I haven’t been able to put my finger solidly down on the reason why I haven’t enjoyed the artwork of Thomas Kinkade, the self-described “painter of light.” Until now.
If you like his work, please accept my apology. It could just be a matter of personal taste, but my dislike centers on something that maybe he has created very unintentionally. Yet, on inspection of his many works, I find something very untrue about it. Something saccharine. Something short of Truth. Do you?
This brings me to a great commentary on truth. As NT Wright says, “Truth happens”. It is not a matter of whether I speak correctly of something factual. “The table is made of wood,” for instance. In the case of corresponding evidence, for an authentic reality, we may speak what is true. But most of life doesn’t flesh out that way. Really, none of the biggest questions do.
So, perhaps, Truth is a verb.
I appreciated N. T. Wright’s thoughts on beauty and truth (see short video). I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.
Please enjoy a guest post by Greg Richardson. Spiritual Direction has been utilized by Christians (and other seekers of truth and growth), for nearly 2,000 years. Before the age of psychoanalysis (which began as an atheist response to wellness) , people trusted spiritual directors for “soul care” (whole care of mind, body, spirit, emotions, etc).
Greg reveals why there is a renewed interest in this area, and how God, through his Holy Spirit, teaches us about the reality of God’s omni-benelovence and omni-presence, as we walk with him. A spiritual guide is very helpful on the journey. Greg Richardson
From Greg:
Spiritual direction is the art of spiritual conversation and listening carried out in the context of a trusting relationship.
Spiritual direction follows a model drawn from biblical and other ancient practices. When Nicodemus comes to Jesus in John 3, for example, Jesus guides him by asking deep questions and listening to how he responds. It has a long history, including the early Desert Mothers and Fathers, roots in Celtic Christianity, and many other examples.
Interest in spiritual direction is now increasing, at a time when people thirst for spiritual depth and connection but grow disenchanted with traditional forms of organized religion. Silence and listening are rarer and rarer in our time. We long to know that someone is listening to us so we can hear ourselves.
A spiritual director is a faith companion who listens to your life stories with an ear for helping you discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life. God is the true guide and director, while your human spiritual director is like a coach or midwife, supporting you as you pay attention and respond to the inner voice of God. The director is primarily interested in your experience of God and how you can follow God’s call. That process is a spiritual journey into the truth about God, yourself, your relationships, your work, and the world.
The premise of spiritual direction is that God is present and active in your everyday life in a multitude of ways that we often do not notice. When you slow down, breathe, begin to reflect and take a long look at what is happening around you, you begin to become more aware of your experience of God’s loving presence. The better you know yourself, the more you know God; the more you know God, the more deeply you know yourself and your direction and purpose. Intimacy with God leads into transformation, healing, and action.
Spiritual direction takes many forms. I have met with people in churches, in coffee shops, and in homes. I go on walks with people, listen to them via email and telephone, and meet with people on Skype. I have met with people once at a retreat or a conference, intermittently at key points in their lives, or regularly each week or each month over a period of years. With some people I say very little; with others I do more prompting or suggesting.
People tell me many things. Some people confess things of which they have been ashamed for years. Some people get angry, some cry, some laugh. I listen, ask questions, and help them hear their own stories.
I am a spiritual director. I am trained, certified, and experienced, and a member of Spiritual Directors International. I spend time listening to people’s stories; we let go of the past and put concerns about the future out of our minds so we can spend time in the present.
Greg Richardson is a spiritual director, leadership coach, and consultant to nonprofit organizations in Pasadena, California. He is a recovering lawyer and professor, as well as a lay oblate connected to the New Camaldoli Benedictine Monastery & Hermitage in Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, you can reach him at StrategicMonk@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter, here: @StrategicMonk
Do you have questions for Greg? Please leave you questions or thoughts.
How are you formed?
Here are just two ways God can form us.
See this video of a potter. At the start, the clay is just a lump. Not much to look at, little beauty, non functional, and undeveloped. Yet, because of its quality of malleability, it can be fashioned, sometimes rather quickly, into a masterpiece. A lovely, useful, handmade, creation, worth much more than an untouched lump of clay.
When the raw material is harder, more force is needed to change its form. See this case in metal working. But, remember, hammering the metal into form is most often preceded by a time in fire to soften it.
We fall into both of these categories as we develop. We have metal areas, and clay areas that need work. Which do you have more of?
God employs his Holy Spirit in whatever methods and processes are needed for that particular area of our lives. Often we need to be more softened and flexible before we are ready. For our own good, and for the good of others, God fashions us. To a certain degree we can choose the kind of raw material we give to God to recreate. When we present our hearts and minds willingly, the process of forming us into something very beautiful is a less painful and vigorous process. Sometimes, we have already presented ourselves willingly, and the suffering comes, regardless.
However, the less we surrender to the skillful, creative, loving work of God, the more time we’ll need in “the fire” to purify, refine, and prepare ourselves. In the end, God makes us so beautiful that we may hardly be recognizable.
When you are in times of great struggle, keep the end in mind. No two people will be formed in the same way. And, no trail is wasted. Our change is in the process, and our hope is in God’s final product.
It the area of “Spiritual Formation” (also called, discipleship) we may intentionally undergo practices that nurture Christ-likeness. We encounter a series of little deaths in devotion to the process at hand. We relent.
Should we be weak like wet clay, and not strong like iron? Some of that is not up to us, and much depends on how we will be used by God. If we try to be rigid like metal, God will take our kinks out, and knock of the useless parts. It’s not possible to apply a bit of hand pressure to metal, like it is to a spinning mound of clay. God may employ a mallet to get the job done. The job still needs to be done, no matter the process. God will have his way, so that we can be recreated. The longer we are rigid, the longer the process takes, even for clay.
Here’s the part I missed in my spiritual formation, until recent times: God is Good, and trustworthy. There was such a string of woe in my life, that I took God for a menace, or very drowsy. In gaining experiential, devotional, and formal training about God (which is the study of God, i.e.theology), I changed.
In a greater way, I know that though my heart may be battered, it will not be reshaped by a malicious God. The Supreme Being does not cause or let us endure suffering out of sport, or sadistic kicks.
How we see our struggles, the pain in this world (and God’s part in it (or absence in it, if the case may be), has everything to do with who we REALLY think God is, and what we REALLY believe about his core nature. Many times we attach human characteristics to God. Flawed ones. Please don’t forget this part: Those foundational beliefs we have, tell us about ourselves; and are inaccurate about God.
As in the case of Jesus (God with skin on), we see a deeply compassionate image of the Divine. An accurate image. We see amaze grace and self-sacrafice. We see God caring for us, and caring for us well. A gaze at God’s abundant creation will tell us the same thing. So, this is the true picture/reflection of God. He may let us get a pounding, but we will not be hammered in vain. Here, my friends, is our Hope.
So, imagine the best and ideal parent. (Mind, this won’t be anyone you know. This parent is not possible, in human form.) As a loving parent looks at a helpless baby, the good parent feels a sense of great responsibility and deep compassion. The idea to hurt the baby is nowhere to be found. Non existent. It is in this type of love and compassion that we are forged or molded. (Often in the Bible this is word love and compassion is translated, in English, to “loving-kindness” or “tender mercies”.)
Reflect-
1. What has been an area of clay that God has shaped in your life?
2. What is an area of metal that God is working on in your life?
Receiving Your Thoughts-
What stood out to you in the videos?
What do you have to contribute to thoughts about the process of sanctification? (Or, tell us your thoughts about how God helps us to mature and grow?)
SPECIAL NOTE: I have been experiencing technical glitches with post notification. I do not intend to send you email updates, if you do not want them. To unsubscribe, use the ‘contact me’ button on the left side of this page, and send me a notice of your wishes. Thank you for your patience with this dilemma. I will continue to work on it, until it is resolved. To those of you who continue to read this blog and the updates, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
NEW post: We’ve covered about 1,600 miles since Saturday.
First, we traveled to Greensburg/East of Pittsburgh to attend my mom’s wedding. It was the first wedding I’ve gone to where two other families watched via Skype. Ever happen to you? It was very hot, but no fights broke out, and now my Mom’s last name is Sutyak.
Then we went about 9 hours northwest to Gurnee, IL to visit my brother-in-law, Jeff, and his wife, Joy, and their five kids, in nearby Waukegan. The hotel stay in Gurnee had too many moments of horror (see previous post).
Timmy DeLay is the new Waukegan arrival, and first kiddo spawned from Jeff and Joy DeLay’s genes–A 20 lb, 4 month old, placid, curly-haired boy who is incredibly adorable. We went to Girodano’s for delicious Chicago-style stuffed pizza. Okay. You should be jealous um… happy for me. It was wonderful! We also visited the Waukegan beach, (lake Michigan). The kids were really into burying each other in the sand, and we didn’t lose anyone…for too long.
On the way back we stayed in picturesque Bryan, OH. Wee fun fact: This town is the birthplace of Ohio Art (Etch-A-Sketch) and the Dum-Dum pop, (plus Saf-T-Pops®, Spangler® Candy Canes, and Spangler® Circus Peanuts). Bryan is so much like the perfectly cute little town set in the 1950s in Back-to-the-Future. Idyllic. Jackie Blu’s was a tasty place to eat, too.
Since we traveled so many hours on Sunday, I haven’t been very good at remembering what day it is. The practice of worship, and Christian fellowship each Sunday works like a reset button. It centers me, including such things as mundane as the order of days. Is it like that for you? Needless to say, tomorrow will be a recovery day…sort of a sabbath on a Friday. Tomorrow is Friday, right?
I wanted to share the lovely or interesting pictures from our Western Pa and midwestern adventure. So, Enjoy. Leave your questions or comments, if you’d like.
On Saturday, my mom got married. That’s always a weird experience. I won’t go into the particulars though.
Here at the hotel from hell, the 1st and 2nd rooms we had were gross. After arranging a refund, the 3rd room seems functional. Can you guess what I found, in room 1? (see photo)
Um... Yeah.. we're gonna need a comp.
In a related note: (complaints)
I got this fanny mail (that’s a bit of a joke for my British readers). Where do they come up with this stuff?
(?) Maybe she hasn't read the blog much.
See, I think Jesus is God, one member of the Trinity, not just a Demi god whose name we have to use constantly to prove to others that we truly believe Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Son of God. I have dedicated all that I am to loving and serving God, which incidentally includes Jesus. Bye, Esther. I forgive you, and I hope you forgive me. God and Jesus bless you.
What’s your worst hotel experience or worst “fan mail”/comment ever?
