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Living
with the Saints
Saints aren't just the people officially sainted by the Roman Catholic Church;
they are all believers, all who have chosen to follow the Way of the Christ,
however imperfectly. ...
--from "Signposts
Daily Devotions"
by
Molly Wolf
Dealing
With Fear
Fear is hardwired into our brains as a mechanism for self-preservation. For example,
we might
be driving down the street and suddenly another car pulls in front
of us. ...
--from "Dealing
with Fear"
by Rod Spencer
Looking
Back on Depression
In the midst of severe clinical depression I have never felt anything redeeming
about it, spiritually or otherwise. But when I emerge back into life, several
things become clear. ...
--from
the question "How could depression lead to a richer spiritual
life?"
by
Parker Palmer, Ph.D.
Seeing
Through the Veil
I believe every human being has these experiences of something deeper than the
ordinary. ...
--from "The
Eyes of a Child"
by Lowell Grisham
Why
We Pray
Prayer is not really about getting God to do something for you or to get God
to make a change about something. It is about building a relationship with God.
...
--from "Your
Spiritual Coach"
by Renée Miller
How
do I truly forgive, especially when the offense is repeated without
remorse?
--from "Ram
Dass to Christ:
or How a 1960s Guru Showed Me Real Christianity"
by Nick Lewis
A
Place for God
Every major religion has some form of spiritual practice of attention or mindfulness.
Whether it is meditation or simple awareness, spiritual depth occurs when there
is focus
and singularity. ...
--from "Creating
a Sacred Space"
by Renée Miller
Actively
Letting Go
Letting go is a participatory process, not a passive one. Our task is to have
the courage to identify what needs to be released, THEN be willing to work with
God to let it go. ...
--from "An
Interview with Linda Douty,
author of How Can I Let Go if I Don't Know I am Holding On?"
After
Katrina, Let the Tears Come
Trying to shut down suffering—that's not the way of Jesus
the Christ, who wept at
Lazarus's tomb, whose mother and friends
endured with him through the
Crucifixion.
That's not God's way. ...
--from "Grief:
After Katrina, Let the Tears Come"
by Molly
Wolf
After
Katrina
As inadequate as I feel to speak in the face of such tragedy and loss, I want
to say clearly and firmly that our Center, our God, does hold. Perhaps more than
ever, in the midst of crisis, God is with us. I
believe this with all my heart. ...
--from "The Center Will Hold"
by The Rev.
Margaret Jones
A
Prayer for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina
O God, we remember when the disciples of Jesus were terrified after a long night
on a
turbulent sea. ...
--by Rev. Canon Reneé Miller
A
Different Kind of Peace
We
are in the habit of thinking too narrowly about peace. We understand it
as being released from trouble or disorder, or having the chaos of our
lives stilled. ...
--from “"Lose Yourself in the Presence of God"”
by The Rev. Canon Reneé Miller
The
Practice of Being Alive
The
kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question
is whether you are available to the kingdom. ...
--from “"Walking with Peace and Presence"”
by Thich Nhat
Hanh
Good
Enough
Be
still and know that I am God.
"Look
at that," she said. "I don't even know what that means." I
thought she was going to cry. It means
just what it says. STOP. ...
--from "Good Enough"
by Margaret
Jones
The
Movement Toward Simplicity
In
the spiritual life, less is more. Not only do we have cluttered closets,
but we have cluttered schedules and cluttered thoughts, resulting
in cluttered spirits. ...
--from "Am
I On the Right Path?"
Linda Douty
Bombs
and explosions: A Londoners guide to keeping the faith
I
remember my first-ever religious studies lesson at school. By way of
introduction, the teacher wrote on the blackboard, How can God exist
if bad things happen in the world? ...
--from "Reflections
on the London Bombings"
by Simon
Cohen
Keeping
Life's Questions
For
me, vital religious faith isn't so much about answers. It's more like facing
in the direction of answers. ...
--from an interview with the author about his new book, The Spirit
Searches Everything
by Frederick Borsch
Prayers
for Freedom
Gracious God, when the struggles of life hem me in
on every side, open me to the freedom of your presence that can help
me
see
beyond every restriction, every limit that binds me. ...
--from "Prayers
and Essays on Freedom"
Radical
Trust
It
is far more challenging and rewarding to place our trust in Jesus than
merely to believe that doctrinal statements about him are objectively
true. ...
--from "Trust in Jesus," reprinted with permission from Becoming
Human
by Brian Taylor
Hearing
the Silence
How
do we become sensitive to voice of God? Thomas Merton said it well: "Silence
is the language of God--all else is poor translation." ...
--from "Getting from Sunday to Monday: Opening Yourself to the Guidance
of
God"
by Linda Douty
A
New View of Heaven
When I was a child, growing up in a very
conservative church, I was taught that heaven--which was most certainly
a place--was the reward
for those who had accepted Jesus into their lives. ...
--from
"Signposts Daily Devotions"
by
Susan Hanson
But...What
if I Don't Get It Right?
In
the end, we will not always know what God's Will is before we have
to plunge forward. Sometimes we just have to assume that since we
have not received any guidance from the Spirit, God has left it up
to us. ...
--from "How to Find the way Forward,"”reprinted from the
new book Becoming
Human
by Brian Taylor
Releasing
the Reins
In
the New Testament, Jesus hinted at the difficulty in controlling or
defining the process of spiritual growth. He was often asked to define
the Kingdom of God... and did he ever do that? ...
--from "Getting from Sunday to Monday: Barriers
to Change"
by Linda Douty
Become
Simple
We
live in an increasingly complex environment. At times we're bewildered
by moral choices
that seem ever more gray and uncertain, such
as those presented by stem-cell research
or new definitions of
gender identity. ...
--from "Become Simple,"” reprinted
from Becoming Human
by Brian Taylor
Forgiving,
Again and Again
Some
years ago I came across an idea that helped clarify and deepen
my understanding of forgiveness. Forgiveness means relinquishment.
It's that simple. ...
--from "The Parable of the Slighted Son"
by Mark Muesse
Bae
My
aunt Bae never had any children. She thought of me as her son and made
me feel special, and I loved her for that. ...
--an excerpt from the book Moments of Forever
by
James Ian Walter
"I
am confused. How can I get back to the truth?"
First,
trust the confusion. Faith ought to be confusing, not because God is beyond
reach, but because it is hard and confusing work to let go of old ways
...
--from "What
Are You Asking?"
by Tom Ehrich
For
Ourselves and Others
What
does it mean to "take the journey ourselves”? Remember that
we have free will: We can refuse to move, to explore, to take the trip. ...
--from “"Getting
From Sunday to Monday: Moving from belief to experience,
from
information to transformation"
by Linda
R. Douty”
Dealing
With Disappointment
It’is
important to realize that our faith also may be a source of our disappointment--that
is,
when we misuse faith. ...
--from “"Dealing
with Disappointment"”
by Earle Donelson, Ph.D.
This
Fleeting Life
After
everything is over here, after that last day, we affirm that life
continues in Christ. It is not historical life -- history happens
only here. But it is a life for which we can prepare ...
--from "Against a Life of Might-Have-Been"
by Barbara Crafton
An
Easter Way of Life
The
Easter story is not only an experience, an event. It is a way of life.
The resurrection of Jesus created the hope in Christians that death is
never the end -- resurrection is. ...
--from "Living
Easter,"
an introduction to "A Thought a Day for the 50 Days
of Easter"
The
Darkest Day
There
was one more thing that was finished that day, and that was the separation
between Jesus and God. ...
--from “"It
is Finished"”
by The
Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor
Moving
Beyond Our Comfort Zone
God's Truth for our lives is not locked into and limited to scripture, as some
teach. God's eternal realties are not frozen in what has already been accepted
by the majority. ...
--from “Who's to Blame?”
by
The Rev. Canon William A. Kolb
Heeding
God's Call
Integrity is not about fairness. It is about living in the hands of God. What
does that mean? It
means that we are open to possibilities that our lives are meant for a higher
purpose ...
--from "Midlife
Questions"
by Ron
McDonald
We
also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
--Romans 5:3-4
I
wonder how many of you will stop reading after seeing
today's scripture. Paul’s
famous, or infamous, words used to be a real turn-off for me.
--from “Signposts Daily Devotions”
by The Rev. Margaret Jones
Keeping
Lent
What
are you giving up for Lent this year? What is your Lenten discipline?
These
are common questions in the season of Lent. For years I used to try to
think of something that would require me to endure some significant
(I could even say faithful) deprivation).
--from “A True Lenten Discipline: Walking with Christ”
The Rev. Margaret Gunness
LOOKING WITHIN: Finding God Deep Inside
One task of the spiritual life is to boldly assume the arduous but
awesome assignment of re-discovering our original ‘self.
--from "Collections: A Collage of Suggestions for Deep Reflection"
Facing Who We Are
This past weekend I reread a book by Barbara Brown Taylor called Speaking of Sin, The Lost Language of Salvation. I urge you to read it this Lent.
--from “Ash Wednesday - A Wake-up Call”
by The Rev. Margaret W. Jones
The
Deaths We Grieve
There
is no life without death, and the accompanying grief that is natural to
the experience of death in all its forms. But there is no death apart from
the possibility of new life and transformation.
--from “The
Deaths We Grieve”
by Senter Crook
Craving
Something More
I
was drawn to the monastic life because it seemed to stand for what I loved
most about the faith
of my fathers and mothers.
--from “Washing
Out My Ears,” installment 11 of “Born Again and Again: Stories
of the Spirit,
Lessons for the Soul”
by Jon
Sweeney
Lord,
Grant me Wisdom
Wisdom isn’t learned from books or lectures, but from life, especially
from one’s failings and yearnings.
--from
the question “Could I please be granted wisdom?”
by
Tom Ehrich
The
Everyday Mystic
Life pushes
on in steady and seemingly unceasing beats. Going to work, doing errands,
caring for children, getting over illness, working through grief, caring
for pets, gardening, paying bills, phone calls, email, meetings.
--from "Mystery and Mysticism"
by Renée Miller
A Prayer for the Victims of the Asian Tsunami
O God of grace, we come before you with hurting hearts to plead for those
who are the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Asia.
--from "Responses to the Asian Tsunami"
by Renée Miller
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