Eclectic. Refreshing. Living.
Matthew 5: 1-12
This past month was met with a slow gospel reading from Jesus’ conversation with his disciples while they sat down together on a mountaintop. What a captivating scene and listening!
My reading didn’t take place on a mountaintop but with a morning gaze out of an upstairs window while watching in the distance the sun rise above the Sandia Mts. This wasn’t or was it intentional?
Neither of these was intentional, they just came together. More so, I believe God certainly had something in mind from the beginning and I eventually caught on.
I invite you to notice your morning or reading routines and see if there is intention by you or more so by God. What is He speaking to you through the Scriptures you hear or read, meditate on or appear within your mornings or moments in your day?
—For one who desires to companion others with prayer and just as the subtitle states “for helping yourself” as well.
—Inner Healing was recommended and then sent in the mail to me by a dear uncle, so I felt the necessity to engage and embark in these pages without knowing where I was heading or what I was going to explore.
—A very informative and healthy read! I am grateful for the Spirit’s invitation to explore and listen in to authors who not only write but share their personal experiences with prayer. I can say I don’t fully understand how God works through prayer but I too, join them in saying by experience “God does work in, with, and through the mystery of prayer.”
Practicing theWay of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love by Mark Scandrette
One day in July, I began scanning our garage library looking for a particular red cover book, but instead I pulled this one off the shelf and said “Huh, This is intriguing!” I never found the other red-jacket book so I began reading this one. A modern read yet full of historical living, and I have to say refreshing hearing Scandrette describe the trials and errors of practice and living the way of Jesus today. What it may look like, feel like, sound, taste, and more so listening. A big part of this reading was for listening to the desires and longings of another to live intentionally with eyes, hands, feet—the body engaged with Jesus, now, in our modern communities. Two chapters igniting curiosity and movement towards practices were “Creating Space for Shared Practices” and “How Practicing Changes Us: Inward/Outward Journey of Transformation.”
At the same time, this parallel of reading with Scandrette has been slowly unfolding, giving much for thought and expanse thus deepening the ancient roots in the life of followers of Christ. This month has been very eclectic which is good!
Thinking Orthodox is definitely another SLOW path of travel whereby I’m only coming to the half-way number of pages. After teaching a history timeline for the last 13 years to my 2nd graders that just barely touched on Orthodox and much on Reformation, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism it became apparent that I had missed a deeper understanding, reading, wondering, learning and experience. A slow pouring from these pages has been a beautiful experience. If you get a chance to read this book, I would love to hear from you!
Podcasts:
Discerning Leader with Steve Macchia and guests
The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast with Pete Scazzero
Disrupting False Peace as God’s Path to True Peacemaking Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
