Today’s devotional is from Misty:
Over the past few weeks of stress and anxiety, God has blessed our family with this song. I pray that you and I can wake up every day feeling born again. Because truly, if we take hold of the gift of life and love that God has given us we truly can. I challenge you as much as I challenge myself to give yourself totally to God and allow his love to wash over every single part of your life. He is the only one who can repair the broken, He is the only one who knows who we are truly meant to be, we just have to allow Him to work. Keep this song in your mind and heart. Find it and listen to it.
Today I found myself
After searching all these years
the man that I saw
He wasn't at all who I thought he'd be
I was lost when you found me here
I was broken beyond repair.
Then you came along
And you sang your song over me
I feel like I'm born again
I feel like I'm living
For the very first time
For the very first time
In my life
Make a promise to me now
Reassure my heart somehow
That the love that I feel
Is so much more real than anything
I've a feeling in my soul
And I pray that I'm not wrong
That the life I have now
Is is only the beginning
It feels like I'm born again
It feels like I'm living
For the very first time
For the very first time
It feels like I'm breathing
Feels like I'm moving
For the very first time
For the very first time
Wasn't lookin' for
Something that was more
than what I had yesterday
Then you came to me
and you gave me
A life and a love
that I've never known
that I've never felt before
It feels like I'm born again
It feels like I'm living
For the very first time
For the very first time
It feels like I'm breathing
Feels like I'm moving
For the very first time
I'm livin' for the first time
In my life
Blessings,
Misty
Showing posts with label renewal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label renewal. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Rhythm of life ...
Why do we spend so much time in prayer, in devotion, in times of renewal? Consider these words from Christine Pohl:
Because hospitality is so demanding, we must find a renewing rhythm of work, rest, and worship. Without periods of rest and solitude, and without access to spiritual nourishment, we wear out quickly. It is easy to overlook prayer, study, and rest when the demands of hospitality are urgent and overwhelming. It is impossible, however, to sustain hospitality without attention to both the spiritual and physical needs of the practitioners.
Out of his years of experience in offering hospitality, Jean Vanier concludes, “It is easy to be generous for a few months or even years. But to be continually present to others, and not only present but nourishing, to keep going in a fidelity which is reborn each morning, demands a discipline of body and spirit.” Quoting a Franciscan prior who works among the urban poor, Vanier offers an important warning:
“If we do not care for our bodies, and if we do not find a rhythm of life we can sustain in the years to come,” he said, “it is not worth us being here. Our job is to stay. It is too easy to come and live among the poor for the experience, to exploit them for our own spiritual ends and then to leave. What we have to do is stay.”
A distinctive of Benedictine life is their vow of stability – a permanent commitment to a particular monastic community in a particular place. In accepting certain spatial and communal boundaries on their lives, they are able to establish a strong sense of place, which can welcome, anchor, and nourish both monks and guests. Settled boundaries and commitments can provide an environment of rest and freedom that enhances a capacity to offer hospitality.
Most communities and individual practitioners of hospitality have learned the hard way about the necessity of finding time and space for renewal. Communities of hospitality close down periodically to allow workers time to be refreshed. Every person needs some time during the week to get away from his or her regular activities. Persons and families need at least small amounts of personal space. These needs become intensified when people are offering hospitality to a steady flow of strangers who require significant attention and investment.
We nourish our lives with personal prayer and community worship. We are fed through reading and studying Scripture, and we are renewed through serious observance of Sabbaths. Meals, worship, and the [Lord’s Supper] combine together to nourish those who offer hospitality.
May God bless our day with time for these kinds of refreshing,
Ron
Because hospitality is so demanding, we must find a renewing rhythm of work, rest, and worship. Without periods of rest and solitude, and without access to spiritual nourishment, we wear out quickly. It is easy to overlook prayer, study, and rest when the demands of hospitality are urgent and overwhelming. It is impossible, however, to sustain hospitality without attention to both the spiritual and physical needs of the practitioners.
Out of his years of experience in offering hospitality, Jean Vanier concludes, “It is easy to be generous for a few months or even years. But to be continually present to others, and not only present but nourishing, to keep going in a fidelity which is reborn each morning, demands a discipline of body and spirit.” Quoting a Franciscan prior who works among the urban poor, Vanier offers an important warning:
“If we do not care for our bodies, and if we do not find a rhythm of life we can sustain in the years to come,” he said, “it is not worth us being here. Our job is to stay. It is too easy to come and live among the poor for the experience, to exploit them for our own spiritual ends and then to leave. What we have to do is stay.”
A distinctive of Benedictine life is their vow of stability – a permanent commitment to a particular monastic community in a particular place. In accepting certain spatial and communal boundaries on their lives, they are able to establish a strong sense of place, which can welcome, anchor, and nourish both monks and guests. Settled boundaries and commitments can provide an environment of rest and freedom that enhances a capacity to offer hospitality.
Most communities and individual practitioners of hospitality have learned the hard way about the necessity of finding time and space for renewal. Communities of hospitality close down periodically to allow workers time to be refreshed. Every person needs some time during the week to get away from his or her regular activities. Persons and families need at least small amounts of personal space. These needs become intensified when people are offering hospitality to a steady flow of strangers who require significant attention and investment.
We nourish our lives with personal prayer and community worship. We are fed through reading and studying Scripture, and we are renewed through serious observance of Sabbaths. Meals, worship, and the [Lord’s Supper] combine together to nourish those who offer hospitality.
May God bless our day with time for these kinds of refreshing,
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)