Csquared Thoughts

More on Quiet Time

I wrote about my lack of making time for quiet time in a previous post. Tammy of Zen Pizza wrote in a comment about the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. She's right, and being mindful in everyday life is a practice to embrace.

But there's more here.

I quoted a paraphrase of Greg Johnson, who said

The church has taken a gracious invitation to quiet time with the Lord and turned it into quiet time guilt.

As I spoke with my spiritual director about this, I realized there was a difference between not having the time and not choosing to take the time. And I think it's about the guilt thing.

I love this cartoon.

Takes me back to my Religious Science and practitioner training days with the minister asking why we ain't been doin' our meditatin'.

So it becomes a "you need to eat your green beans" kind of thing, when really meditation time makes me feel calmer, more centered, and less stressed.

So how do I take the quiet time guilt and turn it back into a gracious invitation to quiet time with the Lord?

Baseball

March first. The first day of spring training exhibition games. I listened to a good portion of the Giants' game today. (After my appointment with my spiritual director. I do have my priorities.) The world has emerged from its winter, and all is good.

Advent!

Advent 1

It's Advent. The long stretch of of ordinary time is over and we are back in sacred time.

I saw my spiritual director this past Thursday after too long a stretch (due both to her schedule and mine). We talked about where I was out of sorts and where I found myself in a state of meditation or prayer. Something clicked, and I not only felt the presence of God, but I felt that I had gotten a snapshot, so I could get back to that place whenever I needed to.

I don't know if that had anything to do with the fact that we were about to enter the season of Advent. I'd like to think it could have just as easily happened in mid-August in the middle of the season after Pentecost.

It doesn't really matter though. I did make that connection. And it is Advent. A season of hope and joy and anticipation in the midst of the darkness of winter. Leading us to the joy of Christmas. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. It's only Advent 1, after all.

Peace and joy of the season.