Breath of God

Here is another trick for starting a habit of being with God. I got this from a pastor friend and it does add some inspiration. For this, you need to be a coffee lover or some other hot drink.

Here we go:
Start your day by grabbing a hot cup of coffee. Find a nice comfortable chair in a quiet spot and bring your Bible or devotional book or maybe just your imagination. Get yourself comfortable and hold your hot beverage in your hands and breath in the steam. Pretend that this is the Breath of God and soak it in. Once you are calm and ready read from the Bible, do a devotional, or just meditate. End by breathing in the breath of God.

I find that this is a great way to spend some time building my relationship with God and just get some time to reflect.

Let me know what little habits you get into.

Reading by Research

Here is a habit that I have started and stuck with for the past few weeks. I try to start every morning by reading the Bible. I have tried this in the past and have not been very successful. I have tried daily devotions and they just don't work for me. They don't hold my attention. So, what I have done is actually started READING the Bible. Not just reading little tidbits here and there, but actually ready the whole story. Here is what I do. I start by thinking of something that I want to know more about. I got started after I heard a lesson about David and Goliath at a Council Meeting. So the first thing I did was re-read the account of David and Goliath. That peaked an interest in me to learn more about Saul, which has now lead me to starting with 1st Samuel and reading through Second Kings. In my daily life if something happens that peaks some curiosity, I write it down in a research list. Then, when I am through with my current romp, I go to my list and pick a new subject. For me this is working out great. I actually look forward to reading every morning and miss it when I am unable to do it for some reason. In addition, I am finally learning something.

Via de Cristo

Now that I have had some time to reflect, I think I should preface this post a little. I had just returned from the Via De Cristo weekend and was a little confused and frankly upset. I was upset that I was not as impacted by the weekend as my fellow pilgrims were. I still feel that the original post is relevant, however, I would temper it a little. First, I would now say that I was impacted in that I started reading the bible more, and I have started to put my faith in action. I still believe that Via de Cristo may not be for everyone, but I think it is good for you to experience it along your journey. For me I was much more impacted by the Willow Creek Arts Conference. It contained all the elements that move me and make me think. Here is the original post:

I just returned from a Via de Cristo weekend. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is a 72 hour retreat from your daily life to learn and grow closer to Christ and learn about God's unconditional love for you.

This event got a lot of build up from others around me and I have to say that in my opinion it did not live up to all the hype. Having said that, it was a good experience. I think it really depends on the type of person you are. I am not a very touchy feely kind of guy ( I know you are thinking that most guy's aren't, but after this weekend I am not sure I would agree with you). I also do not believe that to show your love to God you have to sing hokey songs while hugging grown men and swaying. This was a good 20 to 30 percent of this weekend. I personally was hoping for more alone time with God, but most of what you do, you do it with six other men. There is some alone time, but not a lot.

They have a teen version called Teens Encounter Christ (TEC), why can't there be a version for the 20-30 year old crowd that uses more relevant music and focuses more on your habits and building a relationship with Christ?

Having said all of that, there were some very inspiring times over the weekend. And I loved the teachings, especially those from the clergy. I did get a lot out of the trip and would recommend it to others. Would I do it again? I don't think so. It was a little too long, too singy, and too huggy for me. But hey, if you are in to that or just need to jump start your faith, it is probably the best thing out there until someone comes up with a three day two night teaching weekend with lots of time for reflection and a band.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long pause between post over the last couple of months. I am in one of those periods in your life when you know you have too many commitments, but you are not sure how to focus on the most important things. What are the most important things? What I have discovered is that you can convince yourself that just about anything is important and is part of your mission. As an example as a volunteer fire fighter I am convinced that being a trained responder is important. I think that is really true. However, being part of the political climate of the Fire Department is very time consuming and draining. I convince myself that the two duties, the action side and the political side are one in the same. But, are they really? The world doesn't need more talk about rescue, they need to count on rescue when it is needed. In my case the Fire department in my town existed for 150 years before I came and will probably be here long after I am gone. Can I make a difference? By responding to calls and knowing what to do when somebody needs help - Most definitely. By getting into the middle of political situations - maybe, today, but what about in 10, 20 or 50 years again maybe.

I think the same can happen in the church. I convince myself that being on the church council is key to my faith development, but is it? I am starting to think that it is not. At least it is not a key success factor. It may be a help with the added Bible Study and Discussions on church growth. But, being on council on it's own will not get me any closer to being a Disciple of Christ. In fact, if it can become an obstical to that goal if it takes time away from doing things that get me closer to the goal.

So this is why I have not written in awhile. I have been struggling with what is important and what is not. I have to say that I have not answered the question but I am getting a little closer. I think you will see in some of the upcoming posts that I am at least getting closer to finding a direction. Then I will have to prune my schedule and many of my commitments.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.