I went on a trip with one of my boys to begin to explore what it means to be a man. In between the conversations, we had a lot of fun being together. Together, we tried to capture some of these fun moments on this video… here is a bit of what we experienced.
A carpenter and his apprentice were walking together through a large forest. And when they came across a tall, big, gnarled, old, beautiful oak tree, the carpenter asked his apprentice: “Do you know why this tree is so tall, so huge, so gnarled, so old and beautiful?’ The apprentice looked at his master and said:
“No… why?”
“Well,” the carpenter said, “because it is useless. If it had been useful it would have been cut long ago and made into tables and chairs, but because it is useless it could grow so tall and so beautiful that you can sit in its shade and relax.”
In solitude we can grow old freely without being preoccupied with our usefulness and we can offer service which we had not planned on.
(Out of Solitude – by Henri Nouwen)
helpful reminders about spiritual reading…
Lectio is not the same thing as reading the Bible through in one year. The One Year Bible has its place but lectio is not “reading by the pound.” It is as Terrence Kardong puts it, to “slow down and plow through the Bible on all fours.” It demands that the reader approach the Bible as a pray-er, rather than as a consumer.
Furthermore, lectio is reading the Bible not for information but for formation. Irene Nowell likens the study of scripture without prayer and practice to reading a cookbook without ever cooking or eating. In other words, lectio is meditating on spliritual readings in order to be changed. That is why it usually involves reading with the mouth, mind, and memory – to help transform the whole person.
The results of such meditative study is… to be changed by what is learned rather than to storm the gates of knowledge – to form tastes, desires, passions, attitudes, and dispositions. I the end, it is a practice that determines the way on envisions and responds to the world.
(Monk Habits for Everyday People – byDennis Okholm)
We will discover our true selves as we patiently simmer in communities and relationships to which God has called us. And we will find God there as well, because if we cannot find God where we are, we will not find him elsewhere. Except for those extreme or abusive cases, if you haven’t seen God in your marriage, in your present employment, in your neighborhood, or in your church fellowship, then chances are you won’t see God in your next marriage, job, neighborhood, or church.
(monk habits for everyday people. Dennis Okholm)
A good example of the freedom gained through obedience is found in family life. Children need attention, money has to be gotten, my wife must be listened to even when I feel my resources drained. Obedience to these limits within the discipline of family life brings with it a certain freedom which is found in love. Love as a father and as a husband is deeper than an I have ever known, and I know that this has been made possible through the countless acts of obedience to familial limits that i have made over the years: doing this or that because I know that I have to as a father and as a husband. Love without obedience to these limits and rules is a shallow love, unable to really give except when it feels good to do so…. I have found that through the limits of obedience I grow beyond the confines of the self with its desires and traps.
(Brain Taylor, Spirituality for Everyday Living)
RECOVERING NARCISSIST 