Tag Archives: Quiet

Thursday Thanks (66-70)

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fiveEach week (I aim for Thursday), I’ll use this space to list five things (items, experiences, people, whatever) for which I’ve been recently grateful. Consider it my “blessings count”. Ann Voskamp’s famous challenge to list 1000 gifts seemed daunting — I’m committing to 500, a task which will take me two years of weekly posts to complete!

Here are the most recent entries on my list:

1) Countryside
A relative’s wedding yesterday pushed me to drive hours out of the city into the beautiful parts of our province. Lush fields, golden canola, quiet grids — the city has lots of perks, but these aren’t them.

2) Hugs
I have three sweet daughters and a beautiful wife. All four are exceptional huggers. Count this man as rich!

3) Skin
A week ago, I had a nasty blister that had left a very raw and open sore. A bit of care and a bit of time — it’s nearly healed. Skin astounds me!

4) Music
Our church ran its Vacation Bible School a week ago. In the aftermath, we borrowed the DVD that contained all the songs the kids learned. It is a special joy to watch my girls, right down to my two-year-old find pleasure in worship as they sing and move to those tunes.

5) Quiet
 Worship this morning involved a darkened room and some hushed moments. I’m all for energy and celebration — and I want to be even more for them — but somehow the stripped-down hush holds a special sort of essence for this fellow.

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailYOUR TURN: Your input makes this post better!

  • Did any of this week’s list especially strike a chord with you?
  • What’s one thing you’re particularly grateful for this week?

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Sunday Six-Pack (41)

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The Six-Pack is back, after a week off. Thanks to all who offered birthday wishes and helped make it fun to put another candle on the cake.

Back to the blog, here are the best online pieces I found this week. Most are faith-focused or ministry-minded; others are just who-knows-what!

If you need help starting, begin with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) 31 Unmistakable Signs that You’re an Introvert
Susan Cain wrote a brilliant book called “Quiet: The Power of Introverts“. This post is very loosely and lightly associated with that work.

2) The Einstein Principle: Accomplish More by Doing Less
You may never discover a reality-altering formula; you may not pull the crazy-genius hair-do either. But Study Hacks presents at least one way you might strive to be like Albert.

3) Christians and Masturbation: Seven Perspectives (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Rachel Held Evans puts forward this “panel post” on one of this sensitive subject. There are a number of insightful portions in this piece, in regard to how Christians might view sexuality, purity, and fantasy.

4) Two Things I Do that Increase My Creative Output the Most (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Donald Miller shares his two best moves on better producing creatively.  I think he’s on to something here.

5) The Incredible Dating Power of a Guitar Case
Looking for more dates? PsyBlog says, “Consider your props!” 😉

6) Coffee: From Field to Cup
I don’t personally touch the stuff, but I am surrounded by many who do. And they don’t just touch it; they bathe in it. Or something like that. This video (from Mental Floss) helps you java-lovers with “the rest of the story”.

May your weekend be full of awareness and enjoyment of the God who already fills it with Himself and every good thing.  Blessings on you, my friends.

YOUR TURN: Direct other readers to the best stuff with a comment below, or weigh in on what you read.  Your input makes this post better!

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More Fruitful than Feverish Activity

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We are infatuated with ourselves.

Fearfully and wonderfully made, we are filled with power to shape the lives we lead, along with the world in which we live. Bearing the divine image, we are endowed with the potential for significant influence and impact. Indeed, we are weighty beings.

It is this “batting stance” that struggles to process a quote like the following:

“Coming before God in quietness and waiting upon Him in silence can accomplish more than days of feverish activity.”

wilderness2Tied into this realization, from A.W. Tozer, is a key strand of wilderness teaching. Ancient Israel was enrolled in a forty-year course toward grasping that their taking of the Promised Land would actually have nearly nothing to do with their ability to take Promised Land. This was to be deeply humbling and highly empowering at the same bizarre time!

So much of our lives are spent stressing over the challenges we must overcome or the standards we must meet. God wants His people clear that the works truly need undertaking within our surroundings and selves will require larger hands and finer craftsmanship. In these ventures, worshipful seeking holds more power than wild striving.

In a related theme, Barbara Brown Taylor describes the Sabbath rhythm as “a practice in death”. This is equally a theme of the Lenten season as well as a central strand to the Christian Gospel.

To be sure, God offers new life in His Son and fresh breath by His Spirit. It just requires a dead soul and a panting spirit to press us into a posture ready for such gifts.

That is why God loves the wilderness, because His people need it so.