ThPM wrapped up around midnight last night and Cate crawled into my bed shortly before 7am. (Yawn.) I told her she had to lay quiet until “7 zero zero.” As she cuddled up next to me I started praying a blessing over her and wondering if we were teaching her enough about the Bible, Jesus, and our story — since she doesn’t go to Christian school or Sunday School and we are kind of hit-or-miss with the whole praying at bedtime and reading Bible stories thing. Right about then Eden came into bed. Without being prompted she told about this waking dream she had just had before she came into my room.

Eden and Jesus’s Castle

I saw a messy castle and … {read more…}

A couple of people have asked about how I/we use centering prayer, so I thought I’d write about it here a bit. The centering prayer guru, as far as I can tell, is M. Basil Pennington. He has a simple, thin book with instruction on centering prayer and lectio devina entitled An Invitation to Centering Prayer. (And now a pitch for a new friend…you can order it from beanbooks.com for 25-30% below list price. ISBN #07648072X, Liguori Publications) There’s also another book on contemplative practices which I’ve found helpful. It’s directed at youth, and too “I’m soooo postmodern” in its layout” (if you ask me), but it’s simple and you don’t have to wade through a bunch of theory to get to the practical bits — which, as a tri-vocational person, I really appreciate. It’s called Soul Shaper by Tony Jones (ISBN 031025101X, Youth Specialties)

The basics presupposition of centering prayer is that you aren’t asking for anything. In this sort of prayer, you aren’t going to God for instructions, marching orders, a good rotor rootering of the soul or anything of the sort. You are just setting aside some time to be present to God. Now, when you are present to God, sometimes some of that stuff happens. But in my experience, it’s not usually that direct. That stuff happens later, because I’ve been present to God. But during centering prayer, I just get to be with God, which is so very counter to the evangelical culture, as I’ve experienced, that this form of prayer seems completely nutso.

I love it.

So, the basic practice of centering prayer is:
{read more…}

I’m trying to take my people some where these days. I used to just let them drift around. But now we’re actually going somewhere. Like Dorothy with her mismatched crew trying to trace a path of yellow bricks through unknown territory.

Last Thursday I called everyone around the table. (Actually, I hovered around the bread and wine for a while hoping everyone would get the hint. Then I finally resorted to hollering, “Okay folks, huddle up.” Which I hate doing, because it breaks up everyone’s conversation. But if I didn’t do it, we’d never eat. sigh.) We’ve been singing this call-and-response song for a blessing and I really like hearing it resonate through the house. I love watching my girls sing … {read more…}

Brian McClaren told this great story at Mayhem. (This is, of course, a paraphrase.) Brian said that he had dinner once with Os Guinness. Guinness said to him, “You know Brian, most Evangelicals haven’t got the foggiest idea what the gospel is about.” Brian waited, hoping Guinness would tell him what he thought the gospel was about. Unfortunately, Guinness just said, “What do you think the gospel is about, Brian?” Brian gave some long answer about the redeeming actions of the cross and the resurrection. Then Guinness said, in his clipped British accent, “Yes. That’s just what most Evangelicals would say.” (damn.) Then Guinness went on to say, “You know Brian, what Jesus preached was ‘the kingdom of God is … {read more…}

Wahoo! My friend Aleece Alexander just said I could be her marketing gal for her wedding cake business. She makes GORGEOUS cakes with hand modeled confectionary art decorations. I have so much fun pitching them for her. As soon as we get the website up I’ll post it and you all can ooh and ahh.

So I think what I am, in part, in an Abbess. You know, the female version of an Abbott. Or is it abbotess? Someone at Mayhem, I think it was Terri, came up with the phrase “Urban Abbess” and I thought it was SO DAMN COOL. But I promised not to steal it for my blog name .

Anyway, I think I’m an Abbess because I want to build this neo-monastic order in my house. We already have a worshipping/missional/seeking community there, so I guess we are on our way. Here are the things we do that I think make us sort of neo-monastic already:

- We celebrate the seasons. (Very Celtic). We’ve build an altar and we celebrate the turning … {read more…}

I like the ease of being with people who are at home in their own skins. People who are living out what they are supposed to be out living. People who are not doing violence to themselves by denying the God-breathed core of who they are.

That all sounds very mystical and somewhat ridiculous. But there is something there that I cannot quite touch with words. I think it’s what captured me about who the characters are at the end of Cold Mountain. It’s what I see in people when I say, “They are grown ups.” And it’s very readily apparent in the lives of Kevin and Tracy Raines (and Co.). This ebbs and flows, as most things do. But … {read more…}

“Now that’s some serious water damage.”
“Mmm. Over there they lost a whole angel.”

Such is the state of St. Elizabeth’s. But last night, when we sang a worship chant that Brian learned in Peru, and the accapella refrain echoed back and forth from one side of the gathering to the other, no one seemed to notice crumbling plaster. Things defintely seem weighted more on the side of the angels.

The question of the night last night was “What happens when we emphasize building community instead of emphasizing loving one another (loving people)?” Before I share my response, I’d love to hear yours. (Since I’m not sure any of the ThPm folks are on this site, I’ll also send this out … {read more…}

A fistful of years have passed since I first read about a Vineyard in Cincinnati who’s strange turn of fortunes had lead them to live in priest’s lodgings and celebrate the hours in a crumbling stone cathedral. After watching them from afar through the lenses of websites and magazine articles, I’m finally here, having walked through the double doors of the parsonage-cum-neo-monastery last night long over due and ridiculously jet lagged. (Me, munching a burger and fries in the clean, quite kitchen. The rest of the ten member household sound asleep above me.)

This morning Kevin and Tracy, Aaron, Kenny, and I gathered around the long dinning room table lit dim with candles, and we greeted the morning with prayers. … {read more…}

Oh, and here is another quote I came across about story telling and truth bearing. It’s from Donald Miller’s very excellent Blue Like Jazz. (Just the title is reason enough to buy the book.)

“The magical proposition of the gospel, once free form the clasps of fairy tale, was very adult to me, very gritty like something from Hemmingway or Steinbeck, like something with copious amounts of sex and blood. Christian spirituality was not a children’s story. It wasn’t cute or neat. It was mytical and odd and clean, and it was reaching into dirty. There was wonder in it and enchantment.
Perhaps, I thought, Chrisitan spirituality really was the difference between illusion and magic.”