Changing the routine
Chad is my physical fitness advisor. Great guy. Works at the East Berlin Fitness Center. Every once in awhile he'll take my fitness measurements.
Percentage body fat.
Heart efficiency.
How much I can lift of this and that.
Have me get on the scale (ugh!)
Then Chad will create a routine for me to follow. Every so often I'm supposed to go back and get a new regimen. Because your body adapts to the program. Doing the same thing over and over brings fewer and fewer advances. That's why you have to shake things up.
Lately, I've felt that in my spiritual journey. My prayer patterns have become stale. Can you say "rut"? Of course, God is still there, still faithful, still speaking, still listening. But I've become acclimated or habitated- less and less available to God. Not everyone is like this, but I need a new spiritual routine every so often.
When I think of the "spiritual measurements"
Becoming more loving,
more forgiving,
more like Jesus,
more peaceful,
more prayerful,
more attentive and compassionate,
and allowing Christ to become "amazing grace" through me
I get the "cringe" like when I step on the scale at the fitness center. Time to get help.
One excellent resource- that's been helpful to me- is Tony Jones' book The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life. And the spiritual practice I'm trying from the book is called the "Jesus prayer."
It goes like this. Breathe in- "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God"- breathe out- "have mercy on me, a sinner." Do that 100, 200, or several thousand times per day. Definitely weird. You'll have to read the book to get the low down on how this connects and re-connects you to God. For me, it's been a way to quiet my soul, to deal with all the demands and thoughts that run through my brain. Found out that at www.easternchristian.com you can even order "prayer ropes" that can help you keep count of your "Jesus prayers"
This is all pretty wild for a Lutheran Christian guy like me. "Saved by grace through faith for good works". That's me. And... that's exactly what this biblically based prayer is all about! I have the "saved by grace, not by works" mastered intellectually. Problem is, it hasn't seeped very far down into the depths of my soul. I'm decent at applying God's grace for other people, not so good at living it for me.
As you can see, it's time to change things up a bit. I'll let you know after awhile how the "Jesus prayer" has done its work with me. But already it's seeping down into my spirit.
Cool runnings and level vibes, Tim
Percentage body fat.
Heart efficiency.
How much I can lift of this and that.
Have me get on the scale (ugh!)
Then Chad will create a routine for me to follow. Every so often I'm supposed to go back and get a new regimen. Because your body adapts to the program. Doing the same thing over and over brings fewer and fewer advances. That's why you have to shake things up.
Lately, I've felt that in my spiritual journey. My prayer patterns have become stale. Can you say "rut"? Of course, God is still there, still faithful, still speaking, still listening. But I've become acclimated or habitated- less and less available to God. Not everyone is like this, but I need a new spiritual routine every so often.
When I think of the "spiritual measurements"
Becoming more loving,
more forgiving,
more like Jesus,
more peaceful,
more prayerful,
more attentive and compassionate,
and allowing Christ to become "amazing grace" through me
I get the "cringe" like when I step on the scale at the fitness center. Time to get help.
One excellent resource- that's been helpful to me- is Tony Jones' book The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life. And the spiritual practice I'm trying from the book is called the "Jesus prayer."
It goes like this. Breathe in- "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God"- breathe out- "have mercy on me, a sinner." Do that 100, 200, or several thousand times per day. Definitely weird. You'll have to read the book to get the low down on how this connects and re-connects you to God. For me, it's been a way to quiet my soul, to deal with all the demands and thoughts that run through my brain. Found out that at www.easternchristian.com you can even order "prayer ropes" that can help you keep count of your "Jesus prayers"
This is all pretty wild for a Lutheran Christian guy like me. "Saved by grace through faith for good works". That's me. And... that's exactly what this biblically based prayer is all about! I have the "saved by grace, not by works" mastered intellectually. Problem is, it hasn't seeped very far down into the depths of my soul. I'm decent at applying God's grace for other people, not so good at living it for me.
As you can see, it's time to change things up a bit. I'll let you know after awhile how the "Jesus prayer" has done its work with me. But already it's seeping down into my spirit.
Cool runnings and level vibes, Tim
posted by Duh-sciple Tim at 4:04 PM
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