Maybe one of these quotes from Thomas Merton may lodge in your mind today… hopefully something to mull over as you go about your day and night.

“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”

“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”

Oh and one more, cause I can’t help myself!

“Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it.”

I have a problem - many of you can probably understand or appreciate, I can never have too many books. There is always one more or another that is calling to be read. It really isn’t a serious problem, but I do love books. I love everything about them - I enjoy them in libraries, bookstores, and probably most of all stacked by my chair in the living room, and next to my bed! I don’t think I will ever be one to adopt reading books on electronic pads or listening to books on my ipod - I enjoy too much the feel of a book in my hand and turning pages!

I acquired three new friends in the past 12 hours. Well, to be truthful, they aren’t “new” friends - they are new works from old friends. I have acquired the following books:

Chris Folmsbee - A New Kind of Youth Ministry

Chris is the CEO and President of Sonlife Ministries and is already at work on his second book (tentatively titled, Story, Signs and Sacred Rhythms). I am looking forward to reading this book (besides Chris being a close friend, he is also a great resource for those working with youth in the church) - this is a book I have anticipated reading since it came out at the YS Convention in Cincy this past November, and one I look forward to reviewing. I have already scanned the contents and know I will be encouraging my church youth ministry team to go through it as we dream, pray and consider how to improve our ministry with/for youth.

Thomas Merton - A Book of Hours (edited by Kathleen Deignan)

This is meant to be a daily guide for leading a person in contemplative prayer over the course of a week with the pre-eminent 20th century spiritual guide, Thomas Merton. I have found Merton to be extremely challenging and often his writing has caused me to ponder a thought for days… and that is a good thing. The book is designed beautifully and has readings and prayers for prayer at Dawn, Day, Dusk & Dark for Sunday through Saturday.

A small taste: “I only have time for eternity.”

Think on that nugget from Merton for more than a second.

Dr. Bruce Demarest - soul guide (Following Jesus As Spiritual Director)

The third and final book came to my attention as a recommendation from a friend. It is right up my alley and the things that I am thinking about these days. It looks like a helpful and enjoyable read. What I have read so far is engaging and produces a lot of nods of the head and agreeable sounds.

A taste… (a bit more than Merton!)

As Christians we confess that Jesus the Christ is the fullness of God, come to us in human flesh to offer us the example of a life lived perfectly under the guidance and direction of God. As such, Jesus Himself is the perfect paradigm for completed humanity and the pattern for Christian ministry. Looking to Jesus as human beings we find answers to the questions and issues with which we all struggle. Looking to Jesus as disciples we find in Him the perfect pattern of how to minister grace to spiritual seekers.

Looking foward to gleaning more from these new books from old friends! Hope to share a full review of each of these selections with you!

Some of the things I have stumbled across or enjoyed over the past couple of days (or weeks):

A New Find!

a website a friend pointed me to called Godspace, it is the website of author Christine Sine;

from blogs on ministry

I have also been enjoying the blog by a fellow youth worker, Dan Mayes check out this post (I found it thought-provoking).

Bob Robinson has done two very intriguing posts on a new approach for sharing our faith and revealing God’s Kingdom - quality stuff!! Part One. Part Two.

Chris Folmsbee has written a unique take on how we represent Jesus, check out his post - Stealing or Revealing the Identity of Jesus;

Steve Argue asks the tough questions - and this post gets at the heart of; an important discussion that maybe you can work through in your youth ministry environment.

this is just cool stuff

will it be a trend? Life Church enter’s the world of Second Life… check it out.

Jim Hancock continues to “turn up” cool videos… this one is pretty amazing…

helpful

compare on those books you wanna buy - compare here

It is an oft quoted/prayed prayer - found extensively posted in blogs, yet it is a prayer that means so much to me. I have been praying it on behalf of a close friend, and have found it meaningful in my life once again.

The prayer:

My Lord God I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

A prayer of putting up the sail; trusting God’s Spirit will fill the sail and lead us where we need to go.

St. Brendan the Navigator (an example to follow in Perigrinatio!)

Why do we do what we do? For those who work with youth - sometimes we ask this question of ourselves out of frustration. Sometimes we find ourselves answering this question, for other inquirying minds. Nonetheless we are faced often in youth ministry with the question, “Why do you do it?”

We can joke, “It’s not about the money.” (Although I know some folks who are living fairly comfortable off this “vocation.”) But, why do we do it?

Are we incapable of doing any other thing?

Are we able to get by doing little? Are we lazy?

Are we following our calling?

Do we fear growing up?

Do we, do it for love?

What is the driving motivation that has us pursuing youth ministry? I hope among the many competing motivations there is a compeling love for youth. I am on a one man mission to restore dignity to the word, amateur. The word is derived from a latin word meaning, “lover or to love.” When I hear people say, “I am just an amateur” it makes me cringe. Why do folks feel they need to apologize that they are not a “paid professional.” I often reply, “Doing it for the love, is often preferable to the alternative.” We need more amateurs and a whole lot less of the alternative.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13.1-3)

Maybe we could add: “If I teach and lead youth in the community of faith, but have not love, I am merely a sideshow entertainer - much shock, no impact.”

Do it for love!

Today I celebrate the anniversary of the day I was born, and that got me thinking. I am now in the midst of mid-life (not a mid-life crisis, though!). I have been thinking quite a bit about mid-life and it’s benefits and about life-stages in general and what they bring to our lives. It seems that at each life stage we are faced with challenges and benefits that accompany us on our journey (I think I originally began thinking about this from reading Kenda Creasy Dean’s, Practicing Passion).

Infancy - dependence
Childhood - wonder
Adolescents - passion
Late Adolescence - mid 20’s - idealism
Early Adulthood - energy, industrious
Mid-Life - resources, stability
Retirement - wisdom, experience
Senior - wonder, dependence

Anyway, the list above represents some early thoughts about the dominant challenges/benefits that come as we journey through the stages of our lives. There is much more that could obviously be said about this, but it makes me wonder what does this mean for our churches. Too often the practice in the church is to divide every life stage into homogeneous units. Classes and events are planned and designed to target specific age groups. It makes me wonder all that we are missing by avoiding the mixing of generations and folks from various life stages. We miss the the wisdom of a 70 year old reflecting on the wonder of a child. We miss the passion of a teen calling us to follow God’s heart for the lost and least of these; and the resources of one in mid-life catching the passionate/idealism and taking a risk to finance the new endeavor.

I pray that our churches would stop dividing up the Body of Christ into neat and convenient “ministries” or “departments.” I pray that we would “be one” as the Father and Son are one. I pray that our churches would reflect a unity, amidst diversity. Not just an appreciation for the Gifts of the Spirit; but also the unique and diverse challenges and benefits that accompany our stage of life. I pray that we would value and come to appreciate our need for one another. I pray for the day when our churches would reflect our God-given humanity; redeemed and reflecting the image of God - Our wonder-filled, passionate and industrious God. The God who does not change and the God who calls us to impossible tasks. The God who has everything we need and who is full of wisdom and full of power. May the Body of Christ that gathers in each of our churches become a place where all belong, all contribute and all learn from and sharpen one another. A place where a child can lead, a teen can point us to God’s heart, a 20 something can remind us of how it “should” or “can be,” an adult lends her experience to sharpen another, a 60 something share his life with a 20 something…

May it be.

I don’t want to add too many of my words…

Augustine heard, “take up and read…” - may you hear from my little blogging world this day, “down load and hear…”

Shane Claiborne was featured on the APR radio program Speaking of Faith yesterday and I implore you to listen, consider, dream and pray about what you hear.

If you desire to “take up and read” well then check out, “The Irresistible Revolution.”

May we be more than entertained by Shane’s story; may we listen and hear echoes of God’s Kingdom and may we consider, dream and plan how we might resound with God’s Kingdom in our sphere of influence.

In my earlier post on listening I suggested that the spiritual life is the result of a life that listens. Our ability to learn to listen to our own life and to the voice of God are important factors in determining our progress on the journey to become like Christ. We see in the life of those who come before us (Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, Jesus, Mary of Bethany, Paul, The Church Fathers, etc.) the priority of taking time to push the pause button - and allowing time for reflection, being, and for listening. Joan D. Chittister in her book, The Rule of Benedict Insights for the Ages makes the following observation:

It is a lesson to be relearned in a modern age perhaps. There is nothing more important in our own list of important things to do in life than to stop at regular times, in regular ways to remember what life is really about, where it came from, why we have it, what we are to do with it and for whom we are to live it. No matter how tired we are or how busy we are or how impossible we think it is to do it, Benedictine spirituality says, Stop. Now. A spiritual life without a regular prayer life and an integrated community consciousness is pure illusion.

Did you catch that last sentance? Read it again.

“A spiritual life without a regular prayer life and an integrated community consciousness is pure illusion.”

And when read in context, I hear Chittister saying, without a life of prayer, meaning a life that fails to pause, cease from activity, quiet their life for the purpose of reflecting on it before the living God, is a life of illusion. A life of that leads to the absurd. A life that gets on a hamster wheel and strives, and stresses, and generates a lot of motion and activity - but fails to move in the direction of obeying the voice of God.

How do we practice a life that listens? Well a key word in the previous sentance is the word practice. There are exercises from the 2000 years of our Christian heritage that can help us to develop a life that listens. One of the practices that I have come to appreciate is often referred to as, The Prayer of Examen. This particular prayer exercise was explained by St. Ignatius in his work, The Spiritual Exercises.

The prayer of examen is a way of honestly assessing our lives in the light of God’s mercy. This prayer focuses our reflection on a narrow time span, perhaps the previous day or week. It is not intended to be a tallying of failures and successes but an assessment of how we have lived in union with God. The prayer of examen is to be practiced in solitude, but it is ultimately about community, about our relationship to self, God, and others. It is a great prayer to practice in the evening or at the close of the day.

The Prayer:

1. Remember you are in the presence of God. Take time to be still and quiet. Take a deep breath and remember that in God we live and move and have our being.

2. Recall the events of your day (or week) and ask God to show you all the moments of Grace (or moments of gratitude or times of sorrow - you can practice the Examen in reference to one or all of these various moments).

3. Invite the Holy Spirit to identify one particular moment from your day. After a particular event surfaces, don’t question it - relive that moment slowly and repeatedly.

4. Ask God, what are you saying or teaching me in this moment or what are you inviting me to do, remember or know. LISTEN.

5. Resolve to rest and grow in God’s presence. Imagine that God is sitting with you and you have the opportunity to speak to him face to face. Respond appropriately to what the Spirit of God has shown you (a need to thank, repent, obey, trust, etc.). Ask God to help you be more aware as you go through your day of His presence and to be more attentive to His voice. Rest, wait in God’s presence.

This is the Prayer of Examen. In this exercise we find in reflecting on our life the thread of the presence of God and we nurture a life that is more alert to His voice and to His work. I encourage you to take 15 - 30 minutes and try this exercise and see if it helps you become more present to yourself and to the Lord Most High.

I often look for good news about women and men who have faithfully followed their vocation and who have persisted in a way that is a good example and an inspiration to me. I stumbled onto this story - a story of a teenager who followed his dream and in so doing raised a good family, remained faithful to his spouse, and obeyed God’s call to ministry. I thought I would share it and invite you to take it to heart! It reminds me that:

God can and does speak to young people,

God is at work (although we can’t always see it) and still changing lives,

We can learn to balance vocation and personal life - neither needs to come “second,”

and God honors our faithful steps in the direction of obedience.

Now the story… Enjoy! (I found the story here.)

Pastor Madho celebrates 34 years service to Jesus
By SEETA PERSAD Wednesday, May 16 2007

He is well known in the Southland for his charity work at the Operation Smile Home for Children. Having spent 34 years of his life in service to Jesus Christ, Pastor Madho Basdeo is now enjoying the fruits of his work as he is well respected by the hundreds who attend the Gasparillo Ministry Centre.

With the assistance of his wife, Sandra Basdeo, the pastor has spent days and nights building the ministry and serving the Christian community in the area.

The pastor celebrates his 50th birthday today and his congregation has sent a message to him saying he is a genuine man of God and they are all proud of him.

Coming from modest beginnings, Basdeo has proven that it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from — it’s who you’ve become that matters.

Despite his humble background, Basdeo developed the patience to endure his troubles, and this patience has certainly paid off in cultivating the strong person he is today.

He was just 16 when he accepted Jesus as his Lord and saviour. He had many visions as a teenager and he followed the visions, and this guided him to identify his purpose and pursue it with a passion.

At 17, he became the pastor of the Hermitage New Testament Church of God, and during his ministry at Hermitage, he was guided by compassion from God for underprivileged children. At the age of 21, he was married to Sandra, whom he describes as “the love of his life.” Together they accepted the role of senior pastors at the Poonah New Testament Church of God.

As the pastor related to his congregation at a recent lecture, the church was a dilapidated shack with just a few members when he arrived.

He began his ministering work at the church and the shack was soon replaced by a concrete structure of which the community is now proud.

Having outgrown the facilities at the Poonah New Testament Church of God, Basdeo was struck by the vision of a church in Gasparillo. He followed his instincts and the Ministry Centre was built in quick time.

Not long after the establishment of the Gasparillo ministry, Basdeo set about to create the Operation Smile Home for neglected children in South Trinidad.

He demonstrated his commitment to the people by working long hours to establish the home and getting the underprivileged children to stay at the home.

His church followers are convinced that God is answering their prayers through Pastor Madho, and the congregation is actively involved in caring for the 44 children at the children’s home.

Coming from a humble background, Basdeo did not have the opportunity to get a full secondary education, but this did not stop him from earning a degree in Christian Theology from the Covalent Life Ministry School of Theology in 2001.

In the words of Christian, Dr Kenneth Boa, a careful examination of a leader’s qualifications reveals someone who has his family and public life in balance. This certainly applies to Basdeo, as even though his life’s tasks were demanding, he made and continues to make time for his wife and seven children — all of whom are Christians and are persuing careers. While many may think it is a huge task, Pastor Basdeo believes that God is in control and all thing are possible with him. In the future the pastor plans on opening room and library at the ministry for students and members. Already members are coming up with various ideas to promote academics at the ministry. The hope is to get qualified persons to teach the various subjects to students from there areas. They are also hoping to develop the youths in the different disciplines in sports. This will include cricket, netball, table tennis and football. The pastor is currently holding classes in Bible studies at the ministry.

At this 50th year of life, Basdeo is thankful to God for all his accomplishments and plans to keep working to build the Gasparillo Ministry Centre and lives of impoverished children not only in TT but in the rest of the Caribbean.

At the heart of Christian Spirituality is the idea of “listening.” The very first word of Benedict’s, Rule of Life is the word, “listen.” Those who have gone before us have again, and again stressed the importance of being able to “hear” from our own life (our needs, desires, and concerns) and from the voice of our Loving Father.

In our age, we don’t seem to do so well in the area of listening. The result for this failure is a lack of depth in our spiritual life. We are out of touch with what is really real. We are disconnected from what matters most. We are distant from the heart and voice of our Living God. As T. S. Eliot observes we live, “distracted by distractions to avoid our distractions.”

This leads me to Henri Nouwen’s observations about listening.

“The first discipline is listening. The word listening in Latin is audire. And if you listen with great attention the words are ob audire. That is the word for “obedience.” The word obedience means listening. If you are not listening, you are deaf. The Latin word for deaf is surdus, and if you’re actually deaf, you’re ab surdus. The “absurd” life is a life in which you’re not listening. An obedient life is a life in which you are listening.”

May we learn to listen. May we avoid lives of absurdity. May we pray that God will help us to be alert, aware and attentive to life and to His voice. This is the spiritual life, a life that listens. I will add a couple of ways to help “tune our ears” that have helped others in developing a “life that listens,” in the days ahead.