This weekend, I'm attending the Willowcreek Leadership Summit here in Colorado Springs. Great speakers and worship time but the Foundations class I just completed at Fuller Seminary continues to occupy my mind and heart.
For that class, I read most of Joan Chittister's book, "Wisdom Distilled From the Daily-Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today." From that book, I garnered the following "rule" that I now read daily just before practicing my bible reading and prayer. It grounds me and I wanted to share it with you.
1. Spirituality is more about principles than practices. It is not about my schedule as much as it is about my priorities; attitude over behavior. I seek a change of heart and a turning of my mind.
2. The scripture is a guide to God, not God. This is not spiritual gymnastics. It is awareness of the reality of the Gospel.
3. This is not an enterprise of private whim but a conscious gathering of wisdom & encouragement from others (the Holy Spirit, church fathers, canon authors, moderns following Christ).
4. These practices are NOT about my needs or me; my family and my community have a claim on the merit of my life.
Thank you, Father, for teaching me from the contemplatives of the past. Amen
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1 comment:
Rex: What a great framework for life! The more I spend time with the Lord, the more He reveals to me that life is all about relationship with Him. As a family, we spent 19 hours in the car yesterday to arrive here in San Diego--yep, everybody else is still asleep, but I am sitting pool-side enjoying the Lord's creation! Anyway, much of the trip we listened to radio dramas. One, in particular, hit all of us in a deep way. It was about Corrie Ten Boom and her family during WWII and hiding Jews from persecutors. The key point was Corrie's father's perspective as he shared with so many--Joy and happiness have nothing to do with our circumstances, these come only from a deep and vibrant relationship with the great I AM.
Blessings to you and all the saints at SCC.
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