Do you know that you are loved by God? That is where our identity comes from. There are a lot of ways to lose sight of that. I could go on and on about the ways that our theology has distorted God as an angry judge who lacks compassion for people, but perhaps there is some low hanging fruit that we can address today that may help us even begin the process of seeing ourselves as we are: God’s... Read more
I first realized that smartphones may be a bigger problem than I suspected when I saw a mother ignore her child in a cafe while fiddling with her phone. I was flush with parenting joy and idealism after the birth of our first son, and so I couldn’t fathom why she was so checked out. What could be so captivating on her phone? On the other side of parenting three kids and owning a smartphone that I use more frequently,... Read more
If I listed all of the places where I’ve checked my phone, I could keep myself busy for quite a while. From red lights, to waiting in line at Kroger, to the playground, my couch early in the morning, to church, I’ve used my phone way more often than was necessary. In fact, I’ve made a concerted effort to stop this dopamine-driven phone checking habit by making my phone as useless as possible. Every time a website suggests I download... Read more
Guilt tends to show up at one time or another in our spiritual practices. When I talk to folks about prayer, guilt or frustration often come up because of distractions. I have certainly struggled during the days when I’ve failed to pray because I wasted my time or not lined up my priorities correctly. Technology often comes up as a source of distraction from prayer, whether that’s reading articles on my phone or checking social media on my computer. However,... Read more
Do you struggle to pray? Perhaps this question may help get to one of the challenges before you: Would you describe your mind as reactive or receptive right now? A receptive mind will be able to take in your surroundings and to receive from God, making it more conducive to prayer. The reactive mind is on edge and will leave you fragmented, worried, and restless as you respond quickly, compare yourself to others, and struggle to keep up with all... Read more
For years I believed that I was bad at contemplative prayer. Heck, I just believed that I was bad at all all kinds of prayer. I didn’t really know where to start with prayer other than just talking a lot. Using the prayers of others felt like cheating, and I didn’t know a lot about silence or centering prayers. I made plenty of requests, but that was the limit of my prayers for years. As I learned about the disciplines... Read more
Author Christine Sine is sharing a guest post today about her highly anticipated new book, The Gift of Wonder: Last week spring erupted in Seattle with all its glory. Daffodils and tulips smiled at me as I walked along. Cherry blossoms took my breath away as drove down tree lined street sand lush green grass emerged in our backyard. I watched the kids as they climbed trees to smell the fragrance of the cherry blossoms and giggled with delight while... Read more
For years I described myself as an anxious Christian, especially when it came to prayer. I always felt that I could never truly pray enough or do enough for God, and I carried a looming burden of guilt and fear. In the back of my mind, the God I imagined in my prayers wasn’t a particularly caring or involved God, but when I described myself as an “Anxious Christian,” I always circled back to the apparent crisis that I could... Read more
What do I lose when I take the words of Jesus seriously and surrender to God as if my life is as good as dead? Is demanding this kind of surrender loving or cruel? Is Jesus asking too much of us to count ourselves as good as dead? For some of us, the command of Jesus may even be jarring. After struggling with self-acceptance or self-esteem issues, lack of attachment, bullying, or a fear of abandonment if we don’t measure... Read more
When I released Flee, Be Silent, Pray, a book that’s essentially about finding time to pray, I gave myself a reprieve from my social media boundaries by loading the Facebook app onto my tablet for the sake of book marketing. I planned to use it for a week. I didn’t make it past five days. Typically, I can only access Facebook on my laptop, the news feed is completely blocked, and a timer ensures that I can only spend 30... Read more
This Kinda Contemplative Life
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