Spring is the only time you can do this simple mindfulness exercise: Go outside and smell spring.
Many of us are having vacillating weather this year. So you can smell all kinds of things: a late snow, the pungent smell of mulch, the hint of rain in the air.
Spring is the time to open your windows, air out your comforter and sniff the lilacs. Read under a tree if you can. Any of your favorite breathing exercises becomes even more refreshing with all the scents in the area. You can find some ideas here.
Full disclosure: I am allergic to trees, grass and many plants God created. But I won’t let that stop me from enjoying this season. So I have to be especially mindful about enjoying the smells, which tend to be full of pollen. I take a pill, insert some nasal spray and head out to sniff until it’s time to come in. Or I stand by the window smelling the rain and wind.
All of these smells are God’s work. He invented scent and created a special smell for every living thing. I love to smell the musk of my cat’s fur, the intoxicating scent of hyacinths and the signature fragrance of the first rose of the season.
Be mindful of all the smells of spring and give thanks for each one you detect. That kind of Christian mindfulness can water the kindness and joy in your soul. You may find yourself writing a happy text to a friend or listening intently to your child, all as an outpouring from the freshness of your soul.
The smells of spring come just for a few weeks a year. Let’s rejoice and give thanks for them.
Spend Good Friday with Jesus. He appreciates your company. You can spend the time doing these things:
Fast. Perhaps eat some soup for lunch.
Visit the Stations of Cross. This step-by-step remembrance of Jesus’ journey to death is found in most Catholic churches and in many others, too. If you can’t go visit one, you can watch one on YouTube.
Light a candle. Begin at noon.
Pray. Go before the Lord as you consider your own sins that He is carrying as He dies. Seek His forgiveness and His peace.
Read the story.“A Harmony of the Gospels” , available in a variety of translations and formats, aligns all four of Jesus’ eyewitness biographies to take you through the day … and through His life.
Meditate. Think about the sentences Jesus spoke from the cross.
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
Today you shall be with me in paradise.
Woman, behold your son! Behold, your mother!
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Blow out the candle at 3 p.m.
Attend a Good Friday service at your church of choice.
Your presence with Jesus makes Him happy. Just imagine that.
Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of Him.
Psalm 33:8
Experiencing awe while in the presence of God is in decline as a Christian practice. Some Christians address God as a friend, a buddy or even a sweetheart. Casual prayers dominate small group meetings. “Oh hi, God. How’s it going?” More liturgical churches quote the words, but have lost the meaning. So why not deliberately experience awe this Lent.
I define awe as “reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.” Awe is similar to “fear of the Lord.” Scripture commands us to experience God with awe. And, no surprise, awe also is important for human emotional health.
According to a 2018 white paper that the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley prepared for the John Templeton Foundation, experiencing awe is, yes, awesome. The experience often puts people in a self-transcendent state where they focus less on themselves and feel more like a part of a larger whole.
The study found that the individualistic culture of the United States impacts how Americans experience awe. Research by Dr. Michael Amster (co-author of “The Power of Awe“) found Americans less likely than most cultures to have those experiences at all. And, when they do, they are more likely to experience awe over personal accomplishments, the white paper reports.
People who are extraverted, open to new experiences, and/or wise more likely experience awe. It can also come over us during threat-based experiences, such as the September 11th attacks or the eureka moments like the Earthrise photo taken by an astronaut in 1968 showing Earth from the moon’s perspective for the first time. Other awe-inspiring things:
Moral acts of courage and bravery
Beauty in art, music and nature
Collective experiences that become euphoric
Observation of birth or death
And, of course, awe comes from religious experiences.
A Famous Awe Experience
I recently read “Man’s Search for Meaning” by psychiatrist and Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl. I was struck by his description of an awe experience that took place shortly after he was liberated from a concentration camp. So were the authors of the white paper, who included it in their work.
Frankl wrote: “One day, a few days after the liberation, I walked through the country past flowering meadows, for miles and miles, toward the market town near the camp. Larks rose to the sky and I could hear their joyous song. There was no one to be seen for miles around; there was nothing but the wide earth and sky and the larks’ jubilation and freedom of space. I stopped, looked around and up to the sky – then I went down on my knees. At that moment there was very little I knew of myself or of the world – I had but one sentence in mind – always the same: ‘I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and He answered me in the freedom of space.’
“How long I knelt there and repeated this sentence memory can no longer recall. But I know that on that day, in that hour, my new life started.” (pg. 89, Beacon Press edition)
Dacher Keltner, PhD, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, developed more recent research, which he wrote about in a book “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder.” As reported in the September 2023 issue of Real Simple magazine, he and his colleagues found that awe is very good for you. It results in:
Improved concentration
More rigorous thinking
Better community connection
Relief of depression and anxiety
Less inflammation in our bodies
Transformative awe produces lasting changes in people. More than 20 percent said the experience changed their connection with God, the white paper said. Awe also created a small-self effect, humility and a sense of connection with other people. Studies also show an inverse relationship between awe and materialism.
Ways To Increase Awe in Your Life
I’ve found that increasing the level of awe in my life helps to build my relationship with God. I learn more about the reality of God, which changes my own reality.
Keltner had suggestions for increasing the level of awe in our lives. I’m amending those ideas for Christians who already practice the presence of God using mindfulness and contemplation. For us, God is everywhere … from nature to music, from wisdom to morality. We can incorporate any of these ideas into our rules of life to bring in more opportunities for awe.
Volunteer your time to help others.
Listen to praise music as you get ready each morning.
Explore the psalms and other Scripture glorifying God through fixed hour prayer.
Enjoy walking meditation or forest bathing (Keltner calls it an awe walk).
Keitner’s team also prescribed “microdosing mindfulness.” As many of us practice mindfulness on a near-continual basis, this should be easy. We just do as we always do.
Pay complete attention to what you see or do.
Invite God into the situation.
Love the people in front of you.
Praise God for His awesomeness in the situation.
Because awe is in decline in many church experiences, we can create our own moments of awe. With our help, we may be able to spread this attitude of reverence back to our Christian community.
"Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look at them with hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them ... the same everlasting God who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and every day, either by shielding you from suffering, or by giving you strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts."
This week in January is the traditional time to pray for Christian unity. Since Jesus did this at the Last Supper, you might even call it his dying wish.
Today, the Christian church is far from unified. Searching about this unity online brings up a lot of material about why unity is not a particularly good thing. As well as some divisive material on both sides of the political spectrum.
Weird, isn’t it? I myself have experienced hateful behavior from other Christians who view issues differently than I do. Surely this is not what Jesus wants for us, especially when everyone in the disagreement is sure that Jesus is on their side.
What Martin Luther King Can Teach Us
Recently, I attended a Vineyard USA workshop on principles and practices that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used as the core of the civil rights movement. This was a nonviolent movement, so much so that Dr. King told people who couldn’t promise to remain nonviolent to stay away. His “10 Commandments” of nonviolence offered me inspiration for dealing with the divisive nature of today’s Christianity:
Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
Remember always that the non-violent movement seeks justice and reconciliation – not victory.
Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.
If we follow these rules (which King insisted that even nonChristians in the movement do), we will find it much easier to approach each other as Christians.
I began my faith walk as a Lutheran before I converted to Catholicism, in part because it was the only church in my deep, DEEP South town that was integrated. Years later, unable to support the idea of a male celibate priesthood any more, I moved back across the line to the Protestant non-denominational church. So I’ve heard a lot about what both side of the Protestant-Catholic lanes think about each other.
Some things are purely untrue or misunderstood. Others are differences in style. Some are doctrinal disagreements. But Jesus surely asked all of us in the 21st century to strive for unity during the Last Supper. And I have found devoted Christians to admire in both camps.
While placing country over Christ is a form of idolatry that strains some American churches today, we all should be able to say “Amen” to Jesus’ prayer.
Pray for Christian Unity
This prayer for unity is one I’ve adaptedfrom “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.”
Oh Lord, help me to speak and behave in Christian love with all who claim you as Savior. Give me the grace to have courtesy and refrain from violence of tongue, heart, fist and online behavior. We pray to you for your holy Christian church in my own neighborhood and around the world. Help us to accomplish reconciliation. Fill the church with your presence and your truth. Keep it in your peace. Where it is corrupt, reform it. Where it is in error, correct it. Where it is right, defend it. Where it is in want, provide for it. Where it is divided, reunite it. For the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Parts of the world are at war. We may be missing loved ones. And the cost of Thanksgiving may be much higher than last year. Nonetheless, the Lord has been so good to us.
Today, let’s look with intention at what’s right and how God has blessed us. Listing our blessings helps us to stay focused on what is good in our lives.
For example, I am thankful to the Lord for:
Our continued health.
Our marriage that has remained solid despite both of us in pain from shoulder and back conditions.
Food, water and a warm house.
My granddaughter and the miracles of technology that allow us to spend time together.
My wonderful kids.
A more consistent Christian mindfulness practice.
My spiritual director and pastors.
And there’s lots more on my list. Please make one yourself and spend time thanking God for what you have. You will feel much better.
It might be fun to keep it, so you can compare it to next year’s list.
You also can create a list of unanswered prayers to compare. Last year I prayed for travel. And yes, this year I went to Europe twice!
You also can make a gratitude pumpkin for your table! Just list your blessings on a pumpkin. It’s fun.
Author Anna Black believes that mindfulness meditation helps us to become accept wakefulness in the night. By reducing anxiety, we can sleep … or not … with a quiet mind. A Harvard study backs up this idea because mindfulness helps to invoke the relaxation response.
The book contains about 25 exercises to improve sleep quality. For example, “Checking Your Posture” is a practice done during the day to establish the relaxed posture that helps sleep. You can stand or sit while you check your posture with eyes open or shut. Put both feet on the floor. Place your hands in a cupped position in your lap. Slowly run your attention from the soles of your feet through your ankles, calves, knees, thighs and pelvis. Then go to the base of the spine and run your attention up to the head. Keep adjusting your posture as needed.
The author has many good suggestions, including doing a body scan on only your hand and doing a slow, steady body outline while you are lying down.
I would add a Jesus prayer or a breath prayer while doing these small moves to deepen the relaxation and build your rest in Jesus.
This book has 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Other resources for Christian mindfulness are found here.
Do you remember a time when you were told who you are? It’s nice to hear that you’re kind or smart. But sometimes you hear that you are clumsy, stupid, ungrateful or worthless.
Where do those names go? Yes, they are still in your head. And often they become part of the inner critic who doesn’t like much of what you do. Today’s Christian mindfulness exercise is helping us to recognize that your inner critic is talking and to learn how to stop listening to it.
It is all part of detachment, the art of experiencing feelings without allowing them to control you. Numbing out feelings is unhealthy. That’s not what I’m suggesting. Detachment steps in to allow us to make choices about our thoughts and actions. In Christian mindfulness, we allow ourselves to walk with Jesus and to do God’s will.
Learning to focus on the presence of God helps us to recognize the negative impact of our inner critic. We do what we should do, regardless of how we feel. This allows us to be loving to people we don’t like and to participate in situations where we have felt awkward in the past. We can do hard things with hard people.
The first step is to pray. Ask God to help you listen to your thoughts. Spend some time writing down what you hear. Are you getting criticism and ridicule? That’s the inner critic. Be aware of what the inner critic sounds like. Keep a list of what you hear, if that helps. These hurtful statements from the past have little to do with your identity in Christ.
Once we recognize our inner critic’s voice, we need to deliberately ignore it. When the words arise, pray before you take any action. Ask for an increase in God’s presence. And turn your thoughts towards praise and gratitude. Then do the next right thing.
Ignoring your inner critic can help you to detach from emotional reactions and walk in the ways of peace.
My former boss died last week. I worked for her for 13 years. She taught me how to be a communications strategist, how to embrace New York, and how to deal with difficult people without losing your cool. We went through her divorce, the deaths of her parents, my son’s disability, and the deaths of my father and sister-in-law. I have many good memories and a little sadness from difficult times.
The last time I saw her was at a Christmas party just before the pandemic. She was busy with a client, and I needed to leave. So I stood near her, waiting for an opening. It was brief. I gave her a hug and wished her well. I don’t remember what she said to me. It was the last time I saw one of the most monumental people in my life.
Sometimes we are fully conscious that we are saying goodbye to a loved one. It was so at my dad’s deathbed when they took him off a ventilator. My mother, brother, sister and I watched him take his last breath in full awareness of the finality of the moment.
But those times are rare.
This Christian mindfulness exercise helps us be less cavalier about seeing your loved ones. It’s simple: Just remind yourself that this could be the last time you talk to them. This sounds like Debbie Downer created the exercise, but it also helps you to be more aware of the person. After all, death comes to 100% of us, and not always in the order we were expecting.
We are often distracted, particularly around our family. We half-listen. We get annoyed. We don’t recognize how important every interaction is. I even think this colors our reaction when we lose someone to death. I wish I’d known … I wish I’d said … I wish we’d gotten past this.
Try listening to a loved one with the idea that it could be the last time. It makes the future better.
Once a year, gather your family to celebrate a family feast day. You’ll need to invite Jesus, of course.
You can pick a date that works best for you and your loved ones. Mine is the second Friday after Pentecost, the traditional date of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. (If you are the only one in your family who wants a family feast day, just do it. Jesus will be with you, and you will enjoy His presence.)
At my house, we have a nice brunch. Then we look back on the previous year. What changes occurred? How are the New Year’s Eve resolutions going? Do you see a change in your faith life?
Then we look ahead to what we would like for the coming year: faith life, church life, family life, social life and travel for us. You can add work, studies and anything else significant. Since I have a rule of life, I can take a look at it to see how it’s working and if it needs to change. (You can find my rule of life here.) If you don’t have a rule of life or a family/personal mission statement, your feast day would be a good time to develop one.
For example, we have a grandparent mission statement that says: “Our mission is to offer our granddaughter love, safety, and exposure to new and fun things. We hope she will feel secure in our presence so she can be her authentic self. We want to be trustworthy and supportive of her parents. We hope to help our granddaughter experience our attributes: love of learning, love of the outdoors, creativity, kindness, humor, joy, and compassion and mercy for the less fortunate.”
We close the feast day discussion with prayer. Since we have chosen the Sacred Heart feast, we use this prayer:
Most sweet Jesus,
Redeemer of the human race,
look down upon us humbly prostrate before you.
We are yours, and yours we wish to be;
but to be more surely united with you,
behold, each one of us freely consecrates himself today
to your most Sacred Heart.
Many indeed have never known you;
many, too, despising your precepts,
have rejected you.
Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus,
and draw them to your Sacred Heart.
Be King, Oh Lord,
not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you,
but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you;
grant they they may quickly return to their Father's house,
lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be King of all who are deceived by erroneous opinions,
or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth
and the unity of faith,
so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Grant, O Lord, to your Church
assurance of freedom and immunity from harm;
give tranquility of order to all nations;
make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:
Praise to the divine Heart that wrought out salvation;
to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.
Today we have arrived at the peak of all blessings. We have reached the capital of feasts. We have obtained the very fruit of the Lord’s promise.
John Chrysostom
Pentecost is one of the holiest, happiest days of the Christian year. Coming 10 days after the celebration of the risen Christ’s ascension into heaven, Pentecost commemorates the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the first Christians. This was the day that Peter stepped forward to speak to the crowd. As a result, thousands of people who first thought the Christians were drunk at 9 a.m. decided that Jesus really was the Messiah after all.
How can we prepare for this day, which falls on May 28th this year? We have time to devote ourselves to opening up to the power of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost. Here are a few intentional ways to do so.
Before Pentecost, every time you see a bird, say “Come, Holy Spirit.” This honors the symbol of the dove representing the Spirit. But it also opens us up to calling on the Holy Spirit throughout the day.
Review your Lenten resolutions. How did it go? Pray over them again. Perhaps you should continue doing some of them, in part or in full.
Listen to songs about the Holy Spirit. Several in this list have similar names, but they are different songs.
“Come Holy Spirit” by Vineyard Music
“The Change in Me” by Casting Crowns
“Spirit of the Living God” by Vertical Worship
“Spirit of the Living God” (Fall Afresh on Me) by Phil Wickham
“Spirit Fall” by Chris Tomlin
“Fresh Wind” by Hillsong Worship
“Come Holy Spirit (Need You Now)” by New Wine Worship
Meditate over the role of the Holy Spirit in your life. I think about the traditional gifts of the Spirit:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of God
Pray that God with bless you with the graces necessary for you to demonstrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
Preparing for Pentecost Sunday can bring more intention to your life.
“Is the church in crisis? If so, what?” That’s the answer I found in a notebook I retrieved to go a community meeting.
I don’t even remember the meeting where we discussed the question. But my answer is there: “The crisis is that the truth of Jesus has been obscured, often by His own people.”
I wrote it about a year ago, and it’s more true that ever.
Exhibit A: The failure of my Lenten pledge.
I wanted to find a group of committed Christians to deepen my experience of contemplative prayer. The first two Christian groups I tried were miles away from the truth about Jesus. For example, this is the meditation passage I was sent this week from one of the groups:
“Jesus answered: I am the way of love, I am the truth of love, and I am the life of love. No one comes to God except through love.”
Hmmm, that’s not what my Bible says. It would be fairly easy for these folks to persuade others that all religions worship the same God. Because some faiths believe in multiple gods, that’s not really possible. .
Exhibit B: Christian nationalism
Americans aren’t God’s chosen people. Look it up. Self-righteousness, particularly when exhibited with hate and vile name calling, doesn’t reflect God’s character. It makes Jesus look bad when people say they are Christians and hate others, particularly other Christians. These days many people don’t even bother to keep quiet about it.
Exhibit C: Hypocrites
Religious leaders who are hypocrites or abuse their position, hurting others, are poor reflections of Jesus. In fact, the Bible indicates that they are among Jesus’ least favorite people.
I believe, from experience, that a close relationship with Jesus results in love, joy, peace, patience and the other fruits of the spirit. The Lord teaches that you can tell a good tree by its fruit.
How can we reflect the truth about Jesus? Through kindness. Through empathy. Generosity. Listening to understand. Respect. But, most of all, love.
Non-Christians watch Christians. When they see exhibits A, B and C, they think that is who Jesus is. Those of us that want the world to know Christ need to strive for holiness. So when people think “Jesus who?” they can see He’s reflected in your behavior.
I met Jan Johnson on Zoom doing a class during 2020. Calm and funny, she seems like a person who has great insight into God. She also was a close associate of Dallas Willard, so she was well taught.
Her wonderful short book gives examples of how others have spent the day … and night … with Jesus during their ordinary circumstances. As the back cover says, “It shows that continual awareness of God is not just for the super-spiritual, but that anyone can sense His companionship in the mundane, in-between moments of life.”
Easy and quick to Read, Yet Profound
The contents are divided into three sections: Moments to Turn Over, Skills to Develop and Questions to Ponder. The first chapter is “Trying Too Hard,” which has been a serious problem for me. I have tried to practice the presence of God by talking to him continually, which gets tiresome, I’d guess, to both of us.
Jan Johnson talks about weaving prayer into activities and praying without words. She also dispenses good advice about asking God questions and addressing our deeper fears, including coming to believe that God actually loves us.
For example, in the chapter “Hearing God,” she writes, “Continual conversation with God means that there are moments when God speaks and we listen. Even though it may be scary to think of God speaking to us, it is normal and not weird.” Some of those ways include:
Recurring thoughts
New ideas
Fictional characters
Works of art
Kinesthetic experiences
Journaling
I’m not alone in loving this book. It has an average 4.41 star rating with 150 readers on GoodReads and a 4.9 star average rating with 87 readers on Amazon. Trust me. This book can change your walk with God.
Adding the Stations of the Cross to your Lent routine allows God to vividly display what Jesus endured for us. During Lent, I add this to my lunchtime routine on Fridays. The prayer “Look Down Upon Me, Good and Gentle Jesus” is another good addition.
The Stations of the Cross developed out of a desire for Christians to walk “The Via Dolorosa” in Jerusalem, the route from Pontius Pilate’s praetorium to the cross. It’s popular in Western Christian traditions, including Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist.
In churches, 14 pictures or plaques are on the walls or on an outdoor walk that allow Christ followers to go from station to station. We stop at each station to pray and reflect.
Stations of the Cross are available on YouTube. I particularly like this one, which is less than 15 minutes long.
When you only have a few seconds to yourself on Friday at noon, you can pray this:
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Your face I humbly kneel and with burning soul, pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment, while I contemplate with great love and tender pity your five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me and calling to mind the words that David, your prophet, said of you , my Jesus, “They have pierced My hands and feet, They have numbered all my bones.”
If you can’t attend church today, here’s an Ash Wednesday service you can do at home.
Write down a list of your sins. Burn the paper in a bowl or ashtray. Then pray:
Let us ask our Heavenly Father to bless these ashes, which we will use as a mark of our repentance. Lord, bless these ashes. Wearing them reminds us that we are from the dust of the earth. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the resolutions that we have made for Lent. Help us to prepare well for the celebration of your Son's glorious resurrection. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Mark each person’s forehead in the sign of the cross saying, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.”
Close with this prayer:
Loving Father, today we start Lent. From today, we make a new start to be more loving and kind. Help us to show more concern for the less fortunate, the hungry and the poor. Help us to love you more and speak to you more often. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Ash Wednesday is this week, so today is a good time to prepare our Lenten resolutions. I’ve used Lent to give up bad habits, but more often I take this time to create positive habits.
Think about how we can improve our prayer life, fasting and giving. Some families pick a charity and put their change into a bowl each day. Others give up eating out and give away the money they saved. My church took a recent pledge to not have cell phones at the dinner table. We can find many things to improve if we think and pray about it.
I also always have a Lenten reading program. In the past, I read a biography of a Christian I admired, a devotional and a general book about faith each Lent. Today it’s a lot more random. I just look at the bookshelves to see what I think would be helpful and inspiring.
Take some time today to figure out how you want to spend Lent. Your resolutions can be positive and prayerful. May you have a blessed Lent.
Breath prayer is an important part of my Christian mindfulness practice. That’s common. The Christian breath prayer is a supercharged mantrum: the repetition of a word or phrase repeated in conjunction with a breath to center the mind on the presence of God.
I have used the phrase “Come, Holy Spirit” frequently during the day for more than 20 years. I inhale on the word “Come” and exhale on “Holy Spirit.” I plan to continue that practice for the rest of my life, but there are times when I could use another phrase.
Some Christians use short pieces of Scripture in breath prayer, and I see an advantage to this. I’ve found several ideas on Christian websites. For example, a piece written by Joe Iovino for the United Methodist Church website nicely summarizes various ways to expand our prayer lives, including using breath prayer. As he says,”The Holy Spirit is as near as the air we breathe.”
The mennoniteusa.org website offers a pdf on breath prayers with good ideas for using breath prayer. Two are different from anything I’ve seen before:
Confessional Breath Prayers: Exhaling, you breathe out a confession of a personal failing or worry. Inhaling, you breathe in an assurance of God’s love. An example that they give is: (exhaling) I breathe out worry. (inhaling): Grant me your peace.
Breath Prayers for the World: In this style, we exhale as we live up the sins of the world. We inhale as we breathe out corrections, such as “I am the hands and feet of God in the world.” The corrections are about love and justice. One example from me: (exhaling) I lift up all the suffering in Ukraine. (inhaling) May you bring peace and justice.
Finding Answers
Finally, the website Soul Shepherding talks about breath prayers as a way to “deal with stress, overcome anxiety and be more effective in ministry to others.” The author, Bill Gaultiere, offers more information in his book “Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke.” He recommends using Bible verses in breath prayers.
One of Gaultiere’s suggestions that I love is asking God a question first. Then do a breath prayer to “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
You can find Bible verses that meet your needs in “The Bible Promise Book,” which has verses organized by topic. Any other source that presents Bible verses for various situations could work as well.
The breath prayer is an important tool in Christian mindfulness. Using the Lord’s own words can expand its use.
He does an excellent job explaining it, and, even more, he helps us to understand a form of prayerful living that’s not based on speech. I’ve seen the book called “meandering” in my reviews. I think it follows the forms and shapes of real life.
Repeatedly Rohr challenges us to move beyond our comfort zone to a deeper rest in God. There, he says, we can find the freedom to become all we can be. Only when we “live and see through God can everything belong.”
What does that mean? Rohr writes, “Everything belongs; God uses everything. There are no dead-ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything is recycled. … I believe with all my heart that the Gospel is all about the mystery of forgiveness.”
Contemplative prayer can help us to see that God loves us as we are. And then we can better see who we are.
But it’s not easy. Rohr notes, “Our first response to anyone calling us to truth, greatness, goodness or morality at a higher level will be increased anxiety.”
Later on, he writes, “That’s what happens in the early stages of contemplation. We wait in silence. In silence all our usual patterns assault us. Our patterns of control, addiction, negativity, tension, anger, and fear assert themselves. That’s why most people give up rather quickly. When Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, the first things that show up are wild beasts (Mark 1:13). Contemplation is not first of all consoling. It’s only real.”
Yet, once you open yourself to this journey, you discover more peace. “Know that things are okay as they are. This moment is as perfect as it can be. The saints called this the ‘sacrament of the present moment,’ ” he writes.
The book has been revised and updated with a reading guide. It received 4.25 stars out of 4,556 ratings on Goodreads and 4.2 stars out of 4,541 ratings on Amazon. It is a book to read and re-read. Enjoy the journey.
This time of January is the traditional time to pray for Christian unity. Jesus did this at the Last Supper. You might even call it one of his dying wishes.
Today, the Christian church is far from unified. Searching about this unity online brings up a lot of material about why unity is not a particularly good thing. As well as some divisive material on both sides of the political spectrum.
Weird, isn’t it? I myself have experienced hateful behavior from other Christians who view issues differently than I do. Surely this is not what Jesus wants for us, especially when everyone in the disagreement is sure that Jesus is on their side.
What Martin Luther King Can Teach Us
Recently, I attended a Vineyard USA workshop on principles and practices that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used as the core of the civil rights movement. This was a nonviolent movement, so much so that Dr. King told people who couldn’t promise to remain nonviolent to stay away. His “10 Commandments” of nonviolence offered me inspiration for dealing with the divisive nature of today’s Christianity:
Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
Remember always that the non-violent movement seeks justice and reconciliation – not victory.
Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.
If we follow these rules (which King insisted that even nonChristians in the movement do), we will find it much easier to approach each other as Christians.
Pray for Christian Unity
Then we can truly pray for Christian unity. I’ve adapted this prayer from “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.”
Oh Lord, help me to speak and behave in Christian love with all who claim you as Savior.
Give me the grace to have courtesy and refrain from violence of tongue, heart, fist and online behavior.
We pray to you for your holy Christian church in my own neighborhood and around the world.
Help us to accomplish reconciliation.
Fill the church with your presences and your truth.
Keep it in your peace.
Where it is corrupt, reform it.
Where it is in error, correct it.
Where it is right, defend it.
Where it is in want, provide for it.
Where it is divided, reunite it.
For the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
The feast of the Holy Innocents falls just three days after Christmas. And that’s no accident.
Jesus came into the fallen world as an infant to start the process of ending suffering. But the world was filled with evil then, and it’s filled with evil now. This day we can meditate on the suffering of the innocent in our own time. Think of Ukraine. Afghanistan. The unborn and the born who are hungry and cold in wealthy nations.
Today we think about how we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to suffering children.
This prayer, from the Catholic Household Blessing and Prayers, is a good one to contemplate:
Heavenly Father,
your holiness revealed in Jesus
challenges us to renounce violence,
to forsake revenge,
and to love without discrimination, without measure.
Teach us the surpassing truth of the Gospel,
which puts worldly wisdom to shame,
that we may recognize as one with us
even our enemies and persecutors
and see all people as your children.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
The first Sunday of Advent is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It’s a great time to make sure you have your supplies, books and ideas ready for the season.
Having a mindful Christian Advent is a time of joy and wonder. It’s a quiet time spent intentionally concentrating on the miracle of Jesus’ birth rather than the commercial version of Christmas. This kind of Advent is build peace instead of panic.
Some ideas for Advent prep include:
Get or make Advent candles. (We are doing beeswax candles from a kit this year. You can find the kit here.)
Purchase an Advent calendar or stock up one if you have a reusable model.
Get the Advent wreath out of storage … or buy one.
Bombarded with fears about what will happen to the United States? Feeling the crush of election anxiety? You’re not alone.
I am a registered Independent because neither party has a platform that I fully endorse. I dislike the lack of civility, the tone of campaigning and the name-calling that has infiltrated our political system. And I’ve experienced fears for our democracy that I never expected to have in my life. As Sarah Young writes in “Jesus Listens,” “People are calling evil good and good evil.” This leads to anxiety.
Jesus does not want us to lead lives filled with dread. So we have to deal with anxiety thought by thought by thought. We can be sure this is possible because Paul tells us to “take captive every thought.” (2nd Corinthians 2:5) Christian mindfulness makes it easier to fulfill this advice.
To take your thoughts captive and overcome anxiety, you have to do five things repeatedly: Notice. Stop. Pray. Refocus. Act.
NOTICE: Listen to your thoughts. We know that paying attention on purpose helps us to listen to the chatter in our minds. It’s a good thing, too, because our thoughts direct our emotions. Whenever we get wound up in anxiety, bad thoughts are at the core.
STOP: Take a few deep, slow breaths.
PRAY: Once we feel a bit more calm, we need to pray for God’s grace to help us keep focused on Him. You can pray:
Lord, help me to not be overcome by uncertainty and fear. Help me not to wallow in fears of evil. I know none of what’s happened is a surprise to you. I know in the end You will triumph. And I know that I may not even be understanding this correctly. Instead, I trust in you as my constant companion.
REFOCUS: God wants us to focus on His presence in the moment. So visualize Jesus alongside you. Think about God’s character and all the ways He is with you. Focus on God’s goodness.
ACT: God wants us to be a light shining in the darkness. You can do this if you practice the presence of God. If you seek His will for what you should do to become a force for good. Fill your calendar with things that you know God wants you to do. Such as?
Spiritual practices, such as all types of prayer, Bible study, Sabbath, gifts of your time and money, and intentional Christian fellowship in church and small group.
The seven spiritual works of mercy: Counsel the doubtful. Instruct the ignorant. Admonish the sinner. Comfort the sorrowful. Forgive all injuries. Bear wrongs patiently. Pray for the living and the dead.
Acts of corporal mercy to address the needs of the poor and helpless: Feed the hungry. Visit the imprisoned. Buy clothing for those who need it. Care for the sick. Shelter travelers. Offer drink to the thirsty.
And what you say. If you can’t communicate in ways that show the gifts of the Holy Spirit, be quiet. Talk to God about your concerns, instead of dumping them on family, friends and social media.
Focus on the good you can do. God has prepared works in advance for you to do. As you become a force for good, your anxiety melts away.
Suffering is a given in any life. But, for some Christians, suffering is a shock. A sign that God isn’t paying attention. Or a symptom that they are praying incorrectly. The idea that a Christian life is all prosperity and popcorn is widespread … and wrong.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus, John 16:33
How can we “take heart” when pain and sorrow, fear and loss take up center stage in our lives. God is omnipotent. God can do anything. God could fix this in a second. Why does He allow our suffering?
Jesus warned us that we would have trouble on Earth, but He encourages us to remember that He has overcome the world. In fact, He says “so that in me you may have peace” in almost the same breath. So what does that mean exactly when pain, sorrow and loss are center stage in our lives? And how do we get there? I believe some answers come from Paul’s words about his pain and trouble in 2nd Corinthians 12:6-10.
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul, 2nd Corinthians 12:6-10
This statement makes perfect sense when combined with the idea of a God who consents to Satan’s request for test a person, as He did to Job (Job 1:6-22) and to Peter (Luke 22:31).
God knows that suffering develops humility, a true understanding of who we each are and who God is. Without this depth of awareness, we can’t be in a strong relationship with God. Our trials not only build faith and character; they also open our eyes to the reality of our existence
Jesus prays for us in times of temptation and suffering. For example, He told Peter that He had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. It’s notable that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him. He knew the terrible experience was necessary for Peter and for all who later learned about it.
The phrase “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” is not from the Bible. It’s from “Conan the Barbarian,” with the script slightly misquoting Nietzsche. Actually, suffering makes us weaker, which is a good thing.
Why? Because God wants people to see His presence in His Christians (and not just in Paul and Peter, either.) Suffering breaks up the vessel of our self-centeredness, our self-regard. A broken vessel displays the light of God’s presence within to others. Maintaining faith, joy and hope during a serious calamity is the best Christian witness we can ever give.
How do we do that? The good news is: It’s not up to us.
God tells us, as He told Paul: “My graces are sufficient for you.” I believe that this means that God will give us the abundant graces we need to deal with suffering without fear and anxiety, but with His peace and joy. All we need to do is be open to accept these graces.
I have found this to be true in my life. I open myself up to God in continual prayer and thanksgiving, using Christian mindfulness. God fills me up with peace and joy even in the hospital waiting room, in a locked psych ward with a loved one, at the funeral home, on the scene of the accident, in the board conference room and during the dark of the night. It’s not up to me. God is doing it for me and through me.
When we suffer and rest in God’s grace, God responds.
I will give you the secrets of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the Lord, the God of Israel who summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:3
Kay Warren, co-founder of Saddleback Church, has called this experience “gritty grace.” Maybe the abrasion we feel is good for everyone.
Here’s a shocking statistic: Average Americans check their cell phone 344 times per day. About once every four minutes.
That statistic comes from a survey by reviews.org. I tried to find information that disproved it, and I couldn’t.
Our addiction to picking up the phone is scary and mindless. Christian mindfulness offers us an opportunity to approach our cell phones with curiosity. And to slow down the obsessive behavior.
Here’s a two-step practice that can help:
Catch yourself when you pick up your phone casually.
Ask yourself: “Why did I pick up the phone?” Are you bored? Are you worried? Is your job (or a person at your job, like your boss) getting to you?
Pray about that condition. If you are truly bored, find a way to be a force for good at work and at home? Are you at work all the time now? Is that what God wants?
Once you start to think each time you pick up your phone, you will find yourself reducing the pattern. It’s addictive behavior, which is never good.
You also can make some guidelines for yourself about your phone usage. Here are some ideas:
Create specific ringtones for key people in your family and at work so you only react to texts from them.
Set a specific time to check the phone for emails and other texts.
Reduce or eliminate notifications for other things.
Use the do-not-disturb feature. (You can make exceptions for key people, such as a kid in college or an elderly parent.)
Turn your smart phone into a dumb phone by eliminating most apps.
Take a moment to think about why you pick up your phone. It can improve your life.
If you are already in the fellowship, you should work unceasingly to keep it true to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. You should see that your personal life and conduct cause no dimming of the light. With unflinching courage, you should seek to eliminate all barriers to genuine fellowship until men know that you are Christ’s disciples because you love one another. And above all, you should urge and encourage all people everywhere to forsake their evil, selfish ways and to come into the kingdom that they, too, might be part of the light of the world.
Every Christian life reflects on Jesus. Sometimes we can make Him look terrible. We hope that walking with Jesus in Christian mindfulness makes it easier to help people to see how wonderful He actually is.
That is not because we are wonderful. It’s because we are surrendered. When we strive to see the presence of God in the present moment, we grow closer to the Lord. That allows Him to shine in our actions and words, just a light would do through a lantern. Only God can empower us to show His spirit.
The August issue of “Give Us This Day” magazine contained writings from two believers, a century apart, who were practicing Christian mindfulness, rather they knew it or not.
Fr. Daniel P. Horan is director of the Center for Spirituality and a professor at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He wrote a sentence that stirred my soul:
In a world that encourages us to take care of ourselves above all else, it does not make sense to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable and heal the brokenhearted as Christ did.
The choice is ours, he said. We can “shirk the Gospel by living according to the standards of worldly interests, or risk appearing foolish because we are striving to walk in the footprints of Jesus Christ.” To me, Christian mindfulness is the best way to walk in Jesus’ footprints.
Another inspiring piece of writing in the issue came from Elisabeth Leseur, who died in 1914. These were some of her resolutions:
To persevere steadily with my daily prayers and meditations and my communions at least weekly.
To increase and strengthen, by divine grace, my spiritual life.
In all circumstances to remain gentle, serene and full of love for those around me.
By my words and actions, to try to make Jesus Christ known and loved.
To ask that He work through me for the good of those for whom I can be the instrument of Providence.
To work first for God and then for my neighbor each day.
To speak to each one in the language they can understand.
These resolutions are mine as well, although I fail far more often than I succeed. If we all tried to live in the presence of Jesus in the present moment, we might make his nature more obvious to a skeptical world.
Are you trying too hard to be at peace? Fighting hard to practice mindfulness?
Stop struggling.
Calm down.
I feel I am striving too hard to abide in Jesus. Instead of opening the door for Him to enter, I am pounding on the other side of the door … straining to keep pure thoughts and to practice my daily round of spiritual practices. That isn’t necessary, productive or even helpful.
God is already here. Yet I behave as if it all depends on me. Yes, I need to quiet down and let God be present. I am grasping for someone who is all around me, yet my grasp comes up empty. It is only when I relax and submit that I feel God doing the work to allow me to abide in Him.
Is it just me? When I mentioned this in a gathering of Christian friends, I got a lot of blank looks.
Yet, one Christian friend responded with a new phrase I love: Try softer.
That’s the title of a book by therapist Aundi Kolber. She believes we don’t have to white-knuckle our way to God or to life, in general. Her book is a corrective for overfunctioning (one of my greatest issues) and anxiety.
Perhaps I have reached the “let God and let God” phase of my spiritual development. Yet again.
I found some tips on the Woman of Noble Character website that can make this effort to stop the struggle more concrete.
It’s not what I need to stop doing as much as it’s what I need to let God do. Stop struggling to achieve grace and:
Look for a show of God’s power.
Accept God’s comfort.
Let God work things out for the good of those who love Him, including me.
Yes, I need to practice my daily round of spiritual practices. But I need to move forward in a more gentle, open manner, trusting God to do his part. Without God, I can do nothing.
I already consider myself a mindful Christmas practitioner. Yet Kempton took an approach that I found fascinating. She proposes that Christmas has five storylines:
Faith: The celebration of the birth of Jesus and the Christmas story involving church-based traditions and rituals like Advent candles, the creche and traditional Christmas carols.
Magic: The story of Santa Claus, his reindeer and the elves, plus magical Christmas movies and songs.
Connection: Things that connect us to Christmases past, such as “The Christmas Carol,” Christmas trees and treasured ornaments, Christmas dinners, holiday events and Christmas movie traditions.
Abundance: The joy of getting and giving presents.
Heritage: The Christmas practices of your family of origin and your background.
As a Christian, my Christmas celebrations focus on faith. But I was surprised to realize that my family also finds Connection as very important. For one family member, doing the same things that we have done, as in Heritage, is deeply important.
Talk to your family to see what about your Christmas celebration is most important to them. You can create an intentional approach to the season that meets everyone’s needs and desires.
“Calm Christmas” also offers a variety of ideas for a mindful approach to the whole season. I especially liked the author’s idea of spending the time between Christmas Day and New Years Day’s as a “hush” season. This is, she writes: “A time of long walks, hot coffees, languid lounging with leftover chocolates, adding birthday dates to the new diary, telephone catch-ups … and everything on pause.”
Research shows that people who focus on the sensations of exercise and on their surroundings enjoy the experience more. Christian mindfulness can support our exercise program, and the exercise program can build our Christian mindfulness.
How can we do it?
Pray before your exercise, offering thanks for the body you have been given.
Unplug. Exercise without music or other input so you can focus on the experience.
Pay attention to the changes you feel as you exercise: changes and strains in your muscles, your mood and emotions, your breathing and all else you experience.
Notice pain and decide what to do about it. Be nice to yourself.
Observe the surroundings, whether they are nature or the walls of a room.
Listen to your thoughts. Are you in dread? Watching the clock? Feeling competitive with others around you?
As you cool down, offer gratitude for your body, inside and out.
Exercise can be many things, ranging from an addiction to an experience to avoid as much as possible. Bringing Christian mindfulness into the activity can add some calm and clarity to it.
Christian mindfulness is a relatively new term for an ancient practice. One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, writes about it in “The Breath of the Soul.” She calls the practice “prayerfulness.”
Prayerfulness, on the other hand, is the capacity to walk in touch with God through everything in life. It is the internal awareness that God is with me — now, here, in this, always. It is an awareness of the continuing presence of God.
Sr. Joan Chittister, “The Breath of the Soul”
That definition absolutely aligns with mine for Christian mindfulness: living in the present moment with the presence of God.
Sr. Joan has been a huge influence on me since 1990, when I read “Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today.” At the time she wrote that book, she was prioress at the Benedictine Sisters of Erie in Erie, Pennsylvania. Now she is known internationally as an important spiritual writer, with dozens of books to her credit.
So I am not surprised that we arrived on the same path with different terminology.
Sr. Joan writes that prayerfulness is her inner dialogue with the living God who inhabits her spirit and mind. Not only does prayerfulness allow us to see and talk with God everywhere, it lets us to submit the present moment, with all its uncertainty and anxiety, to God.
As Sr. Joan puts it, “It trusts that no matter how malevolent the situation may be, I can walk through it unharmed because God is with me.”
Sr. Joan shares her spiritual practices through her website here. You can subscribe to her monthly newsletter, “The Monastic Way,” on the site. You also get free webinars and Zoom calls with Sr. Joan and her group, an online movement called Monasteries of the Heart.
Insects in the summer used to just bug people. Now, concern about reduced number of bees and other insects give us all a chance to practice mindfulness. And to be thankful for their place in God’s plan for Earth.
This idea first developed when I learned about a study in the journal Biological Conservation in April 2019. It said about 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction. Wow! It turns out that scientists have been concerned about the reduced number of insects for several years.
In its January 2021 issue, the science journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS) put together a series of 12 separate studies from 56 scientists in several countries about insect populations. University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum equated the issue to the first studies on climate change 30 years ago. She said insects are critical to the natural food chain and pollinate human crops. On the other hand, many humans hate them.
These studies were released about the same time that I developed skeeter syndrome. Yes, that’s a real thing. It means that I am allergic to the saliva of mosquitos. Each bite swells up into a small mountain on my skin that itches and hurts for weeks.
Searching for prayers about insects also was informative. Almost all of them were prayers to make insects go away, rather than be fruitful and multiply. While I may want the mosquitos to stay away from me, I also want them to exist. Even if they are sometimes identified as the deadliest life form on Earth, God has a purpose for them.
Be thankful for insects
So how can we bring Christian mindfulness to insects? The easiest way is to notice them and pray for them. I have adapted two prayers that I found online. The first one, which I changed into modern English, is about bees:
Lord God, Almighty, you created heaven and earth, and all the animals that live in the air and on the earth for the use of man. You have directed that the ministers of Your holy Church should light candles made of beeswax when the holy sacrifice is offered in which the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son, becomes present and is consumed. Send down Your blessing on these bees, that they may multiply, be fruitful and be preserved from all harm so that the product of their labor may be used to Your honor, and to the honor of Your Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the most blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
catholic.org
Another prayer I found online begins like this:
May compassion and love reign over all the earth for all the tiny beings who live in the soil, the trees, the water, and the air, creating harmony and balance with your songs, your pollinating of flowers, your graceful flight, your mysterious transformations, and your miraculous ability to literally create soil in which new plants can take root.
allcreatures.org blog
Five ways to help insects survive
A mindful approach to insects also could include helping them survive. Here are five ideas I found:
Reduce the number of times you mow your grass.
Plant native plants. Many insects need these to survive.
Avoid pesticides and go organic in your yard and garden.
Leave old trees, stumps and dead leaves alone. They are home to countless species.
Support and volunteer in conservation organizations.
The Lord made insects as part of His plan for planet Earth. Let’s help Him keep them alive.
The happiness expert Gretchen Rubin has a great idea to “design your summer” by planning to add enjoyable activities to your schedule. While you are planning, be sure to re-create activities from your own childhood summers.
In elementary school, summers were wonderful and endless. I would create a tent out of a old blanket hanging off the backyard fence and use another old blanket for a floor. There I would spend hours outside (yet inside the tent) reading books from the library.
Mother, who was a housewife, carted us to the pool when she could get the car from Dad. Otherwise we had a baby pool to roll in when we got hot, sprinklers to jump through and a garden hose to drink from when we were thirsty. We played school and other games in neighborhood basements.
Box fans tried to cool the hot house. No one in the neighborhood had air conditioning. So we often sat outside and watched the lightning bugs. Or we’d pack up snacks to go to a drive-in movie.
In junior high, my sister and I rode our bikes uptown to the bakery for doughnuts and then to the library. The pool was a constant, and we enjoyed heading there on hot days from our non-air conditioned house.
Fast forward a number of decades. The community pool is down the street, and I haven’t been in years.
This summer join me by making sure you add at least one activity to your summer routine that reminds you of childhood. I’m going to read outdoors. I’ll be on a comfortable outdoor sofa instead of a tent. But that’s okay.
When we’re enjoying that activity, let’s praise God for our good memories of summer.
“First Bird of My Day” is a worldwide game that began when an English woman decided to be mindful about which bird she saw first each day.
In the May 2022 issue of The Simple Things magazine, Hannah Bourne-Taylor told her story. It began when she and her husband moved to a remote village in Ghana for his work. She felt depressed and disconnected at first. Then she noticed that the birds around her were unfamiliar and beautiful.
As she began to learn about them, she began a mindfulness practice of looking outside each morning to note what bird she saw first. When the family returned to England, Hannah began sharing her game on Twitter using the hashtag #firstbirdofmyday. (Her Twitter handle is @WriterHannahBT)
Over time, people around the world have started playing the game. On the day I wrote this, one man was sharing a map of everyone’s first birds on the Twitter hashtag. She even gets posts from Antarctica, which the bird mentioned is often a penguin.
Creating mindful routines and rituals like this can build mindfulness and add joy to life. Those of us practicing Christian mindfulness also can pray over the first bird and its winged brethren. Due to the global climate change, many species are experiencing declines. We can thank God for the birds, which Jesus loved to observe, and pray for their future.
Listen. One of the pandemic’s benefits has been an increase in the amount of time spent in nature. In fact, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development used the pandemic to study the benefits of time in the fresh air.
The results were even better than expected. Not only did spending time outdoors improve general well-being, but it also altered and improved brain structure. The areas of the brain impacted affect mood, concentration and working memory. Spending time in nature could not be a better idea.
Christian mindfulness practices are all easy to adapt to the outdoors. One of simplest is mindful listening to the quiet around you. Is silence ever really silent? Tuning into the sounds around you is a great way to stay in the present moment. And hearing those sounds offers opportunities for prayers of gratitude and worship for the world God made.
The practice is simple.
Go to a place outside where you can feel safe and relaxed.
Close your eyes, if you’d like, and listen to the sounds of your own breathing first.
Thank God for this opportunity to be in His creation.
Listen to the sounds as they occur. Hear them come and go.
If you identify a sound of something you love (a robin, for example), praise God for it.
Notice how this impacts your mood and your body.
Close with a time of worship by thinking about the creation around you.
It’s like your mother said: Go outside and play. It’s good for you.
But I do more than thank. I ask – ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for Christians. Oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him – endless energy, boundless strength!
Ephesians 1: 17-19, The Message translation
Praying the same prayer for nine consecutive days is an old practice called a novena. We all need to do a good old-fashioned novena for our Christian leaders and pastors.
Dealing with all the issues surrounding pastoring in a pandemic has worn them out. Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 1 is a good one. (I’m going to pray it for myself and others working in lay positions at our church as well.)
A novena is not … and never has been … a “magic” formula. But concentrating on the same prayers … slowly and deliberately …. for nine days in a row can reveal the voice of God to us as well as send blessings to our pastors.
I remember watching filmstrips about the liberation of the concentration camps in Europe in elementary school in the early and mid-1960s. I thought that the Holocaust happened very long ago among heathen peoples. Looking back, I know what I saw had happened only a decade or so in the past. The heathens thought they were civilized, even superior, people.
Today is Yom HaShoah, the time to remember the Holocaust. It’s time for me to remember how many people who thought they were good Christians participated … actively or passively … in it. As the eyewitnesses leave this Earth, we must all remember and fight those who want to deny reality.
O God, we are conscious that many centuries of blindness have blinded our eyes so that we no longer see the beauty of your chosen people, nor recognize in their faces the features of our privileged brothers and sisters.
We realize that the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads.
Across the centuries our brother Abel has lain in blood which we drew or which we caused to be shed by forgetting your love.
Forgive us for the curse we falsely attached to their name as Jews.
Forgive us for crucifying you a second time in their flesh.
God of Abraham and of Moses, we pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear your world.
As you have made them your own, so make them continue to grow in love of your name and in faithfulness to your covenant.
You are our God, living and reigning, for ever and ever. Amen
Your mind is labeling everyone and everything, but you may not even notice. Yet those labels or judgments show up when you interact with people.
Have you ever noticed that you suspend disbelief when you listen to Person A but react with cynicism to what Person B says? Does walking down a particular hallway make you feel stressed?
You can become more aware of this with this Christian mindfulness exercise. It helps us to not behave on automatic pilot, but to become more aware. That way we can walk through our day with Jesus, not our half-buried emotions, leading the way.
Pray to ask God to give you the ability to listen, really listen, to your automatic thoughts. Ask for blessing for this exercise, which you can do all day or just for a few hours.
Be open to surprises and new insights. You may know how much you dread seeing one supervisor. (I used to have a boss with the company nickname “Attila the Hen.”) But you may not know how you automatically feel toward people who cause you less auto-stress.
On a “typical” day, listen to what jumps into your mind when you see individuals, attend groups or go places. For example, walk through the halls of your office space, and notice what you are quietly saying to yourself. How does it feel when you see This Person or pass That Person’s office door? Does a certain room or sight make you feel uneasy automatically?
Acknowledge these emotions. We don’t want to run away from our feelings. We want to be aware of them so we will not behave on automatic pilot.
Realize that you can’t control your emotions, other people or situations. But you can accept that you have some emotional reactions to people and places. And you can control your actions. asking for the grace to walk with Jesus through our daily activities.
This is part of “radical acceptance.” Introduced into American culture by Tara Brach, the concept is used in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It is a close relative of mindfulness. We pay attention to only what is happening in the present moment (mindfulness) in the presence of God (Christian mindfulness), and we accept that we cannot control reality (radical acceptance).
By realizing the reality of the emotions that we have attached to people and places, we can bring those feelings to Jesus and make a more sound decision about what to do. It’s a good idea to conduct this exercise quarterly or whenever you experience a significant change in your surroundings.
“The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer speaks of Christian mindfulness without uttering the phrase. Comer, a pastor and podcaster from Portland, Oregon, is clearly writing to a congregation much younger than my Baby Boomer self. But his concepts are eternal.
In the book, Comer gives an excellent overview about how we all got so speeded up. Then he presents principles for winding ourselves down to human speed. His view is that we need to do three things in life:
Be with Jesus.
Be like Jesus.
Do what Jesus did in his life in our own surroundings and circumstances.
This 30-minute video outlines his thoughts.
I first heard his ideas on “John Mark Comer Teachings Podcast,” a listen-worthy collection of his sermons. It can be found on most podcast apps. There’s real wisdom in his words, even if the language seems very Portland-ese.
He encourages us to “unhurry” our lives through four practices: silence and solitude, Sabbath, simplicity and slowing. He also encourages us to develop a rule of life, sharing 20 ideas from his own.
“The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” is really about living a modern contemplative life in family and church. I highly recommend it.
Other resources for Christian mindfulness can be found here on the Resource page.
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, burnout is everywhere. The American Psychological Association, in its 2021 Work and Well-Being Survey, found a frightening level of burnout that’s no surprise to most people.
The survey found that 79 percent of employees surveyed had work-related stress in the previous 30 days. The occupations reporting the highest levels of burnout were (again, no surprise here) health care and education. But the symptoms of burnout spread across most occupations. The level of negative impacts reported include:
44% had physical fatigue (a 38% increase since 2019)
36% had cognitive weariness
32% reported emotional exhaustion
26% felt lack of interest, motivation or energy
19% reported lack of effort at work
So what is exactly is burnout? Back in 2019, the World Health Organization defined it as a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It has three dimensions:
Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
Increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
Reduced professional efficacy
Is this you?
Three Christian mindfulness practices to fight burnout
Just One Thing: Pick one task a day to perform with Christian mindfulness. Pray before and after. Ask God to be present with you as you do the task. Focus your full attention on the work in the presence of God. You could change tasks each day.
Ask for Change: Starting a new job is generally exciting, if somewhat stressful, because there is so much to learn. Use prayer and reflection to think about what new thing you’d like to learn. Or what new responsibility you’d like to take on. Come up with a proposal about how to learn to do those things. Take it to your boss, who may be happy to help if just to get you to stay.
Add a Prayer Break: Adding a five or 10-minute prayer break to your day is fairly easy. Mark it on the schedule, using a code word if necessary. Then stop to pray for your work, upcoming meetings, your co-workers and your organization’s mission. You may feel more purpose and insight when you get back to your work.
Be sure to bring your burnout into the healing power of Christian mindfulness. It will help you decide if it’s time to join the Great Resignation or if you just need to make a change in your current job.
“Developing a conversational relationship with God” is the subtitle of Dallas Willard’s book “Hearing God.” Some believe that God stopped speaking when the Bible was organized. Willard (and I) think nothing could be further from the truth.
Hearing God’s voice fits into the larger context of walking in a close friendship with him. In fact, Willard believes that God speaks mostly to people who obey His teachings and want to do His will.
As Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” Abiding in Jesus minute by minute through Christian mindfulness puts us in a position to hear God specifying His will. We become as Willard wrote “someone who leads the kind of life demonstrated in the Bible: a life of personal, intelligent interaction with God.”
Feasting on God’s word
The Bible fixes the boundaries of everything that God will say to humankind, Willard writes. Indeed, God speaks most often during Bible reading and study. Have you ever had a verse jump off the page to you, even though you’ve read it many times? That is God speaking.
But this can also happen while listening to another person, whether it be a sermon or a conversation. I also believe that synchronicity can point the way to a message. If you hear the same verse repeatedly … in Bible study, in a sermon and in a book you’re reading … it may be God emphasizing something to you.
God also speaks through dreams, visions and events. But most of the time he speaks through a small, still voice that can only be heard in quiet. God’s voice comes in a spirit of peace, joy and good will. So God’s voice sounds like Jesus. And we can only know what Jesus sounds like through Bible study.
Seven steps toward hearing God
This summary may help you as you seek to hear God’s voice.
Begin with a prayer in Jesus’ name for protection from evil influences.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to listen well.
Remain alert.
Reject anything that is contrary to Biblical truth.
Feel welcome to write down the thoughts that come for further study.
Understand that real communications from God are:
Biblically sound
Glorify God
Advance the kingdom
Help people
Help you to grow spiritually
Thank God for the time together.
Walking with God in Christian mindfulness is a sweet time of communion. We should expect that God will help us learn what we should know and what we should do.
Look Up is an easy Christian mindfulness exercise. Yet it helps us to grow our perspective, gratitude and visual mindfulness.
How easy is it? Just two steps.
Step 1: Look up.
Step. 2: Give thanks for what you see.
When you deliberately look up, you notice many new things. I am short, so looking up sometimes lets me see things that taller people view everyday!
What’s up there? Roofs, treetops, interesting architecture, ceiling treatments, light fixtures, clouds of varying colors and shapes, birds and more.
This exercise improves our awareness of the world around us. And it builds our gratitude for our cozy inside spaces, our cities and neighborhoods and the glory of outdoors. It helps us to get outside of our interior worries.
Give it a try a few times a day, and see what happens!
If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient. But I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.
“Inside every silver lining, there’s a dark cloud,” comedian George Carlin used to joke. Some days we all agree with him. Recently I discovered a secular practice called “Find the Silver Lining” that easily adapts to Christian mindfulness.
The practice was from the Greater Good Science Center website. The center is at the University of California Berkeley. It provides research-based tools and training to shift our culture toward a kinder, more compassionate society.
The site has a lot of positive psychology materials:
An online magazine featuring stories and tips for building social-emotional well-being.
Free e-newsletters.
Research-based practices for happiness, resilience, kindness and connection.
A cool monthly Happiness Calendar with daily tips.
One of the research-based practices is the Find the Silver Lining practice. It can bring new perspective and even some peace of mind to our most difficult experiences. Here’s how to do it as a mindful Christian:
Go before the Lord to thank him for things you easily appreciate: your health, your church, trees, whatever comes to mind.
Then write about something that has been negative in your life: an event, person or any life circumstance.
Look for two or three things that are the silver livings to that negative experience.
Pray a gratitude prayer for them, and ask the Lord to help you to see silver linings more easily.
The poet Maggie Smith tried the secular version of this practice. You can read about her experience on the center’s website here. More resources for leading your mindful Christian life are found on the Resource Page here.
If you know how to suffer, you suffer much, much less. And then you know how to make good use of suffering to create joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022)
Learning how to deal with suffering is both a God-given grace and something we can learn. It helps us to be content and even joyful in times of suffering and injustice. Contentment is an inner condition cultivated in humility. We can have a teachable spirit prepared to bend to God’s will.
Rich Nathan, founding pastor at Vineyard Columbus, taught a sermon years ago that offered a three-part plan to be content no matter what suffering we may endure. Here are his three points.
No. 1: Practice surrender.
The Bible teaches that everything, even our loved one’s illnesses, has to pass through God’s hands before it happens. As Elisabeth Elliott put it: “Whatever happens is assigned.” God’s power is unlimited, and he rules all our lives.
Matthew 10:29-30: Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. The very hairs on your head are all numbered.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who live him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We will never suffer trials unless God allows them and watches over them.
The most important example of a person who trusted God under terrible circumstances was Jesus himself. Have we ever been in so much agony that we sweat blood over it? Yes, Jesus understands how we feel.
We learn things from suffering that we probably couldn’t learn anywhere else: reliance on grace, humility, perseverance, quality prayer, faith, trust, and a real relationship with God.
If we can’t accept this for a lifetime, Rich suggested that we accept it “just for today.”
No. 2: Practice thanksgiving.
Start being grateful for the littlest things: grass, sky, trees. Spend a day looking for things to be grateful for.
No. 3: Practice abiding.
This means that you connect with God’s person. This is the essence of Christian mindfulness. You focus on the present in the felt presence of God. You can do all things through God who strengthens you, but you have to abide in God to do so.
Rich encourages us to welcome the Holy Spirit into areas where we’ve grumbled, where we are discontented, where we are frustrated. Invite the person of the Holy Spirit to come into that part of your life. Contentment will grow where we abide in God.
Sunset in January and February brings more dread than joy. But we can change that when we make the winter sunset hour a time to celebrate God’s presence and care.
In a Fast Company article about staying sane while living in 24-hour darkness, Julia Herbst provides five tips for dealing with winter light (or the lack of it). One of them is “Don’t fight the darkness.” It’s an encouragement to enjoy winter through hygge, which can include Christian mindfulness. (Another is to get a light box or Happy Light, which I totally endorse! Here’s the one I use.)
Britain’s “The Simple Things” magazine suggests stopping the day’s events to enjoy tea and dessert at sunset in the winter. (This could lead to a Backwards Meal, which my kids and I used to do on April Fools Day.)
For those who practice Christian mindfulness, watching the winter sunset while practicing the presence of God is a quiet revelation. God is still there in the cold and the dark earth around us. And He is still making things of beauty for those who take the time to watch. Adding a gratitude practice … giving thanks for five things from the day … can only bring God’s presence closer.
Some may want to enjoy the winter sunset with some beautiful music or a book that makes you feel alive. Reading some poetry also adds an element of celebration to sunset. Here’s “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti:
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day, Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels fall before, The ox and ass and camel which adore.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
As Sabbath closes on Sunday night, a sense of dread can set in. It’s even got a name: Sunday night syndrome. (Actually it has more than one name. The British call it Sunday night scaries. It’s also called the Sunday night blues.) A sense of anticipatory anxiety about the week ahead comes in and steals away the last remaining hours of the weekend.
It’s a common problem. LinkedIn’s survey in 2018 found 80 percent of respondents experienced it. 80 percent! The younger you are, the higher the figure: 90 percent among millennials and 93 percent among Gen Z. The No. 1 cause was worry, specifically about workload size, work-life balance and the things left undone last week.
Here’s how Christian mindfulness can help
Create a Sunday night practice. Do something different on Sunday night. It can be watching your favorite television show, watching a funny movie, reading a book, listening to a playlist, calling your best friend or otherwise doing something that makes the night fun. Keep your promises to yourself and do this every week. It reframes the evening so that it’s guaranteed to have pleasant moments.
Talk to God about your workloadand your work-life balance. This is part of your Sunday night practice. As in all Christian mindfulness exercises, stay in the present moment in the presence of God. Share your worries and concerns about the week ahead. Ask for God’s guidance as you decide what to do.
Write every task down. It helps to keep it out of your head at night. Mark what can be delegated and what can be delayed (or not done at all). If your schedule allows, you can also do this last thing Friday afternoon so you don’t have to think about it at all Sunday.
Do a loving-kindness meditation. You’ll find out how here.
Put self-care on next week’s schedule. Block out times on your schedule for self-care during the week. If a micromanaging boss is reviewing your schedule too much, block out times with words that are acceptable in your workplace environment. Also, pray about looking for a different job. You don’t have to work for a difficult person these days.
Add a nature walk to your Sunday routine. Walking in nature, also called forest bathing, reduces stress. Just stay in the present and speak to God about what you see during the walk.
Keep your interior (and verbal) language positive. Whining and moaning make things worse. Try replacing “I have to” with “I get to.” Offer genuine prayers of gratitude for your work, your workplace and your co-workers.
Keep off your phone and emails. When the fun part of Sunday night begins, put your phone in another room. Stop looking at work emails. If it looks like you are fine with working on Sunday night, you’ll be working every Sunday night. There’s a worker shortage. Take advantage of it to take care of yourself.
Avoid drinking alcohol. You know, don’t you, that this makes it worse. Find something else to drink that makes it better.
Figure out how tired you are. If you still feel exhausted at the end of the weekend, go to bed early. Or plan to have an early night in bed on Monday evening.
Sunday night syndrome involves the opposite for Christian mindfulness. You are thinking about the future and you are not counting on the presence of God to help. Use these practices to move into the present moment with God and release those worries.
This week in January is the traditional time to pray for Christian unity. And boy do we need it! Remember the old song “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.” Not so much anymore.
I know many, myself included, who have discovered to their shock that their Christian friends have entirely different political beliefs than they do. In the past, that was just a matter of opinion. Now it’s a source of division. Too many of us, on both sides, consider it almost an article of faith that “real Christians” support our own political beliefs.
I don’t think God is happy about that. He would prefer that we take up prayer during this time seeking Christian unity. Clearly, Jesus prayed on the last night of his life that Christians stay united in the Spirit and in love. He knew what was coming, and He prayed against it.
This prayer from “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers” puts it beautifully:
Almighty and eternal God,
you gather the scattered sheep
and watch over those you have gathered.
Look kindly on all who follow Jesus, your Son.
You have marked them with the seal of one baptism,
now make them one in the fullness of faith
and unite them in the bond of love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
As we pray for unity, let's look at our intentions and our thoughts. Let us seek to be kind and open to those who disagree with us. May people again come to know we are Christians by our love.
Are you standing in line today? Take a mini-break. In the shower? Take a mini-break.
Why? Mini-breaks are rapidly joining the endangered species list of activities. When we can always pull out our phones, the opportunity to rest our minds and recenter our spirits diminishes.
Our brains are not designed to constantly take in data, wrote Jade Beecroft in an article in Breathe magazine, issue 44. We need pauses to reflect and, frankly, to think. Yet the transitional times for this are fading away. It’s a lot easier to scan email or Instagram during those odd moments.
Beecroft cites a University of Texas study that found even the presence of a face-down smartphone on a person’s desk reduced that person’s cognitive ability. Why? Because part of their brains were engaged in the effort of not picking up the phone. Yikes!
Beecroft’s article even includes some scary information: Constant use of the smartphone can create a condition called digital dementia. We underuse the frontal lobes of our brain, causing short-term memory issues, lack of concentration, anxiety, depression and insomnia.
In Christian mindfulness, we need mini-breaks regularly not only to think, but to reconnect with the presence of God. Saying the Jesus prayer is a good option while waiting for the microwave to reheat coffee, for example.
The way to take a mini-break is simple: Put your phone away in a consistent spot where you can’t see it. (So you don’t end up worrying about finding it.) Say the Jesus prayer. Be present in the moment.
The result can be a great idea. (There’s a reason that good ideas happen in the shower.) Or you can enjoy a deep moment of inner peace. Either way, it’s a better space than doom scrolling ever will be.
This Christian mindfulness exercise is one of the best ways I’ve found to find out why you love (or dislike) your job and/or your life. It starts with two index cards. Ideally, you can find two different card colors: one green and one yellow, for example. Depending on the size, you may need more than one of each.
You are going to carry those cards with you for at least three days. Every time you do a task that drains or upsets you, write that task on the yellow card. On the green card, record every task that gives you joy, pleasure or energy.
In just a few days, you’ll be able to see visually if you do more tasks you like or more that you don’t like. If you are doing lots of things you don’t like, you need to pray about that. Are you actually doing God’s will, or does He want you to change something about your life?
This exercise can help you decide if you need a different job, if you should change up your spiritual disciplines, if you need to work on a relationship or if you need to go get counseling.
You also can incorporate more of the tasks on the green card into your days, so you can enjoy more happiness. You can delegate or stop doing some of the things on the yellow card.
When I tried this in my second-to-last job, I found that the green card was actually a job description that I looked for in my next job. And later, the green and yellow cards helped me to plan my retirement, which has been joyous even in a pandemic.
Just be sure to pray over the results, so you don’t just see what you want to see. It’s an easy way to make 2022 a better year.
New Year’s Eve is a traditional time for reviewing the past year. We create annual Good Riddance lists to burn during the evening. Those lists contain the things that we hated about the year.
This year, we also created two more lists: a gratitude list and a list of events where we saw God at work The gratitude list is self-explanatory. The list of God at work takes a little more thought.
I look back through the journals of the year to find days of unexpected blessing … when I can see God at work. Sometimes it’s obvious: a sermon that hit me over the head and changed the way I acted for the rest of the year. Or a family member who agrees to take medicine needed to improve his life.
Other times I can see God is little acts and coincidences: the time I accidentally knocked a treasured prayer candle I’ve had for decades off the mantle. The glass part separated from the candle and the metal, landing without injury in an empty basket. How did that happen? I think it was God, who demonstrated His presence in the tiny, but deeply important, aspects of my prayer life.
Looking for God in all the small places and the big events is an excellent way to begin 2022. Please join me in having a holy encounter on this New Year’s Eve.
Driving during the Christmas season is a chance to start a new habit: practicing Christian mindfulness behind the wheel. It’s an exercise in awareness and kindness.
So often we drive in a semi-conscious state, not truly sure how we got there when we arrive. Have you ever “accidentally” started driving to work, when you were going somewhere else? I know I have.
So first, we respect the reality: We are operating driving a potentially deadly piece of heavy machinery. We don’t want to be distracted. Staying aware helps us stay alive.
Awareness allows us to be intentional about practicing kindness and courtesy to fellow drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclers. Allow people to merge, for heaven’s sake. (And I mean that literally.) Watch out for those walking and cycling around you. And calm yourself when someone is actually obeying the speed limit in front of you. How many times have drivers raced around your car to find themselves sitting next to you at the next light? Plenty, for me.
Author Judith Hurrell, in a recent article in either Breathe or Oh! magazine (I lost the reference), suggested that we remind ourselves that everyone who is driving experiences happiness and suffering. She uses words from the loving-kindness meditation to bless people as they go by.
Blessing our fellow drivers helps us to recall that Jesus loves all of us, even the motorcyclist roaring by you without a helmet.
Bringing words of peace and kindness into the car with you also helps, whether it be a helpful podcast or beautiful music. In my former job, my commute could range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes depending on traffic. I truly enjoyed every moment because I was listening to calming (or funny) audio the whole time. I always arrived at work in a better mood than when I left the house.
The mindlessness of driving can be converted into a flow experience. When you bring intense focus to a task that involves skill and the ability to respond quickly, you can become deeply immersed in your driving. You can enjoy the shades of blue in the sky and the colors of the trees. This time of year, you can enjoy the lights and holiday displays, giving thanks to God for the joy that they create.
It’s a great time to communicate with God, who made all these things. Praising the Lord as you head to an appointment is a good way to be open and attentive during the day.
Starting now to be a holy driver can create a habit that brings joy all year.
The four weeks of Advent are the beginning of the Christian year. Bringing mindfulness and intention to those four weeks helps you create a different holiday season from Christmas … one that prepares you for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Advent is quiet, not festive. Simple, not overstuffed. Focused on the spiritual, not the material.
The season is best known for Advent wreathes and Advent calendars. (You can get a Christ-centered calendar in addition to one with toys or chocolates.) Other ideas include:
Use a creche that you can fill gradually to tell the Christmas story. Week 1: Put up the empty creche. Week 2: Add the animals. Week 3: Add the shepherds and their sheep. Week 4: Add the angel. Christmas Eve: Add Mary and Joseph. Christmas Day: Add baby Jesus. Epiphany: Add the wide men and their camels.
Wrap 20ish books in Christmas paper, and put them in a basket. You pick out one book per night to read to your children.
Put out a basket to collect money for a cause during Advent. Keep a list in the basket of all the good deeds that the kids (and you) have done. Discuss the good deeds at Christmas Eve dinner.
Find Advent playlists on Spotify to find out the difference between Advent music and Christmas music.
Make or buy consumable gifts, such as food, to reduce clutter and waste.
Once you are in the Advent frame of mind, you can create your own traditions. When my kids were little, we had a small manger and a baby Jesus. When the kids did something nice, they got to put hay in baby Jesus’ manger to make him more comfortable. One year this did result in a hay-throwing situation, but overall it was successful.
Advent is a joyous time of year that prepares you for the Christmas season. Do enjoy it!
Making blessing bags for homeless people is a nice addition to your Thanksgiving holiday. We all know Thanksgiving should be much more than turkey, football and family close-encounters. An approach based on Christian mindfulness turns the day into a celebration of gratitude and a chance to help others.
Blessing bags can be in your car or your bag (if you take a train or bus around town) all year. When you see a homeless person asking for money, you can ask them if they would like the bag.
A Blessing Bag
Use a see-through container – either a large ZipLock bag or a see-through plastic bag. Then fill it with items to feed and help the homeless, such as:
Warm socks
Gloves
Hat
Face masks
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Beef jerky
Trail mix
Granola bars
Peanut butter crackers
Mints
Lip balm
A washcloth
Hand sanitizer
Single-dose packs of pain reliever
Band-Aids
Comb and brush
Bottled water
Hand warmers
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo
Tampons for women
Fast food restaurant gift cards
A few dollars
A note of blessing (You can buy a pack of blessing notes at Hobby Lobby.)
If you keep a place in your home for blessing bag materials, you can put packages you get at the dentist and other freebies in the bag. Assembling these bags can make a great Thanksgiving activity for kids and other family members.
Other aspects of a mindful Christian Thanksgiving can include:
Send thank you cards to people who have made your life better this year.
The last two years have taught some of us that we might be more racist than we think, at least unconsciously. A research-based article in Mindful Magazine’s December 2021 issue argues that mindfulness exercises may give us tools to reduce unconscious bias. And I see the point.
Neuroscientist Wendy Hansenkamp, who is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Virginia, wrote the article. I cannot find the article online. But discussions about it and other information on mindfulness and bias are on the magazine’s website here.
She writes that “society, culture, media and power structures” can instill prejudice in our subconscious without us realizing it. The big idea is that engaging repeatedly in practices that increase awareness, focus on our similarities as humans, and develop care and kindness can combat this implicit bias.
Hansenkamp goes into several studies that indicate that this works. I believe it on its face, and I think Christian mindfulness gives us an even better chance of rooting out stereotypes and subconscious fears.
She focuses most on the loving-kindness practice, which I have adapted for Christian mindfulness here. This practice retains enough distance from the subject to emphasize our common role as God’s beloved children. Hansenkamp also discusses a 2014 Yale study that showed that participants who had been practicing loving kindness reduced their implicit bias, while those who only learned and discussed the subject did not.
By seeing each individual around us as a creation of God and blessing those people in our words and actions, we can come closer to ending any unconscious prejudice we carry. Take a look at your practice and see if you can incorporate the faces of those different from you in your work on your own compassion.
Developing a mood box or book is a good exercise in contemplative Christian mindfulness, particularly when you are fighting against negative thinking. I’ve used this practice with people struggling against serious illness and/or depression. It is just as effective for the ups and downs of daily life.
The first step is to determine what mood you want to feel. You can create mood boxes or books to encourage hope, joy, optimism, trust in God, contentment and more.
Select an attractive box or blank book that, if possible, reflects this emphasis. This is a private exercise, so the box has to speak to you and no one else. You also can decorate the box or book to please yourself. I’ve also used decorated photo storage boxes to get a head start on the look I wanted.
Then fill the box or book with cues that encourage the mood you want. Try to appeal to many of your senses. You can add:
Scripture verses
Quotes from books
Song lyrics
Photographs
Images cut from magazines or books
CDs
Essential oils
Souvenirs
Fabrics
Items from nature
If you are creating a book rather than a box, you can put essential oils or perfume on the pages to get scent. Continue to add to the box over time, or to remove things if they lose their appeal.
One of my friends has a mood box based on hope, originally created as she served as caregiver for a sick loved one. When the person died, she made a ritual of emptying the box and starting to collect box contents again.
Put the mood box or book in a place where you can see it daily. When you feel far from your desired mood, use it for a few minutes to help yourself go on the right path.
Super Sad True Love Story, published in 2010, was set in the near future … also known as now. Author Gary Shteyngart wrote about Americans who were tied to their devices, rarely looking up and rarely putting them down. It was appalling at the time.
What was science fiction in 2010 is reality today. Research shows that Americans spend an average screen time of 5.4 hours on their mobile phones daily. About half of that is time spent on social media. We have 294.15 million smartphone users in the United States. The U.S. population is 329.5 million. That means almost everyone who isn’t a little kid has a cell phone.
Like every piece of technology, smart phones can be used for good.
Ten ways to use your phone as a force for good
What apps would Jesus have? You can read the Bible, do a meditation, read a devotional and pray a piece of liturgy on your phone. Some recommendations about apps to download are in the resource section here.
Be intentional about what you post on social media. Think it through and decide what you want to accomplish. You can only post things that cause people to smile (or laugh). You can spread thoughts of peace and kindness. You can be intentional about who follows you.
Make rules for yourself about cell phone use. Such as, put the phone on recharge during meals to keep it off the table during a meal. Or, never read email until you’ve done morning prayer.
Designate time to read emails and calm yourself first. Pray before you open your email. Ask for wisdom, discernment and calm. Scheduling time to read them keeps you from constantly scanning your phone for emails. If people need to contact you from work, you can let people know that you read your emails at these specific times. If anything is too urgent to wait until that time, they can text or call you.
Express your appreciation to someone. Write a post giving someone (a friend, colleague or a person you admire but don’t know personally) a compliment. This is especially nice if you are sending it to a person who means a lot to you, but doesn’t have hundreds or thousands of followers.
Write a recommendation about a colleague or vendor on LinkedIn. Taking the time to give positive reviews is very welcome.
If Starbucks has a personnel shortage, don’t offer to pay for the person behind you. Counterintuitive, I know. But paying for the person behind you makes the cashier’s job more difficult. In a time of personnel shortages, that can be tough. Find another ways to pay it forward.
Promote a small business. If you’ve had a good experience with a small business, say so in a nice review. You can also share their posts on your social media.
Like a newsletter or blog, If you’ve been reading someone’s blog for a while and like what they doing, let them know. You also could pick a favorite, never-miss podcast to sponsor on Patreon.
Compliment a parent on their kids. Be specific.
Having the intention of using your phone and your social media in kindness and caring can turn a big time-sucking problem into a blessing for others.
Mindful eating can be an impactful element of Christian mindfulness. When we stay present and grateful to God’s presence, the experience of wolfing down a meal changes. Better health and a deeper understanding of God’s role in “our daily bread” can result.
Sassos’ tips start with a body scan to see how hungry you actually are. Then she suggests eating without distraction … no screens, phones on mute and off the table.
Her third tip centers on gratitude. This is where we can give thanks to God for the food and the circumstances in which you are eating. Bless all those involved in the creation of your food, from the fields to the plants to the kitchen. If you’re the cook, thank God for your arms and hands, for your ability to read or create a recipe, and for the ingredients you found.
Then you eat. Your fork can be your best friend in eating mindfully. Pick it up to give yourself a bite, and then put it down. Eat the bite completely, paying attention to the flavors and the textures. Praise God and the cook for creativity. Then pick up the fork again. If you concentrate on putting your fork down after every bite, staying present with your food is much easier. You can find more on my approach to mindful Christian eating here.
Sassos also has some wise words about practicing mindful eating when children are adding joy and chaos to the meal. Just pick one thing, such as one bite at a time, to do. The kitchen table is also a wonderful place to inspire the rest of the family by saying grace that thanks all involved in the food, including God. The prayers can lead to real conversations about food production that kids will remember for years.
Christian mindfulness practices are beautiful in the autumn. If we concentrate on our neighborhoods and local parks, we can all enjoy God’s majesty and creativity in the fall.
Here are some ideas:
Pick a tree in the neighborhood that changes color. Visit it every day to watch the subtle changes. I’ve always loved that the autumn hues are always present in the leaves. They are green only because they are full of chlorophyll.
Take your devotions outdoors. Bring a spiritual book to a park to read. Pray under the prettiest tree.
Go nutting. Find true nuts like acorns and hazelnuts. (Believe it or not, almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews aren’t true nuts, which are hard-shelled, one-seeded fruits of the tree.) You can use the nuts in decorating. Or go nuts and roast them. (Acorns are pretty bitter, but edible.)
Go for a gratitude walk to thank the Lord for all the natural beauty you see, one thing at a time.
Watch the squirrels getting ready for winter. Do you know the Lord has blessed them with the ability to remember where they stored their food?
Velden, a food writer based in Oakland, Calif., provides a handful of detailed recipes. But most of the book is about paying attention while cooking. The book has a fan base. Goodreads readers give it 4.1 out of a possible 5 stars. On Amazon, it has 5 out of 5 stars with 40 ratings.
My favorite mindfulness practice in the book is soji, a 20-minute period in Zen temples where the whole community cleans together. It usually happens after morning meditation. Each person gets a simple cleaning task, such as sweep the floor. Everyone does their task silently and without hurrying to finish it.
You clean or sweep or dry dishes mindfully until someone rings a bell. Then you stop. And go onto the next thing, usually breakfast.
Velden suggests that we consider approaching some of our tasks on our to-do lists with a soji perspective. “What would happen if it wasn’t so much about finishing but more about simply doing? What burdens can be put down when we redirect our energies not toward the goal, but to the process itself each moment along the way?” she writes.
She also says that soji teaches people how to get tasks done when they don’t want to do them. She uses the principle to tackle jobs she dreads around the house. It’s an interesting concept, although I wonder if my family would feel comfortable in a house full of half-done tasks. Could be that’s better than not-done tasks.
You’ll find more resources for practicing Christian mindfulness here.
The British magazine “Oh!” had an excellent idea in its latest issue: Make a morning playlist.
In Pandemic Year Two, many of us are trying hard to get back into the swing of life. Yet life does not seem to cooperate. “I thought this would be over by now” is the national mood.
So why not start by picking 10 songs that always lift your spirits. Put them in a playlist on Spotify or any other method you have. And use them to combat gray mornings.
For example, I find that I can work myself into a giant funk while getting dressed for the day. So I started listening and singing alone to uplifting praise music. It helps.
You can find some other ideas for your own list from these Spotify playlists:
You are not imagining it. People are meaner on Mondays.
A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that people display less civility and kindness on Mondays than they do the rest of the week. But the study does contain some good news for those of us who practice any form of mindfulness.
Mindfulness stabilizes this situation. People who practice it are able to maintain a stable level of kindness and courteous behavior across the week.
This is no surprise to me. My form of mindfulness … Christian mindfulness … gives you a solid foundation and handrails to walk across difficult days. It’s a stabilizing force for the kind of inner peace that only comes through a relationship with Jesus.
Staying in the present moment in the presence of God brings a continual source of strength. You learn, as many do, that the only thing you can control is yourself. Christian mindfulness actually gives you the graces necessary to be able to do that in a kind way on a fairly consistent basis.
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. I remember that day:
Sitting in my office at my computer when a colleague named Jeff LaRue poked his head in my office and said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
Realizing this was not a small plane crash.
Interrupting my CEO in a client meeting in the conference room to say that planes had crashed into both towers and the Pentagon. “Could we turn on the TV here?” The client was annoyed at my interruption.
Listening to the church bell, located across the street from our office tower, begin to toll. It continued to toll all day. The last time that happened was Pearl Harbor.
Watching the first tower collapse from the same viewpoint where I last saw the towers two weeks before.
Heading home to be with my high school student, calling my other child in a college dorm room, and contacting my husband who was on the road.
Working on a proposal while watching the television in my living room.
Finding out that my husband didn’t realize the extent of the situation until he got to a hotel and watching it on television.
Looking at the sky which now contained no airplanes.
Waking up the next morning to wonder what would happen that day.
The United States was probably at its best that week. We were determined in the face of fear. Many bad decisions later, we aren’t at our best. But we know that Christians can always be determined in the face of fear. Our side has already won.
The Sept. 11 reading of Sarah Young’s wonderful devotional “Jesus Always” points out that the world has always been at war. Yet we do not have to be afraid. Jesus has achieved the victory that allows us to have a hope and a future. But we are still not alone in the world. The dark side is still setting off explosions as it moves in defeat. So we are cautioned to have self-control and be alert.
Is it possible to be alert without feeling all-consuming fear? Yes. But we must be determined and ask for grace to achieve that state. Paul of Tarsus tells us that we are at our best when we recognize that we are weak and allow God to move through us.
So what does determination look like when we know that we are weak? Here are seven indicators:
We expect God to help when we are doing His will.
We believe in the importance of our role in the kingdom of God.
We focus our attention on the work we are doing.
We listen to God’s word and seek his will for next steps.
We avoid distraction.
We ask for help when we need it.
We keep going even when things get difficult.
None of us alive on 9/11 predicted the next 20 years. But God did know what would happen. Walking with Him in Christian mindfulness may help us to make the next 20 more successful for the kingdom.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through Sister Water
who is so useful,
humble,
precious,
and pure.
Francis of Assisi, "The Canticle of the Creatures"
It’s essential to keeping us alive. So today let’s pay specific attention to water.
Observe water all around you … in nature and in your home, in your body and in your life. Those of us with clean running water are lucky people, and we need to give thanks.
According to World Vision.org, 785 million people around the world don’t have access to basic drinking water. Many drink impure water out of necessity. This leads to disease. Dirty water and sanitation issues cause more than 800 children under age 5 per day (297,000 per year) to die from diarrhea.
We can focus on water as a Christian mindfulness exercise multiple ways.
First, we can pray for clean water for everyone. World Vision is among the organizations in the world working to end the lack of clean water by 2030. This issue has become more urgent, if that is possible, because of the need for hand washing in the pandemic.
We can support this effort financially and in prayer. This is one prayer for that:
Loving God, we ask for Your blessings on children, mothers, fathers, and communities who are thirsty. Purify, protect, and multiply their water sources. Strengthen their resolve so they may fully enjoy the benefits of clean water — essentials like education, gardens of fresh produce, and good health.
We also can pray for the global will to ensure everyone has safe drinking water. At the same time, we can pray for the women and children who walk long distances to carry water. This has been women’s work since Biblical times.
In fact, a Samaritan woman who came to get water from a well had a memorable encounter with Jesus. He told her: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water,” (John 4:10). While we pray for the gift of clean water for all, let us also ask for Living Water for ourselves and the rest of the world. Here’s another prayer from World Vision:
We are grateful to You, Lord, for being our Source of living water — the One who satisfies our soul’s deepest desire with the joy of salvation. Open people’s eyes to recognize You as the only Source of living water for their parched souls. Let them be refreshed in Your love when they enjoy clean water to drink.
Another Christian mindfulness exercise is to be deliberate in giving thanks for our own clean water for a day. Each time you drink, hold the glass in front of you, and spend 10 seconds looking at it. Understand all the work and effort … and think of all the people … involved in getting the water to you. Then thank God for your drink. Or your shower or bath or laundry water.
For an even more thought-provoking exercise, take the Matthew 25 challenge from World Vision. Here’s how.
Observing water can provide us with many lessons. One unit of water can easily change from liquid to solid to gas, reflecting the impermanence of life. Water can show us how to flow through changing circumstances. And water can show its power, just when you think that people have conquered it. “Respect the river” is a motto in my boating life.
I hope you can take time to observe water this week. Let me know what you see.
As summer starts to wind down, let’s go on a picnic packed with Christian mindfulness. It’s easy. Pack a lunch filled with the healthy food that the Lord wants you to eat. Include the Bible or a devotional, either in the basket or on your phone. Then go out into nature to intentionally spend time with the Lord and His creation.
Creating space with silence and beauty allows us all to open up to hear the Lord’s still, small voice. I do these picnics alone, but you can invite companions if they agree to the concept.
We spend so much time indoors, particularly if the weather is difficult. The concept of weather can help us to see the totality of God’s creation. Yes, God made the perfect sunny, breezy day. But He also made the rain, the wind, the searing heat and the gray skies. A daily walk in creation is always a good idea.
For the picnic, pick some time when you can devote at least an hour. Stay in the present moment, thanking God for the sky, the insects, the trees, the grass and everything else around you. Pray to God to bless the other people that you see. Quietly read your devotional or Bible, asking Him to speak to you. Bring a journal if you’d like to think through questions or concerns.
You can also add some fun. Bring some bubbles. Watch some birds. Borrow a child’s magnifying glass to look at insects. Revel in the wonder of nature. Doing this mindfully can help us all to feel God’s presence in the present moment.
Like many of us, I have missed having the opportunity to go on a retreat in the last two years or so. This is a retreat that you can take any time, and you don’t even have to wear a mask outside these days.
Jesus often went off by himself to commune with His father. I’ll bet he would love to go on a picnic with you.
Check out the menu to find other summer mindfulness exercises.
As we are changed into more loving, surrendered Christ-followers, we become the presence of Christ in the world that God loves and sent his own Son to save. We are able to join others on whatever hard road they are traveling and discern loving, God-guided response to their need.
The first back-to-school pictures arrived in my texts today. Pumpkins and autumn foliage line the shelves of craft stores. The pandemic has taken a turn for the worse. At least I held onto my masks made with “fall leaves” fabric. So it’s a good time to create or update your rule of life.
Schedules change. Every year we discover new resources that help us to grow closer to God. So updating a rule of life is an annual practice for me.
For those of you who have not created one, it’s a schedule, more or less, of things you will do on a regular basis to practice the presence of God in the present moment. “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” by Peter Scazzero contains a chapter on creating a rule. His categories are:
Prayer
Scripture
Silence and Solitude
Daily Office
Study
Rest
Sabbath
Simplicity
Play and Recreation
Work and Activity
Service and Mission
Care for the Physical Body
Relationships
Emotional Health
Family
Community
Under this format, you go through each category to make rules about what you will and will not do.
Sample Rule of Life (It’s Mine)
My rule of life is more of a schedule. Each year, I do go through it to evaluate the helpfulness of each element and update the materials I am using. Here’s a peek:
Daily
Early morning: 20-30 minutes of centering prayer, read through New Testament annually, read a chapter of the Old Testament in chronological order, pray over to-do list, journal
10 a.m.: Read one of Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling book series
Noon: Work listening to Pray as You Go OR do Liturgy of the Hours Office of the Readings OR read morning prayer in “Give Us This Day” magazine
3 p.m.: Lectio 365 app
5:30 p.m.: Evening prayer in “Give Us This Day” magazine.
Nighttime: Gratitude list, examen or night prayer in one of these apps: Pray as You Go, Lectio 365, Hallow, Pause or Abide.
Weekly
Sabbath on Sunday: nature walk, spiritual reading
Monthly
3rd Sunday: spend an hour reading a book about faith
Spiritual direction appointment (now is quarterly)
Yearly
Retreat
Celebrate the Christian calendar
Some feel my rule is excessive, but it has worked, even when I worked full-time. I describe it as handrails that keep me on the path. What would you like in your rule? Let me know.
You can listen to this episode on my podcast Mindful Christian Year by clicking here.
When more than one source tells me to try something, I think God is on the move. That’s why I am blessing everything around me.
This starts when Mindful Christian Year got some comments ridiculing Christianity. What should I do? As Jesus said in Luke 6:28: “Bless those who curse you.”
In Christian mindfulness, we practice the presence of God as we focus on the here and now. The act of blessing those who hated our faith strengthened my practice. It kept me even more focused on both God’s presence and the present moment.
So what happens when you ask God to bless everyone? It elevates our relationships with those around us while keeping us in continual communication with God.
In his book, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” Peter Scazzero said the healthiest relationship between two human beings is an “I/Thou” relationship. Drawing on the work of Martin Buber, Scazzero writes that I/Thou relationships are those in which we recognize that the other person is created in God’s image. We know that God loves this person.
Most of the time we are in “I/it” relationships, he says. We do not connect the people we meet with God. We see them as objects, usually objects getting in our way. To routinely and continually bless people can change that.
As Pierre Pradervand writes in “The Gentle Art of Blessing,” the simple practice of praying for blessing for all those around you is a worthy goal. While Pradervand does not write from a purely Christian perspective, he does make a good argument that the Bible would embrace this practice.
Pradervand also does not distinguish “our blessing” from “asking God for His blessing” on others. I think that’s very important as we practice Christian mindfulness.
Ways to Practice Blessing
Nonetheless, Pradervand has some good suggestions. Here are some of them as well as those I’ve received from other Christians:
When praying for a person who is in the dark place, pray for blessings for the person’s body, mind and soul.
Ask for God’s blessing on your to-do list or schedule every day. Especially ask Him to bless the people that you are going to meet.
When passing people on the street, in the office, in public transportation and everywhere else, ask God to bless them.
When talking to people, ask God to bless them, including their relationship with God, their health, their relationships with others and their work.
When walking in an area, pray for God’s blessing on its government, teachers, health care workers, children, spiritual leaders, patients, prisoners, etc.
Ask for God’s blessing when something unexpected or unpleasant happens.
Let me know if using this practice helps you to practice the presence of God in the present moment.
What’s “calmtainment?” It’s on Wunderman Thompson Agency’s list of trends that will define 2021. Calmtainment is entertainment that helps people to relax and feel calm.
Life is returning to some kind of normal this summer. Many of my friends are going back to their offices, and social calendars are filling up quickly. Yet I also see that many people enjoyed aspects of the sheltering-in-place days: family dinners, reduced social demands, no business travel and so on. The question of “What am I going to keep doing from the pandemic days?” is on many minds.
Likewise, because of the stress of those days, the business of mindfulness expanded dramatically during the 2020 pandemic year. For example, the app “Calm,” which I recommend, was valued at $2 billion in December 2020.
A demand for calmtainment is in the air. It’s perhaps also a reaction to doom scrolling and ultraviolent and/or fast-paced video games, movies and television. To meet that demand, the entertainment industry is creating “unique, immersive experiences,” as Wunderman Thompson says.
This includes Netflix’s “Headspace Guide to Meditation” and the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos. ASMR videos feature someone whispering or tapping to give the viewer a sensation of brain tingling. This promotes relaxation and has attracted millions of followers on social networks.
Calmtainment doesn’t have to come in video or audio formats. Mindful Magazine’s August 2021 issue notes that LEGO has released an adult line described as “therapeutic, immersive and relaxing.” Other ideas include playing with Play-Doh, jigsaw puzzles and adult coloring books. You can turn nearly any play experience into Calmtainment if you slow it down, bring in Christian mindfulness and keep it quiet.
My journey has taken me from liturgical music to contemporary Christian worship music. It took me a while to learn how to worship intentionally and mindfully while the band plays loudly. Here are three steps that will help you to practice Christian mindfulness as you participate in worship music.
Sing to God, not about God. This is a similarity between liturgical music and contemporary Christian worship songs. But it’s different from some from mainline Protestant denominations. John Wimber, a musician who founded the Vineyard movement, and his wife, Carol, noticed that they experienced God deeply when they sang songs that personally addressed Jesus. Carol Wimber wrote, “Those types of songs both stirred and fed the hunger for God within me.”
Worship with your body. During the pandemic, many of us have watched our services online, singing while we slouched in an armchair. Now we are back in church, standing and lifting our hands. The songs feel much more like worship. The Wimbers saw this, too. “Because the word worship means literally to bow down, it is important that our bodies are involved in what our spirits are saying. In Scripture, this is accomplished through bowing heads, lifting our hands, kneeling and even lying prostate before God.”
Worship throughout the day. Worshipping can lift you up when you are doing something that normally brings you down. I realized that I was thinking very negatively when I was getting ready to go to work. So I started bringing worship music into the bathroom with me. Now I sing to God while I dress. It helps so much. Think about times of the day when you are feeling the worst and see if you can add worship music to the routine!
Do you have any suggestions of how to bring Christian mindfulness to your worship times? I’d love to hear them.
As a retired public relations person, I have a special relationship with National Days. We kept calendars of them to link with events and social media posts. So I can’t believe I missed National Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day on July 11.
Thus, I’m declaring this National Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Week. As the pandemic eases, it’s much easier to cheer up those who have spent too much time alone for the last 15 months or so. Think mindfully about who needs some attention and offer it.
The website, nationaldaycalendar.com, makes these suggestions for cheering folks up. The most obvious is to visit someone. Here are others:
Deliver a few spare magazines to an ailing friend.
Watch a movie with them and share some freshly popped popcorn.
Read a book out loud to your friend.
Set up a playlist with inspirational music.
Offer to go for a walk with them.
Mail a sweet or funny card.
Bake one of their favorite foods.
Call and visit on the phone.
Email funny jokes every day to remind them to laugh.
Play a board game.
Take someone on a drive.
Play 20 questions.
Watch funny YouTube videos together.
Make a prayer list of those who are isolated, and pray for them.
“The Cloister Walk” by Kathleen Norris is one of the most significant books about contemplative Christianity in recent decades. Published in May 1996, the book is a series of essays about Norris’ explorations of the monastic life. She helps us see the cloistered world of nuns and monks from her own distinct viewpoint.
Norris approaches this world as a married Protestant who can struggle over her faith. Her previous life experiences were varied, from growing up in Hawaii to hanging out with the Warhol folks in New York City. She also has received the Guggenheim “genius” grant.
Kathleen Norris
After she and her husband (both poets) moved to her grandmother’s home in rural South Dakota, she began to be drawn to the contemplative monastic world. She became a Benedictine oblate (or associate) of the Assumption Abbey in North Dakota in 1986.
“The Cloister Walk” functions as a unique record of her experiences and observations, especially when she was in residence twice at the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. The book has poems, short essays and stories of saints.
The cover blurb from the Boston Globe called “The Cloister Walk” a “strange and beautiful book. … If read with humility and attention, Kathleen Norris’ book becomes lectio divina or holy reading.”
I took this literally, reading one essay a day. It took months to finish the book. This may not have been the best reading strategy, as I did not enjoy the book as much as I expected. But many others have.
The book spent 23 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was a Time notable book of the year. On Goodreads, the book has a 4 out of 5 rating from 9,031 readers.
Loving God, your son Jesus said
your Kingdom is like a banquet;
a festive gathering for all people
of every race and color --
a table at which the lonely find company,
the hungry savor rich foods and fine wine,
and strangers enjoy warm family ties.
Jesus calls us to build this kingdom here on earth.
Teach us, Lord, the ways of hospitality.
Give us the spirit of joyful welcome and
the sensitivity to help people on the move
to feel they belong.
Grant that our tables at home may draw
our new neighbors from other lands
into a loving community
and that the eucharistic tables
in our churches may prefigure
that banquet in heaven where all are one in you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Prayer for Hospitality from "Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers"
We are emerging from the pandemic into a world even more conflicted than when quarantine began. Splits in groups and churches, largely along political lines, have damaged the American church. The gift of hospitality could serve the church even more than ever, as it includes civility, mutual respect and kindness in its components.
The practice of Christian mindfulness aids the re-emergence of hospitality, as the shelter-in-place/ Zoom nation practices are now habit. To be hospitable in person, we must be more intentional in our behavior and attitudes.
This is no surprise. Some Christians have hospitality as a spiritual gift. But many others do not. They would rather stay in and watch a movie alone. Yet all are called to be hospitable.
In 1 Peter 4: 9-10, Peter writes: "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to share others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
In fact, the word for hospitality in the Bible's original Greek is "philoxenia," which means "love of strangers." I think we are called today to be hospitable to some "strangers" that we thought we knew, until their political choices involving votes, masks and vaccines made them seem different from us.
In Romans 12:13, Paul encourages everyone to practice hospitality. And St. Benedict asked his followers to see each person they encountered as a gift from Jesus.
If God abides in us, as we who practice Christian mindfulness believe, we have the opportunity to show Him to all those we meet. Dealing with each other with civility, grace and love is a great step back toward unity in the church.
This beautiful prayer for unity from Jane Deren of Education for Justice (published in July 2021's issue of "Give Us This Day") sums up our personal challenges within this period of time.
God of all, you challenge us
to be a unified national community.
You call us to move beyond
partisan politics
so we may create
a vision of common good
so sorely needs for our country.
In this time of confusion,
you call us to see clearly
with the lens of justice for all.
In this time of disrespect for so many,
you call on us to practice respect
for all voices around the table,
and for all voices not heard in the discussions.
In this time of personal insecurity,
you call on us to be grounded
in compassion for others
and secure in the knowledge
we are called to community.
In this time of despair for so many,
you call us to practice hope.
God of all, bless our nation at this time
and open the way to unity
so we may follow your call.
Amen.
Is God indeed to dwell on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this house which we have built? Regard kindly the prayer and petition of your servant, Lord, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day. May your eyes be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer your servant makes toward this place. Listen to the petition of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer toward this place. Listen, from the place of your enthronement, heaven. Listen and forgive.
Getting through the pandemic has left many of us exhausted. Staying strong during the crisis … and falling apart afterwards … is a common pattern.
If you are struggling or pushing yourself just to keep the normal routine in place, it’s okay. You don’t have to be strong. Because God is. And He’s there for you.
Today, let’s try walking in Christian mindfulness step by step through the day. Let’s allow ourselves to rest in God as we face our daily routine. Remember: The Holy Spirit is our strength.
My sister gave me a perpetual calendar in 1994 that I’ve used ever since. Based on the work of Jan Silvous, its reading for June 23 is:
When our own strength is exhausted and we feel we can’t make it through another day, the Holy Spirit provides strength to go on. He will give us an extra measure of energy to do His will today.
Jan Silvious, “Meditations for the Busy Woman”
The best moments of Christian mindfulness come, not from our own strength and determination, but from God’s. Let God do His work for us today.
Yesterday’s Christian mindfulness exercise focused on noticing the suffering in our lives and all around us. We looked at everything from minor irritation to deep grief. This is life.
Today, while doing a spiritual exercise in “Emotionally Health Spirituality Day by Day” by Peter Scazzero, I heard an important concept. I confess I’ve never thought of this before.
Scazzero writes about how we want to follow Jesus, but not necessarily to Gethsemene. I’ve been struggling with decades-long unanswered prayers and the accompanying suffering lately. So I can relate to that. He says:
It is said of God that no one can behold his face and live. I always thought this meant that no one can see his splendor and live. A friend said perhaps this meant that no one can see his sorrow and live. Or perhaps his sorrow is splendor.
Peter Scazzero, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey”
This is a good thought to meditate on after we have observed the suffering around us. We can ask for the courage to walk our path, no matter how crowded with thorns.
I am mid-way through Scazzero’s Day by Day book, which can function as a daily office and prayer book. It is a companion to his widely-respected “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” which we discussed here.
Jan Chozen Bays, MD, suggests a practice that sounds grim at first glance. In her book, “How to Train a Wild Elephant and Other Adventures in Mindfulness,” the Zen teacher says:
As you go about your day, pay attention to the phenomenon of suffering. How do you detect it in yourself or others?
We shouldn’t just look for obvious suffering such as death or starving children. (Those things are good to meditate on with the intention of determining if we can do more to help.) Dr. Bays wants us to be mindful of the spectrum of suffering, from minor irritation to full-fledged grief.
Gaining awareness of the suffering in our hearts and the hearts of those around us is good. But it is most helpful if it unlocks compassion. As Robin Williams once said:
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
Observing our own suffering also gives us motivation to change. How can we stop it? How can we think about it differently? I’ve always believed that your greatest suffering can become your most effective ministry. Could that be true for you?
Dr. Bays also suggests that we use the Loving Kindness exercise when we are suffering to lift up others who are in pain as well.
Are we brave enough to notice suffering today? Let’s see how it changes us.
I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
I admire the Virgin Mary for myriad reasons. But I relate to her for one that’s specific.
During the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the ancient Simeon recognized her baby as the promised Messiah. In talking with his parents, he looked at Mary and said: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:35) As the Contemporary English version says, “Mary, you will suffer as if you had been stabbed by a dagger.”
The suffering of motherhood — particularly after giving birth to an unusual child — is where I relate.
Pope John Paul II wrote about the verse this way:
While this announcement on one hand confirms (Mary’s) faith in the accomplishment of the divine promises of salvation, on the other hand it also reveals to her that she will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the suffering Savior, and that her motherhood will be mysterious and sorrowful.”
“Redemptoris Mater,” John Paul II
I attend a Vineyard church. There and in other Protestant traditions, I’ve seen many downplay Mary’s holiness and suffering in reaction to what they see as “Mary worship” in Catholic and Orthodox traditions. This is a mistake. There is no 100% human in the Bible to admire more than Mary.
Mary has been a mother to me when my soul is stabbed with pain over my own children. She understands how it feels. This is a place of comfort offered to all of us in parenting. It’s a good idea to grasp it. Trust me, she wants to help.
A great Christian mindfulness exercise is to visit own past … and really look around. Reading old journals allows you to see yourself with some mindfulness and perspective.
If you are not journaling, I encourage you to start. Five or 10 minutes filling a blank page every day allows you to document your own condition. Link journal writing to another habit, such as doing it before breakfast or after a meditation practice. I prefer to handwrite my entries, using prompts to help. This can be as easy as starting a sentence with the words “Yesterday, I.”
Your journal can also become the home of answers to reflection questions in retreats or readings.
Those who have old journals can read them with an eye to seeing patterns. Do you complaint constantly? When are you joyful? When are you angry? Are you experiencing God’s peace on a regular basis? Can you see connections between events and your emotions, between people and your reactions? Do you think you want this to continue?
When you write, you can express yourself freely and truthfully. When you read it, approach your journal with prayer and curiosity. Ask God to show you something that you need to know about yourself: What do you need to start? What do you need to stop?
Proceed through it calmly and mindfully, giving yourself lots of grace. In the end, you may see some changes that you need to make.
The happiness expert Gretchen Rubin has a great idea to “design your summer” by planning to add enjoyable activities to your schedule. While you are planning, be sure to re-create activities from your own childhood summers.
In elementary school, summers were wonderful and endless. I would create a tent out of a old blanket hanging off the backyard fence and use another old blanket for a floor. There I would spend hours outside (yet inside the tent) reading books from the library.
Mother, who was a housewife, carted us to the pool when she could get the car from Dad. Otherwise we had a baby pool to roll in when we got hot, sprinklers to jump through and a garden hose to drink from when we were thirsty. We played school and other games in neighborhood basements.
Box fans tried to cool the hot house. No one in the neighborhood had air conditioning. So we often sat outside and watched the lightning bugs. Or we’d pack up snacks to go to a drive-in movie.
In junior high, my sister and I rode our bikes uptown to the bakery for doughnuts and then to the library. The pool was a constant, and we enjoyed heading there on hot days from our non-air conditioned house.
Fast forward a number of decades. The community pool is down the street, and I haven’t been in years.
This summer join me by making sure you add at least one activity to your summer routine that reminds you of childhood. I’m going to read outdoors. I’ll be on a comfortable outdoor sofa instead of a tent. But that’s okay.
When we’re enjoying that activity, let’s praise God for our good memories of summer.
The best way I’ve found to monitor my own ungrateful heart is to have a complaint-free day. I’ve put a rubber band or an easy-to-remove bracelet on my arm. Then, when I do get ready to complain, I move it from arm to arm.
This points out the problem. Gratitude is the solution. Whenever we are ready to complain or grumble, we need to follow the suggestion/command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Gratitude is also the answer when we are prepared to be proud or boastful about ourselves. It’s not us, after all. God has given us the gifts we have, and He has provided graces to make things possible for us to do.
So try a complaint-free day. Change the band on your arm when you feel you want to complaint and consciously move to gratitude. You may find that it feels so good that you can stretch it into a complaint-free week or more.
Today is Corpus Christi, the traditional celebration of the Body and Blood of Jesus. During the pandemic year, I missed communion so much. And I know I was not alone.
We bought matzohs and concord grape juice to have communion with our online church. But it just wasn’t the same, was it? It felt wonderful when we were able to join a congregration again to sing worship songs and take communion.
Many people celebrate Corpus Christi by taking a prayer book to the woods and communing with Jesus there. It’s rainy here, so we are inside. But we still can say a prayer to let the Lord know how much we appreciate his sacrifice to save us.
Here’s a prayer from the “People’s Prayer Book” that I appreciate today:
Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you living among us in the sacrament of your body and blood. May we offer to our Father in heaven a solemn pledge of undivided love. May we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service of the kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
This Christian mindfulness exercise allows us to monitor our wants and desires during a calendar day. It’s a self-awareness tool that can help to see just what we cling to, what we “have to have.”
Set up an hourly timer and make a list of the hours when you are usually awake. Start in the morning if you can. Then when the timer rings or buzzes, write down what you want.
It could be coffee, more sleep, a chocolate bar, a nap, a hug or something else. Looking at the patterns may help you spot things that you cling to when stressed. Are you running to the Lord or to the refrigerator first?
Try the exercise to see what it is you want. Then you can decide if that’s OK with you.
If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient. But I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.
Therese of Liseux, The Society of the Little Flower, littleflower.org
Jesus told us that we would encounter plenty of false teachers in this world. How to detect them? It’s simple. You will know them by their fruit.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit is an excellent measuring stick to determine if someone (even ourselves) is a true witness of God. They are:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
The American Christian church is going through a lot of tumult and soul searching these days. Measuring the tone and content of these various voices against the fruits of the Holy Spirit provides insight into who is speaking best on God’s behalf.
I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit’s appearance in my life. Indeed, Jesus predicted just how incredibly important the Spirit would be to his disciples.
Prayers for Pentecost
Today, let’s celebrate Pentecost by meditating on these prayers:
Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Spirit of God, come with your peace, your power, your light. Come with forgiveness, courage and hope. Come, Spirit of God, unite us with the risen Jesus. Turn us again to the Father of Jesus. Together they pour You daily into our hearts. Come now to our suffering world, sick with a killing virus and everywhere threatened with silent death, but most cruelly among your poorest children.
Breath of Life, on this Pentecost Sunday, we ask that You breathe on us once again. Make our consciences tender to Your touch. We hunger for the life-changing power that Your Holy Spirit brings. May our lives exemplify the fruit of Your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. May we use the gifts of the Spirit that You have distributed to bless the church and build Your Kingdom on earth. Amen.
Prayer to Walk as Children of the Light
Joy of Heaven, we are so blessed that You came to dwell in each of us on Pentecost, when Your church was born. Surely, through Your Spirit, we have died to sin and are alive to holiness. May we serve You faithfully, in praise, prayer, and loving service to others, as we are changed from glory to glory. May we walk as children of the light, in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Amen.
As we prepare for Pentecost, we are meditating on holiness, a gift of the Holy Spirit. Do we even want to be holy?
Ironically, holiness, or piety as it’s called in some lists, has a bad reputation in our times. It’s seen as false, self-righteous, judgmental, rigid, unhappy and even mean.
But there’s a big difference between being holy and being holier-than-thou. True holiness is all about love. That’s not a surprise. Because God is all about love, too. Yet so many people have the impression that the Christian God is about hate speech and condemnation. Not true. Although it is true about some of His followers.
The gift of holiness inspires us to love people, not just certain people. It’s OK to be saddened about sin, but never to turn against the person who is involved in it. After all, that would mean turning against everyone, including ourselves. No matter how much of the gift of holiness we receive, we are going to be sinners as long as we are on this Earth.
The concept of seeking holiness first impressed me when I heard a statement about marriage. The pastor asked, “What if marriage is meant to make you holy, not just happy?” That statement is also true about life.
We can take each event … good, bad and very bad … in our lives as an opportunity to grow, to become more of a light in this world. When we look back, we might see how that has worked in previous situations/disasters in our lives.
Today let’s meditate on the gift of holiness. Perhaps we will find that we want it after all.
The Holy Spirit’s gift of knowledge is interesting because it allows us to see things as they are in this world. This reveals that all that glitters is not gold.
As we prepare for Pentecost, we are meditating on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Nearly everyone needs a greater awareness of this Presence that is with us 24/7, yet does not intrude unless invited.
The gift of knowledge is used in tandem with the gifts of wisdom and understanding. Yet it is different because it allows us to see our lives … in all their chaos and circumstances … the way that God seems them, at least partially.
Using this gift, we can better determine God’s purpose for our lives. Then we can proceed to live out that purpose.
The gift of knowledge is often associated with people who are gifted teachers. That’s because it helps us understand our faith’s principles more fully. This can inspire us to lead a life that is full of God’s light and love. And this knowledge continues to expand throughout our lives as we seek the Holy Spirit’s presence.
I do that through Christian mindfulness: living in the present moment in the presence of God.
Ask for the gift of knowledge as we prepare for Pentecost. It could open the door to a better life for you and those around you.
Today, as we await Pentecost, is a good time to meditate on the gift of counsel. The Christian news feed Aleteia.org published a preparation for Pentecost by Philip Kosloski in 2016 that refers to counsel as the Holy Spirit’s “gift of supernatural common sense.”
I love that.
Counsel allows souls to judge quickly and correctly what we must do, especially in difficult circumstances. It’s an extension of understanding and wisdom, two other gifts of the Holy Spirit.
This can help us to find God’s will in a situation. We still need to pray for the grace to incline our hearts and minds to do God’s will. This detachment from our own “wants” is impossible without God’s help. Our job is to pray for it, with fasting in difficult situations.
Philip Kosloski’s entire piece on his novena preparing for Pentecost is here.
It includes this prayer, which I have shortened, to meditate upon:
On my knees, before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to you, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for your light, listen to Your voice and follow Your gracious inspirations.
This week we are meditating on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The most difficult to understand is: understanding. What does that gift mean? It took some reading to find out.
While wisdom allows us to understand things from God’s point of view, understanding allows us to grasp the essence of our faith. This gift allows us to comprehend how we need to live as a follower of Jesus.
Thomas Aquinas says four gifts of the spirit …. wisdom, understanding, knowledge and counsel … direct our intellect. So a person who has understanding isn’t confused about what to do, even in a world with many conflicting messages. Understanding allows this person to see what the next steps should be.
An example happens on the road to Emmaus. Jesus, in disguise somehow, walks alongside his disciples and “opens their minds” to understand what the Scripture were saying about the Messiah. The gift of understanding helps us to know the mysteries of faith more clearly.
Understanding gives us a deeper insight into the truths of our faith … a kind of permanent increase in faith I.Q. The Holy Spirit allows us to grasp this knowledge deeply and to hang onto it.
While being able to understand God is impossible to us on this Earth, we can have more insight into His ways through the Holy Spirit’s gift of understanding.
Complicated and confusing? Yes. So meditating on the gift of understanding and asking for more of it from the Holy Spirit is a good idea.
Today is the celebration of Ascension Day, when Jesus left the Earth via a trip through the sky. He promised to come back the same way.
He told us that it was good that He was leaving Earth. Because that meant that the Holy Spirit could come and live within us.
I have two traditions for this period between Ascension Day and Pentecost Sunday. The first is to say a novena … essentially to pray the same prayer every day for nine successive days. This year’s novena is immensely private, but you can pick from classic novenas or choose to write your own prayer.
The second tradition is to spend time meditating on the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. You can do one per day if you would like. Here is the list:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of God
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control
There is so much to ponder on these gifts and fruits. I pray we all become more like the Holy Spirit in the next 10 days.
Here are some Bible verses to meditate on that discuss wisdom.
“How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning and Community” by Judith Valente is one of the best books I’ve read this year. But, since I have 10 more chapters to go, I will save the glowing review for when I’ve finished the book.
Judith Valente does present two wonderful ideas about incorporating the Psalms into our daily lives that I’d like to share.
Her first idea is a good way to come alongside the meaning of Psalms you love. She suggest taking a Psalm that you know well and rewriting it to include the events of your life and/or the elements of your world.
This is an excellent way to grow closer to the times of David and his fellow Psalm writers. They wrote about their own personal worlds, filled with sheep and anointing oil. Turning Psalm 23, for example, into a poem about your life may be quite emotional and revealing. Some samples of that are found here.
The second idea is to take a current event … positive or negative … and create a Psalm about it. You can write a psalm of lament for a tragic situation. Or you can choose to glorify God for a positive event.
Each chapter of her book ends with suggestions for building the topics discussed into your daily life. I can’t wait to finish it!
Some of my steps to improve the environment had to be set aside for the pandemic. (I’m talking about you, Kroger plastic bags! Some of my Kroger baggers were so enthusiastic that they tended to use one bag per item.)
Like butterflies, we are emerging out of the pandemic crystallis. So it’s a perfect time to conduct a personal environmental audit. We can take a mindful approach to decide what habits to adopt to bring our love to God’s natural world.
Here are some areas to consider:
Energy Consumption
Use energy-efficient light bulbs.
Use Energy Star-rated appliances.
Wash clothing on cold.
Air-dry clothing when possible.
Keep computers, televisions, small appliances and chargers on power strips that are shut off when you leave home.
Maintain your water heater.
Increase the efficiency of heating and cooling your home. (insulation, new shade trees, etc.)
Add solar or wind energy sources, if you can.
Water Consumption
Shorten showers.
Collect rain water for gardens.
Use the washing machine and dishwasher only for full loads.
Wash the car only when necessary.
Stop leaky faucets and toilets.
Transportation and Travel
Bike and walk.
Resume using public transportation and carpooling, if fully vaccinated.
Consider how much you are ordering on Amazon.
Return to the farmer’s markets, if fully vaccinated.
Waste Stream
Resume using your own reusable shopping bags.
Get paper, not plastic.
Purchase durable goods.
Compost kitchen scraps and yard waste.
Buy less.
Grow food and herbs.
Cancel junk mail.
Try natural cleaning products or make your own.
Take your shoes off in your house.
Check for radon and carbon monoxide.
Refuse (to take plastic, etc.), reduce (your consumption), reuse, recycle and rot (in compost).
See if you can find one or two things to resume or add to improve your environmental impact.
The present moment is the only time when we can truly connect with God. Thinking about the future is our own false narrative. Thinking about the past is clouded with misperceptions and mistaken memories. Now is all we have.
Today is May Day, a celebration not much in vogue in the United States. But it’s a wonderful time to stop and celebrate God’s spring. The holiday began in prehistoric times as a spring festival. May Day baskets of flowers and the Maypole dance are still involved in the celebration.
This year, as it is often, the first of May falls in the closing weeks of Eastertide. May Day is also the time when I start trying to have prayer and devotions outdoors.
Take a moment today to stop and connect with God amidst the spring rebirth. God is here. God is now. He is found in the flowers. He is found in the rebirth of activity as the pandemic winter ebbs away.
Thank you Lord for all that is beautiful in nature and in our lives. Please be with us every moment today.
This Christian mindfulness exercise is good for any communications, especially for posts on social media.
The exercise involves stopping to think (always good for Twitter!) and asking yourself three questions:
Is this true?
Is this kind?
Is this necessary?
The first two questions are pretty easy. The last is difficult. After all, is any social media post necessary?
But in today’s world, it’s good to shine a light in the darkness you can find on social media. We just need to be intentional and even prayerful about it.
It’s good to have a purpose for your social media accounts. The purposes for mine are:
Facebook: I use Facebook to connect with family, friends and former colleagues. The pictures from the account feed into a Chatbook series that I use as a family photo album. I also use Facebook to talk about caregiving, helping people with mental illness, being a long distance grandma and practicing Christian mindfulness. Finally, I use it to make people laugh.
Twitter and LinkedIn: I use both to promote mental health advocacy, Christian mindfulness and laughter.
Instagram: I post my best photographs on Instagram.
So for me, asking if a post is necessary means it must meet these criteria. There’s no room for unsubstantiated or iffy information, political fights, vulgarity or hate speech on my social media. That is, when I do it right.
Try creating your own purposes for social media. It’s what the pros … which I used to be … do. I would love to know how it works for you.
I want you to learn to look at yourself — and others — through the lens of My unfailing Love. As you persevere in this you will gradually find it easier to love yourself and others.
Jesus speaking in “Jesus Always: Embracing Joy in His Presence” by Sarah Young
Meditating on your true identity is a beneficial Christian mindfulness exercise. In Jesus Always, Sarah Young tells us that Jesus says: “You are troubled by fear of failure, but My Love for you will never fail. Let Me describe what I see as I gaze at you, beloved. You look regal, for I have crowned you in My righteousness and crowned you with glory and honor. You are radiant, especially when you are looking at Me. You are beautiful as you reflect My Glory back to Me.”
Seeing ourselves as God sees us brings peace. It also opens up a wave of compassion for others.
“A Guide to Practicing the God’s Presence” by Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel recommends this exercise. It also provides a long list of identity scriptures for meditation. You can download the 211-page book for free here.
To do the Christian mindfulness exercise:
Choose one or two of the Scriptures below (or in any list of identity Bible verses). Pick one that you truly believe reflects how God sees you.
Write down the Scripture and place it on your bedside. Before you go to sleep, read the Scripture and meditate on it.
Some appropriate Scriptures include:
“But as many received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“I call you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father, I have made known to you.” (John 15:15b)
“Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
These beautiful prayers are fitting for meditation on Earth Day.
Canticle of the Creatures
All praise be yours, My Lord through all that you have made.
And first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day… How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars; In the heavens you have made them, bright and precious and fair.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air…
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water, So useful, lowly, precious and pure.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten up the night…
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother, Who feeds us…and produces various fruits With colored flowers and herbs…
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks, And serve him with great humility.
– Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
Wisdom to Care for the Earth
Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it. Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures. Help us to become instruments of a new creation, Founded on the covenant of your love.
– The Cry of the Earth
Franciscan Prayer for the Earth
Lord, help us to maintain a reverent attitude towards nature, threatened from all sides today, in such a way that we may restore it completely to the condition of brother/sister and to its role of usefulness to all humankind for the glory of God the Creator.
Laughter is one of the best ways to feel mindful. It has so many benefits that the Mayo Clinic has a whole article on them, found here. The most surprising benefits are the positive impacts on your body!
My general rule is: If you haven’t laughed hard by 8 p.m., watch or read something funny. Deliberately try to laugh.
After you laugh, bring awareness to the way your body .. your chest especially … feels. Do you feel less stress? How about your mood? Did laughter lighten it?
Bring the Lord into your laughter with a prayer of gratitude.
If you would like more, laughing meditation is actually a thing. Here’s a video showing you how:
Let me know if you try this. And how it works for you!
My first five-star book on spirituality of the year is “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” by Peter Scazzero. Pastors in my church have long recommended this book. Yet it ended up in a pile of books I meant to read for a long time. What a mistake! (Although … I do think the Lord had me read the book when it could help me the most.)
Scazzero, pastor of a large, multiracial church in Queens, New York, teaches how to biblically integrate emotional maturity, the practice of the presence of Jesus, and contemplative spirituality. That’s what Christian mindfulness is all about!
He bases his examination of unhealthy spirituality on the Bowen theory of family dynamics. I spent several years studying this theory and working through the ramifications in my family of origin. Scazzero does a great year explaining it in several chapters.
Breaking old patterns of unhealthy behavior allows us to embrace the presence of God. Scazzero explains how to follow a schedule of prayer, keep Sabbath and write a rule of life. All of this is so helpful to walking in the presence of God in the present moment.
This book helped me to understand why the Lord led me along several paths that I previously thought were wastes of time. Just knowing that makes the book worth it. I think it can help nearly everyone. And I’m not alone. Amazon, with 478 ratings, has the book at 4.5 stars. And Goodreads, with 8,881 ratings, has the book at 4.25 stars.
Other resources for the mindful Christian life are here.
The practice of mindful eating as a Christian gives us the opportunity to experience the presence of God in the present moment two or three times a day. A beautiful essay about the spiritual aspects of mindful eating came from Thich Nhat Hahn, a Buddhist monk and mindfulness teacher, “Mindfulness Survival Kit.”
I am adapting his thoughts to include the presence of God at the meal.
When we eat a meal, we should be mindful of our Lord present with us at the table, the food and the people with us. We can contemplate five things:
The food is a gift from God, the Earth, the sky and much hard work.
May we eat in mindfulness and with gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
We ask God to give us the grace to overcome our sins and weaknesses, especially greed, vanity and gluttony.
May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of beings, preserve our planet and reverse the process of global warming.
We accept this food in order to nourish our family, build our community and do God’s will.
Keeping these thoughts in mind is a useful way as we slowly eat and enjoy our meals. Other ideas about mindful Christian eating are here.
“When you practice tolerance, you don’t expect others to think, look or act just like you. You accept differences,” she wrote.
Political division continues. Christian churches like mine are in strife over what Jesus would do today. Families also have taken the heat in this time. Cousins and siblings, parents and children disagree, often forcefully. We have been kept apart due to the pandemic. Can we practice tolerance as we come back together? Or are we willing to remove people from our lives because we disagree with them?
As a contemplative, empowered (charismatic) evangelical practicing Christian mindfulness, I often struggle with the mighty gap between what I consider evangelical and how others define it. I’ve sat in the evangelical soup long enough to know how it looks and tastes. Many evangelicals are harsh and judgmental. Some white evangelicals have no idea that they benefit from systemic racism. Others actually are racist. They think people like me tolerate sin and are not loyal to God.
I think we’ve been told in no uncertain terms to “Judge not, lest you be judged.” And to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
People who lack tolerance have trouble loving, period. They tend to be angry and unhappy a lot. I’m writing this, aware that I also am being judgmental. God loves even the most intolerant people, and I must follow his lead. That’s actually what tolerance is all about.
How can Christian mindfulness help us to develop tolerance? It makes us aware in the present moment and in the presence of God. It helps us to see that groups of people are persons who God loves. It helps us to be humble enough to understand that we may not be the ultimate authority on what God wants. It allows us, first and foremost, to have respect for the free choice of our family members and to love them without prejudice.
Today let’s try to be aware of our own intolerance. Let’s hold it up to God, asking for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to lead us to loving behavior.
This Christian mindfulness exercise helps us eat with mindfulness and gratitude. Practicing mindful eating is a big leap for me.
Growing up, I ate as quickly as possible at the dinner table so I could be excused. My parents were undergoing a tense period when I was young. And I didn’t want to be around the sarcasm and disagreements. My husband is still amazed at how fast I can scarf down a plate of food.
Christian mindfulness calls for us to appreciate our food as a gift from God and to enjoy every bite. This technique is also used in weight loss, for it allows us to understand when we have had enough food.
Here’s the exercise:
Begin each meal with a prayer of thanksgiving. Some ideas for prayer at the table are here.
Then put down your fork or spoon between each bite.
Concentrate on the taste.
Only pick up your fork again when you have finished eating the bite.
If you are eating something with your hands, put it down on the plate between bites.
A meal together is also a good time to talk about how you experience God in your day. Sharing the best things that happened to you that day also creates opportunities for deep conversation and understanding.
If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present. I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
“Treasury of Celebrations,” a collection of essays from the 1970s voluntary simplicity movement, contains much material relevant to life nearly 50 years later. One prompt I like comes from a group of Quakers. It seems they were struggling to set parameters for the simple life.
Here are the questions they asked:
Does what I own or buy promote activity, self-reliance and involvement, or does it induce passivity and dependence?
Are my consumption patterns basically satisfying, or do I buy much that serves no real need?
How tied is my present job and lifestyle to installment payments, maintenance and repair costs, and the expectations of others?
Do I consider the impact of my consumption patterns on other people and on Earth?
Alternatives, the organization that collected these essays, no long exists. But the concerns of the 1970s, including an early alert about the climate, that prompted the movement are still around. It will be interesting to see if an increased awareness of the impact of each life will be an outcome of the global pandemic. I know I feel it.
As we begin to peek outside our homes during this I-hope-this-is-the-end-of-the-pandemic period, let’s enjoy this Christian mindfulness exercise. We want to make a list of activities that bring us joy. Then we will place one of those activities into our schedules on a regular basis.
Time at home has given us an appreciation for those things we do there that bring peace . And an even greater appreciation — even, a longing — for the things we do outside the home that bring joy. Use what you’ve learned from the pandemic to build this list.
Take 10 minutes to make a list of what you love to do, people you love to see and places that bring you peace. Then get those activities into your own scheduling system. Make sure you are doing several of them a week.
We’ve all discovered that life can change at any minute. Keep joy in your life intentionally. It will give you more grace and strength to do good works.
Mary Magdalene had lost everything. Adrift and in deep grief, she went to the tomb of her beloved leader. And, for a long moment, she found out things were even worse than she thought.
That emotion is familiar to me. And I relate to Mary in tears and deep trauma, begging a gardener for answers. The gardener turned out to be God. That morning, Mary Magdalene was chosen to be the first person to see the risen Jesus.
“Look at me,” Jesus says. “My face is shining on you.” As Paul says:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
As we enter Holy Week, it’s a good time to ask: Can you fit God into your schedule? This Christian mindfulness practice asks for reflection on how much margin you are leaving in your to-do list. Is there enough space for God to schedule divine appointments for you?
Take a look at your calendar for the last month. I’m seeing more activity as spring arrives and people are vaccinated. Reflect on these questions:
Have you taken on too many appointments and projects?
Do you feel that you have no choice in the matter … that you are assigned too much or “volun-told” to do things too often?
Do you go directly from one task to the next without stopping?
Do you care more about your kids’ activities than they do?
Are you double-booked at times?
Do you say “yes” to activities that seem “high-profile” or flattering, but drain you?
Answering “yes” to these questions mean that you need to work on adding margin to your life and perhaps learning the skill of saying “no” to requests, even when they are framed as orders. (When I got overwhelmed with work, I used to bring my boss a list of my deliverables and ask her to prioritize them. The boss who was TERRIBLE at prioritization responded, “I want you to do them all.” Looking closely at her work style … working 7 to 9, being triple-booked and forgetting to put in time to drive to meetings … caused me to look for a new job.)
After analyzing this, ask God to help you develop a criteria for accepting new requests or invitations. Then run every request through the criteria.
Everyone’s list will be different. But for ideas, here are some of the statements on my list:
Biblically sound and seems to be God’s will as far as prayer indicates.
Glorifies God.
Brings me closer to God.
Will be loving to my neighbor, advance the kingdom and/or be a force for good.
Is good for my family.
Fits with my life calling.
Can best be done by me. (Cannot be delegated.)
Should not be eliminated or delayed.
If the proposed activity will take big blocks of your time, consider going to your spouse for input.
Even if your schedule is relatively open, having this criteria is helpful. This idea is from “A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence” by Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel. A free pdf of this book is available here.
This Christian mindfulness exercise at the end of the workweek to clear your head and your heart. Working, either in a paid or unpaid role, puts most of us on the front line for dealing with people. Unfortunately, we meet our fair share of people who are rude, hypercritical, negative or toxic in any of a dozen other ways. Sometimes, the drip, drip, drip of this kind of behavior can get to us.
This exercise gives us the opportunity to bring those emotions to the Lord and to forgive. Here’s how:
Shut your office door or find another place where you can have privacy for 10 minutes or so.
Take some deep breaths.
Allow your feelings … anger, disgust, sadness … to come into focus. Go before the Lord with these feelings. God already knows how you feel. So bring them to Him.
Ask God to help you to forgive all the actions that have upset you.
Quietly see the faces of each person who has troubled you this week. Ask God to help you see each one as wounded. Think about how their behavior has to do with their own issues, rather than with you.
Ask God to show you how you may be helping that person to heal. Or just pray for their healing.
Ponder whether you contributed to any of these problems. Do you need to apologize to someone? Do you need to change the way you relate to someone?
Thank God for the opportunity to do your work. Ask Him to be with you for the rest of the day.
The first days of spring allow us to look back at “a long, cold, lonely winter,” as George Harrison wrote. Those days were the worst of the pandemic for me. They also showed cracks and weaknesses in the United States that I never suspected.
Even at its worst, the pandemic year has offered us opportunities. We’ve had a chance to clearly see systemic issues in our system of justice and in our American hearts.
As children, we turned to face the flag each school day to pledge allegiance to a nation that offered liberty and justice for all. We were taught that this meant standing up for our rights and the rights of others. Even during Jim Crow days, this is what we were taught.
One of the greatest opportunities coming out of the pandemic is to address systemic issues. It’s horrifying that people are attacking elderly Asian-Americans in the streets. It’s clear that African-Americans do not always have the same encounters with the police that whites do.
As we seek ways to improve our promise of justice, we start with ourselves. Let’s take time to meditate on our own actions. Do we treat every person as a unique individual, or do we put them in categories in our minds?
Practicing justice means real freedom of thought. It is as Merriam Webster’s dictionary says, “the quality of being just, impartial and fair.” It’s not about everyone being the same. It’s about access, rights and opportunity. It’s about freedom from being abused because someone who doesn’t know you doesn’t like your looks.
Today as we meet others, let’s listen to our inner voices. Are we detecting any snap judgments based on categories? We can’t change our patterns unless we know they are there.
This Christian mindfulness exercise helps you to see the space around you. Not just the furniture, the trees, the clutter … but the space surrounding those things.
Empty space is most of the actual space in the room you are in right now. Perhaps taking time to notice that will help you have the ability to sense the stillness in your inner space, as well as the presence of Lord within and without. Here’s the exercise:
Begin by closing your eyes for a few minutes.
Pray that you can begin to sense the presence of God in your environment.
Open your eyes and look at an object in front of you.
Notice the space around that object and focus on it.
Shift to other objects and do the same thing, looking at the empty space in front of, behind, on top of and at the bottom of the object.
Take a look at a full room or an outdoor space. Shift from observing the objects there to observing the space.
Quiet your heart. Ask again for an infilling of God’s presence around you.
Listen to your thoughts and look for the spaces between them.
When you practice compassionate listening, it’s important to remember that you listen with only one purpose, and that is to help the other person to suffer less. You give the other person a chance to say what is in his heart. Even if the other person says something hard, provocative or incorrect, you still listen with compassion.
During the whole time of listening, you practice mindful breathing and remind yourself, “I am listening with one purpose: to relieve suffering by giving the person a chance to empty his heart. If I were to interrupt him or correct him, that would transform the session into a debate. In a few days, I may offer him some information to help him correct his perceptions, but not now.”
Today’s Christian mindfulness practice is about taking a deep look at what we are doing right. We all know we are not doing alone. God’s grace and presence accompanies us as we do our work.
Notice the good you are doing. What roles are you playing in creating a force for good? Raising children? Being a loving partner? Serving a good cause and/or a good church? Bringing a godly perspective to a business? Think about all the places where you contribute.
Be mindful about how those roles unfold today. Stay in the present moment and notice the things you do that support these goals. Look for the good.
Praise God for his grace and support. Each time you find yourself doing a good work, no matter how small, praise God for his presence in that act.
This Christian mindfulness practice can build optimism and awareness of God’s work in your life. He is good, and you are doing good with Him. Celebrate that today.
Ready to get your hands dirty? Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) had an idea for everyday folks who are drawn to Christian mindfulness and contemplative living. It’s in Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Lent and Holy Week. Schmemann suggested a way of monasticism for laypeople living a typical American life in cul-de-sacs, apartments and offices.
We would not not take vows of celibacy and poverty. But he suggested that we could take these three vows:
A rule of prayer: Keeping a well-defined spiritual discipline of prayer and reflection maintains personal contact with God through the day. We would maintain specific times of prayer and study that aligned with our work and family schedules.
Obedience: This vow fights not our tempers, but our individualism. This is a practical obedience to small things from traffic laws to chores. We do what is legal and right even if we don’t feel like it.
Acceptance: Schmemann wrote that people want to do anything for God, except what God wants them to do. Instead of continually searching for a better place and a better people to serve, we would understand that God has put us here and now … in this cul-de-sac, this church, this job and this family. Just as many monks take a vow of stability, meaning that they do not leave their monasteries for “better” monasteries, we look around where we are and we serve.
Many of our churches have reminded us of this during the pandemic. Lots of us have been going to church online … trying to stay holy (and awake) from the couch. And many have found the circle of people that we interact with daily drawing down to a literally precious few.
My Lenten devotional “Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton” notes: “Every family of us is a little church. The tasks of service in front of our noses are God’s will for us; they are our part in building up the family of humankind.”
The editors of this devotional, Jonathan Montaldo and Robert G. Toth, got me thinking with these ideas. They wrote: “Christ is most intimate to us when we recognize Christ in those we live most intimately every day, in those with whom every day we share the sacrament of time.”
I’ve been asking the Lord to help me see more of Christ in the homeless and the poor. I’ve never asked to see more of him in my housemates and colleagues before. Yet this presents so many opportunities as we cook the 5,000th dinner at home and stay on endless Zoom calls with colleagues.
Our intercessory prayers for these everyday people — family, friends, co-workers, customers — help “weave the web of the Church into deeper communion — a unity the early Church called koinonia — until the Lord comes,” Montaldo and Toth write.
We are billboards for God. Or even handwritten notes for God stuck on the refrigerator with a magnet. Let us empty ourselves to allow the presence of God to permeate our homes. For now more than ever, our homes are churches.
It is the Holy Ghost that will transform me, sanctify me ...
My own natural powers are helpless. I can do nothing about it. ...
If I wait upon the Holy Ghost with desire, this great gift Who is God will be given to me. And it is like a kind of awakening,
a sort of intimation of all that may happen the day after tomorrow --
what tremendous possibilities!
Meanwhile I will do everything I can to remain empty.
My only desire is to give myself completely to the action of this infinite love
Who is God, Who demands to transform me into Himself secretly, darkly,
in simplicity, in a way that has no drama about it and is infinitely
beyond everything spectacular and astonishing,
so is its significance and its power.
We have got to let God do His Will in us.
His Spirit must work in us and not our own.
But since original sin, we always tend to work against Him when we work under our own direction.
Thomas Merton, "Entering the Silence," pp. 48, 52 quoted in "Come into the Silence" with Thomas Merton, 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series
Negativity bias, also called the negativity effect, is hard-wired in our brains. But that doesn’t mean we have to live with it! What is negativity bias? When things are of equal intensity, people tend to focus on the negative (thoughts, emotions, events etc.) more than neutral or positive.
Scientists believe this brain attitude stems from times when flight-or-fight literally meant run before the animal eats you. Having negative thoughts is not a pleasant mindset, nor is it something that the Lord wants for us. Luckily, we can fight negativity bias deliberately.
Neuropsychologist Rick Hansen has written extensively on this subject. He says: Use your mind to change your brain to change your mind. As Christians, we also can turn to God in this process. Mindfully and actively looking for the good can change your brain through the process known as neuroplasticity.
Dr, Hansen teaches that when we focus on the good, sets of neurons fire together. Neurons that fire together wire together, he says. So the tendency to look for the positive and feel serenity gets embedded into the brain. More information from Dr. Hansen are on his blog here and here. Another detailed explanation of the negativity bias is here.
This Christian mindfulness exercise will help:
After morning prayer, ask the Lord to help you to notice the good and the beautiful today.
Keep a gratitude list for the today going on a sticky note or piece of paper in the kitchen or at your desk.
Check in with your thoughts regularly during the day. You can use an alarm on your phone if needed to help you stay mindful about what you are thinking. Are you seeing the negative? Can you see a moment of joy to focus on instead?
Intentionally look for little things that bring you joy, connection and serenity.
Thank God for each moment of joy as it occurs.
Other ways to counterbalance our proclivity towards negativity? Grant Brenner, MD, Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center (New York), advises:
Be mindful and recognize when negative patterns begin. Do something each and every time—even something very small—to break the pattern. (A brief prayer would work well here.)
Notice when you talk to yourself in a negative way. Replace “Well, that was stupid” with “I wish I hadn’t done that, but I will learn from it.”
Talk to your inner critic with compassion: “Are you ok? What’s wrong? Why are you so angry? Are you feeling hurt?” Dr. Brenner said this will seem strange at first, but interrupting yourself when you are being mean to yourself is actually following the Golden Rule.
Other Christian mindfulness exercises that can help are the loving-kindness exercise and gratitude.
Mindfulness helped me learn that effective caring begins with paying attention to what’s happening now and letting the results emerge as byproducts of caring in the present tense. When caring veers into controlling, that’s when a dose of carefree ease can make all the difference. A smile of appreciation at whatever happens goes much further than a grimace of withering judgment and disappointment.
Founding Editor Barry Boyce, Mindful magazine, Spring 2021 issue
Christian mindfulness is about living in the presence of God in the present moment. Barry Boyce, who has written many wise things as the founding editor of Mindful magazine, reminds us that mindfulness requires staying in the now. As Christians, we add an additional piece of armor: prayer.
When we stay in the present and pray for God’s guidance, we can release all our guesses about what “should” happen.
“Should” is a toxic word. Thinking that events “shouldn’t be happening” keeps us stuck in frustration, anger and worry. Among the myriad thoughts of Jesus, the phrase “this shouldn’t be” does not exist.
Acceptance of what is and willingness to do the next right thing are the best steps toward peace of mind. This happens in the present moment.
Boyce also writes about caring becoming controlling. Or more accurately, attempts at controlling. The only thing any of us can control is ourselves. But boy, how we try to prove that wrong! In Christian mindfulness, our caring is attached to God’s will. We cannot always understand how things are going to work. If we do what we think God wants us to do, following the Scriptures and prayer, bringing our concerns to God with thanksgiving, He will keep us in His peace.
Let music minister to your soul today. This Christian mindfulness practice brings joy and calm. Just pick Christian music that you like and let it serve you.
Putting Christian mindfulness to music can happen at least two ways: You can sit and listen … really listen … to the music. You also can add the music as a background to your routine activities, allowing it to elevate your spirit.
Holy music comes in many forms: classical, gospel, classic hymns, urban, jazz, contemplative, contemporary, country and more. No matter your taste, you can enjoy it.
How Christian Music Helps Us
Music teaches us about God. Hymns and contemporary Christian music actually instruct us about faith and God’s goodness. Some of my favorite pieces are Psalms or other Bible passages (such as “Revelation Song”) set to music.
Singing and playing instruments allow us to speak to God directly. Vineyard founders John and Carol Wimber said the church’s songs were sung to God, not about God. (More about that is found here.) We can express our love to God and worship of God through the music we create.
Music inspires us. The lyrics of Christian music talk about faith, love and hope. If you are having a difficult time, the music can lift your spirits to Heaven again.
Music puts us in community. Even listening to a CD or streaming a song opens a sense of community with the artists performing. Of course, the most wonderful forms is community singing, which many of us have missed during this pandemic year.
Music can improve our mental health. Research reported in the April 19, 2014, issue of the The Gerontologist found that older Christians who listened to religious music had decreased anxiety about death and increases in life satisfaction, self-esteem and a sense of control over their own lives. The association was constant for Blacks and whites, women and men, and individuals of lower and higher socioeconomic status.
So enjoy some Christian music today. You may feel the Spirit moving at your house!
Working from home has blurred the lines between work and home even further. This Christian mindfulness exercise can help us end our paid or volunteer work, moving into a relaxing time.
Go to a place where you can be alone for five to 10 minutes.
Pay attention to your breathing for three to five breaths. Breathe as deeply as you can.
Thank God for your job and your day. Ask God to be with you as you transition from the work day.
Check in with your mind. Are you having racing thoughts or anxious feelings?
Do a quick body scan. Are you tense in certain spots? Can you breathe and consciously try to relax those spots?
Stand up and move your body. Move your arms at the speed you are feeling inside. Then deliberately slow down those movements.
As you are slowing down, think of three things to be grateful for about the work day you just finished.
Breathe deeply and ask for the presence of God as you go into the rest of your day.
IMAGINE is a YouTube channel offering guided Christian meditation sessions. Each week, on alternate Wednesdays, a group meets on Zoom for a time of scripture, images and prayer. Then the recorded meeting is placed on the YouTube channel here.
A link to the live Zoom is in the About section of the YouTube channel. It’s 8 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time. The schedule for March 2021 is March 3, March 17 and March 31. There’s also a link on pathwaystogod.org. It’s just as good to watch the session on YouTube when you can.
Pathways to God from the United Kingdom runs the IMAGINE sessions. It’s affiliated with Jesuits in Britain, which also is connected to the great app Pray as You Go. I’ve added the YouTube channel to my times with Jesus. I hope you will find it useful as well.
You can find information about Pray as You Go and other resources for Christian mindfulness here.
This Christian mindfulness exercise comes from the tradition of walking meditation. I’m only walking around the house to avoid walking in snow. Walking very slowly, step by step, would attract some attention from the family, probably including the cats. Instead, I’ll thank God for feet.
During this exercise, recall your attention to the bottoms of your feet at various points during the day. If your feet are functioning well, praise God for that. (I spent four months in a wheelchair recovering from a shattered ankle. So I know how much being able to walk means to me.)
Mindfully focus on the sensations on the soles of your feet. Do you feel warmth? Cold? Tingling? Do you feel the sturdiness of the floor beneath you?
Some in the mindfulness community believe that focusing on the bottoms of your feet makes you feel more grounded and protects you from anxious feelings. I’m not sure that works for me. But it is helpful to recall how God made us and to thank Him for our feet.
The concept that “No sin only hurts us” struck me as I read it. I tend to think that I keep the shiny side up around other people. Life at home is a looser interpretation of the Gospel commands. So I am pondering that quote today.
The Ash Wednesday section asks some good questions about our faith journey that I also wanted to share:
How has your personal understanding of Lent, sin and conversion changed as you have matured in your spiritual life?
What hoped-for change in your mind and heart do you pray for this Lent?
In what ways have you, by grace and your own inner work, grown beyond your former way of life?
The nice thing about growing is there’s always more to do. These questions make good prompts for meditating and journaling. We can go before the Lord in contemplation to ask what His answers for us would be.
Bridges to Contemplative Living is a series from the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living, which closed in 2012. Ave Maria Press still publishes the books.
The pandemic slugs on, giving us a time to think about how we will do things differently once it’s over. Lent is a wonderful time to prayerfully consider resolutions about friendship. Of course, we know full well that the only person we can control, with God’s grace, is ourselves.
I can across two friendship resolutions that I made a couple of years ago. They still feel fresh to me. So I’m going to bring them top-of-mind as things open us.
No. 1: I will begin looking for the persons of peace in activities and groups. I will cultivate a deeper, ongoing relationship with these individuals.
No. 2: In all relationships, I will treat the other as someone to be known and loved rather than someone to try to fix or change.
It will be interesting to see how a year of online conversations and physical separateness will change our relationships. I know I’m going to have to overcome what I call “introvert inertia.” I’d rather stay home and deal with folks online. I will have to push myself to be “in person” again.
How weird this all is came home when I walked up to a pastor that I’ve chatted with regularly online. I had my mask on, as did he. I said something to him and hurried off. It was only then that I realized that he had no idea who I was. We had never met in person before. I look a lot taller on Zoom.
I think these resolutions … building relationships with persons of peace, treating each person as someone to be known and loved … will serve me well online as well as off. They will only happen if I stay open to God’s grace and support.
If you can’t attend church today, here’s an Ash Wednesday service you can do at home.
Write down a list of your sins. Burn the paper in a bowl or ashtray. Then pray:
Let us ask our Heavenly Father to bless these ashes, which we will use as a mark of our repentance. Lord, bless these ashes. Wearing them reminds us that we are from the dust of the earth. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the resolutions that we have made for Lent. Help us to prepare well for the celebration of your Son's glorious resurrection. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Mark each person’s forehead in the sign of the cross saying, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.”
Close with this prayer:
Loving Father, today we start Lent. From today, we make a new start to be more loving and kind. Help us to show more concern for the less fortunate, the hungry and the poor. Help us to love you more and speak to you more often. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Lent begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. Today is Fat Tuesday, the day to party and indulge before the great Lenten fast. Except most people keep indulging and few fast.
This pandemic Lent is an opportunity to renew our faith. Lent, the period of 40 days before Easter with Sundays off, began as a period for converts to prepare themselves for baptism on Easter Vigil (the night before Easter). The church modeled the period on Jesus’ 40 days and nights in the wilderness preparing to start his ministry.
When the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its state religion in fourth century, new Christians who knew little about the faith overwhelmed the church. Many were Christians in name only and continued to practice their pagan religion.
As a result, the church made fasting and renunciation a part of Lent for everyone. The church invited its members to commit or re-commit more deeply to the faith. This also was a strategy to keep the church separate from the pagan culture around it.
Some cultural separation is a good idea for the American church today. Start by participating in a Lenten lifestyle assessment. Here are a few questions to ponder on this Fat Tuesday:
How can you make your daily Scripture reading and prayer more meaningful?
Can you find an online course or retreat to deepen your practice or your knowledge?
What Christian books and biographies have you been meaning to read?
What are the places in your life where you routinely exclude the presence of God?
What does God want you to give up in your daily life? (Look at use of food, social media, drinking, etc.)
Start preparing today for a Lent that deepens your experience of Christian mindfulness.
Let’s pray for our leaders here in the United States on President’s Day. The Bible tells us that this is one of the responsibilities we have. And it doesn’t matter who the president is.
The Christian blog Connectusfund.org developed these prayers based on Philippians 2:
Philippians 2:3 Dear Father, I pray that as leaders, lead Your people, I pray that they will not do it selfishly, for personal ambition or vain conceit. I pray that You help leaders to realize that leading is really a task that requires them to serve. So, Father, raise up servant leaders, in Jesus’ name. Help them to work in humility. Make them selfless vessel of You, in Your image. Remove any selfish desires. Amen.
Philippians 2:4 Heavenly Father, thank You for our leaders. Right now, we pray for leadership guidance. Let every leader not seek to pursue their own interests, but to look at the interests of others. I pray that You help our leaders to identify the needs of Your people through divine wisdom and understanding. Lord, help them to not be ineffective leaders, but to act for the betterment of Your Kingdom. Amen.
This prayer for the American president come from a prayer book I received when I was confirmed on June 2, 1968.
Almighty God, Rules of the nations, regard with favor your servant, the President of the United States. Grant him health of body and mind. Make him strong to bear the burdens of his high office. Give him wisdom and understanding, that under his leadership our nation may be directed in the ways of righteousness and peace.
Teach me and all Christian citizens to realize that rule and authority in our country are under you and that our president is your minister in the administration of his office. Keep us mindful of our obligation to support our president with fervent prayers and with ready obedience to the laws of the country.
Bless our president, I pray, and make him a blessing to our people, to the glory of your holy name. For Jesus' sake. Amen.
One of the essential of Christian mindfulness is meditation. If you are not sitting in silence before the Lord every day already. let’s try at least ten minutes a day. If you spend your time in a house filled with people, it’s even more imperative for you to have some silent time alone with God.
Christian mindfulness meditation can take several forms, including silent contemplative prayer and meditating on Scripture. You want to be open to God, loving Him and listening to Him.
Find a place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. I’ve heard of parents meditating in children’s rooms after they have gone to sleep. People meditate in cars and in bed. I do my meditation two places: in my bedroom and in our great room, which has prayer candles to light on the fireplace mantle. My cat Bert attends my meditation at times because he loves it and inevitably finds me when I am doing it. He just sits quietly.
Set a timer. I use the Insight Timer app on my phone. That way you don’t have to keep looking at a clock.
I also start my meditation, particularly in the morning, with a short reading from the 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series. Others start by following their breathing. You can say the Jesus prayer or another short prayer like “Come Holy Spirit” to center down. Some I know slowly recite Scripture from memory. Just stay in the moment with God.
It’s just 10 minutes, but it can change your day and eventually your life.
Today is World Day of the Sick, a time to lift up those who are ill in prayer. And to think about our own legacies within the coronavirus era.
If we cannot go to help those who are sick, are we calling? Are we sending cards? Are we praying?
Are we doing our parts to stop the spread of the virus? Are we masked up? Are we working to protect our families by social distancing?
Let’s also lift up the doctors, nurses and caregivers we know, so many of them exhausted by nearly a year of emergency service. What can each of us do to make things easier?
Today’s prayer for World Day of the Sick reads:
Illness lays bare our human vulnerabilities, which is the exact place God meets us. Let us pray for God's healing presence in all the world's ailments.
For the sick and those impacted by coronavirus,
For those who share in the sufferings of the sick,
For those bound by injustice,
For our fragile environment,
For our own hardheartedness,
God of wholeness and hope, heal your people.
Amen.
“On Christian Contemplation” by Thomas Merton is a small, gift-size book filled with big thoughts about God. Paul M. Pearson edited the edition, which collects some of Merton’s poems and selections from his books.
Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk and theologian generally regarded as one of the foremost Christian writers of the 20th century. He was also well-known for his participation in interfaith dialogue and advocacy for non-violent activism. His work is still fresh 50-plus years later.
Indeed, without using the term, Merton wrote about Christian mindfulness. “Strictly speaking, I have a very simple way of prayer. It is centered entirely on attention to the presence of God and to His will and His love,” Merton wrote. This prayer he called contemplation. And he wrote, “Contemplation is the highest expression of a man’s intellectual and spiritual life.”
In his works, Merton talks about liturgical prayer, lectio divina, work, meditation and contemplation. He saw meditation and contemplation as essential for us to obtain union with God … to want what God wants, to love as God loves, even if it is a weak imitation.
The short collection (81 pages long) includes sections on “A Call to Contemplation,” “Tools for Contemplation” and “Meditations.” The book is easy to carry in a purse or briefcase.
For other resources on Christian mindfulness, click here.
In my part of the world, snow and ice cover our trees. Since all but the evergreens have dropped their leaves, we can see their beautiful architecture. From the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the Trees of Life in Revelation, trees play an important role in our spiritual story.
This Christian mindfulness exercise helps us to become more aware of how important trees are to our daily lives. If you have little ones, they can easily participate in this exercise.
First, let’s pray in gratitude for our trees … those in the yard, those seen through the windows and those you’ve loved. Thank you, Lord, for creating trees.
Next, be mindful of the things in your home. Which started out as part of a tree? Is there wood in your house frame, your floors, your furniture?
Pull out kitchen drawers to find wooden spoons. Look in the refrigerator for the fruit of trees. Try the spice cabinet, which you can see the ground up bark of the cinnamon tree. Or open the drawer where you keep the maple syrup. Then, of course, there’s paper, and nuts, and materials from resins or gums.
There’s lots to be grateful for! Thank you, Lord, for trees and all the ways they serve us.
In my part of the world, the coldest days of winter have arrived. This is a wonderful time to cozy up with a blanket and a hot drink to listen — really listen — to music.
Take at least 30 minutes to listen to music that allows you to feel God’s presence in the present moment. Of course, adding music to chores elevates the experience. But many of us have music in the background so much that we fail to enjoy the experience.
You can create your own playlist. Or just search “Contemplative Prayer” on Spotify to find good playlists.
“A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence” by Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel (which you can download for free here) also lists music to consider.
Hymns and Choruses
Be Still, My Soul
Be Thou My Vision
Before the Throne of God Above
Blessed Assurance
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Give Me Jesus
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
How Great Thou Art
In Christ Alone
It Is Well With My Soul
Instrumental
Canon in D – Pachelbel
Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ – Albinoni
Are you feeling blah? Not quite depressed. Not quite anxious. But not joyful and content either.
A research study conducted at Duke found that about 30% of adults have “the COVID blues.” The main symptom: We just don’t feel like ourselves. We are sluggish and not happy.
This Christian mindfulness exercise may help.
Go to a place where you won’t be disturbed.
Concentrate on your breathing for a few minutes.
Ask God to come anew into your life. To give you the wisdom to improve your relationship with Him.
As you continue to concentrate on your breathing, imagine that the out-breath removes your discontent and the in-breath brings you ease.
Be mindful of thoughts that come up. You don’t have to fight them. Just recognize that they are there.
Pray about any thoughts that bother you.
Ask yourself if you are feeling better. I hope you are.
Learning to be content in a pandemic is both a God-given grace and something we can learn. So is learning to be content in any time of suffering and injustice. Contentment is an inner condition cultivated in humility. We can have a teachable spirit prepared to bend to God’s will.
Rich Nathan, founding pastor at Vineyard Columbus, taught a sermon years ago that offered a three-part plan to develop contentment that I can’t improve on at all. Here are his three points.
No. 1: Acknowledge God’s sovereignty over your life. Practice surrender.
The Bible teaches that everything, even our loved one’s illnesses, has to pass through God’s hands before it happens. As Elisabeth Elliott put it: “Whatever happens is assigned.” God’s power is unlimited, and he rules all our lives.
Matthew 10:29-30: Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. The very hairs on your head are all numbered.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who live him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We will never suffer trials unless God allows them and watches over them.
The most important example of a person who trusted God under terrible circumstances was Jesus himself. Have we ever been in so much agony that we sweat blood over it? Yes, Jesus understands how we feel.
We learn things from suffering that we probably couldn’t learn anywhere else: reliance on grace, humility, perseverance, quality prayer, faith, trust, and a real relationship with God.
If we can’t accept this for a lifetime, Rich suggested that we accept it “just for today.”
No. 2: Practice thanksgiving.
Start being grateful for the littlest things: grass, sky, trees. Spend a day looking for things to be grateful for.
No. 3: Practice abiding.
This means that you connect with God’s person. This is the essence of Christian mindfulness. You focus on the present in the felt presence of God. You can do all things through God who strengthens you, but you have to abide in God to do so.
Rich encourages us to welcome the Holy Spirit into areas where we’ve grumbled, where we are discontented, where we are frustrated. Invite the person of the Holy Spirit to come into that part of your life. Contentment will grow where we abide in God.
Haemin is a Zen monk and a former professor born in Korea and educated in the United States. Several of his lectures can be found on YouTube, including this talk at Google. He has translated the book into English, along with Chi Young-Kim. It contains his teaching and advice in eight areas:
Rest
Mindfulness
Passion
Relationships
Love
Life
The Future
Spirituality
I felt the best part of the book was its section on spirituality. This quote, in particular, is my favorite:
In the beginning, our prayer takes the shape of “please grant me this, please grant me that” and then develops into “thank you for everything” and then matures into “I want to resemble you.” Eventually it transcends language, and we pray with our whole being in sacred silence.”
Haemin notes that people of various faiths can learn from other. Those who lose their faith reading about another religion didn’t have much faith to begin with, he adds. I agree with that. Other resources that can help you with your practice of Christian mindfulness are found here.
The season of Lent is nearly two weeks away. Hopefully it’s the last Lent we’ll spend in a pandemic, so let’s make the most of our difficult situations.
As we plan for the Lenten season, let’s keep our resolutions positive. It’s not just about giving things up. It’s about moving forward in our faith. My theme for Lent 2021 is “Light Tomorrow With Today.” I’m looking at what I can do to increase the light of God in my life.
For example, let’s think about the content we consume. I pick out some books to read or re-read every Lent. I know many people abstain from social media. Since that’s how I see photos and videos of my grandchild these days, I will look at ways to stop “doom-scrolling.” I will see only family/friend/faith content during this time.
My pastor gave a sermon this weekend about what we are taking in. Is it, as Paul would like, “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.” The wonderful sermon is below.
Other places to look for positive resolutions include prayer, fasting and giving. If you are in the two-thirds of Americans who are OK financially in the pandemic, you might consider how you can help the one-third who are struggling.
Pray over these Lenten resolutions. Then when Ash Wednesday comes, your Lent can become a light for tomorrow.
Perk up your Christian mindfulness by paying attention to one particular color for a day. The steps are easy and often improve your mood.
Pick a primary color.
Consciously look for the color as you move intentionally through the day.
Enjoy all the shades and variations of the color.
Note how it appears in nature.
Praise God for color and for that color in particular.
This exercise also could be part of a nature walk, forest bathing (silent walking through a wooded area with mindfulness and deep breathing) or a gratitude walk (in which you thank God for every thing you see that you feel gratitude for). It’s a nice exercise for kids as well.
We must try to perceive Christ in the interruption of our plans and in the disappointment of our expectations; in difficulties, contradictions and trials. No matter what happens, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.” (Romans 8:28)
Before there were Seven Deadly Sins, there were Eight. The one that got eliminated, acedia, has made a return to life via the pandemic. Or at least to mine.
The eighth Deadly Sin was indeed acedia, which means “a lack of care.” It was laziness and more. Acedia, according to the Atlas Obscura website, was a kind of boredom. It makes it difficult to practice the presence of God. Mindful magazine’s Spring 2021 issue notes: “It has resurged, thanks to a certain pandemic, as (acedia) describes a thoroughly modern condition: listlessness, ambient anxiety and an inability to concentrate.”
The Desert Fathers, particularly Evagrius of Pontius, thought acedia was the vice that could most tempt monks and hermits to leave the faith. (His other deadly sins were gluttony, fornication, avarice, sadness, anger, vainglory and pride.) He called it “the demon of noontide” and felt very strongly about monks taking naps as the gateway to sin galore. (!!!)
Pandemic naps or not, Christian mindfulness is a way out of this listlessness. If your practice is feeling a little anxious or you are having difficulty concentrating, the magazine suggests you start by bringing mindfulness to a daily activity or a daily routine. This becomes Christian mindfulness when you pray before and after the activity and practice the presence of God during it. Give it a try.
It’s 2 a.m. Do you know where your mindfulness practice is? Yes, waking up in the middle of the night is unpleasant. But it can be an opportunity to grow as a Christian who practices mindfulness.
Mindful, an excellent magazine, published an article in its Spring 2021 issue titled “Beginner’s Mind” by Michelle Maldonado. In answering a question about preparing for sleep, Michelle also gave wonderful advice about what to do when you wake up in the night.
She suggested activating your parasympathetic nervous system with an easy breathing practice:
Inhale to the count of four.
Exhale slowly to the count of eight.
Repeat.
This practice activates the vagus nerve that is the major nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body.
You also could add more elements to this: doing a gratitude list or saying the Jesus prayer. Either bring the presence of God into your night.
Michelle and many others also suggest that, if you can’t go back to sleep, get up and read. Many of my friends read the Psalms to calm in the middle of the night. I tend to meditate over scripture or elements in the Thirty Days With a Great Spiritual Teacher series.
In any case, you won’t be in bed feeling frustrated. Perhaps, as one of my friends used to say, God has woken you up to spend time with you. It’s good to be ready to listen.
Many of us are watching our words these days. These four guidelines for right speech from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh in “The Art of Communicating” are good for people of all faiths to consider.
Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn the truth upside down.
Don’t exaggerate.
Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to another for selfish or manipulative reasons.
Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse or condemnation.
Yesterday I had a good morning. Once again when I recollect myself, I find the same simple demands of God: gentleness, humility, charity, interior simplicity. Nothing else is asked me. And suddenly I see clearly why these virtues are demanded. Because through them the soul becomes habitable for God and for one’s neighbor in an intimate and permanent way. They make a pleasant cell of it. Hardness and pride repel. Complexity disquiets. But humility and gentleness welcome, and simplicity reassures. These “passive” virtues have an eminently social character.
Difficult, even toxic, people are a fact of life. We can … and sometimes must … avoid the most abusive. But we may still find that we have to deal with difficult coworkers, bosses, family members or neighbors.
Reviewing an old journal, I found my younger self listing the self-destructive ways that I was dealing with difficult people. I was:
Draining my own energy by being upset.
Thinking about how people were not behaving as they “should” be.
Trying to appease people in ways contrary to God’s will.
Saying half-truths and lies to keep the people off my back.
Rehearsing and re-rehearsing upcoming conversations.
Later, thinking about what nasty things I could have said to them.
Spending time and energy trying to stabilize myself after I was shaken by an encounter.
Christian mindfulness does call on us to handle toxic people differently. We need to look at ourselves in prayer to see if we are the cause of any of the unpleasantness. After we have dealt with anything that’s our fault, we can alter our behavior to make dealings with the person easier. Here are five ways that I have changed my approach.
Accept that this is a difficult relationship with a person who has emotional problems. Accepting this frees us from hoping the person will behave in a different way next time.
Tell the truth. Instead of trying to appease by lying, tell the person the truth. That doesn’t mean attacking them. It means using “I statements” about how they make you feel. “I don’t want to go to lunch with you because I tend to get nervous and anxious around you.”
Do not respond to them … in words, writing or online comments … until you are calm and centered.
Pray for them every day. Jesus asked us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Ask for the gift of mercy for yourself. Eventually you may be able to see this person as Jesus does. That will give you compassion.
During this pandemic, Amazon and other online retailers have become my close friends. And I’m not alone.
J.P. Morgan Chase reported in October 2020 that e-commerce sales were up 60% during the first half of 2020. Salesforce found that global digital orders peaked at 71% year-over-year on Dec. 5-6, 2020. The panicked buying of cleaning supplies, toilet paper and baby formula has calmed down. But we are still at the keyboard shopping.
So how can we bring Christian mindfulness to our urge to buy stuff? Isolation is making it tougher. I know I get really excited to see the Amazon Prime truck and the mailperson.
But I also know that more people are struggling these days. My money is God’s money. If I spend it on items that cheer me up for 30 minutes, I won’t have it to contribute to help others. These six tips can help:
Ask the right questions. Is this necessary? Do I have to buy it from Amazon, or can I get it delivered from the local shop that is struggling? How can this purchase do the most good?
Make a list. Put the things you need on a list. If it’s not on the list, don’t buy it.
One in, one out. When you bring one item in, remove another worn item. This works for just about every type of purchase.
Consider the packaging. I’ve had a few items arrive crushed and broken, so I know that packaging is necessary. Recycle what you can, and urge sellers to use only what packaging is necessary.
Pray before you click. Are you doing this just because you’re bored, lonely or needy? Turn to the Lord to see.
Find other ways to lift your spirits. When you are down, try worship music. Many are missing the opportunity to gather together and sing. Or go for a walk in nature. Do what you need to do to lift your spirits with spending a lot of money.
The pandemic will not last forever. Let’s try to get through it without building up clutter and depleting our accounts.
I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. Amen
The most beloved book in Christian mindfulness isn’t a composed book at all. “The Practice of the Presence of God” is a collection of letters and thoughts from a cook in a Paris monastery in 17th century named Brother Lawrence.
He began life as Nicolas Herman around 1614 in the Lorraine duchy of France. As a soldier in the 30 Years War, he received a nearly fatal injury that left him maimed and in chronic pain for the rest of his life. In midlife, Nicolas joined a new monastery in Paris. He took the name Brother Lawrence after his parish priest and was the cook for 100 monastery members. Later he worked in the sandal repair shop. In all he spent 40 years in monastery.
At some point, Brother Lawrence began Christian mindfulness, living the present moment in the presence of God. He walked through his days constantly conversing with God and aware of His presence.
After Brother Lawrence’s death in 1691, Joseph de Beaufort, representing the local archbishop, published Lawrence’s letters and spiritual maxims. In 1694, de Beaufort expanded the manuscript to add conversations that he had had with Brother Lawrence, titling the new volume “The Practice of the Presence of God.”
More than 400 years later, this book is a treasured Christian classic. Brother Lawrence inspires us to “establish ourselves in a sense of God’s Presence by continually conversing with Him. It was a shameful thing to quit His conversation to think of trifles and fooleries. We should feed and nourish our souls with high notions of God, which would yield us great joy in being devoted to Him.”
You can download a free copy of “The Practice of the Presence of God” from Project Gutenberg here.
Other resources for Christian mindfulness are found here.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Today is both Martin Luther King Day and the first day of a traditional time to pray for Christian unity. This is a perfect match for 2021.
The American Christian church is in sad shape as it deals with the issues swirling within it. Christian nationalism and systemic racism are the two most important.
So let’s meditate on this prayer:
Gracious Father,
we pray to you for your church.
Fill it with your truth.
Keep it in your peace.
Where it is corrupt, reform it.
Where it is in error, correct it.
Where it is right, defend it.
Where it is in want, provide for it.
Where it is divided, reunite it.
We pray, oh God, for the oppression and violence that are our sad inheritance as Americans.
We give you thanks for the work of Christian preachers and witnesses, particularly for Martin Luther King Jr., to alleviate these burdens.
Fill us with your spirit, where our community is divided by racism, torn by repression, saddened by fear and ignorance.
May we give ourselves to your work of healing.
May we forgive each other and walk together in your light.
A prayer by the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud (1573-1645) and a traditional prayer for Martin Luther King Day were adapted to become the prayer above.
Please do not indulge in unkind words, in negative comments. Criticism, as you know, can only be useful when it is constructive. Comments can only be useful when they are friendly. So even from the point of view of effectiveness, I would suggest that unkind comments add to the problem. Unloving criticism makes the situation worse. It does not mean that we do not have to comment and suggest. Very often we have to. But it is the mental attitude with which you make the suggestion and the loving concern with which you put forward ideas, sometimes opposed to others, that make for effectiveness.
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
Psalm 119:105
Lectio divina is Latin for sacred reading. This ancient Christian practice brings mindfulness to reading the Bible by enveloping it with meditation and prayer. It gives us an opportunity to listen to God, to allow Him to speak to us as individuals.
Even with its Latin name and affiliation with monastic life, lectio divina is not difficult. It’s a four-step process … five if you count preparation.
We should try not to make this a checklist. It’s more like basking in the Bible than studying the Bible. You are reading Scripture to form your development as a child of God, not just to gather information.
So preparation is pretty easy. You need to have a calm mind. You need to be in a place that’s quiet where you can be alone. Then invite the Holy Spirit to be present with you. The Holy Spirit has a significant role in delivering the Word of God’s meaning to you.
Then begin the four steps:
Read (lectio): Slowly read the Bible verses. Do it several times if you can. Reading out loud may help as well. You also can personalize the verse by inserting your name where the Bible uses “you.”
Meditate (meditatio): Reflect on the words and phrases in the Scripture. Does anything jump out at you? Or, if it’s more subtle, does a word or phrase draw your attention?
Respond (oratio): St. Ambrose said, “Let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of sacred Scripture, so that God and people may talk together.” So ask God why a particular phrase or word has caught your attention. Talk with God about what you are hearing or feeling. How does this apply to your life today? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you, to help you understand.
Rest (contemplatio): Then sit quietly and listen for God’s response. Rest in His presence with mindfulness. Be quiet. (This is contemplative prayer.) Don’t worry if nothing happens. Sometimes God just wants us to sit with Him. If you feel your mind wandering, quietly repeat the word or phrase that attracted you in the reading.
Try to keep a consistent time and place for practicing. Recommended scriptures to start include:
Today I need to understand God’s will for a particularly long list of items. It does seem to be that kind of January here in the United States.
Today’s Jesus Always reading said: “Seek to align your will with Mine and to see things from My perspective.” We always want to do this. But we all know that far too many Christians have been complicit with evil throughout the centuries. It’s no different today.
So what do we do to align our will with God and to see things from His perspective? Bible study is essential. I have studied the Bible since I learned to read 61 years ago. I know what it says and what it does not say.
I want to avoid the problem presented in Romans 1:21-23: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image of corruptible man.”
With Romans 1:25, I pray: “O, merciful God, help us not exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.”
The prayer is a good start. God will not leave us alone when we genuinely seek His will with plans to do it. Once we have done this, the Holy Spirit within us will help us. He is our Counselor who will teach us, walk with us and lead us into the path of doing God’s will.
Instead of striving so hard, we can rest in God’s spirit. The fruit of God’s spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Anything that is the opposite of this is not God’s will.
Easily among the most significant of my devotional aids is the 30 Days With a Great Spiritual Teacher series, published by Ave Maria Press. I have every volume in the series, and I’ve used them as the first step in morning prayer since 1998.
I rotate the series of the 17 volumes I have. (I’m not sure all of them are still in print.) Each presents 30 days of devotions based on the work of a significant person of faith. You get a morning prayer, a thought to revisit during the day, and an evening prayer.
Two volumes contain work from Francis of Assisi, and another specifically for Lent contains work from several people. My favorites include:
“You Shall Not Want,” King David and others who wrote Psalms
“Living in the Presence of God,” Brother Lawrence
“Set Your Heart Free,” Francis de Sales
“Simply Surrender,” Theresa of Lisieux
“Let Nothing Disturb You,” Teresa of Avila
“Draw Ever Closer,” Henri J.M. Nouwen
Two new volumes, based of the works of Thomas Merton and Augustine of Hippo, are scheduled to come out this year. The books come from a Catholic publishing house, but they are very useful for any Christian. I fully recommend these books for contemplative prayer of any kind. Other resources can be found here.
How’s your mood? Whether we feel angry or bored, the practice of kind attention can bring us back in touch with our gentle Jesus.
In Christian mindfulness, the practice brings prayer, centering and intentional observation together as one. Here’s one way to accomplish this:
Quiet yourself. Breathe in and out, paying attention to the sensations, around 10 times.
Lift your heart to the Lord. Call out, if necessary. The Lord knows how you feel. But you may not be aware of all of it. Pay attention to your emotions as you pour them out. Neither fight them nor feed them. Again, the Lord already know how you feel. Begin to bring kind attention to it.
After you pour out your emotions, especially if they are tumultuous, pray the Serenity Prayer. The complete version of the Serenity Prayer is here.
Once you have shifted to inner calm, start to pay kind attention to the things around you. Where do you see the hand of God? In a pet, a rock, a tree, a piece of art? Can you see “that of God” in the people around you?
As you begin to move back into your daily activities, stay in the present moment and continue to observe it … and your feelings … with kindness.
Today is the church’s commemoration of the baptism of Jesus. Our Lord, who had no sin, went to the Jordan River for a ceremony typically used to mark repenting from sin and starting a new life.
His baptism was unusual. One eyewitness was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. As John the Baptist saw his relative Jesus approach the river, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God.” John told the crowd that Jesus was the man had had been talking about when he said someone greater than himself was coming. Indeed, John told them, this was the whole reason that he had started baptizing people … “that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Matthew the tax collector reported that John didn’t want to baptize Jesus. “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John said. Jesus responded, “Let it be so now. It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus was obedient, and so was John.
Dr. Luke, who conducted many interviews to put together his account, said Jesus was baptised among many others. As Jesus came up from the river water, a dove flew down from Heaven and landed on Him. A voice said, “You are my son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”
John the Baptist later told his followers, including Andrew, that God had promised to point out the Messiah. God told John the Baptist to look for the man who had a dove fly down and rest on him after baptism.
Don’t get caught in angry, frightened talk. Choose what goes into your mind. Don’t leave it to the media. Don’t let hostility and resentment take over your life. Step away from the whirlpools of negativity that swirl around us.
Every Christian walks a unique and particular path. I’m finding that 50+ years of (as Eugene Peterson famously said) “a long obedience in the same direction” takes us into various streams of Christianity. In the end, our experience can become sturdy and enriched because we have experienced the faith from multiple perspectives … sometimes all at once.
Two people who would agree with this are Richard Foster and the late Dallas Willard. They founded an organization called Renovare, an excellent source for information, inspiration and community. Foster also wrote Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith. It’s a good book on the various types of Christian experience. A free resource guide for the book is here. And a short article from Renovare summarizing its view of the six streams is here.
Streams that Foster identified include:
Contemplative, the prayer-filled life.
Holiness, a life of holy habits and integrity.
Charismatic, the Spirit-empowered life.
Social Justice, a life of compassion to others.
Evangelical, Bible-centered living.
Sacramental, encountering God in visible things.
Similar to sacramental, but different, is Liturgical, which follows a calendar of living and growing as a Christian with an emphasis on sacred texts.
I consider Christian mindfulness very much across in multiple streams. Its foundation is Contemplative. But I also experience it in my walk as Holiness, Charismatic, Social Justice, real Evangelical (not to be confused with American nationalist idolatry, which is not of Jesus), Sacramental and Liturgical. This can make you feel as if you don’t belong anywhere. But the Lord has corrected that for me by reminding me that a strand of multiple cords is not easily broken.
During a time when some Christians have damaged the church’s integrity and reputation, it’s good to look at where you are and what you believe. Jesus never fails us. If we think He has, maybe we have failed Him.
Today is the traditional date of Epiphany, although some churches marked it last Sunday. The celebration commemorates the visit of the wise men to Joseph, Mary and Jesus where they were staying in Bethlehem. (It’s assumed that, by then, they found a place to stay other than the stable.) So many Christians take the opportunity to bless their homes on this day.
Here’s a simple blessing, adapted from “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.” (By the way, I’m not Catholic. But this book is very helpful for those wishing to expand their household’s prayer life.) Here’s the prayer:
Peace be with this house and with all who live here. Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.
During these days of the Christmas season, we keep this feast of Epiphany, celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Magi, to John at the River Jordan, and to the disciples at the wedding in Cana. Today Christ is manifest to us! Today this home is a holy place.
Listen to the words of the holy gospel according to John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation with the guidance of a star.
Bless this house and all who inhabit it.
May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness, and the keeping of your law.
We give thanks to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit now and forever.
Amen
Feeling nervous? Gee, I wonder why. This Christian mindfulness exercise will help you to quiet your spirit by resting your hands.
Several times a day, stop and put your hands in your lap. Keep them still. Then offer up a prayer of praise to God for all you have done with your hands … and all you are going to do with them in the future.
As you keep still, focus on the sensation of your hands. Do you feel a little twinge of pain? Or the feeling of muscles releasing? Focusing on one aspect of your body … like a mini-body scan … can help your entire body to feel more relaxed.
The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian, so it is possible to feel God’s peace, joy and love every day. But it doesn’t just happen.
The easiest way to begin is to spend time in quiet. Silence often leads to an expanded sense of God’s presence. Just sit quietly and pray, “Holy Spirit, fill me with your peace.” Let it happen.
As you feel the peace fill your mind, give thanks. An experience like this seems to lead naturally to gratitude. We can reinforce this gratitude with a simple “thank you” walk or a worship song when the world invades and disturbs our peace.
Once we walk in the present moment in God’s presence, feeling his peace, we can move step-by-step through the day and display love to everyone we meet. That goal would be much too much if we had to do it on our own.
Allowing God to flow through us … to abide in us … to be the vine support our branches … that is how we feel God’s peace and do the most good.
Selecting a single word as guidance for the year is popular. I first heard the idea from Gretchen Rubin, whose podcast on it from last year is here. Many others also promote the idea, including the One Little Word project and Happiness is Homemade.
The process differs. For me, it’s about prayer and listening. Several words came to mind for 2021: Forward. Joy. And the one I am going with: Impart Grace. (Two words isn’t cheating, right?)
One needs to maintain a deep well of God’s presence to do this. So it’s a perfect marriage of Christian mindfulness, daily work and divine appointments (a meeting with another person that God has arranged).
The pandemic has made filling up with God’s presence easier, as I’m home and quiet more often than not. So as the vaccine makes it possible for the world to reopen again, I hope to go forward and impart grace.
I’ve just read my 2020 journal entries and composed my Good Riddance list. We’ll burn the list … our worst of 2020 events … this evening. But is this enough to say good-bye to such a year?
It’s a start. 2020 featured my mother’s funeral, the death of a pet (Clarence, the sweetest cat on Earth, RIP), COVID infecting four family members, and lots of time in the house. We cancelled four vacations, and we didn’t get back all the money. I didn’t get to see my granddaughter in New York nearly enough. Especially hard at Christmas.
Re-reading the journal, I found a lot of blessings. For one thing, I’m seemed to clean the house a lot. More important, I did follow through on my efforts to use the year as an extended retreat. I took plenty of on-line workshops and read useful books. I followed my own Liturgy of the Hours, and I felt more consistently in prayer with Jesus.
Someday we will all look back on this time and … what?? I hope I can be grateful for the good. Do spend some time today counting your blessings, burning your Good Riddance list, and practicing the presence of God.
Christian mindfulness allows us to give others a precious gift: our full, concentrated attention coming from a place of God’s grace.
As the year winds down and the pandemic continues, let’s show our loved ones, colleagues and acquaintances that we care about them. The way of Christian mindfulness calls for us to be fully in the present moment in the presence of God. We bring that approach to others by listening with full and concentrated attention. We have no agenda of things to fix about them. We judge not, lest we be judged.
Meeting people as they are … where they are … is a precious gift. We open up to become truly engaged in their words. We ask open-ended questions that begin with “what” or “how,” rather than “why.” We say, “Tell me more.”
At the same time, we shield ourselves from becoming enmeshed in other people’s problems. That requires detachment along with the compassion. In the past, we may have heard things that were fodder for gossip and judgment. In the presence of Christ, these same things become concerns to lift in prayer. Privately.
The only way this can happen is through God’s grace. Being willing to be a conduit opens ourselves to an outpouring of grace in our own lives.
A fear-crazed king orders the execution of all baby and toddler boys in a city. Today is the day that Christians traditionally remember these Holy Innocents. We also remember that Joseph, Mary and Jesus … warned to run … became refugees. So many little ones … some many refugees who need help are all around us.
Christian mindfulness calls for us to be present to this suffering. As we observe, we ask the Lord what he would like us to do. COVID-19 has only made the suffering worse. While it feels overwhelming, even a small offering can bring a bit of light into a dark place.
To honor the children slaughtered in Bethlehem and to help those struggling today, we made a contribution to International Rescue Committee, founded by Albert Einstein in the 1930s.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises in more than 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities. It provides clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people. The board of advisors includes people I trust, not the least of whom is Jeffrey Garten, retired dean of the Yale Business School and Ina’s husband. A generous donor is tripling all contributions given today. You can learn more here.
Dozens of other ways exist to help children in honor of the Holy Innocents today. Giving a family the gift of livestock through World Vision. Sponsoring a child through Compassion International. Contributing to your own church’s relief fund.
Today we recognize the violence against children isn’t new. And that the pandemic will only make the suffering of the innocent worse. Let’s be a force for good.
The feast of Stephen, known as Boxing Day in the United Kingdom, is about sacrifice. On this day. let’s give two more gifts.
First, pray to discern which not-for-profit organization has most touched your heart during the Advent season. My social media channels frequently feature a video asking for money to help people in refugee camps. The little girl shown looks a lot like my granddaughter. It’s so painful to watch that I click it off as soon as the internet allows. I will send them some money today.
Second, let’s make a sacrifice of thanksgiving. The Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. I’m guessing that includes pandemic and political tumult.
Practicing Christian mindfulness opens us to the possibility of experiencing the presence of Jesus in the present moment at all times. Whether we felt Him or not, He is there. In all circumstances. So let us offer up thanks and gratitude. We will eventually see what this difficult year has taught us … how it has allowed us to grow. So have faith that the Lord has been with you and give thanks for your circumstances. It’s a gift to God.
Last year’s idea for the feast of Stephen is here.
May the blessing of joy abide within you. May the blessing of peace rest upon you. May the blessing of love flow out through you. May all the blessings of the Lord be yours at Christmas and in the new year.
The best book I read in this pandemic year is “Abundant Simplicity: Discovering the Unhurried Rhythms of Grace” by Jan Johnson. I took three excellent online classes from Jan this year, but even that didn’t prepare me for the impact of this book.
The way that Jan describes her life and her growth as a Christian … wow. It inspired me to pray: “I want to feel like she does about you, Lord.”
The book, published in 2011, is about living a “conversational life with God,” so we can be filled with a deeper, ongoing sense of God’s presence. It’s less about how and more about why to simplify our lives. Quite honestly, although she doesn’t say so, it is a profound argument for a life of Christian mindfulness.
She does note that one way to remove ourselves from life’s frenzy is to deliberately incorporate disciplines of simplicity, like:
simplicity of speech
frugality
spaciousness of time
holy leisure
simplicity of appearance and technology
This pandemic year has forced some simplicity on many of us, as well as great loss. Jan Johnson’s book can help you discover “the unhurried rhythms of grace.” What a wonderful gift.
You can find more about Jan’s work here. Additional books and online resources for Christian mindfulness are here
Like many people, we will be missing some faces at Christmas. Some of them, permanently.
Not being able to enjoy Christmas with grandchildren, adult children, and parents who have died or are isolated in a nursing home … that’s not a very nice present.
It’s OK to feel sad and lonely, especially this pandemic Christmas. The practice of Christian mindfulness … living in the present moment in the presence of God … can help to alleviate the suffering.
We are never alone. The baby whose birth we celebrate is present. Israel prophesied that this baby would be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” And he is with us indeed.
This Christmas, remember to stop, breathe and invite God into your life … hour by hour, if not more often. Experiencing the presence of God makes this an extraordinary Christmas season. Opening ourselves to God’s grace and peace enables us to impart grace to our lonely and isolated loved ones during this season.
Today is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. In one of the darkest (and longest) years in memory. And tonight the two largest planets in our solar system will appear as a double planet.
The last time Jupiter and Saturn looked this close together was March 4, 1226. Many are calling the event “the return of the Christmas star.” Hopefully some will be able to see it in the southwest sky at twilight. (Ohio white sky probably will make that impossible for us.)
We bring Christian mindfulness to winter solstice. We offer prayers of gratitude for our relative safety and security as the cold approaches. We prepare for winter. We fill the bird feeders. We generally make our favorite cocoa mix. (This year I went a little nuts on the hot chocolate K-cups, so we’ll skip that.)
Tomorrow the days start getting lighter. My friends in medicine are getting vaccines. My mother-in-law, who is in a memory care unit at a long-term care facility, gets hers next month. Hope is on the horizon.
The nature of time makes even joyful moments feel transient. I have a PhD in “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” And I know lots of people just like me.
Yet I’ve changed. There is a way to find lasting joy. I have it in writing.
Since 2017, I’ve kept a five-year journal that asks a question each day. It’s so interesting to see how I’ve answered the same question over the years. The question for Dec. 19 is: If you could change one thing about today, what would it be? My answers:
2017: My broken ankle would be healed, and I would be completely mobile.
2018: I would be on track for Christmas. The house would be completely decorated, tree done, presents wrapped and stocking stuffers purchased.
2019: Mother would not be in late stage dementia in a nursing home that is giving her questionable care.
2020: We would be able to see our 3-year-old granddaughter at Christmas because the pandemic would be over.
The broken ankle healed. I am on track for Christmas. Mother’s agony at the nursing home ended with her passing. It all was resolved. Hopefully, next year we will be able to enjoy Christmas with our granddaughter because the pandemic is over.
In a few days, I will be asked to answer this question, “When was the last time you felt joy and peace?” The answers so far:
2017: During morning prayer
2018: During morning prayer
2019: During morning prayer. Mother died this morning.
The 2020 answer will probably also be “during morning prayer.” (I am fortunate enough to have multiple prayer times each day, but I fill out the five-year journal directly after morning prayer.)
The nature of time makes it difficult to feel peace and joy. Unless you are spending time in the presence of Jesus. Christian mindfulness involves experiencing the present in the presence of God. That is how you find lasting joy.
Advent is a time of waiting, but not sterile and empty waiting. It is a time of creative expectancy … we know that we must get ourselves ready for the coming of Christ. We know that Christ is with us, but we also know that the full presence of the Risen Lord is never totally a part of our consciousness and our actions. Advent brings that presence into our daily lives so that at Christmas we can say that God is more a reality to us than before we began our waiting.
The Gospel According to Santa Claus goes beyond commercialization. It impacts the heart and soul of the Christmas celebration. It took its shape as gospel in the 20th century. And it’s going strong today.
"The good news of Santa Claus is for the affluent.
Santa's mission is mainly to the healthy and successful.
The heralds of Santa Claus proclaim self-satisfaction.
Pleasure is the dominant theme.
There is no room for self-denial and the cross.
To stimulate business: 'Let one who has a coat get another coat.' "
"Treasury of Celebrations" is out of print. Grab it if you can find it. It's a five-star book for my household. Other good resources for Christian mindfulness are here.
This Advent, consider how the gospel of Santa Claus contrasts with the gospel of Jesus. The Jesus who came to Earth to sacrifice himself, at great cost, so we can join him forever in Heaven. The Jesus who cares about the poor, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned. Meditate on this.
Let’s open ourselves to the good and glorious for the rest of the Advent season. It’s all around us, even if we are staying inside our homes each day.
Stay in the present moment in the presence of God this Advent. And notice what is good around you. This is Christian mindfulness. It brings us relief from the suffering and fear of pandemic and politics.
Notice the blue sky outside, the Christmas decorations inside. Look deeply at those that have significant meaning … the ones from Grandma or the kids when they were small. Drink in the memories and thank God for your life.
Express your joy to those around you. Especially on social media. It’s catching. And you may share things about your family life that they don’t know.
Pray or journal in silence, asking the Lord to show you how you have grown this year. What are the true benefits of this time in your life as a Christian?
We can expand the good with prayers offering thanks and seeking similar peace, especially for those with whom we disagree.
The pandemic Advent is focusing us to look at things in a new way. In my house, we are moving toward the first Christmas without both our mothers and the presence of our grandchild. It could be sad. So let us intentionally bring joy and laughter to our homes instead.
This Advent, make laughter a daily intention. If you haven’t laughed hard by 7 p.m., watch a funny movie or TV show. Listen to a funny podcast, or read a humorous book. If you have friends who always make you laugh, reach out to one of them. You also could create an Instant Smile collection, described here.
Laughter is good for you. The Mayo Clinic lists these short-term and long-term benefits:
Stress relief
Enhanced intake of oxygen-rich air
Stimulation of heart, lungs and muscles
Increased endorphins
The ability to raise and then lower heart rate and blood pressure, causing relaxation
Reduction of the physical effects of tension
Improved immune system (releasing neuropeptides that fight stress and illness)
Pain relief
Improved coping abilities
Reduced depression and anxiety
So make laughter part of your Christian mindfulness practice this Advent. It’s no joke. You’ll feel better.
Essential workers, we have learned in this pandemic, are not necessarily the best paid. They are delivery people, teachers, sanitation workers and grocery store clerks among others. Health care workers often take home modest paychecks and giant levels of stress. Aides in nursing homes may not make a living wage at all.
This Advent, try a Christian mindfulness practice of noticing these workers. Along with others who are the least, the last and the lost. Be present with the people you meet. Talk to your postal worker. Speak to the homeless man. Say “thank you” to the people who are serving your family during the pandemic. Pray about the people you see. You may be prompted to help someone.
Jesus spoke to beggars and lepers. He saw his society’s outcasts. And He thinks we are all essential. We imitate Him as we do the same.
He is our Father, and He loves us, and He knows just what is best, and therefore, of course, His will is the very most blessed thing that can come to us under any circumstances. I do not understand how it is that the eyes of so many Christians have been blinded to this fact. But it really would seem as if God’s own children were more afraid of His will than of anything else in life — his lovely, lovable will, which only means loving-kindnesses and tender mercies, and blessings unspeakable to their souls! I wish only I could show to everyone one the unfathomable sweetness of the will of God.
Hannah Whitall Smith, “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life”
Hannah Whitall Smith certainly tried to show everyone the sweetness of God. Her masterpiece, “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life,” is one of the most used in my library. I’ve underlined it in almost every color of pen in my many readings.
Smith published her book in 1875. Never out of print, it’s a classic of Christian literature.
Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911) was a remarkable woman, especially considering the time in which she lived. Active in the women’s suffrage and temperance movements, Smith was a Quaker and a Christian mystic. (The back cover of my version of the book calls her a “Quaker, rebel, realist.”) In addition to writing books, she preached in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom.
She believed in Christian mindfulness, even if she didn’t have that phrase in her vocabulary. She rested in the presence of Jesus as she lived a remarkably active life. She listened for God’s will and she did it. This book tells you how.
My battered and beloved copy of the book. Christian cultural note: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were the Christian authors recommending it on the cover when I bought it in 1979.
The book remains a relatively easy read because Smith, as a Quaker, used plain speech as she wrote it. It has a 4.5 rating on Amazon with 358 readers ranking it and a 4.3 rating on Goodreads with 1,843 rating it. More recommended books and online resources can be found here.
The 2005 film “Joyeux Noel” (“Merry Christmas”) has profound lessons to teach a divided United States in 2020.
It tells the story of the Christmas Truce of December 24-25, 1914, during World War I. Groups of Germans and Allies are waging war on each other from trenches in northern France. They are so close together that they can hear each other. A small strip of No Man’s Land, littered with the bodies of their dead, divides them.
The truce begins to take shape when German Crown Prince Wilheim sends a lot of Christmas trees and the lead singer of the Berlin Imperial Opera to the front line. After listening to the singing in the German trenches, the French soldiers rise up for a standing ovation from their trenches. Eventually the German singer moves to the middle of No Man’s Land to sing for everyone.
The officers from all troops meet to negotiate a truce. The soldiers come out from the trenches to share food, sing carols, attend a church service, bury their death and play soccer. Then it’s back to war. But the soldiers have met the enemy, and they are not the same.
When their commanders learn about the truce from reading the soldier’s letters home, the reaction is fury. The German soldiers are even sent to the Russian front in January on a suicide mission.
This story has much to say today when people … even Christians … of different political parties in the United States despise each other. We need to come out of the trenches and talk.
You can rent “Joyeux Noel” on YouTube. Actors in the movie speak English, French and German, with subtitles.
This holy season trumpets God’s extravagant love for us, a love beyond reckoning. Into our beautiful yet wounded world comes Emmanuel, God-with-us, carrying the promise of fresh hope to enliven our hearts. No matter how broken or seemingly hopeless our world may sometimes seem, the Advent messages are rich with joyous expectation and longing, insisting that God can and does bring forth life where none seems possible.
Celebrate the second Sunday of Advent by becoming St. Nick. This year, the second Sunday also falls on the feast of St. Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus.
The pandemic has left a lot of families in bad financial straits. And, as of this writing, the government is struggling with itself to provide more help. If you are one of those families, we lift you up in prayer for quick help.
If you are lucky enough to still be in good financial shape, it’s a great time to extend your sharing. We can become Secret Santas to help others this Christmas.
Your church may have a program that you can support. You also can give additional funds to trustworthy organizations like the Salvation Army. You may also have friends and family that you can help out.
Any way we do it, we can honor the spirits of St. Nicholas and Jesus by increasing our giving this year.
This pandemic holiday season offers us an opportunity to be upset or at peace. It all depends on what we think. The Bible tells us this, and it is the essence of Christian mindfulness.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4: 4-8, NIV
Advent and Christmas in a pandemic give us plenty of opportunity to think anxious thoughts … as well as thoughts that are angry or sad. The Lord warns us against this. He has given us the incredible opportunity to abide in him. Our thoughts help to take us there.
As Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl wrote in “Man’s Search for Meaning,” we can choose what we think about and what our attitude is, even in the worst suffering.
This choice is not automatic. If we find ourselves down in darkness, worrying about illness, the broken world, politics and so on, we can turn our attention to the Lord’s presence.
We can do that by rejoicing in his goodness. Lifting up our worries in a prayer with thanksgiving. And moving our attention to something that is true, lovely and admirable. More tips about doing this are here. Do your part, and God will do the rest.
Today’s exercise in Christian mindfulness involves paying attention. (As all these exercises do.) You’ll be paying attention to two things: something in nature and something in yourself.
Pick something in nature that you can see out your window: trees, bushes, the sky or the grass. For a few days, notice this handiwork of God. How are the trees in your view different? How do they change from day to day? Notice color, texture, shape and form. God is at work in them.
Then, think about yourself. You have survived nearly 10 months of a pandemic. How are you different? What new strengths have you discovered in yourself? What has surprised you about your reaction? How are your family relationships? Your connections to others outside the family? How can you be more of a force for good where you are?
The pandemic has changed us all. God is at work in nature. Like the trees and the sky, we, too, are changing and responding to God’s prompting. Take a look and see how the pandemic has shaped you.
“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” Those words were the first lyrics of a song I learned in Girl Scouts in the 1960s.
The words are true. As the peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in “Being Peace”:
If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.”
In Christian mindfulness, this peace comes from walking step by step in the present in the presence of Jesus. It is a peace that passes understanding. A peace that overcomes fear and worry. A peace that reflects the light of God into the darkness.
During this pandemic Advent, when many of us are at home with our immediate families all the time, doing this kind of peace work is essential. We create the mood in our homes. Even one person who is at peace and happy can make a huge difference to the family atmosphere.
In Zoom meetings with Christian friends, I often hear concern about important work for God that the quarantine has delayed. I contend that the quarantine gives us at least two wonderful opportunities: the chance to spend more time with God and to show more love to our nearest and dearest.
Let us enjoy this time. It won’t last forever.
As the song says: “Let peace begin with me. Let this be the moment now. With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow: To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally. Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.”
This Christian mindfulness practice is ready-made for a pandemic Advent.
Sit quietly, breathing deeply, for a few minutes.
Think about the particular darkness you feel around yourself today. The impact of the pandemic in your life. Losses and illnesses. Financial concerns. Not being able to see people you love. Work overload. Fears for your country, your city, your favorite shops and restaurants. Emotional trauma.
How do you feel about this? Untangle the emotions. If you feel primarily feel scared, what else is there? Anger, disappointment, fear. Sit for a few moments and see what emotions you have.
Then visualize a great light shining into the darkness. Think of Isaiah 9:2: “The people who live in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
Offer up your emotions. Feel the love of God in the light as He steps into your personal world to bring redemption, peace and joy. In the end, evil will be vanished. Including all the evil you see in your world.
Rest in this redemption, peace and joy. Make this exercise bring the presence of Jesus to you today.
Alan Fadling opens this book with the words: “I am a recovering speed addict … and I don’t mean the drug.” This spiritual director’s mission is to inspire people to rest deeper, love fuller and lead better.
Living a frenetic life was a sign of success in my pre-retirement world. Even today the successful retired person is busy, even crazy busy. The pandemic has slowed down the pressure, but it’s still there.
Fadling details the rhythms of Jesus’ life … from the huge meetings with seekers, the miracles, the days of discipling the disciples and the nights of prayer alone. Jesus, who could sleep through a storm at sea, led a balanced life.
He applies that insight into our world’s issues, like productivity, suffering and rest. He also provides insightful questions to pray over at the end of each chapter and a list of spiritual practices that can help us to slow down.
Here is a short video of Fadling talking about what he means by an unhurried life and his book “An Unhurried Leader.”
Amazon has “An Unhurried Life” rated at five stars with 99 reviews. Goodreads has it at 4.11 stars with 602 reviews. It won the 2014 Christianity Today Award of Merit.
Other resources useful for a practice of Christian mindfulness are here.
Advent, the season of waiting, is just the spiritual nudge we need in a pandemic year. We are waiting for the vaccine as we wait for the Christ child.
Many families got a big head start on Christmas this year. Even if your tree has been up for weeks, you can still enjoy Advent. Bringing the spirit of Christian mindfulness into the four weeks preceding Christmas opens us up to allow God to heal our weary hearts.
We begin the season by putting up the Advent wreath and putting out the empty creche. We will fill it week by week. We also begin to read our Advent devotionals. More about those are here.
This year we need silent contemplation just as much as Christmas cheer. Celebrate the quiet season intentionally, and you will find much peace in a pandemic year.
Hildegard of Bingen … a woman so far ahead of her time … gives us good advice for today. As we stay in our homes, she urges us to build the City of God.
We can do it in Christian mindfulness. We can do it when we cling to Jesus and his vision of eternal peace on Earth.
Hildegard believed that God is generous toward those who, in good times and bad, faithfully work to build the City of God. These people avoid destructive quarrels, hatred and envy. They work with a calm attitude doing good for others.
Being kind of everyone at home. Being patient with pandemic restrictions. Spending free time in prayer and spiritual reading. All this can help us to build the City of God at home.
To walk into Thanksgiving with Christian mindfulness, we need to remember two things:
Our purpose on Earth is to glorify God.
God says prayer is important.
Today, on the day before our pandemic Thanksgiving, take some time to go before God with your unanswered prayers. The nation, the world, the sick and the healthy all need our prayers today.
I feel we also need to pray for healing of our image of God. He is loving, never vulgar, never hateful. He wants to spend time with us. He wants us to give him time in gratitude and praise, so He can work on our minds and our ways.
The image of God and the church has been blackened for too many in recent years in the United States. We have linked political expediency to God’s will. God is not shy about telling us that He expects us to love our neighbors, not to view them with suspicion and hatred.
It’s time to see what God says to us about our role in resolving these unanswered prayers. We can only do that through time for prayer and thanksgiving. May peace come to our hearts and to our nation.
As Thanksgiving approaches … I just got the pumpkin pie out of the oven!!! … take a few minutes to thank the people you have spent the pandemic with.
Thank those living with you and any one else in your bubble. This year, I’m writing thank you notes in Thanksgiving cards for my husband and my son. We have been a bubble of three for many months.
We haven’t had fights or gotten into arguments. We have bitten our tongues when we get on each other’s nerves. This is mostly because everyone has been nice and witty instead.
Think about the character attributes that have made your pandemic mates nice to be around. Write it up on a place card, a thank you note or a Thanksgiving card. Then share it before Thanksgiving dinner.
Today, take 30 minutes to give thanks for all the answered prayers of 2020. And yes, there have been some.
When I did this today, I went down my prayer list … looking at the names of the people and the groups that I pray for everyday. There was an answered prayer for every one of them.
So, enjoy some fellowship with the Lord. He is with us this Thanksgiving.
The first Sunday of Advent is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It’s a great time to make sure you have your supplies, books and ideas ready for the season.
Having a mindful Christian Advent is a time of joy and wonder. It’s a quiet time spent intentionally concentrating on the miracle of Jesus’ birth rather than the commercial version of Christmas. This kind of Advent is build peace instead of panic.
Some ideas for Advent prep include:
Get or make Advent candles. (We are doing beeswax candles from a kit this year. You can find the kit here.)
Purchase an Advent calendar or stock up one if you have a reusable model.
Get the Advent wreath out of storage … or buy one.
This idea, originated by Tsh Oxenrider, brings specific gratitude to my Thanksgiving table every year.
Take the gratitude list that you developed this week. Then write it on a pumpkin that becomes part of your Thanksgiving table centerpiece.
When it’s time to go around the table expressing thanks, you’ll have something quite specific to mention. It’s a way to bring Christian mindfulness to the celebration.
The pandemic is hovering over all of us. We’ve had friends lose their parents to COVID. We won’t get to spend Thanksgiving with our granddaughter and her parents. We won’t get to see my husband’s mother who is in dementia care.
Nonetheless, the Lord has been so good to us. Today, let’s look with intention at what’s right and how God has blessed us. Listing our blessings helps us to stay focused on what is good in our lives.
For example, I am thankful to the Lord for:
Our continued health.
Our marriage that has remained solid despite quarantining together soon after we retired from jobs that involved a lot of travel and time apart.
Food, water and a warm house.
My granddaughter and the miracles of technology that allow us to have dessert together on Thanksgiving day.
My wonderful kids.
A ministry that has continued via Zoom through the pandemic.
My spiritual director and pastors.
And there’s lots more on my list. Please make one yourself and spend time thanking God for what you have. You will feel much better.
It might be fun to keep it, so you can compare it to next year’s list. Here’s hoping next year’s list has a lot of travel on it!
The U.S. Postal Service has been a great blessing in pandemic life. This Thanksgiving, use it to bless others.
Sit in prayer and contemplate the people who have made your life better during this year. Then send them a card or a hand-written note to tell them how much you appreciate them.
Remember to thank doctors, nurses and health care providers, as well as those who work in senior care facilities.
It’s special to get thanks through the mail, especially when you don’t expect it. Spreading love and gratitude is godly this season. So extend your Thanksgiving by reaching through quarantine to give your thanks.
If you are alive to read this, you have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But it may not feel like it.
Let’s turn this time into a deep harvest of gratitude toward God. He will be at your table on Thanksgiving, even if many loved ones are not.
Thanksgiving in a pandemic may need an extra dose of Christian mindfulness to be memorable. Let’s start with this step. Reflect and think: What do you appreciate the most about the people you’ve been in quarantine with? How have they made the time pleasant?
Today, thank them for the character qualities and personality quirks that have gotten you through 2020 so far. It’s a first step toward a real Thanksgiving.
Back in the good old days of 2019, we worried about taking too much work home. How does that compute when work is at home?
Working at home has enormous advantages … no commute, fewer interruptions for office socializing, more time with the family, the ability to run laundry while you run a meeting … and so on.
But it lacks the closure that getting up and coming home causes. Transition time via commuting is also gone.
A 2019 survey by Airtasker, reported in Business News Daily this March, found remote workers actually work 1.4 more days per month than those based in offices. That’s more than three more weeks of work per year. Some of that overage happens in the time once known as “after hours.”
The same survey also found that 29% of remote workers struggle with work-life balance. That’s compared to 23% of office workers. My guess is the figure for remote workers is higher now, more than six months later.
Those who practice Christian mindfulness may find their approach to ending the day has disappeared. The easiest answer is to schedule a prayer or devotional reading time at day’s end. Put it on the calendar. If necessary, call it “planning” or P&P on your public calendar. You’re going to pray over plans during this time.
If you need transition time to quiet down before rejoining your home world, take it. Walk the dog. Change your clothes to music. Breathe deeply.
Having set work hours actually makes you more productive. The day-end prayer time allows you to bring your work of the day before the Lord. Ask His blessing and ask His opinion on what’s ahead.
Then shut down the computer. Sign off from Slack or any other work chat app. Other tips for setting boundaries are in this article from Skillcrush.
This Christian mindfulness exercise is a simple way to slow down a day. Just breathe and welcome God’s presence every time you enter a new room.
As we know, Christian mindfulness is enjoying the presence of God in the present. When we are approaching a new room, our minds are hurrying ahead to the future, thinking about what we are going to do in that room.
This exercise keeps us grounded in the very present moment, as we move toward the door toward the task. As you approach the door:
Feel the bottom of your feet on the floor. If you have to open a door, feel your hand on the doorknob.
Take a breath.
Invite God to go with you into the room.
One breath is fine. No one will even notice.
You can use the Jesus Prayer or any other short prayer that you use often in practice. You can just say “Jesus” or “Come Holy Spirit.”
Bring the presence of Jesus into the present. It’s the best way to feel the day.
I would suggest that the complexity of our program is an inner one, not an outer one. The outer distractions of our interests reflect an inner lack of integration of our own lives.
Life is meant to be lived from a Center, a divine Center. Each one of us can live such a life of amazing power and peace and serenity on one condition — if we really want to.
There is a holy Infinite Center within us all. John Woolman resolved so to order his outward affairs as to be, at every moment, attentive to that voice. His outward life became simplified on the basis of an inner integration. He surrendered himself, keeping warm and close to the Center.
America is very divided. Republicans gained seats in a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Control of the Senate has come down to two runoff elections. And, as of the time I write this, one presidential candidate is refusing to concede to the other.
The country seems to be center-right, although it has rejected a leader whose behavior has been unacceptable to most. At the same time, it’s clear that Native Americans and African-Americans face systemic racism in our culture.
We cannot move forward as a nation without ending the hatred felt against each other. It is God’s will that we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Period.
It is time to heal. The demonization needs to end. We are all Americans. It’s time to expect a government focused on serving its people, not seeking political gain for one party.
Today, let’s try to do a traditional Christian mindfulness exercise … Loving-Kindness meditation … focused on those who voted for the other side in the presidential election. Here’s how:
Quiet your mind and invite God’s presence.
Think about yourself. Say: May I be healthy. May I know God’s comfort. May I feel God’s love. May I live in God’s peace.
Think about someone you love. Repeat phrases for them. May they be healthy. May they know God’s comfort. May they feel God’s love. May they live in God’s peace.
Think about people you know who are in the opposite political party. Repeat for them: May they be healthy. May they know God’s comfort. May they feel God’s love. May they live in God’s peace.
Think about the presidential ticket you did not vote for. Repeat: May they be healthy. May they know God’s comfort. May they feel God’s love. May they live in God’s peace.
Let’s do this often until the hatred for opponents has left our hearts.
The weather is glorious this weekend in my Midwestern city. It’s a perfect time to plant spring bulbs. Plant mindfully, welcoming God’s presence. We just may learn two lessons that these bulbs provide.
Christian life is all about delayed gratification. The bulbs will be working invisibly for a while. But the end game is beautiful.
You will get signs of hope as a new season begins. The green tops of the bulbs peeking through the dirt … what can be more hopeful than that.
You can plant bulbs no matter where you live. Inside, if necessary. I do hyacinths indoors. The front garden is tulips and daffodils. Just enjoy the beautiful weather.
Reading the devotional “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young this morning gave me the easiest way yet to explain Christian mindfulness.
It’s just seven words: Focus on God’s presence in the present.
Today is the fifth day of counting the 2020 election results. I am going weary of checking the AP news app and scrolling my Twitter list of news professionals.
So it was a great day for the Lord to remind us to focus on His presence in the present moment. The presence of God is how Christian mindfulness differs from other forms of mindfulness practice.
As Sarah notes in her subtitle, God brings us joy and purpose … even on days when we are playing a waiting game.
Mindful Christianity is continual prayer. As we invite God to walk with us, we talk with the Trinity.
Today’s practice invites us to intentionally focus on an element of prayer in that ongoing conversation. The seven elements of prayer that Jesus taught are:
Adoration – Acknowledging who God and responding to that reality with praise and worship.
Confession – Talking about the times that you have sinned and fallen short of doing God’s will, as well as the areas in your life where that happens repeatedly and often.
Renewal – Asking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and God’s power in your life.
Petition – Asking God for help in specific situations.
Intercession – Asking God for help with specific people.
Thanksgiving – Expressing your gratitude for all God has done for you and your family.
We can keep this list of conversation starters with God in our phones. Since there are seven elements, we could concentrate on expanding one of them each day. Or we can look at the list when we feel tapped out in continual prayer.
A wonderful prayer from Sister Eleanor Bernstein’s Praying Our Lives may be appropriate for today’s uncertainty and fear.
My God, I have no words to name the pain within me.
A deep darkness drenches my soul.
No light. No hope. No out.
From my mother's womb, O God, you know me.
Be with me; mend, make whole again my torn and broken spirit.
Lift me up, that this cross of suffering
may become for me the tree of life,
that sacred Tree whose outstretched arms embrace me
and draw me to your heart.
Even in this pain, may I find your blessing. Amen.
Now, more than ever NOW, we need an Instant Smile on our phones.
So record the laughter of a favorite child or adult. Or take a video of your pet purring or playing happily. Put pictures that you especially love of Jesus and/or spiritual mentors, living or dead, on your phone.
Make a Pinterest file of things that make you laugh. You can see my Instant Smiles collection here.
Having these tools ready helps us when we feel darkness coming on. The Instant Smile collection allows us to Stop, Take a Breath, Observe your collection, and Pray and Proceed. This way we center ourselves into Christian mindfulness.
Today is an important day in the United States. And the voter turnout shows that most Americans know that.
Two presidential candidates we see so differently. An election that we all agree on: it’s critically important, and it will be a travesty if the other side wins.
Nevertheless, nothing is the end of the world except the end of the world. Our duty is to behave with Christian mindfulness, inviting the presence of Jesus into our personal walk, living one moment at a time in his love.
The Bible is quite specific about our behavior regarding government leadership. We pray for those people so we can be more likely to lead peaceful lives. Even Nero, who was the emperor of Rome when Paul wrote those words in 1 Timothy 2:1-3.
Being loving is not an option for Christians during this or any time. We need to be loving and respectful of everyone’s opinions. Whoever wins, we must, under the orders of God, pray for that person.
As we wait to see the results, we need to be loving as well. Tonight and in the uncertain period ahead, be loving toward yourself to be sure that you have the ability to convey God’s love to others.
The reputation of Jesus has been severely damaged in politics, now and in the past. We must pray for the graces necessary to embody the spirit of Jesus in the world … at home, with friends (Zoom or otherwise) and in our work.
Today is All Soul’s Day. Along with yesterday, All Saint’s Day, this is the traditional time for Christians to visit the graves of family members and close friends.
The graves of my parents, my sister-in-law and my step-son are within a 10-minute walk from my front door. Is it creepy living next to a cemetery filled with loved ones? Since I will end up there, too, it’s actually comforting. (And we are blessed to have the city’s botanical garden on the other side.)
All Souls Day is a time especially for those who lost a loved one this year. Should that be you, this is a beautiful sermon about grieving from my pastor, Julia Pickerill:
Whether you can visit a cemetery or not, here’s a prayer for All Saints Day:
Lord God,
whose days are without end
and whose mercies beyond counting,
keep us mindful
that life is short and the hour of death unknown.
Let your Spirit guide our days on earth
in the ways of holiness and justice,
that we may serve you
in union with the whole Church,
sure in faith, strong in hope, perfected in love.
And when our earthly journey is ended,
lead us rejoicing into your kingdom,
where you live for ever and ever.
Eternal rest grant unto our loved ones, oh Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen
A thought jumped up at me this week: I’m already living an eternal life.
What does that mean? Do I have to try to pack as much as possible into each day? Do I need to hurry through tasks and then worry that I did something wrong?
I think not. Jesus lived what is famously called a “three-mile-an-hour” life because he walked everywhere. Were he in the 21st century, would he be screaming around in a car at 70 miles-per-hour while texting to explain why he’s late?
Today we switch from Daylight Savings Time in the United States. We literally get another hour in the day. And it feels good.
We have more time than we believe. We are living an eternal life with a God of grace at the wheel. Let’s slow down.
Stream rising from our coffee or tea is a great opportunity to lift others in prayer.
The late Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, writing in Seasons of Your Heart, said she used the first 15 minutes of her day to sip a hot drink and pray for “all my favorite strangers.”
She named friends, associates and acquaintances. But she also allowed the Lord to take over the list. Sometime God would prompt her with names of strangers and others she knew. Even faces whose names she didn’t know, like someone from the grocery store, the airport or the streets.
Lifting these faces up in the morning was a great start to her day. Others have used the nighttime when the bedside lamp is off to review the day and lift up everyone they met. Both are lovely habits.
When anxiety and fear arise, try to surf them. Feel them, but also release them to God.
The best way to release is to do something simple that no one else can notice. Try taking three deep breathes and crying out (internally … not out loud) to God. Then settle into the present.
This is an exercise you can do as often as needed. Start to feel the swelling of fear or anxiety? Do it. Start to feel a growing wave of worry? Do it.
Breathing mindfully and calling on the Lord’s assistance helps us to surf those distressing emotions. As they swell up, we ride atop them. As they crash to the surf, we can release them.
We can ask the Lord to give us peace, love or joy. Or we can just ask for help. Give it a try!
In his book “Renew Your Life,” pastor Kai Mark Nilsen suggests a wonderful Christian mindfulness exercise based on the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.
The prayer goes:
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
For it is in giving that we receiving.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Nilsen suggests taking a verse a day and using it to apply to your behavior in your relationships. How can you sow light in the darkness with the people you meet today? How can you sow hope?
I saw the One who is sitting on the throne, holding to his breast what looked like a lump of black and filthy clay as big as a human heart, decorated with precious stones and pearls.
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen was a Renaissance woman in the 12th century. Such a thing was hardly possible. But she did it.
An aristocrat and an abbess. A composer and an author. She wrote “A Book of Simple Medicine” as well as four books on animals, three books on gems and metals, and two books on plants and trees.
She also saw visions that she wrote down. Centuries later, she was named a doctor of the church for her contributions to the understanding of theology.
This particular vision shows God the father clutching a filthy piece of clay that represents all of us. We all know what the filth is. It’s all our terrible decisions and selfishness. The pearls and gems are the souls that Jesus reclaimed.
When you are struggling over a loved one whose is lost, remember that God is clutching them tight to his chest.
A movie about Hildegard is available on Amazon Prime for free here.
It’s easy to adapt a common practice in secular mindfulness — the STOP practice — for Christian mindfulness. You really only need to change one aspect … the P … adding a process that also starts with P.
Here we go:
S for Stop what you are doing, saying or thinking.
T for Take a deep breath. Or three.
O for Observe what is happening. Inside and out.
P for Pray for direction and Proceed with a kind heart.
The STOP practice is basic as it allows you to return mindfully to the present moment and seek the presence of God there. For you are a reactor by nature, STOP will help you to respond thoughtfully and in alignment with God’s will.
For more information about how Christian mindfulness exercises are different, click here.
The concept of a Halloween mask is a little different this year! But outdoor fall festivals are continuing with social distancing in many areas.
Explore a fall festival in your town in a mindful Christian manner. Praise God for the nature around you. The good ideas He had, like autumn leaves and weird gourds and spiders.
Enjoying a Christian mindfulness moment at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus
Pay attention to the sounds and the smells. Enjoy the little kids who are experiencing it all with a natural beginner’s mind.
Wherever we go, we can bring our Christian mindfulness. We can enjoy the presence of God even amid spooky lights.
It’s been more than a year since I took a retreat away from home. Lots of us miss the silence, the prayers and the feeling of being cocooned in God’s love.
The spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola are the framework for many retreats. At least two books offer an “at-home” version that would allow you to enjoy a retreat in safety.
“Journey with Jesus: Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius” by Larry Warner is the newest, published in 2010. It comes from a Protestant perspective. No matter our stage of faith or age, this one helps us experience Jesus. Warner even includes a part in the beginning that asks “Is this book for you?” Some of those indicators include:
Do you have a strong desire to know Jesus more intimately, love him more fully and follow him more wholeheartedly?
Do you want to live with an internal awareness that God is in you as you live, move and have your being, and to find God in all things?
Are you willing to follow Jesus in good times and bad?
Are you open to having your theology and image of Jesus challenged and expanded?
Warner’s retreat includes daily exercises for at least four weeks. He also suggests that you have a spiritual director. Many are doing Zoom meetings in the pandemic. So you can find one by asking your church leaders or searching online by typing spiritual direction and your town. Be sure the director shares your faith.
The second choice is a classic: “A Do-It-at-Home Retreat: The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola” by Andre Ravier, S.J. First published in 1989, the book has been republished regularly, so the cover may look different. The four-week daily retreat comes from a Catholic perspective, containing background on prayer types.
At the time he wrote this, Fr. Ravier had been conducting retreats for more than 30 years. He designed the book for “those who want to sincerely place themselves face-to-face with God so as to order their lives along his loving designs.”
We can use the time at home as fall deepens to deepen our own spirituality. Try a retreat!
I’ve learned a great deal from Teresa of Avila, a woman of courage, wit and wisdom. She reformed the Carmelite order and became the first woman to be named a doctor of the church for her wisdom.
In her day, Teresa’s wisdom was doubted so much that she was called before the Inquisition. Her life was based on a intimate relationship with God walked out in mindfulness.
Here’s five things that Teresa has taught me. I’ve read her writings, but find much wisdom coming from “Let Nothing Disturb You: A Journey to the Center of the Soul with Teresa of Avila.” It’s from Ave Maria Press’ excellent 30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher series.
Let us not forget to whom and in whose presence we are praying. If we were to live a thousand years, we would never fully understand how we ought to behave toward God. In God’s presence even the angels tremble — they who can do all that God wills.
Trials are heaviest for those my Father loves the most. Trials are a measure of God’s love.
Nothing can be compared to the great beauty and capabilities of our soul. However keen our intellect may be, we are no more able to comprehend the depths of our soul than we are able to comprehend God, for our soul has been created in the image and likeness of God.
If God is pleased with you, whoever resists you — whoever they may be — will be utterly disappointed.
The whole foundation of prayer is humility. The more we humble ourselves in prayer, the most God will lift us up.
Similar in structure to his “Celebration of Discipline,” Foster divides the types of prayers into three categories:
Moving inward: Seeking the transformation we need. This includes the prayer of the forsaken, examen, the prayer of tears and formation prayer.
Moving upward: Seeking the intimacy we need. It covers the prayer of adoration, prayer of rest, sacramental prayer, unceasing prayer and contemplative prayer.
Moving outward: Seeking the ministry we need. Prayers include intercession, petitions, healing prayer and the prayer of suffering.
I’m not alone in treasuring this book, which proves that our prayer lives can always grow. The book won Christianity Today’s Book of the Year and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion Book Award. It’s rated 4.6 stars on Amazon.
It’s a book to use as a resource, to ponder, to experiment with. More resources to help in your Christian mindfulness journey are found here.
As the United States considers the need for restitution for peoples who have been mistreated, I hope we provide support for the native Americans. I was actually on the Seneca reservation yesterday. I pray that the native Americans will not have to use our nation’s craving for cheap cigarettes and gambling to support themselves in America’s future.
I pray that we can help them with infrastructure to lift the nations out of poverty so they can live the lives they choose with dignity. I pray we will help with health care and education. We have a terrible track record for violating agreements and treating them as less than human. I pray for change.
I’d also like to offer a native American prayer for meditation today.
Great Spirit Prayer
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, Whose breath gives life to all the world. Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.
Christianity Today lists the book, first published in 1978, as one of the 10 best from the 20th century. Foster has regularly updated it. The book, which has a 4.7-star review on Amazon and 4.2 on Goodreads, has sold more than 1 million copies.
Foster explores the classic spiritual practices, or disciplines. He divides them into three groups: inward, outward and corporate. Disciplines covered are:
Meditation
Prayer
Fasting
Study
Simplicity
Solitude
Submission
Service
Confession
Worship
Guidance
Celebration
Each chapter provides many examples and Biblical references. It is a book to chew over, many times, as we decide what practice we would like to focus on this time in our growth.
As Eugene H. Peterson, author of “The Message,” writes: Spiritual disciplines “are, as he (Foster) shows us, the instruments of joy, the way into mature Christian spirituality and abundant life.”
Keep a copy in your Christian mindfulness reference library, and enjoy!
Christian mindfulness is a practice, not a perfect. One way to remind yourself to be mindful of the presence of Jesus is to literally have keepsakes displayed where we work most often or in our pockets.
Where are you most often during the day? In front of the computer? In your kitchen? Place a reminder there.
What coat or jacket are you starting to wear this fall? Put a reminder in the pocket.
Reminders can be small and easy to carry:
A stone to remind us that Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives.
A nail to remind us that Jesus died for us.
A feather to remind us of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
These same reminders can go in the space where we work. Or we can place larger items. I see a wooden cross from Jerusalem given to me 35 years ago when working in the kitchen. I’ve placed on my computer monitor a “pray continually” car visor clip.
Take a moment to pick out a reminder. We may need to change it seasonally if we get so used to it that we don’t notice them any more.
More information on how Christian mindfulness exercises are different is here.
Blessing pets is part of October 4’s usual celebration of St. Francis of Assisi. You can do it at home wherever you can bring the pets together. Here is the Blessing of the Animals:
Leader: Wonderful are all God’s works. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
All: Now and forever.
Leader: The animals of God’s creation inhabit the skies, the earth and the sea. They share in the ways of human beings. They are part of our lives. Francis of Assist recognized this when he called the animals, wild and tame, his brothers and sisters. Remembering Francis’ love for these brothers and sisters of ours, we invoke God’s blessing on these animals, and we thank God for letting us share the earth with all creatures.
All: Have a time of silence, and then offer specific prayers for the pets and for all creatures. Then all say the Lord’s Prayer.
All: Place hands on the animals in blessing.
Leader: O God, you have done all things wisely. In your goodness you have made us in your image and given us care over other living things. In the prayer of Albert Schweitzer, O Heavenly Father, protect and bless all things that have breath. Guard them for all evil, and let them sleep in peace. Amen
Pre-pandemic, many of us worked in offices. Even if you had an office with a door, you had little privacy. The “open door” policy, thin walls, cubicle hell, email, texts and phone calls result in frequent interruptions.
If you are working from home, the interruptions continue. They even get more complicated … if your new officemates are animals and/or small children.
Today, take the time to find yourself a prayer closet in your work space. Find a place where you can be alone for just five minutes of prayer. I have used a bathroom on the deserted floor below my office, a walkway outside the building, and a rarely visited storage area. Prayer closets at home could be a bathroom or the basement.
Then when you need five minutes with the Lord, you know where to go.
I’m loving Lectio 365, a devotional app from the 24-7 Prayer movement that helps you pray the Bible daily. I’m so impressed that I’ve revised my daily prayer schedule, using Lectio 365 in place of another loved resource.
The 24-7 Prayer movement started in the United Kingdom in 1999. Now it is an international, interdenominational movement for prayer, mission and justice. More than 2 million people in 10,000 prayer groups in more than half the Earth’s countries work together to offer continual prayer.
This app is based on Lectio Divina. The video below is a good overview of that practice.
The devotions also incorporate the six core values of the 24-7 Prayer movement: prayer, mission, justice, creativity, hospitality and learning. It also takes the church’s seasons, such as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter into account.
The app offers your choice of text and audio for the daily prayer. It follows the group’s P.R.A.Y. process:
Pause to be still
Rejoice with a Psalm and Reflect on Scripture.
Ask for God’s help.
Yield to His will in your life.
The app is available in the Apple and Android app stores. I found it after listening to the Renovare podcast interview with 24-7 Prayer founder Pete Greig and US Director Lisa Koons. It’s worth a listen as well.
For other recommended apps, websites and books, click here.
September 29 is the traditional day to celebrate the work of the archangels, especially the ones we know by name. Raphael, Michael and Gabriel were heavenly beings sent to do important tasks on Earth, as reported in the Bible and the Book of Tobit, an apocryphal text from the Hebrew Bible.
Archangel means a high ranking angel. Only Michael, in Jude 9, is called an archangel. Yet the tasks assigned to Raphael and Gabriel have caused Christians to classify them as archangels as well.
Today, let’s take some time to thank them for all they have done for us, known and unknown. Some of the known acts are:
Michael is the great guardian angel of the Jewish people and Israel. (Daniel 10: 13, Daniel 12:1) He does battle against the spiritual forces fighting against Israel. Michael fought with Satan over the body of Moses. (Jude 9) The Book of Revelation also tells the story of how Michael and his angels fought Satan and his forces in Heaven and cast them out. Michael’s name means “Who is like God?”
Gabriel delivers important messages to those who God favors. He was sent twice to see Daniel to help him understand a vision and to give him a prophecy (Daniel 18:16, Daniel 19). But he best known for his role in the coming of Jesus. He was God’s messenger to tell Zechariah about the upcoming birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1: 13-19). And he asked Mary for her agreement to become the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-33). Gabriel’s name means “God is my defender.”
Raphael has a central role in the apocryphal Book of Tobit. He was sent to accompany Tobias in his effort to find a way to cure his father’s blindness. In this book, Raphael says, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.” Raphael’s name means “God heals.”
Today let’s meditate on quotes from two Georgians, both Christians who have truly lived their faith, about the state of the world.
We must be really grieved that things are as they are. Those people are not real mourners who say, “Sure, the world’s in a mess, and I guess maybe I’m a bit guilty like everybody else, but what can I do about it?” What they’re really saying is that they are not concerned enough about themselves or the world to look for anything to do. The kingdom citizen is different. He’s sick, and he knows it, but he wants to get well.
My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.
Awaken us to the Oneness of all things, to the beauty and truth of Unity. May we become aware of the interdependence of all living things, and come to know You in everything, and all things in You. For as we attune to your Presence within us, we know not separation, and joy becomes our dwelling place.
Joanna Weaver published “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding God in the Busyness of Life” in 2000, which seems long ago. Yet, her quiet voice on the page is timeless … one of the most influential I’ve heard in my Christian mindfulness walk.
“Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” remains one of the most re-readable books for women on releasing anxiety and slowing down to sit at Jesus’ feet. She writes:
Jesus’ words to Martha are the words he wants to speak to your heart and mine: “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” That “one thing” is not found in doing more. It’s found in sitting by his feet.
Throughout the book, Joanna shows that Jesus wants us to choose the one thing: “a joyful life of intimacy with him that flows naturally into loving service.” For women who feel that they are not enough, it is a soothing balm.
On Goodreads, the book has a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars with nearly 16,000 reviews. The copy of the book I have includes a study guide for individual or group use. To taste the tone of the book, here’s another gift: a version of Psalm 23 from Japan.
The Lord is my pace setter … I shall not rush.
He makes me stop for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity.
He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind and his guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for his presence is here.
His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the Pace of the Lord and dwell in his house forever.
Additional resources for Christian mindfulness are listed here.
Today is the day devoted to remembering how difficult the life of the Virgin Mary was. She is Our Lady of Sorrows.
Many mothers and fathers can relate. Although she was quick to accept God’s will for her life, that doesn’t mean it was easy to live.
She gave birth in a place meant for livestock. She was a refugee fleeing to save her baby’s life. She dealt with gossip, poverty, life in an occupied country, and the death of her husband. She watched her son be tortured and executed. And there’s all the everyday trouble that we don’t know about.
Finally, in the last glimpse of her in the Bible, Mary is praying to prepare the infant church to live without a visible Jesus.
Today I consider my life as a mother, which has had an abundance of sorrow. That can be seen as a blessing because it has led to two things: an abundance of prayer and an appreciation of the good times. Today is a good day to do something hard … thank God for all of it, even the awful parts.
Begin each day with a thankful spirit until it becomes a way of life. Start by focusing on the simple, the mundane … the air we breathe, the ability to serve others, the privilege of thinking about God. It is this spirit that raises us to live on a level above our circumstances rather than under them.
This is a time when many Christians are appalled at others … including other Christians. Politics has overcome many of us. This Christian mindfulness exercise can help us to regain love and compassion for others.
Think of a person who you don’t like. If you are up for it, make it someone whose opinions you find obnoxious or worse. Put this person in your mind while you open with prayer and then meditate on these things:
This person is a human with a mind, heart and body, just as I am.
God loves this person, like He loves me.
Jesus died for this person, just like me.
This person has a history that I do not completely know.
This person has thoughts and feelings like me.
This person has gone through difficulties and hurts, just as I have.
This person is not always wrong, just as I am not always right.
Then pray for this person: for their relationship with God, for their health, for their happiness.
I developed this idea based on the Just Like Me exercise in “The Mindful Day” by Laurie J. Cameron. She considers thinking well of others as one of the central practices of mindfulness. If that is true of secular mindfulness, think how much more true it is of Christian mindfulness.
We use readings from these books as devotionals for our support groups, where we serve individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness and their families.
I also use the books as part of my daily prayer round in lectio divina. I read the passage, pause to ponder it, pray parts of it out loud and then meditate on it. I rotate using Jesus Calling, Dear Jesus, Jesus Always, Jesus Today and Jesus Lives. The Jesus Calling app is one of the most used items on my phone.
Sarah Young began to write her books of devotions based on her own daily quiet time, which includes journaling. The retired Presbyterian missionary has an extraordinary ability to help people connect to the Biblical truths in a warm and loving manner.
More than 30 million of her books have been sold. Although she is biblically conservative in her faith and reformed in her doctrine, I’ve never met a Christian … liberal or conservative … who objects to her work. It is so Bible-based as to be universal.
Please enjoy some time with the Lord under her guidance.
Other resources that are useful to me are located here.
At least that’s the best guess. Today is traditionally celebrated as the birthday of the Virgin Mary. So guessing that Jesus was born on 4 AD, and Mary was 14 at the time … I got my guess at her age today.
Celebrating mindfully today, I do a reading about Mary’s life and put flowers in front of her statue. I also talk to her.
“Praying” to Mary is controversial to say the least at my church. But I feel strongly that the Lord suggested I do so when I was a young teenager.
My parents didn’t support my deep interest in faith, and my mother forbid my request to go see what a Catholic church was like. That’s when I got the feeling that Mary was going to be a lifelong friend, as she has turned out to be.
On this birthday, I try to think of a good gift for Mary. Being kind to everyone I meet today is that choice. Of course, she’d like this to become a permanent habit. I see her point.
My Christian mindfulness practice for Labor Day includes thinking back on the summer past. We make a list of things that we didn’t get to do. Then we file it away to review the next Memorial Day, so we can make sure we get it on our next summer schedule. And we thank God for the fun we had.
This year, the list of what we missed …. let’s just say it would be way too long to file!!!
So instead, let’s make a list about the blessings of the pandemic summer of 2020. Gratitude is always a part of the Christian mindfulness journey. What can we be thankful for? Here’s some of my blessings:
The whole family is still healthy.
I got to take several interesting classes online for minimal money.
I went to conferences and events online that would have been too expensive to attend in normal times.
We didn’t have to go out in the heat to drive to meetings. It was just an air-conditioned walk to the den for Zoom.
I saved all my travel money, which I can use as a backup for even better vacations.
I spent even more time in contemplative prayer and spiritual reading, which brought me closer to the Lord.
We watched several acclaimed TV shows from the 90s and early 00s that we were once too busy to view.
My husband learned to bake! And he likes it.
And so on. Feel welcome to tell me about the things on your pandemic gift list.
A photo of grilled food and picnic sides appeared on a magazine cover under the headline: Homegating. Tailgating at home? Welcome to the fall of 2020.
The cancellation of some favorite outdoor activities … hayrides, bonfires and tailgating to name a few … offers opportunity to enjoy this autumn mindfully … without rushing.
The apple orchard, the pumpkin patch and the fall leaves still beckon. But we can choose not to pack up the family and rush out every weekend.
This fall, let’s make a commitment to be mindful of God’s beauty around us. We can do things in the neighborhood that bring joy without additional pressure and stress.
Here’s some of them:
Meditate and pray outdoors.
Walk when you can
Read outdoors.
Picnic at the park or eat outdoors on your porch or deck.
Go to a nearby park to look at the leaves changing.
Take the kids on a Stop, Look and Listen walk.
Encourage traditional outdoor games: hopscotch, jump rope and four square.
The fall of 2020 could be the best autumn we’ve ever had.
In “Celebration of Discipline,” Richard Foster points out that Jesus was all about joy. From the beginning … “I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). To the end … “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you.” (John 15:11).
I went back to his book after I heard Foster on the Renovare podcast, hosted by his son Nathan Foster, talk about the discipline of celebration as an antidote to worry. Because celebration comes from a release of any anxiety, intentionally celebrating can fight off worry.
As we enter the seventh month of the pandemic, worry grows. Lost jobs. Health fears. Kids schooling at home. Isolation from friends and loved ones. When will it end?
Although Foster’s podcast was recorded well before the pandemic, I think his idea of focusing on celebration is sound. After all, as David wrote, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
One way to increase your joy is to pray for it. Specifically, I pray on Monday for the Holy Spirit to give me the fruit of joy. It’s part of the GIFT list mindfulness practice.
Other ways to add celebration to our lives include:
Play and sing praise songs. Many feel sad, missing the music in church. Break through by adding praise music to your daily prayer routine.
Celebrate everything. Dozens of fun days are on the calendar. Make the most of them. Enjoy the coming autumn with caramel apples, pumpkins, apple cider, etc.
See the Lord in the nature around you. Did you know that the reds, yellows and oranges of autumn tree leaves are their actual colors without chlorophyll? Only our ultimate Creative Director could think of that.
If you haven’t laughed hard at least once by 7 p.m., watch or read something funny.
A frequent Christian mindfulness practice involves monitoring your thinking. Now and again, you stop to see what you are concentrating on. Or you realize that you are thinking about how the Sopranos ended. And you know that God prefers for you to think about something better.
I previously covered this in the post What to Think. Let’s do an update. Are we using Philippians 4:8 as a yardstick to measure our thought life. The verse says:
This week, let’s return to this verse when we are in a bad mood, when we want to complain and when we are waiting. These are trigger times for negative or unproductive thinking. Let me know how it’s going for you.
Silent retreats are the bomb. I took a four-night silent retreat at the Abbey at Gethsemani in Kentucky last year. Afterwards, I promised myself I would do it twice a year.
Well … then came COVID-19. For many of us who have been spending an exceptional amount of time with family for months, a silent retreat sounds like the impossible dream.
So try silence in small bits. Go to a room or outdoor space where you can be alone. No kids, no spouses, no pets. Sit in silence and check in for 10 minutes. Are you anxious? Tired? Feeling pushed or rushed?
Let the silence flow over you. Feel the presence of Jesus in that silence. He loves you. He understands.
This can be a regular practice to restart the day whenever you need it. See how it feels today.
The COVID pandemic has been a great teacher. I’ve learned a lot about the size of my need for control. How many times have you thought about doing something … only to realize, “No, I can’t do that.”
I can’t see my granddaughter. I can’t see my mother-in-law who is in Memory Care. I can’t go to New York. I can’t take that vacation to San Diego I’ve planned for months. Dozens of projects and wishes are all gone in a sea of “can’ts.”
This actually can be good conditioning for spiritual formation, the process in which God forms us into our best selves. The process also can be, in the words of Billy Joel, “a constant battle for the ultimate state of control.”
In “Invitation to a Journey,” M. Robert Mulholland Jr. wrote that the United States is “a do-it-yourself culture.” We are trained to use the world’s objects and people to shape the world for our own purposes.
This week, let’s mindfully watch ourselves in the area of control. As Mulholland puts it: “If you do not believe that control is a major issue in your life, study the ways you respond when something or someone disrupts your plans for the day.”
The only way to transform ourselves is to let God take the helm. Let’s take note of how hard we fight it.
I am surprised at how much better I feel. I’m lighter somehow. Of course, I’ve been continuing to take all my precautions. Masks, hand sanitizer, hand washing, isolation unless necessary.
The pandemic has been invading my dreams and creating a pervasive dis-ease for months. Once I found out that my state’s people were no longer unwelcome in New York … where my daughter’s family lives … I thought the media fast would help.
I highly recommend it to you. A week without distressing news feels like a vacation.
We’ve had five months or more of COVID-19 pandemic news. Let’s try to step away from it for one week. The pandemic has increased anxiety and disturbed our sleep for too long. We can take a break from the onslaught, while continuing to be safe and thoughtful of others.
This Christian mindfulness exercise has us deliberately reduce our media intake about COVID-19 and its impact. Here’s how:
Consider where you are getting your COVID information. This includes: news media (online and offline), email alerts, social media, podcasts, television and magazines.
Think about where you feel bombarded by information or opinion about the pandemic. What upsets you the most?
Fast from it for a week. You can entirely cut off the source or use it only for specific times, days or amounts of time. You also could refuse to read or listen to COVID information and opinion.
During times when you would ordinarily be consuming the media, pray instead. See if we can discover more about how God wants us to behave during this time.
Give your mind protection from the panic. I pray this will take the weight of the world off our shoulders. How do you think you will feel if you can take an information vacation from the pandemic?
One piece of wise advice I’ve received came from a home management book: “Desperate Households” by Kathy Peel. She wrote:
Part of responding to the unexpected is learning to see situations for what they are, not what we imagine them to be.
You could stop and ask God for patience, wisdom and the ability to remain calm and not say anything you’ll regret later. We do ourselves and our families a favor when we’re anchored by our priorities and are able to wisely and calmly meet the inevitable crises we face day in and out.
An excellent description of Christian mindfulness is found in Acts 17:28: “for in him we live and move and have our being.” Step by step, hour by hour, we walk with Jesus intentionally, paying single-minded attention to every moment.
An exercise suggested in the Life Without Lack course I’m taking helps us move into this way of being.
Visualize being crucified with Jesus. Sound weird? Yes, but it’s Biblical.
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 3:3: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Romans 6:6-7: For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
So let’s take a quiet moment to visualize ourselves crucified with Jesus. This is a good start to dying to self and waking to walk in Christian mindfulness.
Today is the 75th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
The event took place a few days after we dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. So it’s probable that the U.S. government knew at least a little about the death and devastation it would cause.
Mahatma Gandhi said at the time that these bombs would make peace a necessity. Peace has not come.
And, as the World War II generation around the world dies off, actual memories about the two actual uses of atomic bombs die, too. It’s more important than ever to learn about these events so we do not duplicate them.
Christian mindfulness calls for prayer and fasting today as a way to express sorrow over the deaths of these two cities and a combined 226,000 civilians. We as Americans in particular have an obligation to be responsible for making a more peaceful world.
Here is a prayer of lament and repentance for Nagasaki:
Above the clamor of our violence, your word of truth resounds, O God of majesty and power. Over nations enshrouded in despair, your justice dawns.
Grant your household a discerning spirit and a watchful eye to perceive the hour in which we live. Hasten the advent of that Day when the weapons of war shall be banished, our deeds of darkness cast off, and all your scattered children gathered into one.
We ask this through him whose coming is certain, whose day draws near: your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Today’s Christian mindfulness practice calls for 24 hours of attention. We are looking for “divine appointments,” things that God is calling us to do even though they are not on our calendars.
It’s true. The most important thing that Jesus wants you to do today may come entirely out of the blue. An unexpected phone call. A nudge to reach out about something. A whisper to pray for someone. An opportunity to be loving, especially if no one else is looking.
It’s hard to look for divine appointments when we are relentlessly charging through our to-do lists. Make time today to quiet yourself and ask God what He has planned. You may get a very nice surprise!
My sister bought me a perpetual calendar called “Meditations for the Busy Woman” by Jan Silvious in 1994. I still use it, although 2020 is the least busy year I’ve had ever.
Deletions, erasure marks and black scratches are all over many of our calendars these days. Today’s message on the perpetual calendar seems very timely.
Unrest in the Nest
Our God is honor-bound to make even the tearing up of our nests, the unraveling of our homes and dreams, the canceling of our plans and appointments, to work together for our good. Remember that today as you struggle with a nest that feels shaky beneath your feet.
Is it easy to practice Christian mindfulness while standing in a line? No. Yet it may be harder to practice waiting on the Lord.
The contemplative practice asks us to remain prayerful in God’s presence while we wait patiently for direction or answered prayer. This practice is all over the Psalms, especially in Psalm 27 written by David.
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
David
Today let us quiet our minds. Let us listen for the Lord’s direction via Scripture and prayer. I always find that synchronicity is a sign. If I hear, read and see the same verse or holy thought again and again, I know the Lord is knocking on the door.
Today’s version of waiting in line usually requires standing six feet away from the people in front of you. This makes lines seem longer, although we know they are just spaced out. This Christian mindfulness exercise helps us bring some space and calmness to our wait. We might even enjoy it.
Whenever we are waiting — in a line, in a car, in front of a computer screen — practice Christian mindfulness. Speak to the Lord and seek His presence. The Holy Spirit is standing in line with you, after all.
Notice what is around you. Who is there? Can you offer up a prayer from them? What do you hear and smell? Is there a cashier or service person who needs a word of encouragement when you get to the front of the line? wai
This Christian mindfulness practice came from someone else, but I have no idea who. That person created a list of profound questions for daily reflection or examen. Although I neglected to note the author back then, I’ve found answering these questions bring lots of insight.
Where in this day did I feel the presence of God working in my life and in the world?
What in this day seemed like it was a part of my leading?
What made me believe that?
How does that leading fit into my personal and spiritual life?
What did I do today to feed my spirit or move me ahead on my spiritual journey?
Let’s try using these questions for discernment in quiet time. They are also great for journaling.
Today is the memorial for Martha of Bethany. She’s the woman best known for asking Jesus to tell her sister to get up off her rear end and help her. I think Martha is the patron saint for today’s busy working women.
Brother Lawrence is the patron saint of Christian mindfulness. Here’s some advice from him on getting things done that could have helped Martha:
We must carry out all of our actions with care and with wisdom, without the impetuosity and precipitancy (haste) of a distraught mind. It is necessary to work peacefully, tranquilly and lovingly with God, begging him to accept our work. And by this continual mindfulness of God, we shall crush the head of the devil and cause his weapons to fall from his hands.
Brother Lawrence
Jesus told Martha, as you know, that “only one thing was necessary” and her sister was already doing it. Thousands of stories have been told about this conversation. But we also need to remember that Martha understood the truth.
As she said to Jesus when he arrived after her brother Lazarus’ death, “I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
This Christian mindfulness exercise simply requires listening to our own thoughts. We’ll find out much about ourselves when we listen. But we are looking for one thought in particular: surprise when we discover that we have made a mistake, failed or done something wrong.
We each are often the only ones who are surprised. God isn’t surprised. The angels aren’t surprised. They know who we are and what we are capable of doing.
When we are surprised, we need to think about it. The situation shows an issue with humility. In reading about humility online, I found one secular article titled “How Humility Will Make You the Greatest Person Ever.” Funny. But humility is not a low opinion of ourselves. It is an accurate opinion of ourselves.
It comes when we know God is beyond understanding. And we trust Him. It seems to grow as we increase our abilities to be grateful. As Proverbs 22:4 says, “Humility is the fear of the Lord. Its wages are riches and honor and life.”
Let’s watch our thoughts and see what we really think about ourselves!
Henri J.M. Nouwen responded with the manuscript for “Life of the Beloved.” Nouwen avoided spiritual “Christian-ese” and theology. He told his friend about how much God loved him and what knowledge of that love does to a person.
Nouwen’s friend still didn’t get it. At first, Nouwen thought he had failed. But the response among others who read the manuscript was overwhelming positive.
Considered one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century, Nouwen was a Catholic religious who taught at Harvard, Yale and Notre Dame. He spent 10 years living and serving in a community of the developmentally disabled called L’Arche Daybreak in Toronto.
Just flipping through the book gives you gems of wisdom:
“The world is only evil when you are its slave.”
“The problem of modern living is that we are too busy to notice that we are being blessed.”
“The real question is not ‘What can we offer each other?’ but ‘What can we be for each other?’ “
“Life of the Beloved” is a masterwork, well worth your time.
This simple Christian mindfulness practice keeps us aware of God’s presence. It makes time spent in the car a joy.
When we are passengers in a car, rather than playing with our phones, look out the window. Notice the world going by: the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the grass, the sky, happy children.
Remember: “The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Savor the beauty of the things we see. The one perfect cloud. The gradation of blue and gray in the sky. A well-tended garden. A family on a walk. Take a moment to pray for that family, too.
Another in-car practice that brings joy is naming the colors of things you see. Bringing awareness and gratitude while riding in a car helps us abide in God.
In his book, “Life Without Lack,” the late Dallas Willard makes a great suggestion for an exercise. Wherever you read or hear the word “faith,” substitute the word “trust.”
As Sarah Young writes in “Jesus Calling,” “Trust is a rich word, laden with meaning and direction for your life.” Jesus wants us to trust and be confident in Him. It actually makes him very happy.
Faith is a hard word because we so often doubt that we have enough faith. Here’s how some Bible verses would read with the word substitution:
And without trust, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through trust – and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
You are all children of God through trust in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by trust in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Have you been spending a lot of time with your thoughts during the pandemic? I know I have.
Since we also are watching acclaimed TV series from decades ago that we had never seen, I can spend a lot of time thinking … and Googling … “Seinfeld” and other shows. But the Lord tells us that we are not supposed to be thinking about those things.
Instead, as Philippians 4: 8 says:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
To keep this in mind, I use a memory device: The normal real person loves an excellent pizza.
As part of my Christian mindfulness practice, I seek to keep watch on the subject of my thoughts. If the subject is not true or noble or right or pure, etc., I turn my mind back to God.
It’s one of the good things about the pandemic. There’s plenty of time to think about the best parts of life.
To practice Christian mindfulness is to know the love of God all around us at all times. Keeping ourselves focused on God demands trust in God’s grace. But it also requires awareness and commitment on our part.
This has been an effort for even the saints. One of the great Christian prayers was written by Patrick of Ireland (387-461). It’s a long prayer, and the most famous part reads:
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Patrick. Words translated from the Gaelic by Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, 1889.
Here is a good video of the prayer, featuring some actors from “Game of Thrones.” The full prayer is beautiful and you can find it here.
In Ephesians 3:18-19, Paul writes: “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” I pray that for all of us.
The phrase “in God for the world” reflects Christian mindfulness, walking with God step by step in the moment. It is not the way I used to be, which was “in the world for God.” I depended way too much on my own strength and knowledge, hurrying back to God when things went wrong.
Abiding in God is the answer to Christian exhaustion and fear of failure. To do it is a matter of grace and a decision to notice when you have moved your mind away. We ask God to bring us back into His presence on a continual basis. Here’s an exercise that helps:
Stop and take a couple of deep breaths.
Pray “Come, Lord Jesus” or “Come, Holy Spirit. Ask God to help you return to His presence.
Listen to the sounds around you, identifying them. Pray a prayer of gratitude for what you hear.
Open your eyes to notice the colors, shapes and movement around you. Thank God for your sight and for what you see.
Ask the Lord to walk alongside you in the next thing you do.
Other Christian mindfulness practices to help you abide in Jesus are here.
I’m taking an excellent course on Dallas Willard‘s “Life Without Lack,” taught by his associate Jan Johnson. This week I am meditating on this prayer that Willard wrote. I wanted to share it and to encourage you to read the book.
Christian mindfulness is all about filling our lives and minds with Jesus. We do this through intentional practices and through continually returning our thoughts to Him. We seek to keep His face ever before us.
It’s not easy. It is 99% grace and 1% intention. God fills us with joy and peace as we open ourselves up to Him. As Ruth Haley Barton puts it, we go from “in the world for God” to “in God for the world.”
Lord, minister to me by your Spirit. Come into my heart and mind, and release me from all inward tension and anxiety.
Hold before my mind the truth that I have nothing to fear from Satan, for you have defeated him; all I must do is fill my life and my mind with you.
Remind me often, especially in the midst of difficulty, that you, who are in me, are greater than he who is in the world.
Help me to carry this truth with me as I contemplate the awesome reality of the spiritual battle taking place, a battle that, perhaps in our time, is moving perceptively closer to its climax.
Give me the vision of you who are: our Father who art in heaven, the Shepherd in whose presence there is no lack, so I may have the confidence and power to love and to live as Jesus lived.
In his name, Amen.
Dallas Willard, “Life Without Lack”
For more information on the “Life With Lack” course, click here. I am just a student, not affiliated with the course in any way. For more information on Ruth Haley Barton’s books and other resources, click here.
When that happens, I know it’s time for me to sit up and listen. It’s usually the Lord speaking.
This week I’ve had synchronicity around the idea of growing so close to the Lord that I can reflect His love to others. As Mother Teresa always said, we start with the people in front of us. Yes, pray for others. But also become aware that God may ask you to be the answer to their prayers.
Spiritual formation begins and ends with love. … The way of Christ is not about earning righteousness or self-development. It’s the total transformation of the human personality into the likeness of Jesus Christ: body, mind, heart and soul.
When the Spirit awakens us with his love, we come to see ourselves utterly known and loved by God. There’s nothing we can do to make him love us more, and there’s nothing we can do to make him love us less.
The best way to start your day is to practice the presence of Jesus as you wake up in bed. Here are five quick ways to bring Christian mindfulness to the first minutes of your morning.
Choose a gentle alarm clock. For decades, I woke up to the sound of ocean waves in a sunrise simulation alarm clock similar to this one.
Once your eyes are open, say: “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Breathe deeply: In to the count of three. Hold for the count of four. Exhale for the count of five. Do this as needed until you feel centered, thanking God for the gift of breath.
If you are sleeping beside a spouse, a child or even a pet, pray a prayer of gratitude for them.
Listen to the sounds of the house and the world outside. Again thank God for the new day.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and world-renowned mindfulness teacher, has a strong, but streamlined, message. While this makes many of his books somewhat repetitive, “Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life” is one of the best.
The book has 5 stars with 971 ratings on Amazon and 4.3 stars with 27,191 ratings on GoodReads. If you only read one book by Thich Nhat Hanh, this is it.
Thich Nhat Hanh divided this book into three sections:
Breathe! You Are Alive
Transformation and Healing
Peace Is Every Step
Packed with mindfulness exercises, the book contains several ideas that especially spoke to me. He writes about the Eucharist as a practice of awareness of the presence of Christ, which it truly is.
He calls often for us to look more deeply, especially at people who we find repulsive. We do not know what we could have become had we lived that other person’s life, Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us.
What we need to work on is transforming ourselves into a light. “When you have become fresh and pleasant, the other person will notice soon,” he writes.
“When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight. When you see in yourself the wish that the other person would stop suffering, that is the beginning of real love.”
Amen to that. For other reviews on Christian mindfulness resources, click here.
God is sovereign, even if we don’t understand what He is doing and fear the results. For more thoughts on hope in a time of pandemic and protest, click here.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said: “Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its size? Surely you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves stop?
The pandemic has made us more mindful about our hands. We take much more care about what our fingers touch. And we wash our hands more thoroughly and more often. This heightened awareness can be coupled with the following Christian mindfulness exercise.
Put something on your dominant hand, like a Band-Aid, a different ring or a mark with a pen. This will help you notice your hands more frequently during this exercise.
Then, when you touch something or someone, do it with intentional kindness. Be gentle and aware. Feel grateful for the things you touch. Feel love for the people you are touching.
Think of the kind touch of Jesus. He reached out to the leper. He created furniture and bowls from wood. He did it all with love. With His grace, we can bring more love to our daily round.
Another Christian mindfulness practice involving touch during the pandemic is here.
Jesus had a lot of respect for his cousin, John the Baptist, saying, “Among those born of woman, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” His mother probably told him about her participation in the birth.
I’ve always thought that God was gracious to Mary to guide her to visit her elderly relative, Elizabeth, and her unborn baby. The unborn John the Baptist told his mom via the Holy Spirit that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah.
That allowed the two women who were experiencing miraculous pregnancies to talk about the implications for three months. I’m sure it helped prepare Mary to go face Joseph and the rest of Nazareth as an unmarried pregnant girl.
John the Baptist lived out in nature. Perhaps that was the only way he could commune so deeply with God.
Once he started his ministry, he also started looking for someone. Which one was the Messiah? Did his mother already tell him it was his relative Jesus? Did Jesus and John have a friendship as children? On this, the Bible is silent.
There are so many things that I’d love to know, and I’m happy to believe that all my questions will eventually be answered. Just as all the questions of John the Baptist were.
John Eldredge released “Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad” in February. Then the world went madder.
The only real advice that went out of date by March were the steps to unplug from technology overload. Toning it down is smart, but technology has proven its value during the pandemic.
Otherwise, Eldredge encourages:
Inserting multiple One-Minute (or longer) Pauses in our day.
Turning everyone and everything over to God through benevolent detachment.
Being kind to yourself.
Enjoying the beauty of nature often.
Eldredge is an outdoorsman who lived in Colorado with acreage, mountains and horses. His ways of seeking Christian mindfulness reflect that.
Overall, the book on Christian mindfulness practices is a gentle read. It has a 5-star review from nearly 300 people on Amazon and a 4.6-star review from 380 people on GoodReads. Eldredge also created an app, One Minute Pause, for the exercises in the book.
The book encouraged me to use benevolent detachment multiple times a day, particularly as a new opening to my nightly examen practice.
Christian mindfulness enjoins you to police your own thoughts, behaviors, spending habits and other actions with an eye to observing God’s law, while trusting in God’s mercy to shower forth love and forgiveness — even on those who have hurt you, or who oppose you politically, or whose moral values are at odds with your own.
If Jesus could ask God to forgive those who crucified Him, even though we have no reason to believe that they asked for God’s forgiveness, shouldn’t you ask God’s forgiveness for all those whose behavior doesn’t meet with your approval?
Carl McColman, “The Big Book of Christian Mysticism”
Social distancing can result in upsetting conversations over Zoom and via social media. This is particularly true when we reach out to others who are upset, one way or the other, over systemic racism and/or the pandemic and/or everything.
Working with the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, we can detox from these conversations to return to deep inner peace. It involves, first, identifying how we are feeling. Angry? Disgusted? Sad?
Rather than running away or ignoring the feeling, accept it. Lift it up to the Holy Spirit in prayer. Gently listen to your own thoughts in Christian mindfulness, returning to deep breathing and the Jesus prayer when needed.
Next, calm your feelings. Ask Jesus to be with you as you take care of yourself like you would take care of an upset child. Be fully mindful of your own state. Remember: God is here. God is now. He is with you in your pain and sorrow.
As you calm down, release the emotion to God. As you release, listen. Do you hear a message about something you should do or not do? Did this upset come from a sin area or a false way that you see yourself or the world?
Just keep calming and releasing the problem to God, being willing to do His will. If you are listening in humility, God will be there in a transformational way.
Walking in Christian mindfulness through ongoing pandemic and racial injustice requires faith that abiding in Jesus will bring us peace. In reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Peace Is Every Step,” I found that Buddhists believe achieving inner peace is necessary to achieving a peaceful world.
In the introduction, the Dalai Lama writes: “Although attempting to bring about world peace through internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way. Wherever I go, I express this, and I am encouraged that people from many different walks of life receive it well. Peace must first be developed within an individual. And I believe that love, compassion and altruism are the fundamental basis for peace.”
As a Christian, I think we achieve true inner peace by abiding in Jesus. For me, His graces are necessary to overcoming my anxious nature. All the Christian mindfulness exercises I do … and the Buddhist exercises that I adapt … are ways to practice opening the door to God.
An explanation of the differences between Buddhist mindfulness and Christian mindfulness is here.
Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is within us. I do agree that prayer, study and Christian mindfulness practices help us all to walk left-foot, right-foot with God in love, compassion and altruism.
To expect that we cannot achieve peace until everyone is on that path is sad. But I do agree with the Buddhists that inner transformation makes outer peace easier. To be like Jesus … willing to meet people where they are in love … is the path forward.
Living in a fallen world has been especially tough this year. Anger, fear, anxiety … it’s all fallout from a time of protest and pandemic. Brokenness is all around us as well as within us.
I was feeling worried and weary recently. Then Jesus reminded me of a great truth: He wants me to be at peace and without fear. The only way I can do that in a fallen world is to keep my focus on Him.
Focusing on the presence of Jesus gives us strength to do what we need to do. Jesus wants us to live without fear, and He gives us the ability to do that. But we have to focus on Him.
That doesn’t mean that we ignore the pandemic or the issues that are causing the protests. We seek Jesus first, and He gives us all the strength, courage and wisdom we need to do what is right. And he gives us joy and peace as we abide in Him.
“The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” — Zephaniah 3:17
Today is National Get Outdoors Day for 2020. It’s a good time to think back: Do you remember the endless summers of your childhood? I loved mine.
Is there something from those days that you can bring back into your routine? Swimming pools? Old movies on hot afternoons? Reading in a homemade tent in the back yard? Making real lemonade?
The summer ahead is going to be a little odd. Our neighborhood swimming pool is closed, and many of the regular adventures are curtailed. But we can buy a blow-up pool for the back porch to cool our feet in!
We can also take devotionals and prayer books to the woods or to a metro garden to spend time worshipping God within His creation.
Make a plan to do something outdoors to bring back those wonderful summers. After all, we don’t know how many summers we each have left.
Walking in Christian mindfulness in the presence of Jesus looks a certain way. We are each individuals, but consistencies exist. The Bible details them.
Here’s a list of what it looks like to live in God’s presence, put together by Ken Boa and Jenny Abel in their free PDF, “A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence.”
They suggest that we start by picking one of the descriptions below. Put on a card and keep it by our beds. Meditate on this verse morning and evening, asking God to help you live it.
Here are the suggested verses:
Abide in Jesus. (John 15:45)
Love God and your neighbor. (Matthew 22:37-40)
Set your mind on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5-6)
Walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16,25)
Set your heart on the things above. (Colossians 3:1-2)
Rejoice always. (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
Pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Run the race of life with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Submit yourself to God. (Romans 12:1-2)
Press on toward the goal. (Philippians 3:12-14)
Dwell on whatever is excellent and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:6-8)
Remember God. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
Other resources to support your Christian mindfulness journey are listed here.
Pretty is as pretty does. You are what you eat. You are a child of God. Who are you anyway?
Many of us see ourselves as our accomplishments, our talents, our work. This can lead to anendless effort to be better and more. Even those who create good work on God’s behalf can fall into this trap.
Charts and lists exist that outline the components of our identity in God. All very helpful, but this is something different: a quick exercise to see what you think and to invite God to comment on that.
Take about a minute to center yourself with breathing and the Jesus prayer.
Then ask yourself, “Who am I besides the work I do?”
Listen to what comes up.
Quiet yourself again and take those responses before the Lord. See if He guides you toward any thoughts.
Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Romans 12-9-15
Unity is a gift from God, one that Jesus zealously prayed for at the Last Supper. I am blessed to belong to a racially diverse church, and we are diverse politically as well. For some in this large congregation, this is a time of testing. We are being encouraged to divorce our political affiliations and follow Jesus in a deeper manner. For the whites of our church, this means repenting of our nation’s racism against African-Americans and other people of color.
How do we encourage each other to make this move? I believe the first step is to strengthen our confidence in God. That allows us to move empathetically toward those who have had the wind knocked out of them.
Of course, this includes all people who were shocked by George Floyd’s murder. And all the people who know that this is just the latest in hundreds of years of violence (by law enforcement and regular citizens) against African-Americans in our country. But also … all the white evangelicals who thought God sent Trump to end abortion.
Let us be humble enough to understand that we all have a lot to learn. Let us weep with those who weep. Let us speak our truth with respect to those who struggle to understand. Let us listen without defensiveness.
Jesus wants unity, and he is well aware of His followers’ sins and frailties. He wants unity anyway. Let’s start with a prayer of repentance. Here’s mine:
Father, I am before you, a descendant of slave owners. I have always known that racism is wrong, and I have worked all my career to help those impacted by racism and systemic poverty. Working in Mississippi, I came in conflict with the Ku Klux Klan. I was called names, put on a “death list” and followed. I was scared. Yet I was so proud of myself. I was so sure that people like me would put everything right in a few years. I was wrong.
I confess to you, Lord, that I never think about my privilege as a white person, unless someone directly points it out. As the mother of a son with schizophrenia, I never worried that police would just shoot my son if he had an episode. I never had a talk with my kids about what to do when police pull you over. While I have experienced first-hand the discrimination against women in the workplace, I thought much of the prejudice against African-Americans was handled by laws and affirmation action. I was wrong.
I never thought, Lord, about how African-Americans were arrested on bogus charges to become the prison labor that rebuilt the South after the Civil War. I never realized our laws have lead to mass incarceration, leading to one in 3 African-American man experiencing incarceration. I knew from my own experience covering law enforcement about racist cops and bad judges. But I thought that was changing fast. I was wrong.
Those wrongs are sins.
I repent Lord for myself and my country. I want to change. I want to love people more and fight for the right. Show me how to be humble in conversation, how to listen without defensiveness, how to love as Jesus did. Your Holy Spirit will be with me to make the change I need and take the steps you want me to take. Thank you for that. Amen.
First of all, my child, think magnificently of God. Magnify His providence. Adore His power. Pray to Him frequently and incessantly. Bear Him always in your mind. Teach your thoughts to reverence Him in every place for there is no place where He is not. Therefore, my child, fear and worship and love God. First and last, think magnificently of Him.
Christian mindfulness is becoming aware of the presence of God as you focus on your daily life moment by moment. But what are we thinking about God as we wash the dishes, sit on a Zoom call or make shrimp salad?
I’m taking a class called Life Without Lack that challenges me to think about how magnificent God is. We are practicing doing ordinary things with an awareness of God’s creativity, His love for us and His immense being that none of us have any chance of fully understanding.
The teacher, Jan Johnson, worked closely with the late Dallas Willard, a famed man of God who taught philosophy. The goal is to find the serene balance that Jesus advocated of turning away from worry and fear. Of approaching God with the trust of a little child. Of letting the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
One of the things that Jan has suggested is praying for God to invade your life. She suggests starting by thinking of three things you are going to do in the next 24 hours and agreeing that God will invade them. He will be with you as you pull weeds, cook squash and attend on-line church. And you can ponder about how magnificant He is.
Buzzes, bells and song fragments go off on our phones on a constant basis. Before COVID-19, I made a conscious effort to reduce my notifications, read my email once a day, and turn off the sound on my phone while otherwise engaged.
The pandemic and the demonstrations in support of racial justice have changed that for me. I look at my email when I get up. I turned on many notifications, and the sound on my phone is usually on. I also check social media more frequently. I want to know what’s going on.
The average American consumes more than 10 hours of media a day, a figure that has probably gone up in the pandemic. This level of outside noise and frequent interruption does rattle us. Eventually I plan to work to reduce my phone’s dominance in my life.
Until then, I am going to focus on training myself to take three deep breaths when a notification goes off. I will pray “Lord Jesus, I know you are present.” Then I will look at the notification or even take the call. That will reestablish the presence of Jesus around me as I learn about the latest developments.
Training to respond mindfully to a sound is also a good step in building the habit of taking a deep breath and centering ourselves when any interruption happens. (Bell or no bell.). I know this will keep me in the spirit of Christian mindfulness even more over time.
Live from Rest is a Bible-based Christian meditation app that’s free and easy to use.
You can create dozens of meditation sessions in a variety of categories: shorts, rest, gratitude, centering, family, mindfulness, 12 steps, freedom and songs. The app allows you to set the duration, the backing music or sounds, and the option to have focus bells.
Live from Rest has a choice of four voices to offer some of the meditations. Bible verses and themes are used in all the guided meditations. You can also use the app as a timer for silent meditation.
Lucinda Smith is the source, who provides her story and testimony on the Live from Rest website.
The Resources page contains a list of other apps, online resources and books to support your Christian mindfulness practice.
Just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time, we also must learn to trust God one circumstance at a time.
Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings, but of my will. The truth we must believe is that God is sovereign. He carries out His own good purposes without ever being thwarted.
Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him.
We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache, disappointment and frustration. This is a natural desire, and God has promised to give us grace sufficient for our trials and peace for our anxieties.
We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we don’t understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some circumstance.
Evil would want us to think the worst about who we are, so we would have that behind our eyes as we looked at our neighbor. Jesus would want us to see the best of who we are, so we would be able to see the best of our neighbor. You can be an accuser or an advocate. Evil would have you be an accuser in this life. Jesus would have you be an advocate for your neighbor.
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11
My pastor asked us to study these words this week. They are Peter’s words to a group of Christians who are undergoing persecution and far from home.
It’s fair to say that it can feel like the world is being upended. Just today we had demonstrations downtown that resulted in our City Council president, county commissioner and Congresswoman getting pepper sprayed.
As we live life on the edge of eternity, we are called to pray alertly, love eagerly and be available to be hospitable without complaint. We make decisions not based on our own wishes, but on what is loving. And we try to use our gifts in a way that draws attention to God, rather than to our own ambitions.
That’s a high calling. It would be hard if we had to do it by ourselves. But God has always given us the power and graces to represent Him. The more we open ourselves to it, the most power we receive.
I am angry after watching the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. I am angry watching a public health crisis become a political statement about “freedom.” It’s been a bad week. Prayer and Christian mindfulness are a path back to peace.
In the book “Renew Your Life,” Kai Mark Nilsen, lead pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, Ohio, offers a practice that can help. He calls it “the daily walk.”
As a daily exercise, use each phase of the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi as a lens to view your relationships and your behavior. Throughout the day, repeat the phase and find ways to demonstrate it to others. At the end of the day, think about how you have done. You can rotate through the phases or concentrate on one for a long time.
Oh Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, fear.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
The entire prayer is here. I’m concentrating on the first section. Hope this helps. Another prayer for the pandemic is here.
What does it mean to live in the world with a truly compassionate heart, a heart that remains open to all people at all times? It is very important to realize the compassion is more than sympathy or empathy.
When we are asked to listen to the pains of people, and empathize with their suffering, we soon reach our emotional limits. We can listen only for a short time and only to a few people.
In our society we are bombarded with so much “news” about human misery that our hearts easily get numbed simply because of the overload. But God’s compassionate heart does not have limits. God’s heart is greater, infinitely greater, than the human heart.
It is that divine heart that God wants to give to us so that we can love all people without burning out or becoming numb.
American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the famous Serenity Prayer in 1932-33. People immediately loved it. Niebuhr used it in at least two sermons around 1943 and included in a 1951 magazine column. Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs adopted it and gave it the title “Serenity Prayer” in 1955.
The prayer for the 1930s and 1940s seems to have included its initial … and most famous … verses. The request for “courage” did come before the request for “serenity” in the early versions.
By 1951, the prayer had two verses, which are both beautiful to pray:
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Take some time today to sit with this prayer as we seek wisdom in the pandemic.
Hope Mindfulness and Prayer app presents mindfulness and meditation in Christian form. As the narrator describes it in the opening video, “Meditation is the ship, and Jesus is the captain.”
This app … use the whole name as other apps are also shortened to Hope … has a five-star rating with 105 reviews in the Apple app store. It’s an especially good app for beginners in Christian mindfulness. The graphics are well done, and it’s easy to navigate.
The 12-day guide called the Foundation for the practices is free. Getting the other meditations costs you a subscription, which is $10 a month or $70 a year.
If you pay that, you get access to hundreds of meditations in these categories:
Life (anxiety, stress, purpose, self-esteem, loneliness, disappointment)
Rest (sleep and relaxation)
Carpe Diem (energy, creativity, balance, productivity)
Moments (being single, healing a broken heart, marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, divorce)
Difficulty (delays, fear of flying, test taking, public speaking, talking to a crush)
Sports and Recreation (training, motivation)
Mastery
Kids sleep stories
I couldn’t find much information on who created the app. It does gamify meditation with awards. Other apps for Christian mindfulness and meditation are listed on the Resources page here.
How can we celebrate Memorial Day in a spirit of Christian mindfulness? First, we bring the presence of Jesus to our cookouts. Even if the crowd is smaller this year, we can offer love to all who gather.
Memorial Day is a good time to share your family’s history with the newest generation. Take a look at the old pictures you have. The picture above is from a family picnic 60 years ago. My Dad is holding me. My granddaughter is named after my mother, who is holding my baby sister.
Your family, like mine, may have a history of military service.
Praying over that service is a good aspect to the day:
Oh God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their lives in service of their country. Grant that through the passion, death and resurrection of your Son they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom and rejoice in you with your saints forever.
We lift up those who survived their service and still feel its impact in their emotions. May the peace of God come to these men and women.
We also lift up those who suffer most from war: the homeless, the orphaned, the hungry and the innocent. May they challenge us to turn from warlike ways and accept God’s gift of peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God of Light, you sent your Son into the darkness of our night, and raised him to your glory; not to abandon us to grief, but to teach us to prepare in joy for his return.
We pray for all who have no hope, that they may find it in the lights of your Spirit, according to the promise of Jesus, our Lord.
Come, Holy Spirit, send forth the heavenly radiance of your light. Cleanse that which is unclean, water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded.
Today is the commemoration of Ascension Day, when Jesus rose up through the clouds and into heaven. Here’s a few ideas for celebrating the day and preparing for Pentecost on May 31.
Pray for outreach and missionaries. Before Jesus in physical form left the planet, he asked his disciples to spread the word about his willingness to atone for people’s sins so they could be in the presence of the Holy God when they died.
Pack a picnic. Go outside to enjoy the sky and the clouds. If it’s pouring down rain, try it on the weekend.
Begin nightly contemplations or family discussion on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s a good way to prepare for Pentecost. The gifts are:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of God
Fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The world is starting to open up a little. We may see people at least six feet away with a mask on, or we see them on a computer screen. Our strange circumstances call from more Christian mindfulness than ever.
Today, remember that God has an agenda for your time. It includes who you meet. Try to see each person as a divine appointment. God has put this person on your path. You can have the intention to respond in grace.
This is tough for me this week because I inadvertently set off a storm of criticism for my decision to wear a mask on a social media channel. I became the “COVID-19 police.” People used my name “Karen” in meme vain. That ticked me off. I had to fight off encouraging these folks who refuse to wear masks because they are “free” to hug a coughing person. But the Lord kept my fingers away from the keyboard until I calmed down.
Instead, I should have remembered that I did not meet them online by accident. God put them in my pathway. God was working in them in some way, and I needed to determine how I could best show God’s love to them.
If we can practice doing this for a few days, we may find ourselves in a more pleasant world. Let’s give it a try.
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart's desire.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;
do not fret at the man who prospers;
a man who makes evil plots
to bring down the needy and the poor.
Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.
A little longer -- and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.
Psalm 37: 1-11
Hallow is a comprehensive app for contemplative prayer and Christian meditation. Listed as the No. 1 Catholic app, its rich resources provide good material for Christians of any denomination.
The app has close to 500 sessions. When you download it, you are asked to pick areas that you are interested in, such as daily Gospel, night prayer and meditation, or prayer lists, which are topics with multiple prayers and teachings.
The app also includes the Rosary, the examen, lector divine, spiritual journaling and chantings. Hallow allows us to build a community with friends and family. It also offers a habit tracker, journal and notifications.
The home page of the app includes a prayer plan filled with options based on your choices and a group of minute meditations.
Hallow has received a 4.9 rating from 8,700 users on Apple. It’s $8.99 a month or $60 a year with the first three months free (and the ability to cancel.)
As the world starts to reopen and the pandemic still continues, it’s easy to get distracted and to lose focus on the presence of Jesus.
This simple Christian mindfulness practice can move you back into the present moment and rekindle gratitude for God’s gifts to us.
Just close your eyes and breathe deeply three times. When you open your eyes, concentrate on what you see. Name the colors of things in the space around you. Thank God for each color that he created. God is the source of the color wheel, and even colors we can see. Thank Him for His creativity!
We are not the only ones who benefit when we practice Christian mindfulness day after day. Experiencing the presence of Jesus comforts and changes us, so we become better co-workers, neighbors, family members and friends. We become lamps on the table in a very dark place.
The world is out of control. People face uncertainty and fear. In the midst of a long-term, ongoing crisis, people notice when someone else is at peace. It is a significant witness in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Our attitudes show our trust in God.
In 2 Corinthians 1:5-7, Paul writes that those of us who experience God’s comfort are not just storehouses. We don’t just enjoy the experience. We are conduits that share that comfort with others … sometimes through purposeful ministry, sometime just in daily interactions with others.
Practicing the presence of Jesus brings peace to more than just us. It can show the world a safe path in a challenging time.
Practicing gratitude every Thursday changes our attitude all week. When we start to look for just five things to be grateful for, we can enjoy the joyful feeling of Thanksgiving all year long.
It helps to keep a list … easy to access in your day … where you write down the good things that happen as they happen. Good things do happen as long as we are on Earth and under God’s care. The sky, the sun and the stars can inspire at least three of the five things. On really bad days, it’s also OK to be grateful that the day is over.
This practice transforms our attitude into something more positive. This article from positivepsychology.com talks in depth about how gratitude impacts anxiety and other difficult issues. Particularly when we are experiencing unhappy times, it’s refreshing to look for the good all around us.
Scheduling a Thanksgiving time for every Thursday creates a special focus on gratitude that lightens up the week. As part of weekly Thanksgiving, consider sharing your gratitude list with your family or a good friend. It helps us all to see the true reality rather than just the dark clouds.
Listen very careful to the sounds around you. Even silence has sounds.
Take five minutes or more to listen. What do you hear? Beloved voices? Music you’ve been stuck with via the kids? The purr of cat or the snore of a dog?
When you listen, you can hear more. It’s also reportedly good for calming your spirit. Listening to silence brings you peace. Listening lets the Lord speak quietly to your soul.
A helpful free app for these and other difficult times is One-Minute Pause from John Eldredge, a counselor, teacher and author.
The app provides “a place to develop the practice of pausing and releasing everyone and everything to God.” This is part of what Eldredge calls “benevolent detachment.”
Users take a pause for 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes. As the app is set up, a user must do a specific number of the shorter pauses before moving up in time. It also provides a reminder function that can alert you of a time you set to take a pause.
During the pauses, Eldredge helps users with the prayer: “Jesus, I give everyone and everything to you.”
The app stems from Eldredge’s book, “Get Your Life Back: Everything Practices in a World Gone Mad,” which was just published in February. The practices include kindness, outdoor activities and reduction in use of technology, as well as the one-minute pause and benevolent detachment. The book is highly rated on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble.
Essays on benevolent detachment, union with God and healing the soul also are available on the app.
Eldredge created the app before the coronavirus pandemic. He has placed a message of encouragement about the quarantine on the app. It contains one of the wisest messages about the pandemic that I’ve heard: “The world is frankly no more uncertain than it ever was. And God remains absolutely as certain as He ever was.”
The Proverbs 31 woman was not controlled by her circumstances and the demands of her family, her household or her home business. She was ruler of her attitudes, her time and her schedule. Her relationship with God was central. All that she became was the result of her yielding to His sovereign control.
Making a decision to spend your money in ways that help your neighbors — that’s one good outcome from the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s a time when everything we do takes on added significance. I last felt this way when I lived in rural Mississippi in the 1970s. I wanted my actions and statements to help reverse racism. Today I want them to help people around me to keep going. All this flows from Christian mindfulness.
Today we are ordering carry-out from restaurants we like and want to stay open. We are planning to buy things from local shopkeepers so they can stay in business. We are making contributions to help our neighbors keep food on the table. We are making more intentional use of our money.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, I was somewhat involved in the voluntary simplicity and back-to-the-land movements. One of the hallmarks of both was making a decision to reduce overconsumption. We were taught: There are two ways to have money. Work more or spend less. Another great lesson was to ensure that you were spending money in a way that reflected your values.
Many of us are doing more of that today. Let’s take a look at how we have spent money in the last 30 days. As the country begins to reopen gradually, can we focus more on buying things from our neighbors instead of enriching Amazon? For example, here’s a list of ways to get local food from farmers from each state. A 30-day Amazon diet that helps local shops and workers could be a good experiment for us all.
Today on the National Day of Prayer, let’s meditate on Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee. This great idea came from an online retreat I attended last week with Jan Johnson through Renovare.
Jesus is the passenger with a beard and some light around his head sitting to the right side of the painting. Who are you in this picture? Are you the disciples working the sails to try to keep the ship afloat? The disciple getting sick over the side? The disciple in brown crouched low at Jesus’ feet? Or the ones talking to him about the situation?
And what do you want to say to Jesus about the storm today?
Mr. Rogers walked with Jesus moment by moment. He focused all his energy on the most important thing: what was happening in the present moment. He was very intentional about how he spent his time.
By all accounts, he was a Christian who began each day with prayer and Bible study. Then he further centered by swimming laps. He worked to walk with Jesus, welcoming children into both of their presences because “of such is the kingdom of God.” Mr. Rogers listened to His Lord, loving his neighbor unconditionally.
I scanned various interviews and stories to see if Fred Rogers ever talked about Christian mindfulness specifically. He and those writing about him described it in his life, but not by name.
Nonetheless, I am certain that this ordained Presbyterian minister embodies the practice. He helped the imprisoned by working to create child-friendly spaces for visitation. He visited the sick by working alongside medical professionals to minimize trauma among child patients. He cared for those who were right in front of him, even if they were actually sitting in front of a television miles away.
Both the movie and the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” provide a vivid portrait of Christian mindfulness, practicing the presence of God moment to moment with full attention. I highly recommend both.
We may live with COVID-19 for months or years. Attempts to protect the health care systems seem to have worked in the United States, except my beloved New York City. Hospitals there have been overwhelmed.
How do we walk in Christian mindfulness as the world begins to slowly reopen? The virus will still be with us, and we must learn to walk with Jesus in a new kind of reality.
The first step is to stay in the day. For most of us, God has provided all we need for today.
The second step is to listen. If we do, we will find that God expects us to feed the hungry. Here’s what Feeding America has to say about this.
Those of us who have not been seriously impacted need to prayfully consider God’s call on us to help. Today, let’s take some time to look around our homeland’s situation and find a new way to help.
God talks about birds more than a dozen times in the Bible. He encourages us to study birds to learn more about our relationship with Him. And he even compares us to birds. Isaiah 40:31 says: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”
This is a very good time to hope in the Lord. Since we are at home more than ever, we can get acquainted with our neighborhood birds by putting up bird houses or taking up bird watching in the front yard.
While watching, consider meditating on these verses:
Luke 12:24: Consider the ravens. They do not sow or reap. They have no storeroom or barn. Yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Matthew 10:16: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Matthew 10:29: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
Psalm 50:11: I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
Job 12:7-10: But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Psalm 84: 3: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Jeremiah 8:7: Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the times of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
Developing the daily habit of offering up a sentence-long prayer at specific times is a common suggestion. Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel, authors of the free-pdf “A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence,” call these “flash prayers” or “arrow prayers.”
Use your own Jesus prayer or one of these suggestions:
Come, Lord Jesus.
Holy Spirit, act through me.
I thank you in all things.
This is the day that you have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
May I love and serve you and others today.
I love you, Lord.
Of course, you can also write your own prayer. Just make it easy to memorize.
You can use this prayer at various times through the day. One way to remind yourself is to set a subtle alarm for times. Other times to use flash prayers include:
Even the hard times contain blessings as well as fear. Abiding in Jesus through the pandemic involves accepting the path as it is and moving forward. If we do this, we will learn much about God and ourselves.
The Lord promises that walking in His Presence is a well-planned and well-staffed operation. “For He shall give His angels charge of over, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone,” says Psalm 91: 11-12.
So, if we are discouraged about the impact of the pandemic on our bank accounts, our families and our dreams, we can be sure that God is with us. Look for the blessings, and pray out your gratitude. And be sure to thank God for those angels who are with you right now.
Under the authority of God’s word, we know we are his children, our names engraved on the palms of His hands. He knows how we feel. He knows what obstacles we face, and He will be with us.
The Abide app was the first recommendation I received from a friend when she discovered my interest in both Christian mindfulness and the use of apps for insomnia. I now share her enthusiasm.
Abide, which costs about $40 a year for the premium version, has a wide array of Christian meditations, teachings and stories for all times of the day. It’s reportedly the #1 Christian mediation app.
The team creating Abide is Carpenters Code, a small group of former Google employees who decided to use their abilities to serve God. Their mission is to allow the world to experience the peace of Christ through Biblical meditation.
The daily guided meditations, found on the Home screen, come in lengths of 2, 5, 10 and 15 minutes, to suit our schedules.
The home or “Today” page also offer links to meditations for sleep, anxiety and emotions. A journal is on the page as well. Under the Sleep menu, Bible stories, meditations, psalms, material for children and other non-fiction meditations are available.
The Topics menus offers a variety of materials for dealing with emotions, growing spiritually, seeking guidance, healing, praying in the morning, offering thanks and more. The guides are short courses on topics including marriage, grief, money, parenting and more.
I’ve just gotten started with Abide, but so far, I highly recommend it.
Lord, help us to see that our well-being is inextricably bound to the well-being of our neighbor. Our sorrows are shared. Our longings are shared. Our fears are shared. Enable us also to share compassion, patience and courage today. Amen.
Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro
The joy of the Lord is my strength. That is something I need to remember in this phase of the pandemic, when it feels like I am running out of steam. I now have insomnia, the result of many nightmares about bad people trying to break into my house. (Very subtle, subconscious.) This tests my ability to practice Christian mindfulness, but in the end, it will strengthen it.
The Lord knows that many of us are starting to wear out. Any initial burst of adrenaline and interest in the uniqueness of the situation are gone. That can be good news.
God is our strength, always there when we are not feeling strong enough to take on a difficult challenge. This pandemic is not even in the Top 5 of bad things that I have experienced. So I know, looking back, that God gives you the strength. But we have to ask for it.
Only by connecting with the Lord in times of quiet and prayer … as well as practicing the presence of God moment to moment … will the strength and the joy flow through us. Calling on the name of Jesus hour by hour, even minute by minute, will build that connection. That is what Christian mindfulness is all about. For more on that, click here.
As Paul writes in Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
The Christian Mindfulness YouTube Channel is an active source for meditations and prayers. Updated regularly, Richard HH Johnston started the channel in 2009. Johnston speaks with a Scottish accent and operates the channel and its website, Christian Mindfulness, from the United Kingdom.
He is currently doing a Gospel Diamonds series in which he “looks at the beauty of the gospel from different angles.” The series, like much of the other material on the site, is deliberately simple in production value.
Johnston writes on the website that he created the materials based on more than 20 years of mindfulness, meditation and contemplative practice. He also provides online courses, certificates, workshops and retreats on Christian Mindfulness, contemplation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
He noted that his materials integrate biblical theory, contemplative practices and the latest scientific studies in mindfulness, meditation and CBT.
The breath prayer is a common practice in Christian mindfulness or contemplation. A variation that helps during a pandemic or just daily life is to ask for the grace, knowledge or virtue you need at this moment in the prayer.
When you feel frightened, overwhelmed or unsure, sit or stand quietly for a few seconds. Then start your breath prayer. “Come, Lord Jesus” or “Come, Holy Spirit” work well if you want to create a prayer.
Inhale saying your breath prayer. Then exhale naming what you need, such as:
Come, Lord Jesus. Bring me patience.
Come, Holy Spirit. Grant me the wisdom to deal with this.
This is the 50th Earth Day that I have celebrated. In 1970, I was involved in creating the Earth Day celebration at Westerville High School. And I’ve celebrated ever since.
This Earth Day, I wonder if God is telling us something about how we are taking advantage of the earth by showing us what happens when we stop. The air is cleaner. Wildlife is peeking out. Lions are sleeping on the roads of African national parks.
Does man impact earth and cause climate change? I think this unintended experiment shows us just how much that is true. Did God allow this pandemic to demonstrate this? Is the Earth sick of us?
Simple Living Works is a blog and podcast that has roots dating back to the voluntary simplicity movement in the 1970s. Its latest episode was a discussion about whether this pandemic proves that only huge dramatic events will steer humans away from destroying our environment.
Let us call for blessing on the Earth on this day:
I remember watching filmstrips about the liberation of the concentration camps in Europe in elementary school in the early and mid-1960s. I thought that the Holocaust happened very long ago among heathen peoples. Looking back, I know what I saw had happened only a decade or so in the past. The heathens thought they were civilized, even superior, people.
Today is Yom HaShoah, the time to remember the Holocaust. It’s time for me to remember how many people who thought they were good Christians participated … actively or passively … in it. As the eyewitnesses leave this Earth, we must all remember and fight those who want to deny reality.
O God, we are conscious that many centuries of blindness have blinded our eyes so that we no longer see the beauty of your chosen people, nor recognize in their faces the features of our privileged brothers and sisters.
We realize that the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads.
Across the centuries our brother Abel has lain in blood which we drew or which we caused to be shed by forgetting your love.
Forgive us for the curse we falsely attached to their name as Jews.
Forgive us for crucifying you a second time in their flesh.
God of Abraham and of Moses, we pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear your world.
As you have made them your own, so make them continue to grow in love of your name and in faithfulness to your covenant.
You are our God, living and reigning, for ever and ever. Amen
No matter how isolated we all feel, God is with us in quarantine. This unique time in history creates an opportunity. We can choose to practice Christian mindfulness. We can feel the presence of God moment by moment during these days of pandemic.
Romans 8: 38-39 famously reminds us:
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, no anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love go God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That’s true for a pandemic, too. God calls to us at this and every moment by our names. The quiet of quarantine gives us more of a chance to listen. As Sarah Young writes in Jesus Today:
“When world events are swirling around you and your personal world feels unsteady, don’t let your mind linger on those stressors. Tell yourself the truth: Yes this world is full of trouble, but Jesus is with me and He is in control.”
We need to move our focus from the pandemic to the presence of Jesus over and over again. “But Jesus is with me” is a good breath prayer. I use “Come Holy Spirit” repeatedly to move my mind from the present to the presence. Let’s all do this.
YouTube has a number of channels dedicated to Christian mindfulness. Calming Christian, from Dr. Dre Campbell, is aimed at providing God-centered tools to calm us down and help with symptoms of depression, anxiety and other challenges.
Dr. Dre has been uploading videos of guided prayer to the channel since 2016. His latest is a video specifically aimed at COVID-19 anxiety. It’s linked below.
I bought “The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality” at the Abbey at Gethsemani bookstore during a silent retreat. Honestly, I was worried that it would bore me. The book is, as promised, big and the type is small. I was so wrong.
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read about Christian spirituality. The author, Carl McColman, provides the history, philosophy and practical aspects of the contemplative Christian tradition. The appendices has lists of other books to read and Christians to learn about.
This is very supportive guidebook to growing a practice in this glorious and fulfilling type of Christianity, whether you call it contemplative, mystical mindful Christianity. I highly recommend it, and I expect to read it regularly, much more than once.
There will always be downslides and uncertainty. The goal is to live a full, productive life even with all this ambiguity. No matter what happens, I can control whether I am going to live a day in fear and depression and panic, or whether I am going to attack the day and make it as good a day, as wonderful a day, as I can.
Celebrating Easter Vigil with a Christian mindfulness approach helps the experience to become so much more alive, even during this unique pandemic experience.
We are facing the final illness of a beloved pet, Clarence, in the midst of this quarantine, as well as having a mother-in-law we can’t visit in an assisted living facility that has at least one coronavirus case. It is sad, yet we know that so many other people have it much worse. One benefit of this season is that I have been able to participate more fully in Lent and Holy Week than usual. The Lord is speaking to my heart.
Today He reminds me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). If we mindfully abide in Christ, he gives us the strength we need moment by moment. We need to move forward with our eyes on Him.
Today we renew our baptismal vows, decorate for Easter and make our Easter eggs. It is a day that, for more than two millennia, Christians have taken an attitude of watchfulness and prayer.
All-powerful and ever-loving God, your own Son went down among the dead and rose against in glory. In your goodness raise up your faithful people buried with him in baptism, to be one with him, in the eternal life of heaven.
Spend Good Friday with Jesus. Fast during the day, perhaps taking some soup at 11ish. Spend the hours between noon and 3 p.m. in prayer, spiritual reading and meditation before a candle. Blow out the candle at 3 p.m.
Let all my world be silent in your presence, Lord, so that I may hear what the Lord God may say in my heart. Your words are so softly spoken that no one can hear them except in a deep silence. But to hear them lifts him who sits alone and in silence completely above his natural powers, because he who humbles himself will be lifted up. He who sits alone and listens will be raised above himself.
Waking up in the night to think about the pandemic is common. It’s also another opportunity to use Christian mindfulness to enjoy the presence of the Lord.
Sleepless nights are a common problem going back to ancient times. David wrote about a solution to them in Psalm 63:6: “On my bed I remember you. I think of you through the watches of the night.”
The Lord has asked us to cast all our anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7) so He will support our efforts to turn our nighttime thoughts to Him.
Once you are awake, consciously work to turn your attention to prayer and worship. Listening to a playlist with worship music, either out loud or on ear buds, can help. Thinking through memorized Bible verses about God’s gifts of love, joy and peace can help. Just turning our attention to gratitude about God’s gifts also works.
As a prayer for Holy Week notes:
Through your Son you taught us, Father, not to be fearful of tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Do not withhold your Spirit from us but help us to find a life of peace after these days of trouble.
The wonderful people at Jesuit Media Initiatives have added Pray as You Stay to their Pray as You Go website and app. The support series is “aimed to support you during this time of self-isolation, uncertainty and fear, which we are all going through.”
So far, two weeks of prayer reflections have been posted. I’ve been using them in the evening before bed to help calm me down.
Like the daily Pray as You Go, the prayer reflections are between 10 and 13 minutes long, combining music, scripture and reflection. The aim is to help us all become more aware of God’s presence in our lives and to learn to listen to God’s word.
Way before things got weird, April 4 was declared Slow Art Day. I had not heard of this until I read a British magazine (The Simple Things) that said Slow Art Day is more than a decade old and celebrated worldwide. It’s the one day a year when museums and galleries invite visitors to linger … even stop … in front of works of art to observe them.
The article’s author, Susie Hodge, quoted Georgia O’Keefe on the need for slow art. She said she created her huge flower paintings because “Nobody sees a flower — really. It’s so small it takes time — we haven’t time — and to see takes time.”
We can’t go to a museum today, but we can look at pictures online. I have a Pinterest board called My Own Art Museum, filled with works of art that I enjoy. You might want to create your own version.
For Slow Art Day, the experts suggest we look at an artwork, noting its colors and the impact that it is having on us. After 30 seconds, look away and try to remember what you saw. Then, look even closer, thinking about shapes, lines, colors, textiles, composition (layout), materials and subject matter.
Here are some questions to help:
Can you tell what story the artwork is telling?
What setting, time and place are being depicted?
What’s the mood? How do you know that?
What do you think the artist is trying to communicate?
Appreciating nature is one of my life standards. Today, let’s be mindful in appreciating water. What a gift from God!
Water covers three-fourths of the Earth’s surface, but only 0.8% is fresh water. (And about 70% of that goes to agriculture.). Salt water is about 97/4% and ice is about 1.8% (and falling) of the water on earth. We are so blessed that something so precious is so easy to obtain in our civilization.
Today as we wash our hands repeatedly and thoroughly, let us thank God for the gift of water.
This quarantine is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. What kind of experience is mostly up to us. April is a great opportunity to have a home-based retreat. If you are alone or at home with adults, you have the ability to schedule times of solitude and silence. We can look through our bookshelves or online, asking the Lord to show us the way.
If you are at home with children, this is an opportunity like no other to teach them about character, faith and perseverance. A retreat with your children could be a great creative experience with scheduled times for learning and listening. For example, you could create your own Vacation Bible School for the young and work through Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline for the teens. Amazon also has some books of guided reflections for children that could help.
This virus is from our fallen world, but the Lord can redeem our time, calm our fears and teach us lessons in this time. We can open ourselves up to ask God what He has to show us. We can read, pray and reflect.
God has shown up how fragile our civilization is and how interconnected we are with each other. I also feel that God is working with us to deepen our faith and give us the strength to choose calm and peace.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Jesus, Matthew 6: 26-27
Talking about how not to worry, Jesus suggested that we look at the birds. Mindfully observing birds today is a wonderful mindfulness exercise.
This year, many of us get to observe spring as never before. Take a good long look at what’s outside your window. It is a sign from God.
Write out a verse of hope on a 3 x 5 card or anything that’s handy. Post it somewhere where you wait for brief periods on a regular basis. For example, I have verses on top of the microwave, beside my laptop and by the Keurig machine in my husband’s office. We need to change them out on a regular basis so we keep consciously seeing them.
Here are some verses to consider:
Why are you downcast, o my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my savior and my God. (Psalm 42:11)
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:21)
Therefore prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)
Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
Be strong and take heart, all of you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:34)
For you have been my hope, my sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. (Psalm 71:5)
My husband retired in January. Things have not been like I expected. First, my mother’s funeral was the day after he retired. Then came coronavirus. So far we have cancelled two vacations, losing money on both. At the same time, my engineer husband is closely observing the way I have managed our home. And he has suggestions. Many suggestions.
Our love languages also create a problem that we have to be mindful about. My husband’s primary love language is quality time … which is currently all the time. Out of the five love languages, that’s at the bottom for me. Even more challenging, my love language … gifts … is at his bottom.
So I order him gifts online, and he follows me around the house. Did I mention he is also making suggestions?
I looked for some support for this and found a good article in the New York Times: “Welcome to Marriage During the Coronavirus.” Author Jennifer Senior interviewed therapist Esther Perel who said some stylistic differences may be relevant to how well we are getting along with our spouses:
How we get information in a crisis: On a continuum, are you a news junkie/binger or do you say, “enough is enough” and turn off the source, be it TV or internet.
How consumed we get by the situation: Are you preoccupied with risk or focused on maintaining a normal life?
How you are handling your time: Are you structured and proactive in dealing with your days or are you passive and fatalistic?
Happily, my husband and I only differ on getting info. As a former journalist, I love input. (It’s my top strength in the Strength Finder.) But I am going his way and being very intentional about getting information only at set times.
Time magazine also got a list from couples’ therapists for getting along. Click here to read it. And here are my new ideas:
Pray together and do Bible study. Take the time to build your relationship with God. If you are listening, God will help to strengthen your marriage rather than tearing it down.
Stop criticizingeach other. Viewing each other with compassion is truly a giant step. The late great Cokie Roberts once wrote: “You can tell the quality of your marriage by the number of teeth marks in your tongue.”
Spend some time apart every day.
Ramp up your own contemplative practice and mindfulness. It will help you stay calm enough to not be reactive.
Laugh. If you haven’t laughed hard by 7 p.m., watch, read or listen to something funny.
Scary dreams and worries can kick off an overwhelming level of anxiety during this pandemic.
People who have existing issues with panic disorder, depression and generalized anxiety are almost certain to have more intense symptoms unless we take preventive measures. The symptoms can include digestive problems, dizziness, elevated heart rate, fatigue and insomnia, among other things.
Control what you can control. And that means you. Wash your hands. Stay six-feet away from people. Still, it helps to smile and be friendly when you pass people from this distance. We also can pray for each person we pass on the street or in the park.
Schedule times for prayer and quiet. If you don’t already have a routine for regular prayer during the day, it’s a great time to start. An alarm on my phone reminds me to stop about every three hours to pray or read Christian materials. Sarah Young’s books, starting with Jesus Calling, are excellent. Her app is very good as well. I also use materials in apps like Pray-As-You-Go, the NIV Bible, Ending Your Day Right, Centering Prayer and the Divine Office.
Make this a good time for your children or grandchildren. Our attitudes will decide how the kids remember this time. Model faith, calm and self-care. Let your kids talk through their fears and concerns. Make sure you find some ways to have fun together.
Use block scheduling to set up a routine. Setting up a routine will help to keep you and your family focused on the good. Block scheduling – setting aside an hour or two for each major kind of activity – has been very useful. Activities can include: reading, homeschooling, housework, paperwork, making things, exercise, shopping online, etc.
Reduce your exposure to news and social media. I look at my social media channels once a day. I also read the COVID-19 round-up on my Associated Press app and one local news app in the morning and at night. We do watch the PBS NewsHour as well. Other than that, I try to concentrate on my own life. I think the most reliable sources of information are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), WebMD, the Weather Channel’s COVID-19 section, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the John Hopkins’ Coronavirus Resource Center.
Stay connected to family and friends. This is the era of FaceTime calls and Zoom/Skype meetings. There’s also the good old-fashioned phone call and new-fashioned texting. Make an effort to cheer your friends and family up. It will cheer you up, too.
Do a daily stress-reduction exercise. My isolation gift to myself was a subscription to the Breethe app, which is offering specific relaxation exercises regarding coronavirus anxieties. I also use Calm, Meditation Oasis and the Cleveland Clinic’s Stress Meditation. The relaxation exercise is on my block schedule for a specific time in the afternoon.
Eat well. Stress eating is one of my problems, but I do know that mindfully choosing to eat a nutritious meal before I can have my salty/sweet treat is cutting down on the overeating.
Get out in the fresh air and sunshine. Take a daily walk. Set up your patio furniture early or sit out on your porch to read.
Be the hands and feet of Christ. Get involved in helping other people during this time. Your church may have ideas. You also can call a humanitarian organization to see if you can help. Many people are helping from home by calling others to see how they are doing.
Like everything in life, this crisis is offering opportunities to grow as Christians.
If you’re like me, you’ve discovered how unmindful you are about touching your face. All the health care professionals tell us NOT to do it. It turns out that I do it all the time.
I’m not alone. A 2015 study in the American Journal of Infection Control found that people touch their faces more than 20 times an hour on average. That involving touching their eyes, noses or mouth about 44 percent of the time.
Of course, our hands are constantly touching contaminated surfaces. The goal is to stop our hands from getting the pathogens into the body through our mucous membranes (in other words, the eyes, nose and mouth) that give them a clear shot into our throats and lungs.
What we are most worried about is the coronavirus, of course. So it’s a great time to be mindful about our hands and our face. This is hard, because so much is unconscious. Scientists suggest that we make it harder by wearing gloves, but that’s really not a real-world solution at this time with the lack of gloves and the reality that we are at home.
So take some time to be more aware of your hands. Thank God for them and pray for support in using them more consciously. When you do find yourself touching your face, count it. The rising total for the day can make you more conscious as well.
When I get a chance to have a conversation with the Virgin Mary … imagine the line in heaven … I would like to ask her how she had the courage to say yes to Gabriel’s invitation to become the mother of Jesus.
She trusted God beyond any measure. She believed that she could have God’s baby. And she believed that it would be worth any pain that she would have to endure. After the baby was born, she was told that the pain would be like a sword going through her soul.
I would love to know how she grew up and how she learned about God. What experiences did she have that allowed her to love that deeply, to trust that fully?
After nearly 60 years of faith, I still struggle with understanding what God wants me to do and having the trust to do it. Mary is our example, and I love her for it.
“We must try to perceive Christ in the interruption of our plans, in the disappointment of our expectations, and in difficulties, contradictions and trials. No matter what happens we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him. (Romans 8:28)”
Secular or Buddhist mindfulness exercises help people. That’s a fact proven by research. Christian mindfulness exercises are similar, but different.
First, they help us grow closer to God as well as becoming more present. We believe that God exists in the present moment. (Our view of the past is flawed. Our thoughts about the future are just our imaginations. Only in the present can we be sure we find God.)
Second, we have a partner in our endeavor: the great God of the universe, who says in James 4:8: “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”
There’s a free PDF from Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel packed with Christian mindfulness exercises to try. It’s called “A Guide to Practicing God’s Presence: A Companion Guide to Life in the Presence of God.” You can download it by clicking here.
I’m going through these exercises to see which work best for me, and I invite you to accompany me. Here’s the first one.
Record exactly what you are grateful for daily in these four categories:
The glory of God’s creation
A material blessing
A person in your life
A spiritual blessing
Then pray and thank God for each item. This is a good start to a new practice or a great addition to any gratitude practice we already have.
Staying in the house means that the transition times between work/home life — or even ending one task and starting another — are blurred. Here’s a Christian mindfulness exercise to help in those transitions.
When you finish your work or your task, stop to close your eyes and listen to your breathing.
Lift up your heart to God in prayer, asking Him to bless what you have just done. Stay quietly in your prayer for a few minutes, releasing your tension and lifting up your spirit.
Then ask a blessing on your next task or transition, such as “Lord, please use my work for the highest good.”
If you are moving from work to family time, take a few more minutes to tell yourself that you are done working for the day. Some people benefit from changing their clothes or taking a walk around the outside of the house to make the transition.
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:25 NIV
Lately I feel a bit like the Lloyd Bridges character in “Airplane” who picked a bad day to give up all his addictions. I picked hope as my word for Lent, long before I knew I would be cloistered in my home. (Not quarantined, folks. Cloistered. It’s a choice.)
When you hope for what you do not see (i.e. the end of this pandemic), we have to wait. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and we can ask for more of it.
In “Jesus Today,” Sarah Young suggests that we practice hoping for things we don’t see … even during good times. That includes things in this life and the next.
She also suggests that we ask Jesus to guide us into hopes and dreams in line with His will. Then we focus our eyes on Him as we wait for opportunities to do what He wants, praying for His will to be done.
Let’s do this together, no matter what scary thing happens next.
In 1985, I had a baby at the same time that my then-husband developed a severe psychosis. I had a feeling that I would be raising my son alone. (I was right.) So I named him after the man I trusted could help me: Joseph.
Today we celebrate Joseph of Nazareth, the man God depended on to help raise Jesus. The Bible tells us that Joseph was “just.” This doesn’t only mean that he was fair. He was aligned with doing God’s will, no matter what. Even when devastated by what he thought was Mary’s betrayal, he wanted to do the right thing.
And he did. He married Mary. He named Jesus. He woke up in the night and took his family to Egypt based on a dream. He brought them back to Nazareth. He lived with Jesus for an unknown number of years. He taught Him, and he learned from Him.
When the neighbors were astounded at Jesus’ teaching, they asked, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” Yes, he was. And I think there was a resemblance.
Mindful Christianity is abiding in Jesus moment by moment. The best description I’ve heard of this comes from Carl McColman:
“God is love. God loves all of us and wants us to experience abundant life. This means abiding in love — love of God and love of neighbors as ourselves. Through prayer and worship, meditation and silence, we can commune with God, experience His presence, have our consciousness transformed by His spirit, participate in His loving nature, and be healed and renewed in that love. This new life (what the New Testament calls ‘the mind of Christ’) will not only bring us joy and happiness (even when we suffer), but will also empower us to be ambassadors for God, to bring God’s love, joy and happiness to others.”
Carl McColman, “The Big Book of Christian Mysticism”
The call to envelop ourselves in God’s love does come at a price: the suffering Jesus paid in His crucifixion AND our need to relinquish “control.”
In these days of coronavirus, we can all see how little control we actually have over our lives. Perhaps this is the best possible time to live in God’s love and be God’s love to our families.
Quite a few of us are praying about COVID-19. I have a long list of people, groups, causes and places I love, which I pray for every day. The Lord has recently been prompting me to find a quieter way to pray inside His will.
Instead of having a long list of what I think SHOULD happen, I am just lifting up the individuals and the groups to God for His will to be done. I am no longer Mrs. God, handing the Lord his honey-do list.
After all, as Psalm 139:4 says, “Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, Oh Lord.”
God knows what we need. The purpose of prayer is to help us grow closer to God and to understanding His will. Just lifting up a person or a cause before the Lord and asking that His will be done is enough.
How many times have we whined that we were too busy? Well, nature just took care of that. When we are isolated / socially distanced at home, our attitude makes all the difference.
I’m challenging myself to see this period as an extended Sabbath that I can brighten with hygge elements, like candles, a fire, plenty of reading, and snuggling with my husband and cats.
During this Sabbath, I can spend more time in prayer, which is needed, and study. My husband is teaching himself to bake. I am finally going to read a foot-high pile of magazines. (I’m glad I didn’t listen to you about this, Marie Kondo.).
While I am an introvert who owns the book, “Sorry I’m Late. I Didn’t Want to Come,” I think reframing the concept of social distancing into something wonderful like a Sabbath will work even for extroverts.
This is the time to calm down and get caught up. Enjoy as best you can.
With everyone hunkered down, it’s a good time to become intentional about giving at least one sincere compliment a day to family, friends or people who have inspired you.
My inbox is packed with emails about cancellations, closings and concern from everyone I have ever done business with, including museums I’ve visited once and shoe companies. So I imagine yours is, too.
It’s a perfect time to send a complimentary email. And those folks that are stuck with us at home deserve to know that we appreciate them. The more specific the compliment is, the better.
One of the essential books for Christian mindfulness is Ruth Haley Barton‘s “Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation.” I’ve recently finished reading it for the third time as part of Lenten practice.
Ruth Haley Barton
Barton, who is a spiritual director and founder/CEO of the Transforming Center, walks chapter by chapter through the spiritual disciplines that help one lead an intentional life in the presence of Jesus.
She writes about solitude, Scripture, prayer, honoring the body, self-examination, discernment and Sabbath. Each chapter ends with ideas for how to move the content into your own life. Finally she instructs readers how to prepare a rule for life so we can live closer to God in any life season.
I’m old enough to have made mixtapes that I created for special times: summer, the beach, Christmas. This Lent has been a challenge for my word of the season: hope. So I created a Spotify playlist of songs of hope to enjoy.
Creating a Spotify playlist is very easy, if you haven’t done it before. (Especially when compared to making a mixtape back in the day.) You might want to create your own playlist for Lent.
Twitter can be like pornography for the vicious. For reasons I’ll never understand, some people — even some who say they are Christians — enjoy being cruel to people they do not know online. I once read one man say that he can’t figure out the truth about people’s beliefs because it would spoil his fun online. Really?
This Lent, I’m following the advice of a Hindu that I have long admired, the late Eknath Easwaran:
Please do not indulge in unkind words, in negative comments. Criticism, as you know, can only be useful when it is constructive. Comments can only be useful when they are friendly. So even from the point of view of effectiveness, I would suggest that unkind comments add to the problem. Unloving criticism makes situations worse.
As the stock market bungee-jumps and fears of the coronavirus intensify, we may find ourselves in a downward thinking spiral. Our thoughts and fears get away from us. Inner peace, joy and calm are gone.
One of the best and most effective ideas I’ve read to stop this comes from Rachael Kable of “The Mindful Kind” book and podcast: Take a deep breathe and name the colors of the things you see.
This distracts the mind and allows us to get back on track. A brief walk is an effective way to start naming colors. A good ending is to express gratitude for the things we have seen.
Today, millions around the globe are facing a potentially dangerous pandemic. Where’s a safe place to stay?
One famous answer came from Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch Christian who ended up in a Nazi concentration camp for her role in helping almost 800 Jews escape the Germans. She said, “The safest place is in the center of God’s will.”
I agree, but that doesn’t guarantee sunshine and roses for life, as ten Boom well knew. She did God’s will even though it was dangerous and even though she ended up suffering dreadfully for it.
Did she have internal consolation for doing so? Certainly.
Praying to find God’s will in a situation and doing it does bring elements of safety, as well as trouble. It means that the Lord of the universe wants you to succeed. It means that pathways you didn’t expect will appear. It means you can have inner peace about your life. Let’s walk step by step with Jesus this Lent.
“You are making yourself miserable, and you are the only one who can stop it.”
Rachael Kable, “The Mindful Kind”
Rachael Kable, author of “The Mindful Kind” and host of “The Mindful Kind” podcast, may be young, but she is wise.
The host of the No. 1 mindfulness podcast, she has written an excellent guidebook for anyone interested in mindfulness. You’ll refer to it again and again. I’m planning to keep a copy on my Kindle app on the my phone.
For example, she suggests a new habit: Use the feeling of stress as a signal to do a mindfulness exercise.
Rachael is an Australian who sounds and looks fairly young. Sometimes her examples from her own life reflect a limited … so far … life experience. But she does have many wonderful options for introducing awareness and intention in many aspects of life, both in the book and the podcast. At the book’s conclusion, she suggests doing one new activity in the book a week to eventually build a great repertoire of responses to keep it on task.
Rachael never discusses religion. Her ideas are suitable for any Christian to try. Subscribe to the podcast and buy the book. You’ll be glad you did.
We are asked to keep our thoughts pure, but our minds are often racing in the other direction. Affirmations are a mindful Christian approach to reining in your thoughts when you notice negativity, unrighteous anger and other bad attitudes.
Use them as a script to turn around your thinking, repeating as needed. Here’s a few affirmations to use:
Let compassion lead me.
Holy Spirit, speak through me.
I choose to renew my mind.
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.
Deliberating breaking into your thinking pattern will help.
Giving up things – from Facebook to coffee – is a classic part of participating in Lent. This year, great suggestions from Pope Francis are on social media:
Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
Fast from worries and trust in God.
Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.
Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.
Even with these wonderful ideas, God calls for fasting that helps people:
Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: Say to all the people in the land and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and the seventh month these 70 years, was it really for me that you fasted? … Thus says the Lord of hosts: Judge with true justice, and show kindness and compassion toward each other. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the resident alien or the poor; do not plot evil against one another in your hearts.
Zechariah 7:4-5, 9-10
Similar requests for fasting are in Isaiah:
“Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58: 5b-7
I think the Lord is serious. Lent is a good time for us to contemplate what we can do to make that happen.
When God does or allows the unexpected, our reactions can range from puzzlement to tears to shock to rage. What’s a good way to move through the initial feelings back into trust?
After all, God is good. He loves us dearly and wants what is best for us, even if it’s not pleasant at the time. God continues to reveal Himself to us even when we are perplexed.
I know a person who responds to any surprise with the same question: I wonder what God is up to? I think that’s a great way to move ourselves away from fear to trust. It sets us up to believe that God is in the situation and is working. We just need to wait to see what happens next.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has done essential work in spreading the practice of mindfulness worldwide, has written dozens of books. “The Art of Communicating” is one of his best.
Although his work clearly comes from a Buddhist perspective, he has much to teach us all. One of my favorite chapters covers the four elements of right speech:
Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn the truth upside down.
Don’t exaggerate.
Be consistent. That means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in another to someone else for selfish or manipulative reasons.
Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse or condemnation.
The book is short, but so useful. I particularly like the Six Mantras of Loving Speech, which each person is free to adapt as the situation calls for it.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
My word for Lent is hope. Cheerfulness is both a strategy and an end result for that.
How we react when trouble comes is the greatest witness to those around us. Maintaining a genuinely cheerful heart shows that we truly believe what we profess. Filling our minds with gratitude and praise for everything God has done for us – from dying on the Cross to creating trees – opens our hearts to feel the graces of joy and peace, no matter what else is happening.
One of my favorite quotes is from the late, great comedian Gilda Radner, written as she was dying from cancer:
“There will always be downslides and uncertainty. The goal is to live a full, productive life even with all this ambiguity. No matter what happens, I can control whether I am going to live a day in fear and depression and panic, or whether I am going to attack the day and make it as good a day, as wonderful a day, as I can.”
Many worry that the culture has moved further and further from the Christian faith, so that we may become irrelevant. I think it could be a blessing.
The American way of life often has been different from the Christian way of life, but we pretended otherwise. I lived in Mississippi for nearly 10 years and met people who hated African-Americans yet proudly went to church on Sunday. Materialism as a signpost for success is not exactly what the homeless man who died for us intended.
Today we have an opportunity to be noticeably different from the culture, and that’s good as long as we are different in a Christian way. Hate is never the Christian way.
It’s Ash Wednesday, and we’re starting the season of Lent. I’m blessed to have a church that has a moving and effective church service this day. For years, I didn’t so I created one at home. Here’s the ceremony should you need it:
Burn a list of your sins, a palm frond or an evergreen in a bowl to make ashes.
Open with this prayer: Let us ask our Heavenly Father to bless these ashes which we will use as a mark of our repentance. Lord, bless these ashes. Wearing them reminds us that we are from the dust of the Earth. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the resolutions that we have made for Lent. Help us to prepare well for the celebration of your Son’s glorious resurrection. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Mark your loved one’s foreheads, saying “Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the gospel.”
Close with this prayer: Loving Father, today we start Lent. From today, we make a new start to be more loving and kind. Help us to show more concern for the less fortunate, the hungry and the poor. Help us to love you more and speak to you more often. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Happy Mardi Gras! We celebrate the day with pancakes in the morning and good vegetarian jambalaya for dinner. Today I also celebrated by picking out my word for Lent: hope.
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.
Psalm 42:5 NASB
This Lent I am continuing to focus on practicing the presence of God. It’s been quite a rough year so far. So I feel God calling me to seek hope. George Mueller wrote: Even when our situation appears to be impossible, our work is to “hope in God.”
We know that we can never hope in vain, so that’s the focus of Lent for me. I pray you find your word also.
You are a force for peace. Don’t get caught in angry, frightened talk. Choose what goes into your mind. Don’t leave it to the media. Don’t let hostility and resentment take over your life. Step away from the whirlpools of negativity that swirl around us.
The biggest danger in being extraordinarily busy is that God’s voice is so quiet I am liable to miss hearing Him. He speaks to me in a steady whisper, always there but easily drowned out by the noise of the world.
This is the scary prayer I’ve ever prayed. But it opens doors to a new way of being.
Welcome, welcome, welcome. I welcome everything that comes to me today because I know it’s for my healing. I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations and conditions. I let go of my desire for power and control. I let go of my desire for affection, esteem, approval and pleasure. I let go of my desire for survival and security. I let go of my desire to change any situation, condition, person or myself. I open to the love and presence of God and God’s action within. Amen.
The GIFT list idea originated with organization experts Pam Young and Peggy Jones. (I’ve successfully used their productivity program since 1982ish and highly recommend it. You can find out more here.)
I’ve adapted the concept over the years, keeping a daily list with my to-dos. GIFT stands for:
Grace
Imagination
Focus
Thanksgiving
Every day, I ask God to give me Grace from the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, righteousness, gentleness and self-control.
For Imagination, I pick a virtue and imagine how I could incorporate using it in my day. For example, yesterday’s virtue was a positive attitude. Today’s is being a caring citizen.
Focus is the day’s predominate activities: writing, planning, cleaning, making things, running errands, enjoying the family, taking a Sabbath, etc. Labeling a day as your paperwork & planning day, for example, helps you to cluster activities that come up during the week.
And Thanksgiving is a gratitude list that I fill out as the day goes on. That way I always have something to be grateful for at day’s end.
When my mind goes on a tear, I deliberately turn it back to the Grace, Imagination or Focus of the day. It’s a great mindfulness exercise. I hope you have fun with it.
Loving the Lord with all your mind may seem like an impossible task. After all, your mind may well be pretty wild and free … thinking about your friends, your kids, your job and Netflix.
God gives us direct instruction about what He wants us to think about in order to be a peaceful place where He can abide. It’s in Philippians 4:8.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
That means, when I’m thinking about what a moron the driver ahead of me is, I should switch lanes literally and figuratively. I need to think about how happy I am that I found my church, or what a nice (and noble) guy my husband is, or how lovely my granddaughter is.
I made up a phrase to help me remember this: The normal real person likes an excellent pizza. (true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy). This helps me do a thought check when I seem to be on the wrong track.
A continual “thank you” may be the sweetest kind of Christian mindfulness exercise. It uplifts your spirits every time.
As it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Always rejoice. Unceasingly pray. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Yes, this is the will of God for our lives. That means rejoicing when things seem bleak (for we always have God with us), praying at all times (even when we are driving or reading) and giving thanks for everything (even when we are poor, hungry or imprisoned).
We can break any bad mood with a thank you walk, looking at what’s around us and giving thanks for it!
Abiding in Jesus means having faith that God is at work even in horrible circumstances. We can be a “yes” to all that is in God and to each circumstance and person who comes into our lives. We can look at all environments, events and people as coming through God’s hands so we can serve Him.
This is the “good” that all things work for as mentioned in Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Acceptance of this makes our most difficult roles in life less depleting and exhausting. It’s challenging to accept the reality of circumstances and not argue in our minds that they should be different. But it is possible and makes all the difference.
This is not the same as being happy in sad situations. We cannot pretend everything is fine, because our minds know it’s not. We do have to accept that everything is not fine, and that it is impossible for us to change. This allows us to offer more empathy without draining excessive energy.
We are not in heaven yet, and bad things happen in a fallen world. God is still present and wants to abide in us. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
During our work and other activities, even during reading, writing or religious exercises, we must stop regularly for a moment, as often as possible, to worship God.
Praising God from the depth of our hearts brings us closer and closer to abiding in Him. Stopping routinely to lift a word of praise is good, no matter how spiritual the work we were doing.
A worship song can be a good way to do this. Before I retired, I found myself having negative thoughts about the day ahead as I dressed for work. Playing worship music at this time stopped that. If you have a time of day when you are routinely unhappy, try playing a worship song and lifting up your voice to the Lord. It helps!
Carrying on a continual conversation with God can be a challenge. When we run out of words, we can say the Jesus prayer.
It helps to use a “Jesus” prayer when we need to calm down or we are in a situation in which we would otherwise turn to our phones to distract ourselves.
We can pray “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” over and over. Others use other versions. You can find information about Jesus prayers here. I use “Come Holy Spirit.”
In time, we will be able to feel God’s presence without the need for words. Until then, the Jesus prayer feels so comforting. It’s also a nice way to go to sleep at night.
The next Christian mindfulness exercise is the hardest: Carry on a conversation with God and try to make it continual.
The Christian best known for doing this is Brother Lawrence, who died on February 12, 1691. He served as a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris, typically working in the kitchen. He never achieved prominence during his life, and yet he is remembered today more than any other Christian of his time.
Brother Lawrence developed an intimate, continual conversation with the Lord. He became known when his letters and writings were compiled into a book called “The Practice of the Presence of God” after his death. You can find a free PDF of the book here.
Speaking humbly and lovingly with Him (God) all the time, at every moment, especially during times of temptation, suffering, aridity, weariness, even infidelity and sin. This habit is formed by repetition of acts and frequently bringing the mind back into God’s presence … conversing with God everywhere, asking Him for what is needed, and rejoicing continuously with Him in countless ways.”
Paul would agree. As he wrote in Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
This exercise is simple, if hard to remember when we are distracted. We try to center ourselves as we move from place to place, event to event.
We can say: I am calm, peaceful and aware of the presence of God as I enter this home/door/time/event. Using the ringing of the telephone or the sound of a text message has a moment to pause and refocus also helps.
If you have a time of day that’s particularly hard for you … which I nicknamed the arsenic hour when I was a young single mother … having an alarm on the phone to remind you to center can make a big difference.
Listening to yourself with a compassionate ear is another Christian mindfulness exercise that ultimately draws us closer to God. But the interior noise can be deafening.
When this happens, the Three Things exercise can help us to focus our attention, reduce restlessness and add calm. Stretch or drink some water before getting started. Then:
Note three things that you see.
Note three things that you hear.
Note three feelings that you have.
It can be that simple to restore some clear thinking.
Ash Wednesday is a little more than three weeks away so it’s a good time for us to start thinking about our Lenten resolutions. I’ve used Lent to give up bad habits, but more often I take this time to create positive habits.
Think about how we can improve our prayer life, fasting and giving. Some families pick a charity and put their change into a bowl each day. Others give up eating out and give away the money they saved. My church took a recent pledge to not have cell phones at the dinner table. We can find many things to improve if we think and pray about it.
I also always have a Lenten reading program. In the past, I read a biography of a Christian I admired, a devotional and a general book about faith each Lent. Today it’s a lot more random. I just look at the bookshelves to see what I think would be helpful and inspiring.
When we walk with Jesus, everything we do can be a prayer. This is where the practice of Christian mindfulness comes in.
Focus on the task at hand, giving it your attention while seeking to feel the presence of God.
We don’t always have to use words to pray continually, although we generally have to start out that way. Henri J.M. Nouwen, in his book “Here and Now,” recommends starting with a simple prayer … the name Jesus, Come Holy Spirit, the Jesus prayer or anything short like that … and repeating it over and over. This is called a mantram in other traditions.
Nouwen writes: “When we remain faithful to our discipline, even if it is only 10 minutes a day, we gradually come to see … by the candlelight of our prayers … that there is a space within us where God dwells and where we are invited to dwell with God. Once we come to know that inner, holy place … we want to be there and be spiritually fed.”
Staying focused on one thing can be about as difficult as continual prayer. Here’s some encouragement: The Amish accomplish an incredible amount in their days in part because they are working with concentration and not dealing with constant distractions, like cell phones and television. We can do the same by focusing on one task at a time while the mantra bubbles away in the back of our minds.
When events and attitudes make the world feel even more chaotic and frightening, we can take a deep breath and become an antidote to the fiery atmosphere. We can be an island of peace in a stormy sea.
The first step is to bring calm into our minds. Otherwise we add to the fear and anger swirling around us.
One easy way to recenter is to do the 3-4-5 breath that I taught many in crisis management classes. We can do it anywhere, usually with no one around us noticing. It’s so simple:
Breathe in to a slow count of 3.
Hold your breath to a slow count of 4.
Breathe out to a slow count of 5.
Repeat until you can feel yourself calming down. Then open yourself up to feel the presence of God.
Remember: You can be a force for good. You can be a force for peace. That is one way … not always small … to let the light of Christ shine in the world.
The fourth step toward mindfully practicing the presence of God is about our approaches to each day.
Be in the day with a plan and the willingness to disregard that plan to respond to what God allows. As my pastor, Rich Nathan, teaches: Left foot, right foot. Do the next right thing.
We want to be attentively present to the here-and-now situation while also attuned to the voice of God.
Remember: Now is the only moment you have. Now is the future you promised yourself.
“Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours” is Kathleen Deignan’s effort to assemble Merton’s teachings, poems and prayers into a similar format to the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. I appreciate Merton (1915-1968), a Trappist monk who was in many ways decades ahead of his time.
Many see him as one of the spiritual masters of the 20th century. I’ve read several of his books and gone on silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani, where he lived and is buried. His work also inspires me to deepen my commitment to the Lord and to contemplative prayer.
I used this book as a prayer experiment, praying the sections of Dawn, Day, Dusk and Dark for a week. This may work well for others, but it didn’t work for me. Turns out I much prefer to use Psalms as Psalms rather than Merton’s poems, no matter how lovely they are. The use of his work in Examen and Lessons was good, but could have used more context.
True Merton devotees certainly may love this book, and I think it was assembled with a good spirit. Still it just didn’t work in my prayer experiment.
Not only is today Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Day, it’s also the Presentation of Our Lord on the Christian calendar. Today is a feast to commemorate Joseph and Mary taking the infant Jesus as a first-born son to the Temple for the ceremony commanded by God through Moses to induct him into Judaism.
Simeon and Anna were at the Temple, as they had been for thousands of days, waiting to see the Messiah. They recognized him.
This feast is also called Candlemas, and it involves blessing candles and lighting them. Try lighting up your candles to symbolize the light of the world arriving in His own temple.
This is also a good day to pray from the poor, migrants, immigrants and refugees, the Holy Family being one of this number.
