Tall Monastic Guy

The Inner Debate

The Inner Debate  a prayer by Henri Nouwen from The Dance of Life

O Lord Jesus, your words to your Father were born out of your silence. Lead me into this silence, so that my words may be spoken in your name and thus be fruitful. It is so hard to be silent, silent with my mouth, but even more, silent with my heart. There is so much talking going on within me. It seems that I am always involved in inner debates with myself, my friends, my enemies, my supporters, my opponents, my colleagues, and my rivals. But this inner debate reveals how far my heart is from you. If I were simply to rest at your feet and realize that I belong to you and you alone, I would easily stop arguing with all the real and imagined people around me. These arguments show my insecurity, my fear, my apprehensions. You, O Lord, will give me all the attention I need if I would simply stop talking and start listening to you. I know that in the silence of my heart you will speak to me and show me your love. Give me, O Lord, that silence. Let me be patient and grow slowly into this silence in which I can be with you. Amen

your focus?

"The more you focus on something -- whether that's math or auto racing or football or God -- the more that becomes your reality, the more it becomes written into the neural connections of your brain."

-Andrew Newburg, neuroscientist

So, for a moment let's take God out of the idea of prayer. If we're investing daily time focusing on the other, our neighbor, our friends and even our enemies perhaps the more likely we'll be able to empathize, live amongst, advocate for, etc.

the Father's words to Jesus... and you and me too.

"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11, Today's NIV)

"In the Western world, even those fathers who think this in their hearts are often too tongue-tied or embarrassed to tell their children how delighted they are with them..."

"The whole Christian gospel could be summed up in this point: that when the living God looks at us, at every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus on that day." -N.T. Wright, Mark for Everyone

Vaccines and Prayers

Yesterday was JP’s four month doctor visit which included round two of his vaccination shots. As new parents, Angie and I are not big fans of watching him get poked in the thighs with big needles or the ensuing red faced wailing that follows. He’s a tough little man and the crying didn’t last long, but nevertheless we struggled with it.

It made me think about crying, and how God responds to it. Several people have asked about how becoming a parent has changed my perspective on God. I understnd why folks ask me that because those are the types of question I like to ask, but honestly, I havn’t been thinking too deeply in those terms… until today. Crying is a natural response and even a necessary aspect to a baby’s developmental process. But when he cries an internal blinker starts flashing in me and I listen and my heart feels compassion for him. It’s made me think several times about Matthew 7: 9-11 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

The Miller's

Our friend's Mark and Tara Miller, whom we met about 5 years ago (Tara and I worked together on starting an Alpha Course at Pathways Church) have courageously decided to begin the quest of adopting an orphan from Ethiopia.
Why Ethiopia? Ethiopia has approximately 5 million orphans. Although in many cases, extended family or neighbors take in orphaned children, there are simply not enough adults to go around. AIDS, along with other illnesses, is wiping out an entire generation of parents. The immense poverty of this country is beyond our imagination. If interested in digging deeper, Tara says, There is No Me Without You is a good book to begin understanding the orphan situation in Ethiopia.


This whole process will likely take between 6 months to a year. The total cost will be in the neighborhood of $25,000.
The Miller's would love it if you worked their quest to adopt into your prayer schedule. And if further compelled to invest please contact me (ryan.taylor@adullamdenver.com) if interested in making a donation toward all of the costs involved.

It's all about holiness...

Yep, that's pretty much the point of all this... It's about our willingness to be shaped into his likeness... further into the likeness of God who invites us into a living, spirited dance.

May we be open to these good words...

1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. 4-5 Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God. 6-7 Don't run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God's concerns, and he will take care of them. We've warned you about this before. God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside. 8 If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 4 (The Message)

february meditation ...

These are some life giving thoughts that have kept me centered the last 24.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
-Martin Luther King Jr.