In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:78-79
Tag / mindfulness
Christian Mindfulness Practice: Intentional Use of Money
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.
Christian Mindfulness & COVID-19
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.
Make Friends With Neighborhood Birds
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. Get acquainted with the neighborhood birds by putting up bird houses or taking up bird watching in the front yard. Another option is to find a bird app. In my time, the Merlin Bird ID app identified the birds around us by sound or appearance. It also helped Cornell University to collect data on the birds’ numbers and whereabouts during global warming.
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.
Christian Mindfulness Practice: Flash Prayers
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:
- When you walk up
- When you are about to eat
- Before a meeting
- Before making a call
- Before sending or responding to a text
- While waiting in line
- At bedtime
Angels Watching Over Us Every Step We Take
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.
This reminds me of the Amy Grant song, “Angels.”
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.
Christian Mindfulness Resource: Abide App
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.
Christian Mindfulness When You Are Wearing Out
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.”
Resource: Christian Mindfulness YouTube Channel
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.
Christian Mindfulness Practice: Name What You Need
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.
Come, Lord Jesus. Let me feel your peace.
Come, Holy Spirit. Speak through me.