Archives For discipline

What I’ve Learned in a 40-Day Experiment with the Spiritual Discipline of Crossfit and Lectio Divina

Chris —  September 4, 2014

There are few things that repulse me more than self-discipline. I’ve never practiced a musical instrument, consistently made my bed in the morning or paid my bills at a regular interval.

As a Church Planter, I am well aware of the fact that my own day-to-day life sets and example for what it means to follow Jesus. There is more to following Jesus than making the right decision when the time comes. It’s means becoming the kind of person who is in the routine of making the right decision.

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So my lack of self-discipline is a problem. Nowhere was I feeling this more acutely than in my lack of spiritual discipline. Continue Reading…

In Growth, Life , , ,
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5 Books to Help You Grow Up

Chris —  April 18, 2013

A few months after I graduated from college, I learned how utterly unequipped for adulthood I was. My roommate called me up, and tried to be nice as he informed me he was throwing away all the food in our refrigerator. The electricity bill was in my name, and I hadn’t paid for it.

High School and College had provided a clear framework of how life was supposed to work. I just had to show up for class, do my work, and not do anything too stupid. But now I was in the real world. I had to find a job and pay my bills and find my place in community.

Unfortunately, there are no printed guidelines telling us how the game of life works. We have to figure it out, more or less on our own. Scriptures, and most plainly, the Sermon on the Mount, provide an ethical framework of how Christians interact in the world. But how do do you deal with disappointments, find a job, talk to people and get stuff done?

Andy Stanley says that it’s not experience that’s the best teacher, but other people’s experience. Here are five of my favorite resources from other people who have already figured out what it means to act like an adult.

The Road Less TraveledThe Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck

M.S. Peck’s classic will help you grow up by admitting that life is tough, love is hard, and then getting over it.  Peck was not a Christian at the time he wrote it, and it is fascinating to see his thinking on psycho-spiritual issues taking shape.  I think of this book everytime I run into a difficulty, or have to fix my car.

Life is Difficult.

This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.  It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.  Once we truly see that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult.  Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

You can read my full review here.
Continue Reading…

In Growth , , , ,
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Wednesday Spotlight

Wednesday Spotlight: Iggy’s Five Steps to Praying the Examen

Chris —  February 27, 2013

Developed by Ignatius of Loyola, the big idea of Prayer of Examen is this:

Take some time to think about your day.  Then talk to God about it.

How often have you felt guilty because you don’t know what to pray about?  Crazy, but normal.  Examen is so obvious it hurts.  Remember your day then tell God about your day.  As you do, you’ll see:

Ways God has blessed you.
Ways he seems to have failed you.
Things you don’t understand.
Things you want more of.
Thing you regret.
Things you didn’t realize were there.

Then you talk to God about it.

You can learn about the Examen at IgnatianSpirituality.com, or you might just play this audio file instead.  Here’s Iggy’s Five Steps to Praying the Examen.

  1. Become aware of God’s presence.
  2. Review the day with gratitude.
  3. Pay attention to your emotions.
  4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
  5. Look toward tomorrow.

Here’s a cheesy catholic PSA to help.

In God, Growth, Life , , ,
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Rhythms for February

Chris —  February 2, 2011

I’m exploring developing a rhythm and rule of life.  Here’s what I’m aiming at in February.  In a month, I’ll let you know how it’s going:

Spiritual

Read the Gospels every day. When I read Ed Dobson’s The Year of Living Like Jesus, I was struck by a comment the Ed received from his Jewish friends, basically along the lines of “how can you call Jesus your rabbi and not study his words daily?”  So this year, I hope to start each day by reading a chapter or two of the gospels every day.  Once I get through all four, I plan to mix it up with different translations and maybe some word studies.

Journal daily. Writing’s a big deal for me, but it’s kind of haphazard.  Journaling is where I put my thoughts in order, or at least where I force myself to think through what I’ve been ignoring.  Journaling is also the main way I pray.  As I get better at this, I hope to develop other daily writing rhythms.

Physical

Keep a clean work area. I’ve never been a tidy guy.  My hope is, that by changing that, I can create a personal culture of organization that flows into other areas of life.

Work out every day. Right now this isn’t too tough because I’m biking everywhere.  But I’m in desperate need of some core training and flexibility.

Social

Go deeper with what you’ve got. I’m a part of a great church community, have co-workers I love, some great roommates and even a few old friends.  However, I have lacked the intentionality of really developing those relationships.  Let the happy hours and dinner parties ensue.

Drop in. One area of my life that is lacking is “drop in” relationships.  The kind where you just make a quick phone call or knock on the door for dinner.  My goal is to spend regular time “dropping in” on the people around me.

Romantic. I don’t plan on being single for life.  This means meeting more ladies who love Jesus.  Which probably means mixing up my rhythm and trying new things.  I’m not sure how to make this a “practice.”

Academic

Stay ahead. Have you ever tried working full time and going to graduate school?  It’s not ideal.  To make it happen, I’m trying to devote one day a week to completing the following week’s work, always staying a week ahead.

Personal

Sabbath. I love Sundays,  When I stay ahead, Sundays become monumentally lazy times of sleeping in, worshipping with my church community, eating too much, napping, and playing games.  When I miss a Sunday, the following week is almost unbearable.

Read. This is going to be a tough one, since so much of what I am doing for school is made up of reading.  But I fully intend to throw in books of personal interest and unashamed escapism.

Do new fun things. Most of my free time in Austin has been spent running and biking, swing dancing and eating at new places.  All of these are good, but I desperately need to mix it up.  On my to do list is: see more independent films, and take in a Roller Hockey game.

What practices keep you going and growing?  What suggestions do you have to develop a rhythmic life?

In Life , ,
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