ContemplativeJourney

I asked a friend to read my blog earlier this week. She has owned a bookstore for many years, and knows quite a lot about the publishing business. When I asked for her feedback, it was not with a particular idea or agenda in mind, but simply because I thought her experience might allow her to help me with the process of refining my writing skills...my hunch was correct, and her feedback was extremely helpful! She suggested that perhaps I could be more vulnerable in sharing my own experiences and struggles...terrific idea, don't you think? (insert a wry smile here...) In all seriousness, I think it is important to be vulnerable, because it's the vulnerability that allows other people to relate to what I'm sharing, and to be touched by the deeper emotional import of the material. I wrote earlier in the week about the Proverbs treatment of adultery and the adulteress, and to my dismay, Proverbs 7 returns to the subject... In the interim days, another friend shared her own insi...

Not so very long ago, I was sitting in a Sunday School class where the conversation focused on how we approach the scriptures...at issue was this question: Do we change the way we interpret scripture in order to make it better fit our perspective, or do we allow scripture to change us as we encounter what it says? We could get quite a debate going on this question, but I don't recall it in order to start a debate, as much as to point out how fascinating is the process of reading scripture day after day, not ever knowing what the next reading might present to you. Like traveling down a crooked path, one never knows what might be around the next curve in the road, and sometimes the content can be surprising... Today we're looking at Proverbs 6, which covers some interesting and varied ground...as I said yesterday, scripture is known for its dynamic nature; and as a result of this dynamism, what might speak to me in chapter 6 might not speak to you at all...still...I continue to ...

When I began reading Proverbs 5 this morning, a tiny voice in my head said, "Oh no...the adultress chapter...I hate this chapter..." As long as I've been reading Proverbs, I think I've had the same reaction to this chapter -- I don't relate. I've not been an adulteress or an adulterer, and so I ask, what does this have to do with me? The good news about making a commitment to write a devotional on each chapter as it comes is this: I am forced to look harder, dig deeper...and hopefully, find a message that applies to all of us, regardless of our experience or lack of, with the subject of adultery. Verse 15 says, "Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well." The context of the comment is the writer's admonition to an adulterous man...and goes something like this: "Stay home and enjoy your own wife." Simple enough, on the face of things, but what is the underlying principle that works for every reader? It is said ...

Good Monday morning to you! Today has been our coolest day of the fall season thus far...another beautiful day! I realize that my mood probably shouldn't be dependent upon the weather, but my goodness, it is hard to not be happy when the weather is so incredibly gorgeous! Today's passage is Proverbs 4. There is much said about the value of wisdom, and the importance of avoiding evil...all good stuff. The verses that capture my attention this day speak to a slightly different aspect of the subject: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Several things could be said about this verse...and it raises a few questions too. First, "guard your heart" from what? In context, I suppose we could simply conclude that we're to guard our heart from evil. Such a conclusion would fit nicely into a spiritual check-box for the day...but is that all it's about? What does it mean that our heart is the "wellspring of life"? I remember this v...

This morning my reading is Proverbs 3. One of my favorite chapters in Proverbs, the 3rd chapter is full of verses that have meaning for me, and that I would love to write about. The chapter opens with this admonition: Do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. I think it's fairly common for folks to pass through a crisis of their faith while going through the death of a loved one, and such was certainly the case for me this past year, as I watched my Mom decline and pass away. I can't count how many times I sat by her bedside and wondered if everything I've been taught all my life is true...and whether, in the end, her suffering would be made worthwhile by paradise on the other side of this life. As I sit here on a beautiful fall morning, enjoying a cup of coffee on my deck, I would be dishonest to say that I don't still struggle with doubts...and yet, it is what happened in my heart in the days after Mom's death that seems to confirm the teachin...

One of the reasons that I enjoy writing so much is the power of words to physically calm me, to reorder my thoughts and feelings, and open my eyes to entirely new perspectives on life and circumstance. This morning I read Proverbs 2, and this passage was meaningful to me: Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. As I read this, I can almost visualize wisdom entering my heart and bringing a sense of calm and order to the chaos. Perhaps I'm unique in this respect, but the inner spaces of my heart can sometimes feel pretty chaotic, and the quiet order of wisdom brings with it a sense of great calm and comfort. On this first Saturday morning in October, I write these words while sitting outside...listening to birds sing and squirrels run through the trees...there is nothing quite like the beauty of God's creation to calm the spirit. I pray that today, wisdom will enter our hearts and calm whatever is in chaos, and that the knowledge of God's lo...

Yesterday I received an email from a former business associate. She was forwarding an article entitled, "10 Decisions that Leaders Make Everyday." I found it to be encouraging, and in some ways inspiring... I've been journaling about the list, and include it here in an abbreviated form...I hope it's an encouragement to you as well! 1. Decide to Focus. 2. Decide to Trust. 3. Decide to Set Higher Expectations. 4. Decide to Lead by Good Example. 5. Decide to Look for the Good. 6. Decide to Create a Positive Environment. 7. Decide to Engage! 8. Decide to Start What Needs to Be Done Right Now. 9. Decide to Stop Doing Whatever isn't Helpful. 10. Decide to Learn. It seems to me that the simplest principles can easily elude us, and yet, when reminded of the things on this list each day, I am encouraged that achieving these ideals is not impossible. Small, momentary decisions can lead to enormous and positive change, if we can simply slow down long enough to be aware of th...