I just finished reading Monk Habits for Everyday People by Dennis Okholm. My husband picked it up for me at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological/ Philosophical Society in Providence, RI. It is a very insightful book. In it, Okholm demonstrates why Benedictine Spirituality (St. Benedict's Rule) should be appropriated in the Protestant context. I remember reading through St. Benedict's Rule in seminary and I found it very helpful. Okholm does a good job of persuading the reader of the benefits of following Benedictine habits. These habits are nothing new, they are habits that I believe should be part of the everyday Christian life--thus the title.
Thank you Dennis and thank you Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for showing us another way in which to follow Jesus more closely.
Dec 18, 2008
Jun 14, 2008
Intentional
Here is a simple reminder to myself and readers. We have to be intentional about following hard after Christ. Intentional about taking up our cross and following Christ, about taking every thought that raises itself against God captive. To continue on the journey to Zion, we must look to him and focus on him.
May 19, 2008
Angels Demons & the Supernatural
We forget that we're not battling against flesh and blood alone. We Christians live as though the supernatural doesnt' exist as if we don't have an enemy. I heard Erwin Lutzer, a pastor at Moody Church in Chicago say, " Imagine if you were in a war and didn't know it . . . you'd be in trouble right?" Right. We are oppressed sometimes by the evil one and his minions. God tells us to be vigilant lest we be devoured by our enemy who has come to steal kill and destroy. Lets not forget that.
Apr 11, 2008
Full of Glee!
"You still the hunger of those you cherish . . . ." Psalm 17
This is a continuation of my last couple of posts. In our family we are hootin' and hollerin' and leaping for joy. We are filled with glee. The Lord has come through big time. He's more lavish than we even imagined. He has provided in a supernatural way. He has made the impossible reality.
I will post more about this soon. But these few words are a testimony to the greatness of God. Shawn and I stumble in our ability to express our thanks and gratitude. Our souls dance with pleasure before God's throne.
This is a continuation of my last couple of posts. In our family we are hootin' and hollerin' and leaping for joy. We are filled with glee. The Lord has come through big time. He's more lavish than we even imagined. He has provided in a supernatural way. He has made the impossible reality.
I will post more about this soon. But these few words are a testimony to the greatness of God. Shawn and I stumble in our ability to express our thanks and gratitude. Our souls dance with pleasure before God's throne.
Apr 4, 2008
Wealth . . . Gratitude . . . It Ain't So Bad
"Be anxious for nothing...give thanks... Philipians 4:4-8"
Today I told God that the one prayer he hasn't answered concerns wealth: We still have very little money, just enough to get by day to day but in the hole (because of school loans and car repairs and medical bills) even though my husband and I are highly educated. But then the Lord graciously told me that I am wrong. In fact, I am basking in wealth.
He said, "the earth is yours, I have given it to you for your enjoyment." He knows the deep pleasure I have in stepping outside, curiously observing the activities of his creatures around me--how my soul bursts with delight at the sight of rocks and trees and skies and seas--the wonders his hand has wrought. How I imagine the creatures and sights I've only read about when I am trying to fall asleep at night. He knows about my fierce desire to drink in the beauty of places I've only heard of. He knows about my fascination with trees and water. He has given me the beauty of the earth.
He said, "you are wealthy beyond measure in your relationships." I am married to my soulmate, to one who understands me like none other, like none other ever will. I didn't deserve him. No. Shawn is more than I could ever ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:18-20). God graciously gifted me with my husband. I thank the Lord for him every day. Not everyone has such a relationship.
I have four friends (aside from Shawn) that I can bare my soul to, six if I include my brother and sister. It is a measure of wealth to have one such friend.
He said, "I allowed you to attend a wonderful seminary and gain friends for life." I thank him regularly for Northeastern Seminary. Since childhoold I had dreamed of getting an M. Div.
He said, "I gave you a lifelong family at Rochester Christian Reformed Church including the youth group and pastors such as Russ Palsrok and Carl Tuyl." I have a place to call home. I know that they love me and my family. I can be myself. There I am known and appreciated.
He said, "I gave you Iliana--a beautiful healthy child. You will learn of my love for you as you love her. Children are a blessing from me." She was a seedling of our love born into a human being. And I am grateful that she has the best daddy in the world (she is truly fortunate). She delights us all the day.
He said, "I gave you my word. I gave you books. They instruct you and teach you. What knowledge, what joy you receive from your many books." I said, "this is true."
He said, "I saved you from yourself, from the mess you made of your 16th-20th year." I said, "Blessed be your name O, Lord. You have rescued me from the pit, from the pit of hell."
He said, "I gave you your parents and your dear abuela." Abuela was my dear treasure. I still mourn her death. But oh what joy, what comfort I gained from her. Not everyone has an abuela.
He said, "In 7th grade you mentioned in passing that you wanted to go to the Holy Land and to Asia. It wasn't even a prayer. I took note of your fleeting thought and turned it into reality four years later. You were in India and Israel."
He said, "I made Real-Radio reality. You couldn't have done it yourself." I said, "I know. There's nothing much I can do myself."
So I realized that I am wealthy beyond measure. I mean it. Now having little money seems like a drop in the ocean compared to everything else I do have. I'll have to recall this conversation to mind when I am tempted to bemoan our lack of money. The conversation itself enriched me even further.
Today I told God that the one prayer he hasn't answered concerns wealth: We still have very little money, just enough to get by day to day but in the hole (because of school loans and car repairs and medical bills) even though my husband and I are highly educated. But then the Lord graciously told me that I am wrong. In fact, I am basking in wealth.
He said, "the earth is yours, I have given it to you for your enjoyment." He knows the deep pleasure I have in stepping outside, curiously observing the activities of his creatures around me--how my soul bursts with delight at the sight of rocks and trees and skies and seas--the wonders his hand has wrought. How I imagine the creatures and sights I've only read about when I am trying to fall asleep at night. He knows about my fierce desire to drink in the beauty of places I've only heard of. He knows about my fascination with trees and water. He has given me the beauty of the earth.
He said, "you are wealthy beyond measure in your relationships." I am married to my soulmate, to one who understands me like none other, like none other ever will. I didn't deserve him. No. Shawn is more than I could ever ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:18-20). God graciously gifted me with my husband. I thank the Lord for him every day. Not everyone has such a relationship.
I have four friends (aside from Shawn) that I can bare my soul to, six if I include my brother and sister. It is a measure of wealth to have one such friend.
He said, "I allowed you to attend a wonderful seminary and gain friends for life." I thank him regularly for Northeastern Seminary. Since childhoold I had dreamed of getting an M. Div.
He said, "I gave you a lifelong family at Rochester Christian Reformed Church including the youth group and pastors such as Russ Palsrok and Carl Tuyl." I have a place to call home. I know that they love me and my family. I can be myself. There I am known and appreciated.
He said, "I gave you Iliana--a beautiful healthy child. You will learn of my love for you as you love her. Children are a blessing from me." She was a seedling of our love born into a human being. And I am grateful that she has the best daddy in the world (she is truly fortunate). She delights us all the day.
He said, "I gave you my word. I gave you books. They instruct you and teach you. What knowledge, what joy you receive from your many books." I said, "this is true."
He said, "I saved you from yourself, from the mess you made of your 16th-20th year." I said, "Blessed be your name O, Lord. You have rescued me from the pit, from the pit of hell."
He said, "I gave you your parents and your dear abuela." Abuela was my dear treasure. I still mourn her death. But oh what joy, what comfort I gained from her. Not everyone has an abuela.
He said, "In 7th grade you mentioned in passing that you wanted to go to the Holy Land and to Asia. It wasn't even a prayer. I took note of your fleeting thought and turned it into reality four years later. You were in India and Israel."
He said, "I made Real-Radio reality. You couldn't have done it yourself." I said, "I know. There's nothing much I can do myself."
So I realized that I am wealthy beyond measure. I mean it. Now having little money seems like a drop in the ocean compared to everything else I do have. I'll have to recall this conversation to mind when I am tempted to bemoan our lack of money. The conversation itself enriched me even further.
Mar 31, 2008
Christ is Our Life II
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:3,4
So, if Christ is our life and we say our life sucks, what are we really saying? Christ sucks? Christ stinks (using a more sanitized word)? When we really believe that Christ is our life, our outlook will change. We will seek nourishment from the Christ-life in and around us. We'll be much more content and much more loathe to say our life sucks.
So, if Christ is our life and we say our life sucks, what are we really saying? Christ sucks? Christ stinks (using a more sanitized word)? When we really believe that Christ is our life, our outlook will change. We will seek nourishment from the Christ-life in and around us. We'll be much more content and much more loathe to say our life sucks.
Mar 27, 2008
Christ is our life
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:3,4
Early Easter Sunday morning billows of disappointment swept over me. The disappointing waves were courtesies of a storm that brewed for days. I just had to be in church even if I'd be alone; my husband and daughter had miserable colds.
I stepped out of the house into a glassy blue sky, drenched by sunshine. Ah . . . . I inhaled the crisp air. Refreshing. All of a sudden, I forgot my disappointments. After a 10 minute sunshiny drive, I slid into the back pew of a beautiful church I'd never attended.
There I heard chapter three of the epistle to the Colossians. The words "Christ who is your life" overtook me. I sat understanding that I was trying to squeeze life out of situations, and when these situations didn't produce the life I wanted, disappointment followed.
Lately I've been disappointed a lot.
Yet when I heard these verses anew, I realized anew that if Christ is my life, it doesn't matter what situations I find myself in. He who is my life will give me life in the midst of disappointment if I would but look to him for life, not circumstances. This truth is an idea I've comprehended but needed to experience afresh.
Early Easter Sunday morning billows of disappointment swept over me. The disappointing waves were courtesies of a storm that brewed for days. I just had to be in church even if I'd be alone; my husband and daughter had miserable colds.
I stepped out of the house into a glassy blue sky, drenched by sunshine. Ah . . . . I inhaled the crisp air. Refreshing. All of a sudden, I forgot my disappointments. After a 10 minute sunshiny drive, I slid into the back pew of a beautiful church I'd never attended.
There I heard chapter three of the epistle to the Colossians. The words "Christ who is your life" overtook me. I sat understanding that I was trying to squeeze life out of situations, and when these situations didn't produce the life I wanted, disappointment followed.
Lately I've been disappointed a lot.
Yet when I heard these verses anew, I realized anew that if Christ is my life, it doesn't matter what situations I find myself in. He who is my life will give me life in the midst of disappointment if I would but look to him for life, not circumstances. This truth is an idea I've comprehended but needed to experience afresh.
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