Rule of Life: Spiritual Disciplines

Here we are in a new year—2017. I heralded it in with Scott by my side, standing in the back of a room filled with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. One of the little ones hadn’t made it to midnight, and she was dead-to-the-world asleep on a blanket on the floor.

The time marker of the New Year sparks reflection—joy and thankfulness over the blessings of the past twelve months and tears over losses and disappointments.

This is also the time of year when people make resolutions—these goals of how to improve ourselves over the next year. The resolve with which we tackle the fulfillment of these resolutions, though, can be reflected in the comical levels of dusty exercise equipment for sale on the curb or unused gym memberships come early spring. We have the best of intentions, but our resolutions are often too abstract or far reaching to carry through to completion.

But what if instead of setting a far off goal, we instead looked at values and patterns we wanted to encourage and prioritize now, today, tomorrow, the next day? What if we focused on what is already at hand, and allow those small decisions to take us somewhere?

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Examen: Spiritual Disciplines

We have now entered the lull between Christmas and New Year’s. I have always enjoyed this time, as the activity of Christmas has mostly ceased but my daily schedule hasn’t yet returned to the normal routine. I can rest and spend time with family and friends.

This is also typically a time of reflection, as the year draws to a close. We remember all that’s passed during the twelve months, and we look forward to all that’s to come in the next twelve.

There is an ancient practice with invites this sort of prayerful reflection into our daily lives. The practice of examen uses a set of opposing questions to guide reflection on the positive and negative of each day.

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Compassion: Spiritual Disciplines

You can’t escape them—the rhythmic ring of their bells reaches your ears from the time you open your car in the parking lot. Then you must decide as you near the large doors if you will ignore them by busying yourself with your phone or smile and make eye contact. I don’t even know if I have any change. Will they expect me to put something in their large red money cauldron if I say hello? I doubt I’m alone in my general discomfort at running the Salvation Army gauntlet in and out of every store during this time of the year.

They aren’t the only ones asking for charitable donations. The majority of non-profits and ministries I know of ask for their supporters to consider a year-end donation, which means we are facing an onslaught of requests for our financial giving as we draw closer to December 31.

There is nothing wrong with this. Many people are moved to generosity by the joy of the season, and Ebenezer Scrooge has taught us that part of the Christmas spirit is thinking of others less fortunate. We fill boxes for Operation Christmas Child for children in far reaches of the world. We volunteer at a local soup kitchen or purchase gifts for Angel Tree. World Vision offers a wide catalogue of gifts, which can be gifted in someone’s name to a family or individual in need.

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Sabbath: Spiritual Disciplines

Does the Sabbath seem like a surprising spiritual discipline to be talking about this week? We’re down to a week and a half before Christmas, and it’s crunch time. There are last minute purchases to make and gifts to be wrapped. It’s the time of year for school productions and office parties which demand our participation or attendance. Churches put on special events, requiring practices and memorizing. We have a stack of Christmas cards to write to people we never otherwise communicate with. Some of us are preparing for travel and scrambling to finish work and personal projects before we leave home for the holidays. It’s a festive time of year and we want to enjoy it—but in the busyness, sometimes it’s about more than we can take. Sound familiar?

What if you would choose to refuse stress? To simplify? To rest? What if you could create space to be quiet, to be with your family, to reflect on Christ’s coming?

There is a strong human impulse to do. It keeps us moving, working, producing. Our lives fill up quickly with obligations and responsibilities, of which there seems to be no end. If we wait to stop once our to-do list is empty, we never will.

This is part of the beauty of Sabbath keeping—it builds rest into our schedules. We stop not because we’re finished but simply because it’s time to stop.

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Hospitality: Spiritual Disciplines

I sometimes joke that I have the spiritual gift of feeding people, and it’s true that more times than not, entering our home will result in some sort of edibles placed before you. It’s the way Scott and I are wired—to have people into our home and, of course, to feed them.

But is hospitality for everyone? Or just for those of us who find it enjoyable or part of our calling?

Some fall into the trap of thinking they can’t be hospitable because their home isn’t big or clean enough, or they aren’t a good enough cook. Others become crippled by a combination of perfectionism, pride, and comparison, concerned about not measuring up to the standards of others.

Hospitality, though, is about much more than good food and a nice house, in spite of its typical portrayal. Hospitality is not about what is provided as much as how it is provided. Hospitality is all about welcome. It’s about extending open arms to other people and inviting them into a safe and warm space. Hospitality is about expressing the welcoming love of Christ to others—both friends and strangers. So, the most lavish banquet in the best decorated of homes could express little of the biblical sense of hospitality based on the attitude of the host, but simple bread and water could incarnate the welcome of Christ himself.

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