Sacrament of the Moment

I love coming across and learning different ways people apply spiritual discipline in their lives. This is a section from the Mama:Monk blog, a guest post by Debby Bellingham. It resonates with what I'm desiring and learning on this journey.

"Jean-Pierre de Caussade in his book Abandonment to Divine Providence says becoming holy (his word – we might use the phrase to live fully in the Kingdom of God) is to “make a sacrament of the present moment.”

A sacrament is nothing but a common thing made holy by inviting God to be present in it. Common bread and wine are made a sacrament when we use them as reminders of Christʼs sacrifice for us. Water becomes a sacrament when it is used as the means of marking us in baptism. Bread, wine, water, in themselves are not holy. Consecrating them, asking God to use them or to meet us in the use of them is what makes them holy.

Your life may not seem holy, but every moment of your life can become a sacrament when you invite God to be present in it. Such awareness and activity will constantly connect you with the God of your life. Your goal, right? You want and need to live connected with the God who loves you.

Recognize that in each and every moment of your life God is giving you himself. Take this NOW and receive Godʼs love.

Your common, everyday life – work deadlines, feeding your family, conversations with friends, keeping your house – these are the NOWs in which God wants to meet you. He hides himself in these.

'The reason I speak to them in parables (hides himself in the commonalities of life) is that ʻseeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand…But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.' Matthew 13:13,16

You are blessed because you seek God by faith, not by sight. The blessing of finding God hidden in every moment of your life requires practice. More tomorrow."

Returning With Thankfulness

This isn't how I imagined coming back to the blog. I wanted more of a BANG to mark a new chapter, ya know? I knew I would need something to compel me to write again on here, and funny enough it wasn't any of the wonderful or challenging things happening in my life. My kids, my work, the new business, the new house (16 days 'til we move!), baby on the way…it's all worth writing about and there is much I have gained and learned about the spiritual disciplines in all aspects of my life. I just couldn't pick which one to talk about or how or when. But I've been reading this blog called Mama:Monk and I absolutely love it. It's one that I MUST read every post of. This girl is someone I can relate to on almost every level (particularly in relation to my journey of the spiritual disciplines). Motherhood, spirituality, marriage, simplicity, creativity. She does a Thankful Tuesday post and is starting to ask others to write their own and link our blogs together. It's a way of having online Christian fellowship, and that's what is compelling me today to write a new post. Because Micha Boyett (Mama:Monk) had a good idea and I wanted to join in.

I am thankful for…

• my little boys who can hardly let me walk out the door in the mornings.
• people that can disagree and journey in love through that disagreement.
• God's surprises and the mystery of walking with Him.
• the incredible emotions of pregnancy that make me ultra-sensitive and reactive (as annoying as it can be at times, I love that emotions remind me I'm alive and human.)
• the greater depths of knowledge of our God that my husband and I are reaching together.
• the book our small group is reading together called Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas.
• crisp spring mornings that smell like the countryside.
• simplifying my home, design projects, my way of thinking, my hopes.
• change. It makes me hopeful and forces improvement.
• the people in recovery at UGM who work hard and face the darkest places in order to obtain life-change and walk with God.
• occasional time alone.

Lent

Since I'm on a blog sabbatical for the time being, here is a fitting post from my friend, Mary, on her hopes for Lent.

http://strangecapers.blogspot.com/2012/02/lent.html