If prayer occurs amidst an ordinary and distraction-laden life, then the apt question is, “How might we include these distractions into our prayers? Rather than treating each interruption as something that rips us away from Jesus, how might we embrace these distractions, even transform them, as tools for our devotion?
Spiritual Formation
A Blog about Prayer
If we think this that prayer can only occur when all is quiet, we inevitably find ourselves viewing every hiccup or distraction as a negation or prayer. And once prayer is negated by interruption, it’s easily abandoned. We end up reserving prayer for those special times when no one is around, and all is silent.
Ministry in the Ordinary
Serving God can be boring. There I said it. This is something that all who are involved in ministry know, but rarely articulate. The boring reality of ministry seems to betray the high hopes with which we accepted our callings. After all, we began our work for God with visions of entering the work of the Spirit, of growing the church, and transforming the world. And yet as time goes on, we find that much of our walk with God is uninteresting. Ministry involves ordinary events like mowing the lawn, baking a cake, or attending yet another budget-related meeting.
Crafted and Called.
Moses had spent years defining himself by the lack of external validation. Everything he went through told him that he was not useable by God; that was his identity. But the answer of our identity is never one we must create; it is one we receive. Moses was so busy describing how he saw himself, that he failed to hear how God viewed him.
Ministry and Midwifery
What was God up to before you stepped onto the scene? How did God’s hand impact your life before you were even aware of it? More importantly, who were the people whom God used to bring you to where you are today?
Tests and Testimonies
When we talk about tests, we often think about tests in school, or maybe a road-test. Tests are designed for us to prove ourselves, to show our knowledge, our skill, or our worth, and by doing so, earn the grade, the position, or the license we desire. Importantly, testing is rooted in binary in nature. Regardless of demerit points or a range of letter grades, testing boils down to passing or failing. You either make the grade, or you miss out. Does God test in the same manner?
Walk in what is Good
I don’t want to play for the algorithms. I don’t want to put my writing on hold so that I can appeal to publishers. I don’t want to seek an audience or a platform. I simply want to walk in the way that Jesus leads me. For me, the good way is to uplift those who are discouraged and to live into that encouragement myself.
Deflating my spiritual spare tire.
Are we as attuned to the dynamics of our spiritual life as we are to the physical? Do we notice the presence of “spiritual spare tires” – the weights and burdens that sap our strength and keep us from living the life that Jesus invites us into?
There was a man sent by God. His name was Kyle.
You are not your followers. You are not your success or your shares. You are not the memes that you post. You are not the thumbs-up you receive, or the comments you gain. You are not what today’s algorithm says you are, or what tomorrow’s metric will try to force you into. You are sent by God.
Forsaking my Inner Curmudgeon
Somewhere, amid our frustrations and discouragement there is a voice that speaks words of life and healing. Even in crankiness God is present, and because God is present, God’s grace-filled utterances are both reliable and trustworthy.
Reverend Kyle Norman 