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The practice of presence

What I’m attempting to learn is to be present where I am and that is harder than simply quitting Instagram. I want to be aware of the physical world around me. Does my garden need watered? What flowers are blooming? How does where I live inform how I live? One of my goals is to be aware of the phases of the moon. I want to be startled by the vastness of space and intricacy of insects. I want to be delighted by a plethora of small things.

Who is He to Me? – Steve Hartman

John Wesley and The Holy Club’s 22 Questions

Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits? Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying? Did the Bible live in me today? Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day? Am I enjoying prayer?

The God Who Can Be Known – Tim Keller

“Humbled in the Presence of Yourself” – Lore Wilbert

The pause is one of the best gifts to humans. In the pause, we can allow the affirmation of others to sink down into us, to change us at a truly “human pace” (to co-opt some of my favorite words from my friend Ashley Hales). Every day isn’t our birthday. We simply cannot process the likes, retweets, hearts, shares, saves, comments, compliments, etc. every single day without it eroding us. So pause. Let one person’s words sink in. Ask ourselves, “Is this true about me? If it is, what does that mean about who I am and how God sees me? What would it change for me if I truly believed I was ________________?” Just sit with it. See where it takes us.

Making Marriage a Safe Place – Joyful Journey

Scent, Memory and Worship

I’m not sure how it would look practically, but I can’t help wondering what would happen if our times of intimacy with God, whether alone, together with our families or even in our churches were in some way linked to fragrances that, in darker times, would draw us back to the memory of intimacy with God. Would stubborn children, drifting far from the things they learned at home, deaf to the pleas of heartbroken parents, find themselves broken by a familiar smell and the wave of longing that came in its wake? Would we, in our days of self-satisfied arrogance, be reminded of the God who once filled our hearts to overflowing?

If I Was the World’s Only Christian… – Tim challies

It blesses me to know there are some whose faith is well-established and mature, who have endured many trials and weathered many storms. Yet through it all, their love for God and their confidence in his purposes has remained fixed and constant—strengthened, even, through long perseverance. It blesses me equally to know there are some whose faith is young and fresh, who have only just turned away from a life of rebellion to submit to Christ’s rule—people whose hair is practically still wet from the water of their baptism. Their faith is as yet untested, but every bit as true.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash