-
Praying with Trees
I become fidgety when I have to sit still in meetings, even in meetings I generally enjoy, even in prayer meetings. So, even though I very much appreciated the privilege of gathering with other believers in prayer, I found myself becoming distracted and antsy when everyone else was quietly focused and sitting still. I just couldn’t sit so still for long, and that caused my mind to wander to my walk with my dog in the sunshine that afternoon, the interesting bird at my feeder, a phone call with a friend, my next meal, and so on… One rainy November day I was walking in the woods with a friend…
-
Psalm 1
I like to start my days by reading and praying with the psalms and Psalm 1 is a favorite starting point for me. The book of Psalms, which was the prayer book of the Israelites and the prayer book Jesus prayed, doesn’t start with praise or prayer. It starts in Psalm 1 with preparation and posture…the posture of our heart. Here is how Eugene Peterson said it, “Psalm 1 is not a prayer, exactly, but the preface to a prayer. We do not begin by praying but by coming to attention. Psalm 1 is the biblical preparation for a life of prayer. Step by step it detaches us from activities…
-
Visio Divina
Viso Divina is similar to Lectio Divina, but instead of reading and meditating on Scripture, one observes and meditates on something visual, perhaps an image or something in nature. (For those new to the term lectio divina, it is a form of Scripture reading in which we slowly read, meditate or reflect on, pray, and then contemplate a Bible passage or story so that we hear in it what God wants us to hear and then take that forward into our own life, rather than interpreting it with our own agenda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina) Step 1: Gazing and seeing deeply Ask God to open your mind and heart to his presence with…
-
Sketching as Prayer Retreat–January 30, 2021
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,And every common bush afire with God,But only he who sees takes off his shoes;The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”Elizabeth Barrett Browning While we aren’t plucking blackberries at this time of year, many of us are sitting around, either because it’s winter and we’re not outside as much, or because we’re sticking close to home due the the pandemic raging around us. And despite social distancing, quarantine, and isolation, earth is still “crammed with heaven,” with every common bush “afire with God.” So, too, every aspect of creation bears marks of its Creator, signs pointing to the ongoing presence, stability and love of God, who is…