Claimed, gathered and sent

A number of years ago, I worked at McDonald's. No matter how I washed my uniforms, no matter what I used, they smelled like McDonald's food. People could tell where I had been just by the smell. Last week the smell of turkey wafted through the house thanks to a revgalblogpal recipe. Everything goes in the crockpot: turkey breast, cranberry sauce, and onion soup mix. Then you just let it cook for about 10 hours. It's so easy. And it smells and tastes delicious. And of course coffee! Yum. Even people that don't like coffee enjoy the aroma. What is our scent? In this passage , Paul speaks of the believer having an aroma...the "aroma of the knowledge" of God that is to be spread everywhere. We are an aroma to the people we encounter daily and an aroma to God. Can people tell where we've been, who we've been with by what we smell like? So, how do we smell like Jesus? Spend time with him. Hang out with him. Learn from him. Abide in him. Everyone will...

Thanks to Clint and his link, I have found a site that is a treasure trove for those interested in spiritual disciplines such as fixed hour prayer, lectio divina, and the daily readings. For quite some time now, I have found such practices along with journaling to be useful in drawing near to God and hearing his voice.

Over breakfast I was looking though the latest issue of The Lutheran and came across this article. Story by Glen A. Bengson 'But God can' Ash Wednesday reminds us God renews, reforms, revives our lives I had baptized 4-year-old Sarah and her brother some months before and was visiting the family to see how things were going. “Has Sarah mentioned anything about the experience?” I asked her mother. “Oh, yes,” she answered. “She said the pastor made a cross on her forehead. I told her, ‘But you can’t see it now.’ “‘But God can,’ replied Sarah.” When the ashes of Ash Wednesday welcome us into the disciplines of Lent and Christian life, we begin that 40-day journey of repentance and renewal confident that, indeed, “God can.” God can bring life out of death. God can join water and word, bread and wine, repentance and forgiveness, and cross and community to fashion a new beginning and a new people in Christ. God can renew and reform and revive my life because of Je...

We've all heard the voice. You know: the one a parent uses and you know y0u're in trouble now. Or the unmistakable voices of Barry White or James Earl Jones. Or the friend's voice when there so much brokenness in your life, family, marriage and no one can do anything to fix it, but just hearing the love and concern in that voice somehow helps. Psalm 29:3-9 ( http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=67154999 ) speaks of God's voice. " The voice of the Lord is over the waters... is powerful... full of majesty... breaks the cedars... flashes forth flames of fire... shakes the wilderness... causes the oaks to whirl... strips the forests bare." The psalmist here speaks of a strong voice. Sometimes we need that strength when we are weak. It is the voice of the God who speaks things into being...of the eternal Word incarnated among us. It's important to recognize the voice we are hearing. Parents know their child's voic...

Yesterday, I read on the Lutheran Zephyr's blog ( http://www.lutheranzephyr.com/main/ ) about a Journal of Lutheran Ethics article that is thought provoking. The title is "Spiritual Reinvention and the Andrew Greeley Principle." It is sobering, calling us to deeper relationship with the God who loves is. The link is: http://www.elca.org/jle/article.asp?k=769 .

There are many outside the church that see it/us as irrelevant. Take a look at what Sally Morgenthaler's thinking about it this regard. The url to her post is: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2007/12/a_more_soulful_religion.html#more

Here is a link to the lectionary readings and prayers for this week in preparation for the 2nd Sunday in Advent. It's from the Lutheran Zephyr blog. The link is http://www.lutheranzephyr.com/main/2007/12/daily-prayer-ar.html

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth. We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored. The Journey...

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth. We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored. The church ...

I'm beginning a series on the Journey of Faith, taken from explorefaith.org. The article is lengthy, but nicely divided up for daily posting. Enjoy and begin the journey to which he has called us! The Journey of Faith Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth. We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you...

I just finished reading Scot McKnight's latest post on Jesuscreed.org. There is a website that is an online community for Christian spiritual formation. The link is http://www.metamorpha.com/Home/TabId/36/default.aspx. Check it out and see what you think. It looks promising.

The discipline I chose to practice this week is sometimes referred to as divine hours, the divine office, daily office or fixed hour prayer. It has grown out of the tradition of the Benedictine monastic order and originally had nine different times of prayer. It is now down to seven in most orders and many lay people pray anywhere from three to four. My practice this week has been morning prayer, noon prayer and then evening prayer or vespers. This is a short explanation from the website Explore Faith. People have prayed at fixed hours during the day for centuries. Quietly easing away from the obligations of home or work, they take a few moments to spend time with God. These moments connect them to the Divine, and to the countless others who are also pausing to pray the prayers designated for that hour, on that day. Prayers whispered and chanted, spoken loud and clear or murmured silently within, all join together in a continuous flow, a river...