Putting the Pronouns Back in the Lord’s Prayer. Slowly.

Blog

Last Sunday Dr. Forbes spoke eloquently about community and how we welcome the other into it. When the sermon ended, we continued the service with the pastoral prayer and the Lord’s Prayer. I personally love the version we sing after communion, as it’s both beautiful...

How Do You Want to Be Transformed? (or Walking IN Water)

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“You could not step into the same river twice, for other waters are ever flowing on to you.” – Heraclitus of Ephesus The above quotation is probably familiar to many readers. It’s from Heraclitus, known for his doctrine of change as central to the Universe. In last...

Diving Under The Ripples…

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Have you ever gotten a vision or heard the Spirit’s voice during your prayer time? If the answer is no, this blog is theoretical for you, but trust me, it happens. If yes…has that vision confirmed things you already know you should do, like be kinder to your really...

Am I Building the Kingdom?

Blog, Hark!

The one that’s already not yet here? Good question. We’ve recently undergone a major house renovation project, replacing 19-year-old carpet, linoleum, and tile with hardwood floors. I’m naïve so I thought this would take a week. It took two weeks of demolition by my...

God's Time

Blog, General, Hark!

My prayer routine has fallen into total disarray over the last two weeks. We had new flooring installed in our main level. I don’t work well with other people in the house, let alone people using nail guns, an air compressor, and mallets to lay hardwood floors. Worse,...

Complicated Conversations

Blog, By This Way of Life

The best kind…yes? I’m probably not the only linear thinker reading this blog. I tend to think in terms of either/or, not yes/and. I like things tidy. If you’ve ever seen Wall-E, the fabulous movie from Pixar, I’m the character Mo, the one who...

Lectio Divina

Blog, By This Way of Life

Of all the meditative prayer practices we’ve discussed in the last few weeks, I thought Lectio Divina would be a natural fit for me. I love words. I love reading and finding meaning in words. I’m totally on board with praying regularly. I believe that God...

Some Thoughts on the Voices

Blog, By This Way of Life

The past two sermons on The Voices Within are very familiar, as I’ve attended Rev. Bruce van Blair’s Prayer 101 retreat not once, but twice. Bruce covers these voices in a fair amount of detail during one of the sessions, and the sermons were a good...

Prayer, Singing

Blog, By This Way of Life

Are you staying after the 11 a.m. service to listen to Julia Olynyk and the band jazz up our final hymn? If you are, you know what a crucial part of the service Julia and the band are. But last week Julia (albeit inadvertently) gave us the gift of her beautiful...

We All Breathe

Blog, By This Way of Life, General

One of the things that interests me about the breath exercises we did in church Sunday is how all great wisdom traditions frequently end up at the same place. Thomas Merton died while on a tour of Asia where he met with Buddhist monks. Thomas Keating revived a...