Divine Duct Tape: March 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Spring in My Step

Last week on my daily walk with Miley I saw my first green bud of spring and let out an audible squeal of joy. I couldn’t help it. Not even the restrained emotions of my anglo-german DNA could keep me quiet. It’s the same feeling I get when I see my first snowflake of winter--only happier!

Why Duct Tape?

We’ve all been there. To Do lists. Appointments. Family schedules. The dog’s schedule. In our fast-track culture, we often find ourselves reaching for spiritual duct tape to hold us together and wonder why we feel so distant from God and struggling, not just to find a matching pair of socks, but to find direction and meaning in our fractured lives.

Part devotion, part Bible study and part personal story/reflection, Divine Duct Tape is a blog about imperfect Christians connecting with our perfect Abba, hearing His voice to personally direct our lives each day, and transforming us in the process from the inside out.

So come journey with me, a few verses at a time, through the words God has preserved for us in Luke's letter. By learning to share with Him your day-to-day thoughts, concerns and questions as prompted by Luke's text, you will find that we can still hear His voice, connect with His heart and see that whether we laugh at ourselves or cry over our struggles, we are not alone. Curled up with coffee and our Dearest Friend, we can have a conversation that can last a lifetime.

Prayer. Duh!

It wasn't until one of my pastors gave a sermon on prayer recently that I realized my blog needed an explanation about its most critical element. Prayer. Duh!

Yes, reading just a few verses of scripture at a time and asking myself what they reveal about God or myself or humanity is part of what has helped me connect with God in a way I never have before. And journaling my response to those answers helps me to process my thoughts and put them in a more accountable form of black and white.

But what happens between the question and the writing is the most essential part of it all. Conversation. Prayer. With a cup of coffee in hand and a quiet corner to call our own (for those with young children, this space may be called "the bathroom"), we need to talk to God about our questions.

Over the years, I have found that following the format of the Lord's Prayer a good way to start. We all have our own way of coming into His presence but for me, it has especially helped to start my prayer with "Abba" ("Daddy" in translation) and to begin with telling Him (and thereby reminding myself) about who He is. I ask Him to help me be part of His Kingdom people and for His will to be done through me and others around the world. I ask Him to equip me for the day--to "give me my daily bread." I ask Him to forgive me for my specific sins and to enable me to forgive those who have wounded me in turn (that's the hardest one of the lot). I ask Him to protect me from the temptation to turn to other things for my security and identity and source of joy. And finally, to protect me and my family from evil and to deliver us safely into His hand at our journey's end.

Or something like that.

But in the midst of my prayer, I ask my question. And before concluding your own answers, I encourage you to do the same. Ask Him. Even out loud. It may feel like a one-way conversation at first but He will begin to prompt you to think. And to respond.

Conversing with God is like so many other relationships. It takes time and repetition before we become comfortable and familiar with the One we share our deepest thoughts. But it does happen!

Divine Duct Tape

Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Spring in My Step

Why Duct Tape?

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Prayer. Duh!

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