Jeremy and I have started attending regularly Mission Gathering church (missiongathering.com). The church is reading a book titled "Naked Spirituality: A Life With God in 12 Simple Words" by Brian D. McLaren. Jeremy and I bought the book and I started reading it ... about 10 minutes ago. Something about the idea of doing something regularly brought me back around to this blog. Therefore, here I am. Here's to seeing if this time the practice will last longer than 2 days!
Before we get started in the book, I have to admit that I have my misgivings. I don't want to sound too full of myself, especially because if it weren't for my husband pointing this out, I wouldn't have noticed it, but I am already fairly ritualized and (dare I say) open with God. I journal daily(ish). I read the Bible daily(ish). I pray daily(ish). I meditate/run daily(ish). While every moment of my journaling or meditation/running is not necessarily focused on God, the fact that I do these things is a testament to my relationship with God. I do them because I know I am more open with God, myself, and others when I do them. To put it more selfishly, I do them because I have learned that I feel better when I do them consistently. Let us not forget, though, that I resonate with John Wesley and his desire to always be striving for perfection. Therefore, I sometimes don't realize when I am doing something right until someone else points it out to me. This is because I am always focusing on where I can do better (read: I can always see where I have fallen short of my original goal). Back to the misgivings though ... and let me be specific here: My misgivings come from the fear that this book is going to suggest I do things that I've already tried (read failed) or am already doing (read:
The first three chapters have exceeded my expectations. I've laughed, already cried a little (which, as many of you know is probably to be expected), and I've embraced many of his thoughts. Here are a few quotes that caught my attention:
"In the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus talks about turning the other cheek and walking the second mile, he says that if someone takes you to court, suing you for your overcoat, you might as well give them your other clothes too (Matt. 5:38-41), implying, (I think) that in so doing your self-exposure will serve to expose the heartless greed of your opponent" (vi).
"So you might say that good religion is about connecting us together again" (14).
"Together, we and God are like an elderly couple, bound together through a lifetime of joy and heartache, holding hands with one we love and with whom we have shared everything. ... So little needs to be said as we sit together looking at the sea, watching the waves roll in. We start with one kind of simplicity, and we'll someday arrive at a second simplicity that has much in common with the first, but has been deepened, broadened, and strengthened through all we've experienced and endured in between" (28).
I'm not going to elaborate on the quotes, except to say that the last one is a beautiful reminder to me that each little act may not bring about that feeling of knowing that I am connected with God but that when I do get the feeling it will be, in part, because of the small actions I am taking now. My faith has not been one of being able to say, "that was my moment of rebirth". My faith is one of being able to say, "I can't remember a time when I did not know God". Neither of these quotes is better to be able to say than the other. Each comes with it's own set of worries and fears. One could say that once you have met God, the rest of life is about maintaining that relationship.
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