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Samurai

Monk, Samu­rai, and the Chris­t­ian Life

Ken Shige­mat­su’s dis­cov­ered his ances­tors were Japan­ese samu­rai who lived by bushi­do, a code of hon­or with sur­pris­ing par­al­lels to St. Bene­dic­t’s Rule. Mod­ern Chris­tians can learn much from both samu­rai and monk.
Ken Shigematsu
Ken Shigematsu
January 15, 2021
African basket

We Live by Rhythms

Pat­terns, struc­tures, tra­di­tions, and rit­u­als make up our dai­ly rhythms. What if we could learn to shape these rhythms to make us more aware of the Holy Spir­it, more inten­tion­al in our appren­tice­ship to Christ? Chris Webb gives the whys for craft­ing a Rule of Life in this help­ful introduction.
Chris Webb
Chris Webb
January 14, 2021
Jesus washing feet closeup

On the Imi­ta­tion of Christ

De imi­ta­tione Christi is our high­est aspi­ra­tion as believ­ers. Richard Fos­ter offers per­son­al anec­dote, scrip­tur­al insight, and prax­is in this reflec­tion on imi­tat­ing Christ.
Richard J. Foster
Richard J. Foster
January 8, 2021
Horses imprinting

Imprint­ing with God

“The life­long dynam­ic of bap­tism as a lifestyle is what makes it end­less­ly mean­ing­ful,” writes pas­tor and author Eric Peter­son. He expands our think­ing of this sacra­ment from a one-time event to a way of liv­ing in Jesus.
Eric E. Peterson
Eric E. Peterson
December 28, 2020
Featured Advent 4 Rembrandt

The Hum­ble and Messy Arrival of God

Did the shep­herds stop to won­der why the Mes­si­ah was born in a sta­ble attend­ed by ani­mals? Some­day we can ask them. For now, we notice, with help from this med­i­ta­tion by Miri­am Dixon and Mar­garet Campbell.
Miriam Dixon Margaret Campbell
Miriam Dixon & Margaret Campbell
December 22, 2020
Woman swing jungle

Find­ing God at the End of Our Rope

Dal­las Willard was right, says Lacy Bor­go, ​“God’s address is at the end of our rope.” To stay cen­tered and con­nect­ed in sea­sons of strug­gle, she invites us to pray the Psalms and to play as a ​“stub­born act of hope.”
Lacy Finn Borgo
Lacy Finn Borgo
December 16, 2020
Mary pregnant

Redeem­ing All Brokenness

“Advent is not a time to declare,” says Madeleine L’En­gle, ​“but to lis­ten to what­ev­er God may want to tell us through the singing of the stars, the quick­en­ing of a baby, the gal­lantry of a dying man.”
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle
December 11, 2020
Featured Advent 3 La Tour

When Plans Get Interrupted

God rad­i­cal­ly rearranged Joseph’s planned future with Mary. Rather than resist, Joseph believed and obeyed. Miri­am Dixon and Mar­garet Camp­bell help us gain a fresh per­spec­tive on the often over­looked sac­ri­fices of the famous carpenter.
Miriam Dixon Margaret Campbell
Miriam Dixon & Margaret Campbell
December 11, 2020
Featured Advent 2 Filippo Lippi Annunciation

Mary’s Choice

From the Ren­o­varé resource Med­i­ta­tions on the Birth of Jesus, Miri­am Dixon and Mar­garet Camp­bell invite us to pon­der Mary’s choice of how to receive God’s word to her through Gabriel.
Miriam Dixon Margaret Campbell
Miriam Dixon & Margaret Campbell
December 4, 2020
Empty glass bottle

Emp­ty That We May Be Full

Mar­lena opens her book, The Way Up is Down, by pour­ing out her com­plaints to God (“read­ing God the riot act”) after a par­tic­u­lar­ly painful event. That hon­est prayer opened the way to illu­mi­nat­ing insight.
Marlena Graves
Marlena Graves
November 30, 2020