Churching is changing, the world is changing and we are changing and it seems that everywhere we turn we are being reminded of these changes. The pandemic has changed the way we viewed sacred space and sacred time too. We are hungering for intimate times with God. We all need refreshment. We all need to refuel after a crazy year. …
I wrote this litany of healing several years ago. However, this year I have adapted it to be more directly applicable to the time of COVID and have included contemplative actions that encourage us to reflect on the healing power of God in the many ways it is expressed. I have found that the combination of prayers and actions like …
We are invited to “delight yourself in the Lord” (Ps. 37:4a), but I have noticed that many Christians haven’t yet experienced God as actually “delightful.” The most enjoyable part of my entire life has been to discover new depths of the delightfulness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I would love to see others experience just how wonderful He …
“Our God is a God who cares, heals, guides, directs, challenges, confronts, corrects. To discern means first of all to listen to God, to pay attention to God’s active presence, and to obey God’s prompting, direction, leadings, and guidance.” [Henri Nouwen][1] Discerning God’s direction does not happen by accident. The Spirit helps us to discern but we have a part to …
In the scriptures we see examples where Christ prayed through the night. A friend challenged me to try the same thing. I had never cultivated this as a practice (although once or twice in a trial I prayed through the night) but the thought got stuck in my brain and kept simmering. Eventually I had the opportunity to visit a …