Little victories…
We sometimes think everything would change if we managed to get a major breakthrough in some troubling area of our life. We long for a slam dunk moment after which success is assured and all will be well. Perhaps its an investment that turns out to be a goldmine, or a new breathing technique that assures us we will be able to say goodbye to anxiety, or a magical combination of foods that mean calories no longer count. We long for that single step which will solve all. And the simple truth is that we are unlikely to find it. Progress in life is most often found through little victories....
Read MoreBecause every yes is also a no…
Some throw away lines stick. I was listening to an interview with Richard Foster of Celebration of Discipline fame and when asked why he declined most speaking invitations he said,”Because every yes is also a no,” and then elaborated that each engagement he said yes to was a no to his wife and family, a no to time alone with God, and a no to the contemplative, reflective person others wanted him to be. Every yes is also a no. My yes to comfort food is a no to my healthy body; my watching one more TV episode is a no to waking early enough for prayer; my yes to a spurious invite is...
Read MoreWhere our best prayers take us…
My previous post noted the passing of Frederick Buechner and tapped into some of his wisdom. In this one I’d like to explore a passing comment which appears in a series of rapid fire advice in his memoir Telling Secrets. It’s:”Go where your best prayers take you.” Why do I love this? First, it’s refreshing to acknowledgment that some prayers are better than others – we have our “best prayers”, but also our selfish prayers, our tiny prayers, our insular prayers, our sectarian prayers, our fearful prayers. What do our best prayers look like? They...
Read MoreConscious incompetence: On knowing what we don’t know…
It was only a few sentences in a podcast I recently listened to, but it set me thinking. The speaker suggested there are four stages in the journey towards competence: Unconscious incompetence Conscious incompetence Conscious competence Unconscious competence An example may help to ground this. Let’s say you don’t know how to drive a car. As you watch people driving you think, “How hard can that be? Of course I could do that.” But then you hop into the drivers seat and as the car jerks and jolts along the road, you conclude that you are many driving lessons away from...
Read MoreAssuming Spiritual Responsibility
One of my more bizarre conversations as a pastor was when a man informed me I was the reason he cheated on his wife. As he said in a voice increasing in volume with each word, “It’s your fault! If you were a better preacher, and inspired me more, it would never have happened.” Hmmm. While I can’t say the conversation left me encouraged, it also didn’t cost me too many sleepless nights. But it does raise some interesting questions. How responsible are we for the spiritual well being of others, and for that matter, how responsible are we for our own spiritual well...
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