Simplicity. We've lost it in our culture today.
Our lives are filled with opportunities and pressures that distract us from the One Thing that we all know matters most and is the source of all love: intimacy with God.
Oh for a simpler and deeper life! A few years ago this longing for God alone led me to my knees to pray over Thomas Kelly’s classic devotional book, A Testament of Devotion. I prayed every word, cover to cover (it’s just over 100 pages), and then fell on my face before God.
Let his words echo in your soul...
“Over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by… We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power. If only we could slip over into that Center! If only we could find the Silence which is the source of sound!”
Do you long a simpler life focused on God?
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Trailblazing in the Forest
While Kristi and I were in the mountains last weekend I worked on the hiking trail that I made a couple of years ago. It's a about a mile long loop that goes through the national forest property behind her family's cabin. (It ties into some dirt fire roads so I didn't have to blaze the whole trail!)
I so enjoy this trail that meanders through towering cedars, pine, and oak trees and opens into blue skies and views of Lake Arrowhead way below. And because its spring there were dogwood trees in bloom and wildflowers everywhere!
Of all the trails that I walk, hike, or jog this is my favorite because I designed and built it and maintain it! I love taking family and friends on the trail. The thought of people I don't even know using the trail brings a smile to my face. God has created us to be creative along with him and so it's no wonder that we find such joy in creating anything that is beautiful or helpful.
My hope is that others who walk the trail will appreciate nature's beauty and be drawn closer to God as I am. Beauty inspires us to give thanks and praise to our Creator. This is why the Psalms and parables of Jesus and all of Scripture are full of references to nature.
For me trails represent finding our way in life - they're symbols of prayer. For instance, the Psalms are prayer paths. And the Lord's Prayer is a basket of five spiritual trails: thanks and praise, submission to God, petition, confession, and overcoming sin.
How do you connect with God in nature? What helps you to walk the path of life with Jesus?
I so enjoy this trail that meanders through towering cedars, pine, and oak trees and opens into blue skies and views of Lake Arrowhead way below. And because its spring there were dogwood trees in bloom and wildflowers everywhere!
Of all the trails that I walk, hike, or jog this is my favorite because I designed and built it and maintain it! I love taking family and friends on the trail. The thought of people I don't even know using the trail brings a smile to my face. God has created us to be creative along with him and so it's no wonder that we find such joy in creating anything that is beautiful or helpful.
My hope is that others who walk the trail will appreciate nature's beauty and be drawn closer to God as I am. Beauty inspires us to give thanks and praise to our Creator. This is why the Psalms and parables of Jesus and all of Scripture are full of references to nature.
For me trails represent finding our way in life - they're symbols of prayer. For instance, the Psalms are prayer paths. And the Lord's Prayer is a basket of five spiritual trails: thanks and praise, submission to God, petition, confession, and overcoming sin.
How do you connect with God in nature? What helps you to walk the path of life with Jesus?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Root Yourself in God
I love being in a forest! That's where I am this weekend!
I find it helpful to find a tree to meditate on, which I sometimes do when I go on prayer walks around the lake near my home. I look at a tree by the water and I pray Psalm 1...
"Blessed is the person who... delights in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He or she is like a tree planted by the stream of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he or she does prospers."
I want to be like that tree! Don't you? Rooted deep. Drawing up nourishment from the soil and the water. Leaves stretching out to catch the sun. Growing fruit.
To be a healthy, fruitful tree we need to meditate on God's Word, including his commandments that are holy and wholesome, good and gracious. This helps me learn to become the kind of person who obeys Jesus' teachings from my heart.
A person who is like this tree, like the Psalm 1 man, is rooted in God's love and defined by God's words of grace and truth and not by circumstances or what people say.
It's easy for us to be distressed by criticisms, rejections, and misunderstandings from people. But we can learn to be rooted in God's love. Meditating on God's Word is the way. And also to find at least one person you trust and respect who can be "Christ's Ambassador" to you, embodying Christ's love to you (1 Corinthians 5:20).
Have you ever meditated on a tree to root yourself in God?
What helps you tap into God's love such that you're not uprooted when people disappoint you?
I find it helpful to find a tree to meditate on, which I sometimes do when I go on prayer walks around the lake near my home. I look at a tree by the water and I pray Psalm 1...
"Blessed is the person who... delights in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He or she is like a tree planted by the stream of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he or she does prospers."
I want to be like that tree! Don't you? Rooted deep. Drawing up nourishment from the soil and the water. Leaves stretching out to catch the sun. Growing fruit.
To be a healthy, fruitful tree we need to meditate on God's Word, including his commandments that are holy and wholesome, good and gracious. This helps me learn to become the kind of person who obeys Jesus' teachings from my heart.
A person who is like this tree, like the Psalm 1 man, is rooted in God's love and defined by God's words of grace and truth and not by circumstances or what people say.
It's easy for us to be distressed by criticisms, rejections, and misunderstandings from people. But we can learn to be rooted in God's love. Meditating on God's Word is the way. And also to find at least one person you trust and respect who can be "Christ's Ambassador" to you, embodying Christ's love to you (1 Corinthians 5:20).
Have you ever meditated on a tree to root yourself in God?
What helps you tap into God's love such that you're not uprooted when people disappoint you?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Pausing to Breathe a Prayer
I've been learning that prayer can be like breathing - something we do continuously and automatically without even thinking about it. I love using short phrases of Scripture as "Breath Prayers."
Breathing in and out God's Word as I go about my day connects me with God, adds tremendous meaning to my life, and gives me such peace. I've found that there are many "idle" spaces in any given day for prayer moments, like when I'm transitioning from one activity to the next, driving, waiting, getting ready in the morning, or preparing to go to bed at night (or laying in bed awake!).
To offer a Breath Prayer it helps to breathe in deeply and slowly, taking about 10 seconds for a breath. Learn to breathe (and pray) from your stomach - gently.
With each breath or two offer to God your short Scripture prayer.
The last couple of days I've been praying a favorite Breath Prayer inspired by Psalm 39, especially verses 5 and 11...
"My life is a breath... Selah.
I am a breath... Selah.
My life is God's breath... Forever.
I am God's breath... Forever."
(Note that the word "selah" is used in the Psalms and probably means, "Pause to reflect and pray.")
Join me in praying this Breath Prayer right now...
Breathe in deep and slow from your stomach... Hold your breath, longer than normal... Release slowly and gently... Wait to breathe longer than is comfortable to let your body feel the longing for God's Word and Spirit...
Without even using any words your breathing is expressing your prayerful intention to connnect with God...
Gently repeat this breathing prayer (You may need to practice this for it to become natural and easy and be able to experience being in the flow of the Spirit of God!)
Now, as you breathe in whisper God's Word: "My life is a breath"... Hold God's Word inside you... Release as you you whisper: "Selah"... Wait to breathe as you feel your longing for God...
Slowly and gently repeat for each phrase.
Try memorizing the prayer I wrote or one of the phrases in it and return to your Breath Prayer as often as you can during the day. Make a game of it! How many times can you remember to breathe in God's Word to you? Three? Thirty? Three hundred?!!!!
Please share your experience with us in the Christian Soul Care blog...
Breathing in and out God's Word as I go about my day connects me with God, adds tremendous meaning to my life, and gives me such peace. I've found that there are many "idle" spaces in any given day for prayer moments, like when I'm transitioning from one activity to the next, driving, waiting, getting ready in the morning, or preparing to go to bed at night (or laying in bed awake!).
To offer a Breath Prayer it helps to breathe in deeply and slowly, taking about 10 seconds for a breath. Learn to breathe (and pray) from your stomach - gently.
With each breath or two offer to God your short Scripture prayer.
The last couple of days I've been praying a favorite Breath Prayer inspired by Psalm 39, especially verses 5 and 11...
"My life is a breath... Selah.
I am a breath... Selah.
My life is God's breath... Forever.
I am God's breath... Forever."
(Note that the word "selah" is used in the Psalms and probably means, "Pause to reflect and pray.")
Join me in praying this Breath Prayer right now...
Breathe in deep and slow from your stomach... Hold your breath, longer than normal... Release slowly and gently... Wait to breathe longer than is comfortable to let your body feel the longing for God's Word and Spirit...
Without even using any words your breathing is expressing your prayerful intention to connnect with God...
Gently repeat this breathing prayer (You may need to practice this for it to become natural and easy and be able to experience being in the flow of the Spirit of God!)
Now, as you breathe in whisper God's Word: "My life is a breath"... Hold God's Word inside you... Release as you you whisper: "Selah"... Wait to breathe as you feel your longing for God...
Slowly and gently repeat for each phrase.
Try memorizing the prayer I wrote or one of the phrases in it and return to your Breath Prayer as often as you can during the day. Make a game of it! How many times can you remember to breathe in God's Word to you? Three? Thirty? Three hundred?!!!!
Please share your experience with us in the Christian Soul Care blog...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Live Worry-Free
Can we live without worry? The answer must be yes or Jesus wouldn't have said, "Do not worry."
Do you know what he said next?
"Look at the birds!" Yes, Jesus told us to become birdwatchers! It's hard to watch a bird and worry at the same time! They flutter from branch to branch so graciously. They sing so beautifully. They fly in the sky so wonderfully.
Ahhhh! I love the birds! Thank you Lord for your peace! Jesus knew what he was talking about: the same Father God who cares for the birds cares for you and I.
Listen in on some bird talk and relax in Abba's arms...
“Said the Robin to the Sparrow:
‘I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.’
Said the Sparrow to the Robin:
‘Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me’”
Does God minister to you through birds?
Do you know what he said next?
"Look at the birds!" Yes, Jesus told us to become birdwatchers! It's hard to watch a bird and worry at the same time! They flutter from branch to branch so graciously. They sing so beautifully. They fly in the sky so wonderfully.
Ahhhh! I love the birds! Thank you Lord for your peace! Jesus knew what he was talking about: the same Father God who cares for the birds cares for you and I.
Listen in on some bird talk and relax in Abba's arms...
“Said the Robin to the Sparrow:
‘I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.’
Said the Sparrow to the Robin:
‘Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me’”
Does God minister to you through birds?
Saturday, May 9, 2009
A Caveman Prayer
Have you ever prayed in a cave? Yesterday I did.
You may know that I've been praying the Psalms everyday for the last year and a half. I've noticed that some of David's best prayers were in a cave, like Psalm 57 and 142 (and probably others like Psalm 27 and 61).
So I figured that to be "a man of prayer" (Psalm 109:4) like David it might help if I spent some time being "a caveman" like him!
Indeed, meditating on Psalm 57 in a cave for a couple of hours helped me to connect more deeply with what it means to make God my refuge. I realized that God is more than a cave I can flee to in order to escape my troubles. In all the situations of my life I can find refuge in God through prayer, snuggling under His wings and walking in His shadow. David models for us that this is the way to awaken His dawn from deep within - in the midst of any situation we may find ourselves in.
My Prayer Poem based on Psalm 57 expresses this:
The Cave
Hidden
In a cave
Surrounded by lions
Under His wings
Alone
In the dark
Assaulted by accusations
Following His shadow
Quiet
In my soul
Troubled by hardships
Joining His prayers
Alert
In the night
Besieged by lies
Awakening His dawn
As you pray today, both in your devotions and as you go about your day, imagine yourself hidden in a secret cave with God as your refuge. What is this like for you?
You may know that I've been praying the Psalms everyday for the last year and a half. I've noticed that some of David's best prayers were in a cave, like Psalm 57 and 142 (and probably others like Psalm 27 and 61).
So I figured that to be "a man of prayer" (Psalm 109:4) like David it might help if I spent some time being "a caveman" like him!
Indeed, meditating on Psalm 57 in a cave for a couple of hours helped me to connect more deeply with what it means to make God my refuge. I realized that God is more than a cave I can flee to in order to escape my troubles. In all the situations of my life I can find refuge in God through prayer, snuggling under His wings and walking in His shadow. David models for us that this is the way to awaken His dawn from deep within - in the midst of any situation we may find ourselves in.
My Prayer Poem based on Psalm 57 expresses this:
The Cave
Hidden
In a cave
Surrounded by lions
Under His wings
Alone
In the dark
Assaulted by accusations
Following His shadow
Quiet
In my soul
Troubled by hardships
Joining His prayers
Alert
In the night
Besieged by lies
Awakening His dawn
As you pray today, both in your devotions and as you go about your day, imagine yourself hidden in a secret cave with God as your refuge. What is this like for you?
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