My mentor , Rev. Becca Stevens, reminds me that we can find the true God in the places and the times when our expectations are disappointed. She has an amazing way of turning a Desolation into a Consolation and bringing more hope out of it than if God has meet us the way we expected and demanded of God. Listen to this MP3 and hear for yourself.
I tried attaching it. If you can't access it, go to itunes and choose the below book and track.
I know these are extra steps--BUT IT IS SOOO WORTH IT!
Go to: http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=becca+stevens.
Book: Sanctuary. Track 10: Waiting for a Horse.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Lenten Reflections: Practicing "Examen"
My group of 8 youth leaders are doing an on-line group practice for Lent. It is based on one of the steps of "Examen," a process for discernment developed by Ignatius in the 1500's.
What you need: a journal. 5 minutes a day to write down 2 moments you remember.
Write down a moment you felt God's presence that day (Consolation) and a moment you felt in need of God (Desolation).
"Examen" is based on one of the steps to a way of learning discernment and prayer developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. He called them the "Spiritual Exercises" meant to give people a profound sense of God in their life and renewed a calling for service. He wrote the text over 19 years after many people had sought his guidance in this method. They were first published in Latin in 1548. We will publish ours in English.
A Prayer to Get Us Started:
"A Daily Check-In"
Jesus, you have been present with me in my life today--Be Near, now. Let us look together at my day. Let me see through your loving eyes...When did I listen to your voice today? When did I resist listening to you today?
Jesus, everything is a gift from you. I give thanks and praise for the gifts of this day...I ask your healing in...I ask your forgiveness and mercy for...
Jesus, continue to be present with me in my life each day.
(Taken from The Spiritual Exercises Reclaimed, (148) ed. Dyckman, Garvin, Liebert.)
Each week, share what your prayers are for with us.
What you need: a journal. 5 minutes a day to write down 2 moments you remember.
Write down a moment you felt God's presence that day (Consolation) and a moment you felt in need of God (Desolation).
"Examen" is based on one of the steps to a way of learning discernment and prayer developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. He called them the "Spiritual Exercises" meant to give people a profound sense of God in their life and renewed a calling for service. He wrote the text over 19 years after many people had sought his guidance in this method. They were first published in Latin in 1548. We will publish ours in English.
A Prayer to Get Us Started:
"A Daily Check-In"
Jesus, you have been present with me in my life today--Be Near, now. Let us look together at my day. Let me see through your loving eyes...When did I listen to your voice today? When did I resist listening to you today?
Jesus, everything is a gift from you. I give thanks and praise for the gifts of this day...I ask your healing in...I ask your forgiveness and mercy for...
Jesus, continue to be present with me in my life each day.
(Taken from The Spiritual Exercises Reclaimed, (148) ed. Dyckman, Garvin, Liebert.)
Each week, share what your prayers are for with us.
The Mis-Adventures of Being A Wife
This blog started out as a tongue-in-cheek response to a book called "The Adventures of Being a Wife" written by "Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale," the power behind the positive thinker and legendary wife to the late minister of the church where my husband currently serves as associate pastor.
But that was when I had only read the title and was only engaged to my future spouse. Now, four years into marriage and three years ordained and one chapter shy of finishing Mrs. Peale's book, I have a great appreciation for her insights on how to lead a good life though they are very much of her time (Publication date 1971). One of the ideas I admire the most is her description of wifehood as a career--if only because she enjoyed a partnership that most married people of her generation did not have. She recognizes her blessings but neglects to critique the social forces that prohibit others from having this.
I agree that being a wife, particularly, a minister's wife has always been a career. Yet, things get tricky for the modern woman when we have a career at home and outside the home. For me, it is not just about having a "Second Shift," but a mirrored identity. I am both minister's wife and minister. I feel all the contradictions of playing two roles at once. My experience of how the public and private spheres entangle isn't unique to being a minister/'s wife, but I do hope my efforts to wrestle with this female archetype and to inhabit this patriarchal profession may intrigue, may enlighten, or just may simply entertain.
Peace and Blessings,
The Reverand and Mrs. W L
But that was when I had only read the title and was only engaged to my future spouse. Now, four years into marriage and three years ordained and one chapter shy of finishing Mrs. Peale's book, I have a great appreciation for her insights on how to lead a good life though they are very much of her time (Publication date 1971). One of the ideas I admire the most is her description of wifehood as a career--if only because she enjoyed a partnership that most married people of her generation did not have. She recognizes her blessings but neglects to critique the social forces that prohibit others from having this.
I agree that being a wife, particularly, a minister's wife has always been a career. Yet, things get tricky for the modern woman when we have a career at home and outside the home. For me, it is not just about having a "Second Shift," but a mirrored identity. I am both minister's wife and minister. I feel all the contradictions of playing two roles at once. My experience of how the public and private spheres entangle isn't unique to being a minister/'s wife, but I do hope my efforts to wrestle with this female archetype and to inhabit this patriarchal profession may intrigue, may enlighten, or just may simply entertain.
Peace and Blessings,
The Reverand and Mrs. W L
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