But practice makes us accident prone.
Even ten minutes twice a day practicing stillness and listening makes all the difference.
Hearing From God Seems Accidental
May 16, 2025Getting the Message
May 15, 2025Every day the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook send email messages. On the surface, they just want to inform me about posts from people I know. What they really wish to achieve is my attention and presence on their sites. They earn income from my presence while viewing interminable advertisements.
I recently offered to a small group a meditation on words from Isaiah where God says that we should not fear because “I, the Lord your God, has your right hand.”
Sometimes reading isn’t enough. Sometimes we need to feel the message. God doesn’t pester us with endless emails. Perhaps we need to develop the practices that tune us into God’s “social network.”
We can practice stillness. Stopping our hectic pace at regular intervals leaving an opening for God to connect.
We can practice small support groups where the group can offer assurances to each other in God’s name.
These practices will take us a lot farther than endless scrolling on social media.
There is a way for us to get the message.
Sometimes Hearing God’s Voice Seems To Be An Accident
May 14, 2025But practice makes us accident prone.
Even ten minutes twice a day practicing stillness and listening makes all the difference.
Practicing Gratitude
May 13, 2025Don’t let the seeds stop you from enjoying the watermelon.
We can focus on what others do that annoys us preventing us from enjoying the kindness and helpfulness of others.
We can lose ourselves thinking on our problems, or we can pause and enjoy the beauty of the day.
Don’t practice negative thoughts preventing you from resting in gratefulness for that which you have.
Thanks to Seth Godin for the thought.
What If?
May 12, 2025At a recent software conference, the Chief Technology Officer developed a theme of what if we could solve some problem and iterated with their solutions.
I thought, what if we took the Apostle Paul at his word when he wrote to the Jesus followers in Galatia, There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What if we ended the game of dividing people into groups deciding which we liked and which we didn’t?
What if we accepted each person for what they are perhaps also seeing what they could be?
What if we ended all this nonsense of gender politics, racial politics, culture politics?
Well, the political part can’t happen—that’s how politicians build enough of a coalition to get elected only to reward some of their followers.
But, for followers of Jesus, for those who proudly proclaim themselves to be Christian, what if we put aside those divisions in favor of treating each person as the child of God that they are?
What a wonderful world it would be.
Finding Joy In What You’re Doing
May 9, 2025For three hundred years, the movement that Jesus started spread throughout the Mediterranean world mostly because of the way his followers lived. People noticed the joy that imbued their lives and their gatherings. They simply lived differently from others around them.
I picked up these observations on living with joy from one of my favorite news sources—Axios Finish Line. You don’t have to follow NBA basketball to understand this.
Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is this year’s NBA Teammate of the Year.
The money quote: “At the heart of Curry’s leadership style is one word, repeated again and again by teammates, coaches and staffers,” The Athletic reports. “Joy.”
Three lessons for all of us to emulate:
- Celebrate everyone else. Curry gets joy from hyping up the people around him. Current and former teammates said no one celebrates their wins more than Curry — even when they’re breaking his records. Eric Housen, an operations staffer on the Warriors told The Athletic of Curry’s first MVP speech: “This was his moment, this is what he earned, and he thinks to thank the equipment guy. That was just… I don’t even know how to describe the impact that had on my life and the feeling that came over me.”
- Find the fun. Curry has a great time on the court — and it’s infectious. Curry even has a regular “joy” segment during his workouts. He’ll make up a silly game to play while drilling 3-pointers.
- Love the little things. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told The Athletic: “He loves the game, he loves the work, he loves being part of the team, he loves the bus rides, he loves the banter.”
The bottom line: When asked by reporters for his reaction to winning Teammate of the Year, Curry said, “It’s a reflection of how much fun I’ve had being a part of this organization for so long.”
Maybe we could use the incentive to find a little joy in what we do—work, church, home, volunteering.
AI, Creativity, and the Spirit
May 8, 2025Even as a youth, I had two differing interests. One was science/technology and the other philosophy/spirituality. I typically confine my science/tech thoughts to my other blog—The Manufacturing Connection. Faith Venture explores thoughts on spiritual development (occasionally pointing to foibles of modern living).
Sometimes the two streams come into a confluence.
Like worries about AI and creativity and spirituality.
The current month’s theme of MIT Technology Review proclaims “Muse or Machine: Defining Creativity in the Age of AI.” The lead article—Is “creativity” meaningless?
Have you read so much idle speculation about AI that you are worried? Feel the anxiety that the writers wish to provoke?
I cannot do that level of linear algebra nor program in Python. But I’ve read several academic works sent to me. I have at least a moderate level of intelligence (not artificial).
Think on this thought from Seth Godin then consider your own experience: Art is what happens when a human does something original and generous that might not work. It has little to do with paint.
I make some use of AI in my research. I’ve read many (most?) of the sermons of John Wesley. When I was trying to write a concise list of his thoughts on practices, I asked Claude.ai. Or trying to remember some thoughts from Augustine of Hippo. Claude quickly returned a nicely written summary. It then asked if I wished to explore one of the topics more deeply.
I could have abdicated to Claude publishing its response unedited.
Better was to consider the research returned, think on it all, then write an essay of my take on the subject I was pondering—spiritual disciplines.
AI, my creativity, deepening my knowledge of the life in the Spirit all at one time.
Lifting the thought from one of my boyhood heroes, Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine, “What, me worry?”
Oppression
May 7, 2025French intellectuals after World War II became enraptured by the idealistic vision of communism.
Albert Camus pointed to Stalin writing about how the oppressed became the oppressor.
Once the Christian Church was oppressed by Rome.
Then it became at various times of European history the oppressor.
Even in today’s America people who feel oppressed wish to become the oppressor.
How many people try to live out Jesus’s teachings about dealing with each person with kindness and understanding only judging each by the strength of their character?
He touched people with skin disease. He forgave a criminal. He saved a woman from execution by stoning. He made her accusers go home and ponder their own sins. He made a culturally despised outcast the hero of a story. He healed people in the household of a hated Roman soldier. He taught that unlike the Romans we should be known by how much we can love other humans.
Think upon whom you might wish to be oppressed. Perhaps a little kindness and love will go far toward reconciliation.
The Wind Blows Where It Wishes
May 6, 202535 mph gusts outside my window
The banks of evergreens shimmying like 60s go-go dancers
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound
Said Jesus
But you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
The Spirit blows. I know not from where it comes nor to where it goes.
But those who feel the Spirit blowing will see the kingdom of God.
Be still for a moment. Listen for the Spirit blowing towards you.
It’s there. Rather, it’s here.
You Know They Are Not When
May 5, 2025When do you know that someone is not authentic? When they say they are being authentic.
When do you know someone is not being honest? When they tell you they are being honest.
When do you know someone is not a Christian? Well, let’s not go that far. But, to quote an old song, they will know we are Christians by our love.
We can listen to words, but we know by actions.
Faith Venture 