Daily Devotional by Mike Slaughter

Here's another devotional to add to your list of possibilities! We've spent a lot of time this year talking about regular faith practices. Mike Slaughter, the speaker for the coming week's Animate: Practices session on worship has an online daily devotional, including a printable journal for Lent. Check it out: 

Online Daily Devotionals

Lenten Journal

Who is Mike Slaughter?

The third session of Animate:Practices, Worship: Seeking God's Presence, is presented by Mike Slaughter. 

From the Spark House website: 

Rev. Mike Slaughter is in his fourth decade as the chief dreamer of Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio, and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. His lifelong passion to reach the lost and set the oppressed free has made him a tireless and leading advocate for the children, women, and men of Darfur, Sudan. Mike's call to afflict the comfortable challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. He is the author of 14 books, including Change the World and Christmas is Not Your Birthday, which embody what it means to take the church into the world, rather than simply coaxing the world into the church.
Five fast facts

1. Lists his best spiritual gift as the "gift of irritation"
2. Admits ice cream is a major weakness
3. Loves baseball, especially the Cincinnati Reds
4. Has five grandkids
5. Was named by The Church Report as one of the 50 most influential Christians in America 

Visit the website of Ginghamsburg here: http://ginghamsburg.org/
Mike Slaughter's personal site can be found here: http://mikeslaughter.com/

Lauren Winner's Thoughts on Food

In response to this week's topic of "Food:Eating with Jesus," I looked up the author of one of our previous studies, Lauren Winner, and found a wonderful excerpt from her book Wearing God, which was published last spring. You can read the excerpt titled "Bread" here: http://imagejournal.org/article/bread/.  Winner begins with an exploration of God's concern for food and continues with the history of white bread, the meaning of fried chicken in the African American community, and the development of eating disorders.

"It would not be a gross exaggeration to say that the Bible is a culinary manual, concerned from start to finish with how to eat, what to eat, when to eat. Food is the first way the Bible shows the God intends to provide for humanity. ... And food is the shorthand for our disobedience..." 

I recommend the entire article. I am struck with how food is both entirely mundane and also so very infused with spiritual, cultural, and emotional meaning.

Who is Sara Miles?

The second session of Animate: Practices, Food: Eating with Jesus, is presented by Sara Miles.

From the Spark House website:

Sara Miles is a writer whose book Take This Bread tells the story of her "unexpected and inconvenient" conversion to Christianity, and how a mystical first experience of Holy Communion led her to organize hungry people to offer literally tons of free groceries at the altar each week, without conditions. She's the author of Jesus Freak: Feeding Healing Raising the Dead, about unorthodox Christian communities built around actually doing these works of Jesus, and City of God, which looks at public worship through one Ash Wednesday as it unfolds in the streets of her city. 

Sara is Director of Ministry at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, and the founder and director of The Food Pantry. She preaches and speaks widely around the country. 

Five fast facts:

1. Lives in San Francisco with her wife
2. Posts a daily bouquet made entirely from flowers grown in her backyard
3. Also grows figs, lemons, apples, apricots, plums, and blueberries—no vegetables
4. Used to work as a war correspondent, writing about revolutions, counter-revolutions, and post-Vietnam military doctrine
5. Devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe

You can learn more about Sara Miles at her website: http://www.saramiles.net/ 

Praying Without Words

At our last meeting, as we discussed liturgical prayer and spontaneous prayer, Carol mentioned praying without words entirely. I found this idea intriguing and went looking for some resources. First, I found this quote by C.S. Lewis from his book Letters to Malcolm:

For many years after my conversion I never used any ready-made forms except the Lord's Prayer. In fact I tried to pray without words at all--not to verbalise the mental acts. Even in praying for others I believe I tended to avoid their names and substituted mental images of them. I still think the prayer without words is the best--if one can really achieve it. 

And John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, said,

When you pray, rather let thy heart be without words than they words without heart.

John Parsons, of Hebrew For Christians, offers this article: A Few Thoughts on Prayer, where he points out that prayer comes from the heart, and is therefore with or without words. As an offering of the heart, prayer may also be either conscious or unconscious. It is the heart's communication with God. He shares a Jewish midrash on prayer in this way:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "I bade you pray in the assembly of your city, but if you cannot pray there, pray in your field, but if you cannot pray there, pray on your bed, but if you cannot pray there, 'be still and know that I am God.'"

 Romans 8:26 says this,

For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

The practice of prayer encompasses so much more than words, and, clearly, the Spirit "hears" our heart, our intentions without words. A more holistic view of prayer might involve out thoughts, intentions, emotions, and images. In the words of John Parsons,

Prayer is essentially a response to God's call for us, a kind of teshuvah, or turning to God. ... It is not about finding the right words. 

Notes from Patti about Prayer

Patti mentioned this at our last group meeting and graciously passed it along to me in email so that I could share it with all of you!

Many years ago I was given a copy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings on "Daily Meditation" from his letters, lectures and notes titled, The Way to Freedom. Through the years,  I've adapted his notes with my thoughts to come up with a recipe to begin my day.  Through the various chapters of my life of mothering, working, healing and tending, the amount of time I spent varied, but the method remained helpful in enhancing my conversations with God.  My tangible tools are my Bible, my notebook and a pen. I often begin with jotting down initials of persons or situations occupying my head and heart.  This is simply to unload so that I can truly "devote" to my relationship with God.  I then use the following guide:

COME:

A quiet prayer to the Holy Spirit is a precious guarantee of guidance and blessing.

CONCENTRATE:

Choosing a Scripture verse can be as simple as using a verse or two from a Psalm, Bible app, devotion book or daily calendar of verses.  If the Spirit brings you to a memorized verse, use that.  Read the words aloud or to yourself.  Spend time focusing on these words.

CONSIDER:

Most verses lead me to separate scripture thoughts into 2 columns:  God's part/My part.  (This is often a humble reminder that God is God and I am not! Whew...)  

CREATE:

Praise and written prayer, using the words of scripture and the counsel of the Spirit, more naturally flows from our "time together".     

CARRY ON:

Taking the promises, lessons and perspective with me into the rest of the day has me more likely considering God beside me thru the mundane, the mountain tops and everything in between.  Journaling at the end of the day may be a consideration in the future...

Example of today's entry:

"Come, Holy Spirit.  Reveal yourself to me that our relationship may grow to your glory and my peace."

Concentrate on Proverbs 3:5,6  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Paraphrase might be "You promise to make my path straight as I trust in you instead of myself.  Help me to acknowledge you in all ways."

Consider the my part to be to trust in YOU, Lord.  I spin my wheels trying to understand, fix, control etc.  but instead want to acknowledge that you see and know so much more than I do.  Your part will be to make my path straight...change the chaos into peace at the right time and in the right way.

Create in me a clean heart,  oh God.  Renew a right spirit in me.  Thank you for this time of transforming grace.  Thank you for your patient love.  Amen

Carry On with a sweet reminder to trust in a God who loves me.

Julie sent the following email to share with the group:

While working on our homework assignment, I was lead to a couple of readings from Sermon Notes of Charles Stanley. The following is a summary of what I read. You may want your Bible handy.

Read Philippians 4:6-7
Three Roots of Anxiety that Feed Worry
1) Fear.
The key to overcoming fear is Faith in God's Word. The Word of God is filled with examples, promises, commandments, and principles that reveal our Lord is bigger than any problem we may encounter. Let God's Word frame every situation.
2) Doubt.
The key to contentment is trust in God's ways. Contentment comes when we lay our burden at His feet, trusting in His plan and perfect timing.
3) Control.
The key to overcoming our desire to control is to surrender to His Will.
Psalm 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. (That includes all the details of our lives).

Trust- a strong belief in someone's integrity, ability and character. (Having confidence in the Lord)

Read Proverbs 3:5-6

We all need guidance. In order to receive His instructions we must listen, trust and obey.

A. Meditate on God's Word. (Psalm 119:105)
B. Be Sensitive to the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13)
C. Wait for God's Timing. (Isaiah 64:4)
D. Have Courage. (Joshua 1:9)
E. Accept Conflict. (Acts 5:29)

I often rely on prayer to help me during stressful times and when I am seeking answers to questions. These readings were great reminders of why prayer is an important part of my life. May they be a blessing to you too. I'm looking forward to hearing what you discovered during your study time next week. Until then I'll be thinking of you.

Thank you, Julie, for taking the time to share this with the group!! 

Resources for Prayer

Our group continues to gather in some fantastic resources for assisting us in prayer! Here are a few more that were mentioned on Wednesday:

The Hour That Changes the World by Dick Eastman is a guide to 12 steps or "movements" (as Brian McLaren might say) of prayer. Each "movement" is intended to take about 5 minutes, leading the individual through an hour of prayer. Linda mentioned this book to the group and was quick to note that the book is not written in a legalistic manner, nor should it be taken that way. It's a practical guide, with room for flexibility. (Note: The book is available both in paperback and as an ebook.)

If you do a search for Eastman's book, you might stumble upon the article How To Pray at  www.714movement.com, a site developed in collaboration with Dr. James T. Bradford. Bradford has used Eastman's principles of prayer (which are listed in the article at the link above) to develop a prayer journal called Seven: Fourteen. The 714 website and app include daily readings, devotionals, and real-time maps of people praying around the world!

Also, I cannot recommend highly enough Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Prayerbook of the Bible. This book is often sold in a combined volume with his book Life Together, which also includes some lovely readings on the role of communal scripture reading, silence, and prayer. Bonhoeffer makes a convincing case for the daily reading of the Psalms as our Prayerbook. The Psalter is the prayer book that Jesus would have used in prayer. It was the prayer book of the early church. And it still relevant today as it encompasses a range of human emotion and experience.

For previously mentioned resources, see Daily/Weekly Practices, The Daily Office, Contemplative Spirituality, and Fixed Hour Prayer, and Praying the Divine Hours.