spiritual discipline – Page 2

Epiphany

Posted on January 6, 2009Leave a comment

Today I really got back into the swing of church work because our regular groups started meeting again in the new year. This morning, it was the Sharing As Caring Christians fellowship, or SACC. They meet around food and take turns sharing devotions and then a lesson for the day.

This is one group that I really feel blessed to be a part of, because normally, I’m just another member of the group. I don’t have to have my pastor or teacher hat on, unless I want to have it on. I can simply come and be.

For the next six weeks in the group, I will be leading our lessons based on Joyce Rupp’s “The Cup of our Life.” It is a study that I have been wanting to do with others for some time now, and I’m really looking forward to it. A hidden desire out of this is also to get the group to each bring their own mug for use each week, so that we aren’t constantly using styrofoam cups.

After SACC group, I took some time to finish work on the bulletins for Sunday. I am a very rudimentary piano player… I can pluck out a tune with one hand, and sometimes I can get some harmony in there if I am really slow about it. But it is always easier to pick hymns if I am at the piano and know what each one sounds like. It lets me know how easy they are to sing, how familiar they might be, and something that is also important to me – how well they each fit together.

One of my passions in worship is a well fit together service. I want the message in the music to match the message in the written word, to match the message in the spoken word, to match the message in the prayers. Then, at least in one way or another, the congregation will have the gospel come to them, and hopefully reinforced.

What makes that difficult, is that it takes a lot of time to put a service together. And because I change the order of worship and the liturgy to match whatever season we are in, it also is a challenge each time a new season begins to craft the structure for the next few weeks. The upside is that the congregation never fully settles into a routine in worship, and at least while I’m here, they can’t ever say “but we’ve always done it this way…”

routine and roots

Posted on September 18, 2008Leave a comment

I’m working on routine in my life right now (yes, I know I’ve said it time and time again… but hey, what can I say, I’m a work in progress). So far this week, I’ve stayed fairly on target with my plans – focusing on two particular goals: exercise and spiritual centering.

For exercise, I run/walk on a nearby trail. I think the whole course, from doorstep to doorstep is a little over 3 miles, and I spend about 10 minutes of it running. I went Monday morning and again this morning… if I can do 3-4x a week, I’ll be happy.

For centering, I’m working on quieting my spirit before I begin work each time I’m in the office. I have three candles next to a chair that I light and I pick up my handheld labryinth and work through it. When I get to the middle I say 6 prayers: for myself, for my family, for my church, for the church, for the nation and for the world… and then I pray my way out asking guidance for my work this day and with the Lord’s prayer. It has felt amazing to set aside that time for myself! I really do feel like my work is more productive and more on task to what God wants me to do with the day than it has been before.

In the midst of that re-focusing of my time and energy, I’m thinking back to what I wanted to do and how I wanted to incarnate postmodern/missional views of church into this congregation and my life. One of those was through setting down roots – and I’m excited this week about going the homecoming football game and also the gardening that I did to weed and get things ready for fall in my flower bed. There is still a lot of work that is left to be done there. Both for me are about roots – about getting involved with the community, getting my hands dirty and meeting people where they are.

a new seed has been planted

Posted on July 27, 20081 Comment

I desperately needed to get away. I needed to clear my head and spend some time with my hubby. I needed to pull myself back far enough from all the ins and outs of the church to think about the big picture of what I’m supposed to be doing there (because – after 6 months, I’m starting to get a better idea). And I needed to replenish my spiritual life.

I’m embarassed to admit how far away from my own spiritual disciplines I have gotten. About a week before vacation, I looked into my prayer journal and noticed my last entry was from March. MARCH! Seriously people. I’ve done plenty of praying, plenty of bible study, plenty of worshipping… but all in the context of my job, of church, of what is expected of me… none of it for myself – none of it just for me and God. And I started to get back to that in the few days before I left and then had the opportunity to spend time each morning, in the amazingly beautiful outdoors of northern wisconsin with my devotional time.

I have a great resource that I use: A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People and it really helps not only center my thoughts, but I love the readings – I loved the fact that it also feels worshipful to sing and pray and that there is a psalm that guides me through the whole week. I highly recommend it!!!

Now that I’m back home, I spent my first morning on my back porch with a cup of tea and my devotional. And it felt good. And I finally feel like I have the clarity I need about what to do with my youth this fall – with my preaching this fall – with everything really. it’s taken me a while to get there, but things kind of have fallen into place. Now I just need to get it all on paper and present some ideas to the Administrative Board… and get some advertising going to try to bring back in old members who haven’t returned and to reach some other parts of our small town.

I’m excited. I’m rejuvenated. And even though tomorrow is a day off for me – I’m going to go to church with my congregation anyways. I thought about visiting somewhere else or taking the sunday off – but I WANT to be with them =) And that is a very very good feeling.

unfocused

Posted on April 17, 2008Leave a comment

oh and in other news – I’ve been really unfocused in my work and my schedule this week. I’m having trouble keeping on task. I think in many ways there are just so many things that are on my mind and I’m not sleeping very well. Prayers for focus and guidance are needed!