In the Coracle

Presence and Impact

May 15th, 2009, No Comments

Being genuinely present to someone also means being willing to be touched by him or her. If I genuinely bring myself to a relationship, I must be prepared to be changed by it. Anything less than this means that I am not totally present. Being genuinely present means that I may be affected by your [...]

Reading Entire Authors’ Catalogs

May 15th, 2009, 2 Comments

A while back, I posted a blog entry about the authors that I would love to commit to reading all of their work (or at least a large majority of it).
Then, I said this:

I was thinking today, as I sat down to do some book summary papers for my next class in the [...]

Final Course Reading List

May 6th, 2009, 3 Comments

Here are the books that I’m reading for the final course in my D. MIn program at Bakke Graduate University. The course title is “Rhythms of Living – Exploring Christian Spiritual Practices in Shaping Hearts of Compassion”; it’s a course in spiritual formation and spiritual practices.
  
Here’s the course description:
T

This course immerses students in the study [...]

Partaking of a Contemplative Reality

March 22nd, 2009, No Comments

The poet Kathleen Norris writes,

Like all who choose life in the slow lane – sailors, monks, farmers – I partake of a contemplative reality. Living close to such an expanse of land I find I have little incentive to move fast, little need of instant information. I have learned to trust the processes that take [...]

… to Pray Constantly

March 22nd, 2009, No Comments

Abbot Christopher Jamison of Worth Abbey, which was the home from the BBC documentary called The Monastery, writes:

Christian prayer is the simple act of addressing God as “you.”
The great aim of the monastic life by Benedict was as simple as it was demanding: the aim was to pray constantly, in the general sense of keeping [...]

Three Ongoing Points Against Amazon Kindle

January 17th, 2009, 3 Comments

Continuing with a topic I wrote about this past November, I still would like a Kindle, but here are three reasons it’s fine by me that the v2 isn’t yet available, forcing me into a decision:

Used book prices via Amazon often are way below Kindle’s prices

For the last three books I added to my wishlist [...]

Why a Way of Life?

December 28th, 2008, No Comments

Godly discipline is different to the rules and regulations of bureaucratic organizations. The answer to legalism is not a vacuum, but clarity about our priorities. To live authentically means that I choose my lifestyle, I do not succumb to the lifestyle others foist upon me. It means that I use my time, money and talents [...]

Hauerwas Recommendations?

October 18th, 2008, 3 Comments

I’d like to read some Stanley Hauerwas, never having done so before. Do you have a favorite book of his to recommend?

Preparation for Silence

September 29th, 2008, No Comments

More tidbits from Anthony Bloom, a Russian Orthodox doctor/priest/monk in Great Britain and Ireland. This comes from page 91-2 of “Beginning to Pray” (Anthony Bloom).

Real silence is something extremely intense, it has density and it is really alive.
[When preparing to pray] It is essential to be alert and alive, and at the same time still [...]

Prayer Is…

September 27th, 2008, No Comments

More tidbits from Anthony Bloom, a Russian Orthodox doctor/priest/monk in Great Britain and Ireland. This comes from page 31-32 of “Beginning to Pray” (Anthony Bloom).

What we must start with, if we wish to pray, is the certainty that we are sinners in need of salvation, that we are cut off from God and that we [...]