to be a Jesus follower. “It is hard to give up old habits, but it is even harder to go against one’s own will.” My will is really for growing in grace … so what about shifting to good habits?

Prayers - a rhythm to get with

Been thinking about prayer, again – still!!

Prayer is one of those things we do, and often tell ourselves we should do it more. Some even confess, “While I kinda don’t believe in God, I said a prayer, just in case.” As this is already the middle of January, I won’t even suggest you make prayer a New Year’s resolution, too late for that now; especially if you’ve already broken enough of your NY resolutions! So I’m thinking about another aspect of prayer and 2010.

In music, rhythm is the ordered flow of the music through time, or the pattern of durations in notes and silences in music. One isolated beat does not make a rhythm, that’s a sound, but neither does silence – silence comes between notes. It’s just like that with prayer and prayers. Prayer is rhythm, rhythmic and offers an infinite variety of rhythms.

Prayer is something we grow in, grow by and grow with. As with music there are more people who develop musical appreciation, than those who attain any level of proficiency in music’s performance skills. Musical appreciation is something many grow in, grow by and grow with. So too with prayer and prayers - we grow in our prayer appreciation.

The rhythms of music are enjoyed or experienced in private or personal settings and public ones; so too prayer and prayers.

Praying, talking to and listening to God are life-practices we can engage in personally/privately at any time, any where; just like those times when a rhythm drops into your head, you hum and even add the words. You pick up rhythm and melody by yourself; you are alive in the music. Praying can be the same. Through and building on known prayers, both childhood and adult ones like; "When in the morning light I wake, show me the path of love to take" or “Our Father in heaven ...” which can serve as a rhythm dropping from our heads into our hearts, as we say the words and add more.

Like music, prayer and prayers are important public concerts ... we know those concerts as church services. When you go to a concert, or “gig” you expect music; when you go to church, expect prayer. We go to public musical events, to hear music and get caught into the rhythm. Enjoying music privately is cool; yet so true the common saying, “there’s nothing like going to a live performance.” Getting caught up with others into the soul of the music, its atmosphere, rhythmic expectations, its renewing and refreshing, we become part of the music. You leave, and the rhythm goes with you, it’s alive in you. It can be just like that with our public prayer and prayers in church. Go along and find out afresh.

Church prayers are liturgical prayers; liturgical prayer is changing prayers in changing seasons. Like concert music the great liturgical prayers are familiar, we hear our Faith in them, and we can catch their rhythm, and discover refreshing through their rhythm catching us.

Why, this week we (you or me) could make the opportunity to get caught up with others into the soul of worship service prayers. Catch their atmosphere, rhythmic expectations, their renewing and refreshing, and become part of the prayer. Leaving the service the rhythm goes with you, it’s alive within you. - JD

Yet another great thing about praying

Prayer is one of the ways we can "keep company with Jesus" . . .

Whether or not you feel his presence - He's there, He's listening, so keep talking . . .

a.k.a. praying . . .

"How often does being listened too, seem of more importance than getting answered?"

To blog or not to blog?

Just reading a list on Abraham Piper’s blog on “Six reasons why pastors should blog”.

His take is pastors should blog to … 1. Write, 2. Teach, 3. Recommend, 4. Interact, 5. develop an eye for what is meaningful, and 6. be known ...

My response to his list and the extra expansion he gives (http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/) is a big YES!!!

I love the list and expansion . . .

My thought from Piper’s thought . . .

“the discipline of posting thought for interaction and feedback gets us preachers out from behind "coward's castle" (the pulpit) and enables risk-growth opportunity to “shift my rhetoric to reality” though interactive formation ... I get to listen to the listeners ... think with the thinkers ... be formed with the formers ... “

Going around or going somewhere?

I have an older brother, which makes me the younger brother ... duh! Stay with me there’s a thought and story here . . .
When we were growing up and older, my brother was really into sports as a participator ... I was (still am) a spectator, you gotta have them you know.
His bedroom walls were “decorated” with hand-written motivational ruminations. Many inspiring, others challenging, some my first exposure to oxymorons, and the one I best recall - a confusing and “extra-biblical” sign stating . . .

“Blessed are those who go round in circles, for they shall be known as wheels”

Recently I’ve been ruminating on the circular interface of virtues (generally called values these days) and actions . . .

Virtues exist . . .

• Virtues are held by persons and communities . . .

• Virtues shape actions . . .

• Actions enhance and support commitment to have and hold existent yet dynamic virtues . . .

But that’s not the “end of the sequence” . . .

• The optimal circular action between one's outer life actions and inner life virtues/values is "inner to outer" . . .

• If I allow the reverse, outer to inner, I do a “wheely” . . . I "spin-out"

• If I function inner to outer I can be a “wheely” . . . I will be going somewhere . . .

“Blessed are those who live from the inside out, for it can be seen where they are going is where they come from”

Don’t assume thinking by cyclical-reasoning is advocating circular-reasoning . . . so much for this encyclical

Try describing the church by its “isness”

Lately I’ve been chewing over how regularly some folk find it important (important to them that is) to tell me what the church isn’t, or from their perspective “what it ought-to-be as belief and behaviour”...

For me (and I suspect Jesus too) the best enjoyment of what the church is, is community ... of course I could be wrong, but don’t assume I am ... think about it this way ...

As community the church is no mere repository of correct doctrines or exemplar of divinely desired human behaviours; it is a family of incarnation, interaction and fallibility ...

Why not try describing the church by its “isness” ... not its aint’ness

How hard can it be?

Don’t be afraid of simple answers to challenges of daily life.

Remember, true simplicity is always based on the profound ... that’s why it’s workable ... "don’t mistake depth for difficulty”.

In other words, “when the waters deep swim!!!”