Friday Digging Deeper: Our Immediate Future
Slow Down, You Move Too Fast
Those of you who follow me know I have been working on the slow, constant, intentional thing for years. At certain points in my life I have found momentary success at it and at other points abject failure. I am pondering Judith’s ideas that built into us now as people of this culture, we have defense mechanisms against slowing down.
If you’re old like me, you might remember that song by Simon and Garfunkel, the one that told us to slow down and make the morning last. Yes, we were Feelin’ Groovy back in those days.
I do sing this song to myself a lot while I’m doing art because I have a tendency to rush through things. It’s often part of my defense mechanisms, a way of removing any pressure from myself. If I’m rushing through a drawing or painting, I can’t expect good results, right? Or I can’t be too disappointed with my results.
In recent weeks, I’m been introduced to the concept of slow drawing as taught by Amy Maricle. I’ve done slow drawing also through Zen Doodling and Zentangles, but surprisingly I haven’t felt a sense of peace with it. With graphite drawing I can often achieve that blissful “zen” state of…
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How the Beatitudes Shape Discipleship | Influence Podcast
As I listened to this podcast my heart was leaping inside me and saying, “Yes! We must understand this!”
“What troubles me is that much of the modern evangelical movement in America does not seem to grasp the priority of the call of apprenticeship to Jesus,” writes Ryan Post. “Rather than teaching people to obey everything Jesus has commanded us, many churches seem to treat discipleship as an optional accessory, choosing instead to focus on selling the basic ‘conversion’ package (afterlife insurance included).”
In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Post about how the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are a solution to the problem of discipleship-free American Christianity. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host.
Ryan Post is the lead pastor of Village Church in Burbank, California. An ordained Assemblies of God minister, he is author of Jesus People: Communities Formed by the Beatitudes and Healthy Prayer: Integrating Structure, Silence & Spontaneity.
P.S. This podcast is cross-posted…
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Thursday Digging Deeper: From Acts 1:8- Acts 8:1, Do Life Together!
Share Your World From 5-31-21
I feel like I have been struggling for perspective these last couple of weeks. I have been managing to keep up with blogging just about everyday with my Digging Deeper Devotionals, but somewhere along the way I felt like I lost my writer self. He got swallowed up by my pastor self. Honestly what I know needs to happen is these two fellows have to figure out how to harmonize within my soul and become one writer-pastor-self or one pastor-writer-self.
This week I have pulled away from the church in order to work on my writing. I have come to a place in the woods called the Grain Bin.
This is a writing and praying break away and a restoration of the slow, constant, intentional rhythm I have been trying so desperately to keep.
As I sit down to my afternoon tea and writing session, I am warming up with a writer’s exercise called SHARE YOUR WORLD. This is a challenge I have been participating in for years and it is a good way to get the juices flowing and even to restore the juices when a three hour morning writing session has sucked the juices away.
Melanie has asked her weekly questions and I have answered them below. So read on and then hop on over to Sparks From A Combustible Mind by using either of the underlined links to see how others answered.
Here we go:
QUESTIONS
What activity instantly calms you?
There are many: Prayer, getting alone in a grain bin, writing, sipping coffee while looking at water….
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve done lately?
Renting a Grain Bin in the middle of nowhere and coming here to do nothing other than write and pray. I think I need to do this more often.
If people receive a purple heart for bravery, what would other color hearts represent? (Example yellow heart = cowardice)
Green Heart= Life Giving Heart
Orange Heart= Heart Of Fire
Red Heart= Heart Of Healing
White Heart= Heart Of Purity
What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done or witnessed someone else do?
I think one of the bravest things I have ever witnessed someone do is to watch my sister go as a single woman to a foreign country to be a missionary.
GRATITUDE SECTION (Always optional)
How do you show gratitude to the people you respect?
What a powerful question! Again I think there are lots of answers to this one: By thanking them, by giving them preferential treatment, by giving them time.
Wednesday Digging Deeper: The Adventure
A Break Away For Writing and Prayer
I have left the Vicarage in Amanda and Brenda’s capable hands for the week, and I have headed into the Berkshires and the Catskills for a writing and praying breakaway
