Favorite Spiritual formation Apps, Part 2
A few years ago, we wrote up a blog post on our favorite spiritual formation apps for your phone and devices, and it’s in need of a refresh! Some new apps have come on the scene, and we’d love to share just a few favorites with you.
Our Experience in the Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life
As Rachel and I continue to invest in and develop our spiritual formation in marriage initiatives, we wanted to take a little time highlighting our own experience in praying through the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life together.
Belovedness
Beloved.
I’ve been sitting in prayer with this word, this idea, this fundamental, true-before-anything-else reality for weeks now.
Back in August, Bryan and I started the Ignatian Exercises, a nine-month journey of prayer that’s meant to be a retreat in daily life. It’s a journey that’s been practices for hundreds of years by followers of Jesus, and the first few weeks (depending on which version you’re using) invite you to sit with your belovedness in Christ Jesus. To soak in it. To wrestle with it. To wonder about it. To let God pierce and wreck and heal and beckon and restore your heart with it.
What if Your Spouse was a Catalyst in Your Walk with God?
A.W. Tozer played an enormous role in my early formation. I was encouraged by multiple people to read The Pursuit of God and Knowledge of the Holy when I was in high school and at the beginning of my intentional pursuit of Him. I didn’t understand half of those books at the time, but I wanted what Tozer articulated. Tozer was held out in my church and youth group circles as a model of what could be and someone to emulate. More than the content, though, his books made me want to pray.
I was a little jarred a few years later when I began working for the Christian and Missionary Alliance and met people who didn’t like Tozer. But Tozer was part of the C&MA, and one of their posterchildren. How could someone in the denomination not like him?, I wondered. I came to learn that he wasn’t a very attentive or present husband and father…I’ve held this question recently: What if there was a real ceiling on Tozer’s depth with God because he excluded his family? He may have had a deeper relationship with God than most have had throughout history, but what if he could have experienced even more of God? What would have happened if he had seen his wife and family as a help in his pursuit instead of a hindrance?
Spiritual Formation in Marriage
What if your spouse was your best companion in your journey with Christ?
Being Seen
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24–26 NIV)
I have always loved this blessing. I often use it as a benediction at the end of worship services and in devotional material. I really enjoy the song that was released based on Numbers 6 at the beginning of the pandemic. Recently, though, it has taken on new meaning as I am relearning the power of being seen.
The Slow, Subtle Work of the Holy Spirit
*This is a repost of a journal article we wrote together a few years ago, when we were living in Northern California. The journal is no longer active, so as we approach Pentecost, we want to share it with you!
I bow my head and invite the Holy Spirit to fill me afresh. “Come Holy Spirit, come. Guide me as I review my day, noting the places where you’ve been at work. Give me eyes to see you in moments I wasn’t paying attention. May I give them back to you in simplicity and gratitude.”
This is how we usually begin the prayer of Examen. This prayer practice became especially significant in separate seasons of transition, uncertainty, and aimlessness—seasons in which we each needed the healing salve of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
The Formation of Motherhood
The house is currently quiet, with Bryan working upstairs in our home office while I work at the dining room table. Eva is taking her morning nap, but even as I type, I'm very aware that she could wake up at any moment.
So what do I do with this precious time, while my little one rests? Do I work? Write? Spend time in prayer? Read a book? Do some laundry, prep lunch, make a grocery list...? Or do I mindlessly scroll Instagram in an attempt to assuage my monkey brain/exhaustion/desire for connection, and feel instead the pangs of guilt or jealousy or longing or ...?
Communal Discernment
For the last few months, while Rachel and I have been immersing ourselves in discernment, we’ve been able to look not only at discernment in the individual sense, but also at the corporate level. I have always been fascinated by how decisions are made for organizations, especially churches. How do we discern what the Lord is inviting us to as a people and for a people? As we come up on our four year anniversary for CURATE, it’s been fun to see some of these questions and ideas around communal discernment play out for our own ministry.
Resources for Discernment
As promised, here is a (slightly delayed) post including some of our favorite resources on the topic of discernment. Add them to your wishlists or give them a listen, and enjoy!
Hindrances to Discernment
Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at what discernment is, sources of discernment, and consolation and desolation. Even if we have a good foundation of discernment in place though, it can still be difficult – especially when discerning big decisions.
I remember this time last year, trying to discern some big things and feeling like I was in outer space and my tether had just snapped. I was free floating. Rachel and I had just moved, came out of a difficult season of ministry, and received some disorienting news regarding the path we thought we were taking. All of this was a year into the pandemic. Oh, and did I mention that we had just had our first child? I felt untethered and grasping for anything to hold onto. The Lord eventually revealed the path, which was an unexpected and beautiful path, but discerning that path was a significant challenge as we navigated so much transition
Ways to Grow in Discernment
Today we have the privilege of a guest post from our friend Janine of the Stillness Collective. Janine is a spiritual director and supervisor living in New York City. She will be co-leading our online discernment workshop this Saturday, March 5 at 9:30am MT.
Sources of Discernment
Our very simple definition of discernment is living in light of our transforming relationship with God.
So, what helps us to do that? How do we develop eyes, ears, hearts, and minds that are more and more in tune with the voice and presence of God? How can we begin to notice God at work around us, in our day to day moments? What helps us to become more discerning people? In this post, we'll take a look at some sources of discernment that help us to do just that -- some that may be obvious to you, and others that may be a bit unexpected.
Discernment: What is it, and why does it matter?
Have you felt like discernment is simultaneously more needed right now and harder to come by?
I have, personally. For these past two years, I have felt like I needed to discern especially well. Rachel and I have navigated countless transitions and been faced with several big decisions, and I’m also growing more and more aware of the need to discern how I’m being formed by the voices and messages I’m exposed to. I’ve also felt the difficulty and challenges of discerning well. Even though I’ve needed to lean into discernment more in this season, I have felt like it has been harder than other seasons and I haven’t always felt like I’ve done it well. I believe I need better discernment skills more than ever!
Is spiritual formation navel-gazing?
We're doing a short series on what spiritual formation is, as well as addressing some of the criticisms and concerns around spiritual formation that we've heard in recent years. Some of the very real questions posed to us, and even something we've wrestled with ourselves, are: Isn't spiritual formation just a glorified form of navel-gazing? Isn't the contemplative life just a different version of self-help or self-actualization, the key word being SELF? And don't spiritual practices just promote these ideas?
What is Spiritual Formation?
One of our most popular blog posts over the last few years has been defining spiritual direction, spiritual formation, and the disciplines. We thought we would revisit the theme of spiritual formation and look at a few common questions/objections.
So what is spiritual formation anyway? Is it Catholic? New age? Isn't it just a lot of navel-gazing? What’s the difference between spiritual formation and discipleship? Spiritual formation and sanctification? Do I need spiritual formation? Is it just for the elite?
Have you ever wondered about any of these questions? Or perhaps been asked similar questions? Over the next month, we will do our best to answer them, but first, we’re going to look at what spiritual formation actually is.
The Annual Examen: A Practice for Reflecting on 2021
This is an updated repost from last year along with an updated version of the Annual Examen. We hope it blesses you.
We were sure this year would be different! I somewhat naively said at the end of last year, “Surely 2021 couldn't be worse, right?” And yet the world continued to throw us surprises: the pandemic continues to throw plans up in the air, we have known more people significantly affected by COVID, churches are hurting, America continues to be politically divided, natural disasters have wrecked communities, and then some. It was another year for the books.
And yet for Rachel and I, we also experienced profound beauty- we welcomed our long awaited first child into our family, and we get to experience all the firsts with her. She’s been the delight of our lives these past 11 months.
Peace and the Four P’s of Stress
In the second week of Advent, the traditional theme is peace (the four themes for the four weeks of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love). As we reflect on the Prince of Peace and the peace that he offers us, I also can’t help but ponder what hinders and gets in the way of experiencing peace.
A while back, Rachel and I were meeting with a counselor, who is also a long-time friend. During our conversation we started talking about stress. He mentioned four types of stress that affect our lives. As I have been reflecting on what he said and my life over the last year, I paid attention to how these different types of stress rob us of the peace that God offers. They happen to be alliterated together and all start with “p,” like peace (and pandemic, ha!). The four different types of stress are:
Gratitude and grief
Do you ever find it hard to be grateful? Like you want to be able to recognize the gifts that God has given you, and you know you are supposed to be grateful, yet it feels like there is something in the way? And then when you don't feel grateful, it gets compounded because then you feel guilty?
I’ve had a number of conversations with several people lately surrounding this struggle with gratitude. They feel like they should be thankful, and the practice of cultivating gratitude may be a part of their lives, but all of a sudden it somehow seems harder to express than it used to, and their heart just doesn't feel it. Gratitude becomes distant or unattached, even forced. When we come to this realization, our knee jerk reaction is to double down on our efforts, especially during seasons like Thanksgiving: I WILL write in a gratitude journal everyday. I WILL be grateful for things, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Trying to come up with a list of things to be thankful for feels a bit like hand-me-down clothes--they don't quite fit, and I can tell that they aren't mine.
Centering Prayer: Loving Attentiveness to God
I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and in the midst of that conversation, our attention turned to the practice of silence, or in some traditions, the specific practice of centering prayer.
There has been a lot of conversation about the benefits of silence and centering prayer, leading to the affirmation of pushing through the initial discomforts with such a practice. Neuroscience has affirmed these benefits on a physiological level. Many counselors have expressed the benefits they have seen in clients. I have felt those benefits myself. And to be sure, a part of me gets very excited to see the broad personal benefits that silence and centering prayer has on people.