Make a place to sit down

Two poems from Wendell Berry that seem fitting as we contemplate the intentional choosing of disciplines for a full life.

I go among trees and sit still.

All my stirring becomes quiet

around me like circles on water.

My tasks lie in their places

where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes

and lives a while in my sight.

What it fears in me leaves me, 

and the fear of me leaves it.

It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.

I live for a while in its sight.

What I fear in it leaves it,

and the fear of it leaves me.

It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,

mute in my consternations,

I hear my song at last,

and I sing it. As we sing,

the day turns, the trees move.

------

How to be a Poet
( to remind myself)
Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill - more of each
than you have - inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your work,
doubt their judgment.
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

Submitted by: Roxanne Morgan

Discipline & Rest: A new series

When you read the words discipline and rest, do you think they are antonyms? Discipline implies work, focus, and intention. Rest kind of seems the opposite.

And yet, maybe in the context of sacred resting, they are not so different. As our women’s community continues through a year of learning about rest, maybe there’s more to learn in the being still. Maybe we can rest more fully through a little intention.

I continue on my hope to learn how to rest more fully, more intentionally. As I’ve been praying and thinking about this as the summer wore on, I think there is something to practicing more of the spiritual disciplines in hopes to know God more fully and to rest in His truths, his love, and his grace.

When I want to review more about spiritual disciplines, I start by pulling out my ol’ copy of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. This book was published originally in 1978, but continues to be a good summary of the classical spiritual disciplines.

In his introduction, Foster states, “God has given us the disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.” He goes on to walk the reader through twelve different spiritual disciplines: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.

The sheer number of these are daunting to me, but I love that God creates each of us to experience him and know him uniquely. I think each of us leans towards certain disciplines that we hear and experience God’s presence more readily or easily, although there’s much to benefit in practicing or experimenting with learning more about each one.

As we continue to journey through this year of rest, look for more blog entries about these disciplines. Our hope is to have people who love to practice a certain discipline share more about what it is, what it looks like in their life, and how they rest more by their practice. Our desire is this will lead to more true, deeper, connected, sacred rest for each of you.

Interested in sharing your experiences with one of the disciplines mentioned here? Contact libba@warehouse242.org, we'd love to hear from you.


Written by: Jennifer Coggins

List o' links

Headed into a doozie of a week?

Or a season already feeling too full? 

Take a swim in grace's ocean.

And take a cleansing breath out.  

Have that 2nd cup of coffee.

And stay in the pool.

But know when the juice ain't worth the squeeze.

And remember: you are the "only."


submitted by: Libba Armenta

Short-term groups this fall

If you have not heard, this fall we are offering a few short-term study group opportunities--Tim Keller's Galatians study and a Contemplative Practices group.  These groups have been very significant for the women that participated last fall and spring.  They are a great opportunity to pursue God and form new friendships in the Warehouse community.  

Several of the groups are already full but there are still a few openings we wanted to share with you.

We have openings in two of our Galatians study groups--

LEADERS:  Linda Miller & Shelly Jones 

LOCATION: alternating Park Rd./51 & Myers Park

WHEN: Thursday evenings 7pm starting mid-September

LEADERS: Carla Love & Amy Warren

LOCATION:  485 Ballantyne area

WHEN: Monday evenings 7pm starting mid-September

And there will be a Contemplative Practices (6 weeks) group also-

LEADER: Libba Armenta

LOCATION: TBD (looking for host home)

WHEN: Thursday evenings 7 pm, October 10th through November 21st (skipping October 31st)

Please contact Holly Norton at holly@warehouse242.org if you would like more information on these groups or would like to sign up.  Space is limited (average group size is 6-8 women).  

We hope you will consider these opportunities. We invite you this fall to seek God in an intentional way, to start a new rhythm, to connect with Him and experience Him in new ways, and be transformed.

We hope you will join us!