Thursday, September 29, 2016

Asking Myself: In what activities do you experience God's presence?



This is the 28th post in my series "Asking Myself," in which I weekly ponder one question posed in Teresa Blythe's rich book, 50 Ways to Pray. You can find the start of the series here and last week's post here. The first nine posts focused on theological musings, while posts 10 to 25 prayerfully consider the specific questions Jesus posed in the New Testament. Posts 26 to present focus on Questions on Spirituality.


Q: In what life activities do you experience God's presence on a regular basis?

Some of these questions are starting to sound a little bit similar, eh? But I think we need a lot of questions about God's presence in order to mine the depths of our experience. The emphasis here is on what routine, mundane or daily activities are spiritually charged. When do I commonly feel God is with me? 

My younger self would have answered when I'm praying with others or when I'm in corporate worship or when I'm studying the Bible. I think these still hold true. But I also really treasure the "regular" or even "secular" moments in life when I sense he's Emmanuel. My top three activities in the vein of ordinary-sacred would be:

1. Journaling in my green chair. 
This is something I do almost daily, and can really get absorbed in if I don't watch the clock or am not interrupted by some small person or other. A friend commented recently that I'm not very handy with words in person, as in speaking what's on my mind. This is true. However, something about the pace of writing by hand allows my thoughts to flow naturally-- even articulately-- compared to my speaking pace. I feel as if I'm able to express my truest self-- and something even beyond myself--- when I write in my journal. It feels like a conversation with my Maker and dearest Friend. Or perhaps conversation isn't the best metaphor, because I don't mean to say that I hear a back and forth repartee. Maybe it's more like a convergence of thoughts, my mind with the mind of Christ. Sometimes my entry begins as an unloading of anxieties or ideas or wishful thinking, but once that's emptied out, I feel a clearer connection, a brighter sky between me and God. However the entry goes, journalling is for me about the surest way to find His presence.  

2. "Working" in my garden.
Perhaps because I so highly relate to God as a Creator, I really feel alive in His presence when I'm immersed in his Creation. I have, for most of my adult life, attempted to keep some kind of garden... be it dying potted plants on my Taipei balcony 15 years ago, or the tangled and sloppy little garden I have now, wedged up in an exterior corner of my house and entwined with netting to keep deer at bay. When I "garden" I actually spend a lot of time just looking at the plants and the microcosm they create. There's no conversation during this time. I'm just in awe. It doesn't matter how many times I've looked at the furry blueish leaves of sage or the hairy stems of my heirloom tomatoes or the smooth bud of a pepper just emerged from where a white flower once was... When I'm in cahoots with this menagerie, seeing things with my worm's eye, macro lense mind, it seems like the whole universe, for that moment, is at peace. Perfect peace.

3. Chatting with my kids in the car or at the table.
My kids are so smart. No really, I'm not just saying this. I've got three future theologians and philosophers under my roof. "Mom. I wanna read God." "Mom, does God hate Satan?" "Mom, is Jesus Jesus's Father?" "Can there only be good if there is bad?" "After we die and we wake up in the fourth dimension will it seem like this life in the third dimension was just a dream?" I get all this and more while driving them home through rush hour traffic or trying to get dinner(s) for three very picky eaters on the table. My love for them and my sheer delight at the zany and sage things they say make me feel a kind of grateful simpatico with my mysterious Father, who must find us equally lovable and amazing, as only a parent can. 

And you? What are some of the everyday, repeated moments that make up your life in God's presence? Do you find these moments are part of the daily rhythm, or do you make an intentional choice to find Him in tried-and-true places?

Next Week: In what activities do you feel blocked from God's presence?

Friday, September 23, 2016

Asking Myself: How do you know when God is communicating with you?


This is the 27th post in my series "Asking Myself," in which I weekly ponder one question posed in Teresa Blythe's rich book, 50 Ways to Pray. You can find the start of the series here and last week's post here. The first nine posts focused on theological musings, while posts 10 to 25 prayerfully consider the specific questions Jesus posed in the New Testament. Posts 26 to present focus on Questions on Spirituality.


Q: How do you know when God is communicating with you?

The short answer is I don't know. I mean, I often have a hunch, but I never really, truly know when what seems to be the universe conspiring to get my attention is actually God or a combination of coincidence and my own wishful or fretful thinking.

The long answer is that, while I can never say with certainty (anymore) that God is communicating something particular to me, I do believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to my spirit. And for that reason, I tend to take note of certain nagging thoughts, ideas, urgings or understandings of myself or situation.
There's a quote by A.W. Tozer taped to the inside of my wardrobe:

To expose our hearts to truth and consistently refuse or neglect to obey the impulses it arouses is to stymie the motions of life within us and, if persisted in, to grieve the Holy Spirit into silence.

On my best days, this quote gets me to pick up my phone and call a person whose face keeps popping into my head. It gets me doing, praying, connecting, creating, tending and caring. On the bad days, this quote guilts me into pleading for God's mercy, and patience. Asking him to "come again?" perhaps using another mode of communication so I might truly know it's Him.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

A review of the NIrV "Minecrafters Bible"


My second-grader pretty much as Minecraft on the brain or at least as his background soundtrack all the hours he's awake, and some of those during which he's asleep. I thought this might make a nice birthday present for him. Educationally, it's also a step-up from all the paraphrased storybook bibles we already have in our collection. At 1144 onion skin pages, the NIrV Minecrafters Bible includes the full text of the Old and New Testaments, along with 24 thicker full-color pages with illustrations of stories that lend themselves to be recreated in the "boxy and pixelated" style that my son loves so much. If you're not aware of Minecraft or other video games that use this low-res style, you might find the illustrations a little odd, especially when they include a block-headed Jesus. However, the familiar look of the pictures were a big draw even to my 5-year-old who is just beginning to learn to read.

The New International Readers Version strikes me as a good choice for young readers. It dispenses with a lot of the poetic (and for children, indecipherable) language of other versions. For example, Psalm 23 begins "The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me everything I need." The beatitudes in Matthew 5 begin "Blessed are those who are spiritually needy. They kingdom of heaven belongs to them." Paul encourages the Philippians in v. 4:12-13: "I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough of not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength." 

Of course, these details matter more to me than to my son, who mainly has skipped over the black and white text in favor of the color plates, which feature paraphrased stories that lend themselves to building-focused illustrations. Many of these stories do not coincide with the adjacent text. For instance, Solomon's temple is inserted into the psalms, and Jesus' miracle of feeding sits next to Jeremiah. Often, the colored pages will set up the beginning of a story and end on a cliff-hanger, with encouragement to flip to the verse reference of the actual story.
Overall, I think this version can be useful to cause Minecraft-loving kids to crack open the pages of scripture. The easy to read translation is also a plus for younger readers who might find the Bible's more esoteric passages hard to digest.

 *I received this Bible from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.*