A New Beginning...

Yesterday was a big day for my son, Robert. For his 16th birthday, we gave him an hour-long, private airplane ride where he could sit in the front and see what it was really like. He's been talking about flying for some time now, and we thought this would be a very special time for him. And it was!

He, Kim, and I went up yesterday morning with Seth and Ashley in Seth's grandmother's Bonanza. Wow, was that cool! It was so smooth, and we got to see some pretty incredible sights. But the best sight of all was Robert's face as he flew for a little while. Somehow I have the feeling that yesterday will the first of many flights for him.

Here are a few of the best shots:

Robert and the Bonanza

Pusch Ridge right outside the window

He even looks like a pilot

Over the town of Summerhaven on Mt. Lemmon

The UofA telescopes on Mt. Lemmon

Wow

That smile says it all

Two down, one to go!

Yay! My wife and daughter are back home! Robert comes home tomorrow night, and then all will be right again in our house. I think Lilly missed them more than I did:

Walking Images

Remnants of the storm last night on one of the walking paths I take:

Walking Images

The rangers are blooming - monsoons are coming!

Prayer for the week

From The Divine Hours:

O God, you have taught me to keep all your commandments by loving you and my neighbor: Grant me the grace of your Holy Spirit, that I may be devoted to you with my whole heart, and united to others with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Random thoughts on Friday

I'm at my local Bruegger's where I just finished a Very Veggie and Cheddar, with bacon (of course), on a toasted everything bagel. My tummy is very happy...

• I'm missing my family - a lot! Kim and Carolyn come home tomorrow night, Robert on Monday night. It's not soon enough.
• It's very hot today (whine, whine)
• This morning I fixed a broken section of roof tile on our house. That was a first. We'll see how it holds when the next storm hits.
• My car needs to be washed, but it's too hot (whine, whine)
• Can't wait to see the new Batman movie. I have to wait for Robert, though.
• Heard about a new Terminator movie (thanks, Jeremy!). Christian Bale is on a roll.
• Just finished re-reading Nouwen's short The Way of the Heart. Solitude, silence, and prayer - practices learned from the Desert Fathers and Mothers applied to contemporary ministry. Beautiful...
• I missed my walk this morning, because I was working on the roof - and it was hot (whine, whine)...maybe tonight...
  

So many blogs, so little time

I just spent the last hour and a half "cleaning up" my Google reader page where I had nearly 200 unread posts from my subscribed feeds.

Hmmm... that seems a little much, don't you think?

I'd love to have more time where I could read all of these, but that's just too much. So, I've trimmed my feeds and will try to do better at reading a little each day instead of a lot on one day of the week. Maybe I'll be more successful with that strategy. And how do some of these people have the time to write as much as they do? I mean, that's great for readers, but, truly, how do they do it? They have obviously been through some incredibly successful time management program about which I know nothing! Oh well, I better check my page again. There's probably 2 or 3 new posts since I've been writing this...

16 years ago

My son, Robert, turns 16 today! Wow. How did that happen so fast? I can still remember bringing him home from the hospital, carrying him in his car seat into the living room, sitting him on the floor, and having this incredible feeling of, "What now?" Our German shepherd and golden lab took a liking to him right away, and then we just sort of knew that everything would be ok.

I'm so proud of the young man he has become. It's really cool to watch your child becoming an adult, watching his interactions with other adults, his reasoning about important things in life, his unique qualities that make him stand out as an individual while being part of his generation.

Happy birthday, buddy. I love you very much and hope your day is filled with wonder, anticipation, and lots of food!

Birthday Blessings the Week

Three people who are very near and dear to me have birthdays this week: Kevin (Monday), Keith (Tuesday), and Robert (Wednesday). I found this blessing in To Bless the Space Between Us by John O'Donohue which seems appropriate for birthdays:

May you recognize in your life the presence,
power, and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,
that your soul in its brightness and belonging
connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.

May you have respect for your individuality and difference.

May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique,
that you have a special destiny here,
that behind the facade of your life
there is something beautiful and eternal happening.

May you learn to see your self
with the same delight,
pride, and expectation
with which God sees you in every moment.

Walking Images

From my morning walk:

Threatening skies over Oro Valley

It certainly does

Spiritual Practices - 3. Walking

Summary: I decided there was no better time to write about walking as a spiritual practice than right after I had walked. I just went for about an hour here in Phoenix, where we have spent the past couple of days relaxing before the rest of my family leaves me for a week. Kim and Carolyn flew this morning (before the walk) to San Antonio to visit my sister for a week. And Robert flies to San Diego this afternoon to visit Kim's brother for 10 days. And me? I get a week by myself at home. I'm not sure that's ever happened before...

Anyway, back to walking. I started walking somewhat regularly about 2 years ago, primarily as a means to recovery from a severely sprained ankle. During that time, I began to really enjoy walking just for the sake of walking. Then I started doing it more frequently. Then I started doing it on trips and vacations. Now I try to get out as often as I can - which, in the Arizona summer is a little harder to do, but not impossible if I stick to mornings. Somewhere along the way, I began to spend the time focusing on God and creation. I ask God questions. I argue with God. Sometimes I think about what I have to do that day. Sometimes I reflect on the previous day. Sometimes I'm just thankful for being able to walk and enjoy creation. Every time, though, I return refreshed and energized.

Reasons: For me, there is something special about being outside (especially in the mountains) and connecting with God. Less distractions and less noise help a lot. Some people can "get away" without ever leaving their living room or study. That's harder for me. I find that getting out and walking allows my mind and heart to become quiet and open. Whenever I get really mad, I take a walk, too, for the same reasons. It gives me space to breathe and to settle down. So, unintentionally, walking has become truly a spiritual practice for me.

Where I'm doing well: I almost exclusively walk in the mornings, as soon as I get up. Therefore, on days when I have extra time (weekends, days off, vacations), I'm much better about getting up and going, and going longer. On our recent cruise, I walked on the ship every morning but two.

Where I need more work: It's harder to do this on work days, because I usually leave for work around 6:30. If I wanted to walk for an hour, that would mean getting up around 5:00. And that's just not right. So, walking on work days is a real struggle. Occasionally I've walked during my lunch break, but you really can't do that in the summer here without suffering from heat stroke and severe dehydration.

Next steps: If trying to walk on work days continues to be a struggle, I really need to make sure I get out on all my days off and the weekends. Sometimes I'm just lazy and don't want to go. But I need to remind myself and remember how much this helps to get the day off to a good start, centered on God and the beauty of creation.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. - John Muir

When was the last time you got outside, walked, and enjoyed God's creation?

Spiritual Practices - 2. Praying the Hours

Summary: This is one of those practices that has been on-again, off-again for me over the past couple of years. When I have engaged in this practice, I have enjoyed it very much and found myself much more focused on God throughout the day. So I am motivated to begin this (again) and to try my best to stick with it longer this time.

"Praying the hours" is the spiritual practice of praying set prayers at certain fixed times during the day. Sometimes it's called "praying the offices" or "fixed-hour prayer" or "the divine office." The tradition goes back to the early days of Judaism, but has been largely lost in Protestant circles. Within the larger sphere of Christianity, there are several "manuals" containing prayers for morning, midday, afternoon, evening, and so forth. One of the more common ones is the Book of Common Prayer. This book is handed down from the Church of England and is used principally in the Anglican and Episcopal communities. Another very user-friendly manual is the 3-volume set called The Divine Hours, compiled by Phyllis Tickle. There is also on online version of these volumes, and I have found both the print and electronic versions to be very easy to use. Two things which are common among them all are the Lord's Prayer and the Psalms. If you've never tried this practice, I highly recommend picking up one of the volumes of The Divine Hours (each volume covers a certain time of the year) and giving it a try. Each of the volumes has an introduction which covers some of the history and tradition behind praying the hours. Also, Scot McKnight's Praying with the Church, which I just finished reading, gives an excellent introduction to this practice.

Reasons: In his book, Scot McKnight gives many good examples and reasons for praying the hours. For me, though, a lot of it comes down to trying to organize my days around prayer instead of everything else that comes along. When I have done this in the past, my routine went something like this. I would wake up and get ready for the day. Somewhere during that process, I would pause and read the morning prayers for the day. Typically something would be especially meaningful, and I would try to reflect on that throughout the morning. Around lunch time, I would read the midday prayers. On work days, I would access one of the online versions from my computer. Again, I would usually find something to reflect on during the afternoon. Then in the evening, I would read the evening or compline prayers for the day, usually just before going to bed. I would then try to fall asleep praying the Lord's Prayer. So, in a very real sense, praying the hours helped me develop a daily rhythm of prayer and my days became ordered around these prayers.

Where I'm doing well: Basically, I'm not doing well on this one. I haven't practiced this regularly for some time now. But reading McKnight's book has inspired me to begin again! Historically, I have done better on weekdays, when my days are already somewhat ordered around work.

Where I need more work: Getting started, for one thing. And the weekends. My weekends tend to be very unordered, so continuing this on off-days, vacations, and holidays will take some extra discipline. But I'm pretty sure that if I can do this for 40-60 days, I will be hooked.

Next steps: Get the summer volume of The Divine Hours and just get started! Also, get a smaller version (perhaps Merton's Book of Hours) to take with me on trips.

If someone were to ask me today about my prayer life, I would have to confess, "It's not very good right now." My hope is that this practice will become one of the staples in my life and that these times with God, praying with the words of all those who have gone before me, will deepen my bond and love for God. How about you?

Missional vs. Emerging

Recently there has been a lot of conversation around the topic of missional vs. emergent/ing churches. A missional synchroblog was hosted last month by The Blind Beggar, which triggered many great posts and discussions about the differences between what people consider to be missional communities and the emerging church. I have only barely started reading some of the posts, but I would encourage anyone who feels part of either or both, or if you're just curious about what all the fuss is about, to spend some time reading these. Start here and follow the links.

In particular, I wanted to re-post part of Alan Hirsch's contribution to the conversation. In this post, he describes his view of being missional, taken from his recent book, The Forgotten Ways:

Missional church is a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the church’s true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only a product of that mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God’s purposes in and through his people. [82]

He continues by writing:

In my opinion what is expressed through Emergent, the Alt-Worship movement, and what has been called Post-Evangelicalism, is not by-and-large a missionary movement, but is rather what I would call a renewal movement. That is, as far as I can discern, its primary concerns lie largely in interpreting theology and worship for the post-modern situation.

I think he is absolutely right on. Thank you, Alan, for stating so succinctly what (I believe) is the key aspect of being "missional" and the main difference between "missional" and "emerging." I am reminded of the quote from Alan's and Michael Frost's book, The Shaping of Things to Come:

Christology determines missiology, and missiology determines ecclesiology. (p. 16)

The more I read, the more I pray, the more I search for direction from God, the clearer and clearer this becomes to me. Perhaps that is why Exiles, Frost's latest book, seemed to capture my current place on my journey so well...

Spiritual Practices - 1. Not Rushing

Summary: I chose to write about this one first because it is my most consistent spiritual practice. I have been "not rushing" for several years now. In fact, I can't even point to an actual beginning or reason behind this change of habit. And, until recently, I probably would not have considered this a spiritual practice, but indeed it is precisely that. To me, "not rushing" means the following: leaving early to arrive somewhere early, not cramming so much into my days to where I feel like I have to finish one thing as fast as I can to get on to the next, walking slowly, and driving slowly.

Reasons: By not rushing, I allow myself the time to notice things along the way. When I am thrust into moments of rushing, I find myself forgetting things, becoming very anxious, and turning quite grumpy. In fact, I have reached the point where if I have to rush to get somewhere, I would prefer not to go at all or reschedule. I am fortunate in that I have never had an issue with high blood pressure. But when I begin to rush, I can feel my blood pressure rising.

So this practice provides physical, mental, and emotional benefits. Primarily, though, maintaining this practice is about staying aware of God and the people around me. If I am rushing, I become concerned with only one thing: getting to where I'm going or getting done. One of the recent aspects of this practice which is still a growing edge for me is speeding when I drive. Thanks to a very sincere and motivational teacher at my defensive driving class a few months ago, I made a sort of solemn vow to stop speeding. So I don't. Period. Not only has my anxiety level lowered even further when I'm behind the wheel, but I have gained a 10% increase in gas mileage. And it's not taking me any longer (really) to get around town. Plus, I've really noticed how much people speed. Wow. Try it for a week and see how many people pass you doing 5, 10, or 15 mph over the limit. Just be sure to stay in the right lane as much as possible!

Where I'm doing well:

• Driving: Like I said before, I don't speed anymore.
• Scheduling things: This has taken a lot of effort, and it is still difficult when other people are involved with activities. But, I purposely and unapologetically do not try to completely fill my schedule every day. This gives me time to rest throughout the day, as well.
  

Where I need more work:

• Eating: I still eat like the food is going to jump off my plate if I don't consume it rapidly.
  

Next steps:

• Remain consistent with my new driving habits.
• Do not let others - who are rushing - pull me into their "rush traps!"
• Work on eating more slowly to savor every taste.
  
• "Take more time, cover less ground" - Thomas Merton

So how are you doing at not rushing through life?

Spiritual Practices - A Beginning, Part 2

I suppose before I discuss specific spiritual practices I should discuss spiritual practices in general. When I talk about spiritual practices, I mean activities in which we regularly engage to help us draw closer to God and increase our awareness of God. In other words, these practices are intended to help give us eyes to see and ears to hear. With this broad description, I think just about anything could be considered a spiritual practice if it brings us closer to God. And isn't this how life should be? A life filled with God's presence. Brother Lawrence referred to this as "The Practice of the Presence of God." I would call it living in the Kingdom of Heaven.

What do you think?