It was so wonderful to come together with our whole community last night after gathering around tables in one another’s homes last weekend. Throughout our opening liturgy we sang of God’s greatness, and we prayed the Lord’s Prayer with both our words and our bodies. Then, Shari Voyda shared with us the story of her Practice Table experience.

One of my highlights last night was the buzz in the room as we spoke about Practice Tables. We just might be onto something here, meeting together and sharing our lives with one another. 🙂 I am so thankful for our community’s willingness to engage with one another in such a meaningful way.

Then we began the work of crafting a simple rhythm of life. We spent time identifying our deepest desires. Because the life we desire in our relationships with God, self, others, and the world is lived from the inside out (Matthew 7:18, 15:11, John 4:14), we spoke about the role of the spiritual disciplines in our rhythm of life. The disciplines are practices that open us up to God. The disciplines themselves don’t transform us, but they open us to the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. We identified spiritual disciplines that align with the desires God is directing us toward in this season of our lives and crafted a rhythm for the next three months. (Download the handout here.)

If you struggle to connect with your desires or identify a discipline that aligns with your desires, a spiritual director is a valuable practice to help us listen to God. If you are interested, here are three resources to help you find a director: Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association, Sustainable Faith, or The Transforming Center.

Our kingdom practice this week is to begin practicing our rhythm. As we practice, we will want to pause regularly to reflect and explore the practice of our rhythms with God and with trusted community. What comes easily in your rhythm? Where are you experiencing resistance? What are you learning about yourself and God in the practice? Is there anything in your rhythm that needs to be changed or modified? One way to reflect on your rhythm in community is Practice Tables. If you are interested in hosting a table or getting connected to one, please let me know ([email protected]).

Additional Resources:
[amazon text=Spiritual Disciplines Handbook&asin=0830846050] by Adele Calhoun is the best and most comprehensive resource for individual disciplines around.
Being Disciples is a short read (and FREE!) about the role of the spiritual disciplines on this journey.
[amazon text=Sacred Rhythms&asin=0830833331] by Ruth Barton casts a beautiful vision for a rhythm of life.
[amazon text=God in My Everything&asin=0310499259] by Ken Shigematsu is another wonderful book about rhythms of life.
[amazon text=Crafting a Rule of Life&asin=0830835644] by Stephen Macchia is a practical resource for building a rhythm of life.