Here I sit in quiet stillness. For 30 minutes, there is no scrolling, swiping, messaging, emailing, chores, work, or needs of any form. For 30 minutes, I kneel before a makeshift altar composed of two candles and a vaguely anthropomorphic stone statue. For 30 minutes,
Gamma, gamma, hey! Neuroscientists who have been studying Buddhist monks and how meditation affects the brain since the early 1990s have made some pretty phenomenal discoveries over the decades. Meditation on subjects such as compassion, loving-kindness and even just following the breath, is shown to
How long, O God? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? – Psalm 13 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of God,
I was going on 15 when the Creator of the universe first revealed himself to me, at a junior high after-school Bible study that I was attending for purely social reasons. After a half hour or so of chips, dip, Hawaiian punch, and strategic mingling
Save me, O God, from the temptation to be less than fully human, less than the child of God You created me to be. Save me, O God, from the temptation to view my sexuality as a curse, rather than as a precious Gift with
God at the center of your life Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Whether we realize it or not, God is at the center of the life of the Christian, and our life is a constant life of prayer, not merely because of what we
There are times, Mary, when the world is dark and harsh and uninviting. But this is not news to you. You know all too well the language of anguish your gay and lesbian children speak when crying out against the hatred, fear, and religious discrimination
Prayer, the simplest of activities, can be a complicated matter when we think about its many manifestations. We pray for such a wide range of things, in such varied ways, and in so many different states of mind (and heart). Prayer – like the Holy
Prayer that craves a particular commodity, anything less than all good, is vicious. Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul. But prayer as a means to effect
Prayer is interaction – communication – with God, and for most of our lives the results of prayer are not spectacular. Though we may have experienced miracles of intercession, of healing and of provision, these are not the spiritual fare on which we dine daily.