We spent a wonderful day yesterday on a nature walk to “the top of the world” and one through dense woods that was so beautiful.  We also had a delicious  salmon supper at Anna and Dave’s and got to see their lovely daughters. Then we also went to Mercer Island and got to see  their handsome grandsons on the way home. Fun!

Today’s devotions are from Henri Nouwen’s book on the Selfless Way of Christ

To follow the Lord requires the willingness and determination to let His Spirit pervade all the corners of our minds and hearts so that we can become like Him.  We need discipline in our spiritual lives but not to master anything but to be mastered by the Spirit.  “True Christian discipline is the human effort to create the space in which the Spirit of Christ can transform us into His image.”  He mentions 3 disciplines.

1.  The discipline of the church. This means remaining in touch with the true story of God in history and making connections between God’s story and our own. Without the spirit, our lives may be full of doing so many things outwardly but unfulfilled inwardly.  Without the Spirit, our busy lives may remain just a series of random incidents.   Instead, our lives can be influenced by the events of Christ’s life being realized among us and through the church.

2.  The discipline of reading the scriptures.  Each day we need to listen to the Word in the intimacy of our own home and let it speak to the most hidden corners of our being.  That means chewing it, digesting it, and letting it become nourishment.  Then the Word descends from our minds into our hearts and finds a dwelling place there.  It could be one word, one story, one parable that has power to change our whole life.

3. The discipline of Prayer.  Personal prayer leads us not just to our own heart, but to the heart of God. As we enter into solitude with Him,  we come in our vulnerability and face our own inner chaos. Gradually as we stay with our struggles, an inner space opens in our hearts as we come to know the presence of His spirit.
May we be attentive to His presence in our daily lives!