In 1937, a man named Frank Laubach described what he called “The Game of Minutes.” The game expressed Laubach’s desire to be mindfully focused on God’s presence “at least one second of each minute.” You read that correctly; one second every minute. Given that there are 960 minutes between the hours of 6am and 10pm, the Game of Minutes naturally calls us to turn our attention to Jesus 960 times.
Spiritual Formation
Thank you for not showing up
Faithful ministry isn’t defined by the success we receive or by how many people attend our programs. Instead, the call of ministry, indeed the call for all spiritual life, is to walk the path set before us, no matter what it looks like in the moment. We follow the way of Jesus.
When I feel all scratched up
It can be easy to think that Jesus loves the shinier coins more than the scratched-up ones. It’s easy to believe that divine blessings are proportional to our perfection; the more spiritually enlightened we are, the greater the bestowal of define affection. But as much as the world tries to tell us that this is how things work, Jesus shows a different reality.
Pray Simple
During university, I participated in a prayer walk for the city of Victoria. The intent was that each of us would to take our turn offering vocal prayer. I’m sure that everyone’s prayers were wonderful, faithful, and well-spoken, but I didn’t hear a single word of them. Instead, as everyone else was praying, I spent the time stressing about what I would say when it became my turn. As prayer passed from one person to the next, my mind raced through different phrases I could use, and scriptures I could refer to, to make my prayers both deep and eloquent. After all, no one wants to offer a messy prayer, right?
Hearing voices from above
Wouldn’t it be great if hearing Jesus was equivalent to listening to overhead announcements? Before we are too quick to say yes, I wonder how we would respond if Jesus’ spoke to us in that manner. Jesus, after all, doesn’t always say what we want to hear. His words of love and grace are paired with the challenge to repent, to serve, and to follow him to places we would choose not to go. These words, while necessary and life-producing, can be also upsetting and stretching. If Jesus’ voice was like that of airport announcement, would we not treat it the same way, an unwelcome intrusion into our pre-planned day?
Dear Derek,
I want to thank you for responding to my post about feeling God’s love. You were so honest in how you described your feelings of discouragement, and the deep wrestling that are undergoing. My heart grieved for you when I read that you have not felt God’s love for over a decade.
When You Fear Deconstruction
Deconstruction unmoors us, it leaves us drifting aimlessly through our questions and struggles. Yet these questions or struggles are rarely answered or addressed; rather, they are displaced or abandoned.. . .But what do you do if you don’t want to deconstruct your faith?
Asking Questions: A spiritual practice for Discouragement and beyond. (A guest post by Kandi Zeller)
In our culture of certainty, questions can seem threatening and unnatural. By contrast, Jesus spent much of his ministry asking questions and challenging assumptions. The sheer volume of these questioning instances in the Gospels should encourage us: if we are to be formed in the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), might we sometimes be formed by asking questions?
A Light in our Darkness
The life of faith isn’t always straightforward and clear. There are times when life seems to zig when we wanted it to zag; where suddenly the path before us disappears, and we find ourselves feeling stranded and alone. But the light of God’s loving mercy shines upon us no matter how dark things appear.
Reverend Kyle Norman 