A Quiet Transformation
“Mom! He’s in our lane!” Even before my daughter screamed the words, I saw him coming, crossing over into my lane of traffic. We were traveling the 60 miles an hour speed limit on a two-lane country road. “I know, I see him,” were all the words I could get out. The mind is an ...
A Portable Sanctuary
As we continue in our practice of silence and solitude, over time we begin to discover even our solitude begins to be transformed. In solitude where we create space to attune our hearts to the voice of God, where we confront our driven souls, and stay present to the work of the Holy Spirit in ...
Thoughts on Solitude
Today I thought I'd post what others have to say about the practice of solitude: “The invitation to solitude and silence is just that. It is an invitation to enter more deeply into the intimacy of relationship with the One who waits just outside the noise and busyness of our lives. It is an invitation ...
A Quiet Gift of Grace
“Solitude eventually offers a quiet gift of grace, a gift that comes whenever we are able to face ourselves honestly; the gift of acceptance, of compassion, for who we are, as we are. As we allow ourselves to be known in solitude, we discover that we are known by love. Beyond the pain of self-discovery ...
The Surprising Rewards of Silence
I continue my thoughts on the spiritual practices of silence and solitude. Today's post comes from an article written for NavPress by Tim Stafford. I thought he said it better than I could. The Surprising Rewards of Silence Why are we afraid to be quiet before God? By Tim Stafford Ever stop to think why ...
My Journey into Solitude
Over the next several days I want to share some thoughts on the spiritual practice of silence and solitude. When you mention either of these disciplines out loud, you get a variety of, often strong, responses. The type A personality sees it as a waste of time. “You mean you don’t DO anything?” The Relational ...
Rooted in Spiritual Reality
The invitation by Jesus to “abide” or keep company with him (John 15: Matt. 11), is not so much about strategy as is being attentive to his continual, available presence. In other words, Bible reading and prayer are not the only two activities that count spiritually. When we only view spiritual practices as prayer and ...
A Heart Greater Than Our Wounds
"You have been wounded in many ways. The more you open yourself to being healed, the more you will discover how deep your wounds are. The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds deeply than to understand ...
Living Beyond Our Fears
There is much in the world to make us afraid. There is much more in our faith to make us unafraid. ~Frederick W. Cropp Fear expresses itself differently in each person. We are fearful about different things. But always...fear will keep you from receiving all that God has for you. Fear causes us to live ...
Thoughts on Sabbath
I’ve thoroughly been enjoying Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, An Altar in the World. Here are a few of her thoughts on Sabbath: “Busy is how our culture measures worth” (p. 123). Our culture invariably supposes that action and accomplishment are better than rest, that doing something….anything…is better than doing nothing. For so much of our ...
Gail Johnsen 