Klyne Snodgrass begins his book Who God Says You Are: A Christian Understanding of Identity with this provocative statement: “There is only one question: Who are you? Everything else in life flows from that one question.” It’s true that who we are determines what we think about, how we feel in response to things, how we act, and even our belief about God’s identity. A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
I've had ample opportunity to practice Welcoming Prayer. A few months ago, I sinned against a friend, unintentionally hurting her. As sin often does, it propagated. Losing her friendship wasn’t the worst of it. Unfortunately, the ripples spread to our children.
I’ll be honest. When I first learned about welcoming prayer, it sounded like a New Age philosophy to me. I imagine my initial resistance was similar to those who think that spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation aren’t Christian but rather some sort of Eastern philosophy.
Have you ever noticed how frequently patterns repeat? Our world is filled with them. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Fibonacci Sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 … Any number in the sequence is calculated by summing the preceding two values: 1 + 1 = 2 (which gives the third Fibonacci number in the sequence), 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 5 + 8 = 13, and so on. When the Fibonacci numbers are calculated in terms of areas of rectangles, a Fibonacci spiral is formed by connecting opposite diagonals of the rectangles. You’ve seen this spiral pattern in nature.
I was raised by a single mom with meager means. During my childhood, my mom experienced several layoffs. For over ten years it was just her, me, and my five-year younger sister. I don’t recall my mom ever making a big deal about our limited means, but I was aware.
Simplicity seems simple, in fact, even childlike. Most children are content to play with boxes rather than complex toys. But if simplicity is simple, why is it that for most of us it is something we have to live into far along on our journey into Christlikeness? I don’t know about you, but I spent a large portion of my childhood excited to become an adult. Don’t get me wrong. I certainly enjoyed being a kid and played hard, but I also longed to be mature. And now that I’m in my mid-40s and technically considered middle aged, I’m finding the scriptures ringing true—Jesus calls us to come full circle and like a child once again.
In Evangelical circles, Christians talk about discipleship. Perhaps it's a word that has become so familiar that we don’t even reflect on its meaning anymore. Discipleship means to follow Jesus—to be his disciple. As his disciple, I learn from him and then live out what I learn.
The word spiritual formation is never mentioned in the Bible, so how can we know it's biblical and not just a New Age concept that has worked its way into Christian thought, understanding, and practice?
Welcome to the Season 2 season finale of Fiction that Forms us!
How do we become more receptive and responsive to the work of the Spirit within our lives? In her first novel, Sensible Shoes, from the series of the same name, Sharon Garlough Brown takes her characters on a journey of practicing various spiritual disciplines. In this episode, I talk to author Sharon Garlough Brown about the spiritual disciplines of lament and confession within the Ignatian Examen. The spiritual practice is one of attentiveness that enables our receptivity by reviewing our day with God in two movements: consolation—where we noticed and responded to God today—and desolation—where we were unaware of, ignored, or rejected God during our day.
