some books for the journey...

This week I decided to compile a list of books on the spiritual life that have impacted me and have helped shape and form my inner journey with God these recent years and months. Wow, the list ended up a lot longer then I expected. Most of these books were recommended to me, so I thought I would now share them with anyone who is interested. Some of the books are written by Catholic authors and highlight Catholic traditons and spiritual practices of prayer and meditation on scripture. While I was at it, I threw in some books on vocation and call that I recently have learned from and reflected on. Please post comments sharing any related books you can recommended!

For what it's worth...

Introduction to Spiritual & Contemplative Life
Space for God: The Study and Practice of Prayer and Spirituality
Don Postema (Faith Alive)
A favorite of mine for ten plus years! Using the art of Van Gogh and the writings of authors such as Henri Nouwen and C. S. Lewis, this book a series of meditative readings and spiritual exercises that help create space for God.

Sacred Rhythms
Christine Sine (Baker Books)
A helpful book to consider your “spiritual pulse” and the rhythm of life.

Soul Feast
Marjorie Thompson
Another good introduction to spirituality and disciplines. It gives helpful tools and practices to consider in finding a rhythm of life. The final chapter highlights the Benedictine “Rule of Life.”

Collections of Spiritual Practices and Disciplines
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun (InterVarsity)
Introduces and highlights over sixty spiritual practices and disciplines.

Soul Shaper
Tony Jones (Youth Specialties)
This book is published for youth ministry, but is practical for any age. It introduces twelve spiritual practices and gives suggested ways to exercise them in community.

Prayer & Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types
Chester P. Michael & Marie C. Norrisey (The Open Door)
This book recommends different types of prayer appropriate for the different Myers Briggs temperament and personality types. The book includes different forms of prayer like Ignition Examen, Benedictine Lectio Divina, Augustine, and Franciscan prayer.

Specific Practices and Disciplines
Catch Your Breath: God’s Invitation to Sabbath Rest
Don Postema (Faith Alive)
From the same author who wrote Space for God. This book can also be used for group study and reflection.

Lectio Divina
M. Basil Pennington (Crossroads)
An introduction to the ancient practice of praying the scriptures, Lectio Divina.

Contemplative Bible Reading: Experiencing God through Scripture
Richard Peace (NavPress)
An introduction and small group application guide to Lectio Divina.

Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life
Dennis, Matthew, and Sheila Linn (Paulist Press)
Introduces the prayer of examen, highlighting the questions of consolation and desolation. (I.E. - When did I feel the most alive? When did I feel the most drained?) Don’t be fooled that it looks like children’s book…it is a helpful starting point to understand examen.

A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament
Michael Card (NavPress)

Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning
A. Richard Bullock (Alban Institute)

Journeying toward Renewal: A spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals
Melissa Bane Sevier (Alban Institute)

Prayer Books
Sacred Space: The Prayer Book
Jesuit Communication Centre, Ireland (Ave Maria Press)
A daily prayer book designed by the Jesuits in Ireland using a form of Ignition prayer and meditation on scripture, usually the gospels. The prayer book is published each year and begins with advent in late-November. You can check it out at www.sacredspace.ie.

Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayer & Readings from the Northumbria Community
(Harper Collins)
A collection of liturgies, prayers, and meditations. I especially like the Morning and Evening Prayer expressions that are designed to be done in community, but I have used them in solitude, as well.

Spiritual Direction
Sacred Companions
David Brenner
An introduction to spiritual direction and spiritual friendships, including a chapter on spiritual accompaniment groups.

Soul Guide
Bruce Demarest
A book that introduces spiritual direction, using Jesus life, ministry, and relationships as a foundation.

Vocation & Call
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
Parker Palmer (Jossey-Bass)
This book defines vocation as listening to the voice of who you are and who God has created you to be. Great final chapter on the seasons of life.

The Gift of Being Yourself
David Brenner (Intervarsity)
A book that reminds us that ultimately our vocation and call is grounded in relationship with God and who we are in Him.

Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration of Vocational Holiness
Eugene Peterson (Eerdmans)
This book uses the example of Jonah to better understand vocation and ministry.

news alert

"A power outage in Los Angeles knocked out MySpace.com at several points over the weekend. Thousands of social lives suffered from the event, leaving many high-school and college students with no idea how to contact their friends, spend several unscheduled hours and function normally in society."

Made me laugh...classic!

some sweet and fun kids!

This has to be a new favorite with Adina and Elliott Gray when they were here with their parents a few weeks ago!

good to go

My visit to the Brazilian consulate went amazingly smooth today. Got there early, so I could be first in line. No one was waiting and they handed me my passport with the approved tourist visa inside! They even gave it to me before the "appointed" time! Thanks for praying! Looks like I am really going to Brazil. I leave August 15. I know I have confused everyone with my lingering and loitering around. :) More soon....

what i'm listening to...

Dorothy Collins Jazz Hymns

Dorothy makes anything sound good! But, in this case, it is hymns! A favorite on my ipod when I need to settle my heart and be still.

Dorothy's Web Site:
www.dotcollins.com

Check it out on itunes or
www.cdbaby.com/cd/dorothycollins

expressions of faith

I recently started something new....Morning and Evening Prayers from the book Celtic Daily Prayer. The below expression of faith is taken from the Evening Prayer time. Thought it was worth sharing!

Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming days;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept me
safe in trials;
and now, tired as I am,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened
the darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
when the time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

a brazil visa story all my own

Yesterday I turned in my tourist visa paperwork at the Brazil consulate here in LA. After some consideration and advice, I concluded to put pastor for my occupation and self-employed for my employer on the application. Hmmmmm?? Seems that pastor is not a highly regarded occupation at the consulate. The lady at the counter circled it and said pastor out loud. Another lady popped out of nowhere from behind the counter and asked..."Are you going to preach?" I replied, "No, I am visiting friends." She then replied and pointed at me..."If the police catch you preaching you will be deported....don't preach!" I said again, "I won't be preaching." Really, they don't have to worry about me preaching on the streets of Rio!! So, they took the application and I go back Thursday to pick it up. Keep praying...and stay tuned!

a step closer to brazil

Today I got my airline tickets for Rio! Tomorrow I will take the visa application to the Brazilian consulate here in Los Angeles. I leave August 15 and return home on November 30. This is getting more real!

Ben is now back in Rio and pursuing the best visa options to stay longer. Thanks to all who are praying! I'll keep you posted.

see you in south africa, world cup...

South Africa 2010!



The next World Cup is in South Africa in four-years...something to look forward to if I do end up there! World Cup fans, mark your calendars to come visit me then! :) Even though some of my favorite picks didn't even make it to the final four, it was fun catching the fever shared by the rest of the world! I was happy to see Italy win, but now it is dampered when I read the racist slurs that some are saying brought on the infamous head butt. Just when I was impressed with the some of the sportsmanship in futbol...I mean who else puts on a soaking with sweat jersey of your opponent? All and all, you gotta appreciate the passion and love for the sport and national teams around the world. Maybe next time around I won't feel like such a poser! Ha!

Brazil - At a Glance

Brazilians are a diverse, energetic people, descended from native Indians, African slaves, European settlers, and immigrants from many other countries. The only Portuguese-speaking country in South America, Brazil is a land alive with natural wonders, from stunning waterfalls and the Amazon rainforest to deserts, mountain jungles, and white-sand beaches. It is the fifth largest country in the world and boasts the ninth richest economy. In spite of the natural resources and wealth of Brazil, the disparity between rich and poor is one of the largest anywhere. The city of Rio de Janeiro has approximately 9 million inhabitants, of which an estimated twenty percent live in relative to extreme poverty, primarily in the favelas (shanty towns) that crawl up the city’s mountainsides.

- Fifth largest country in the world
- Ninth richest economy
- 186.5 million total population (2005)
- 53 million, almost 30% of the total, live in poverty
- 22 million of them live in extreme poverty, living on less then $1 a day
- Gap between rich and poor one of the most extreme found anywhere in the world
- Outside Africa, the largest black population in the world
- Almost half (44%) of the total population are people descended from Africans shipped there as slaves
- The favelas are home to millions of Brazilians, most of them descendants of slaves
- Black Brazilians continue to be largely excluded from the wealth that their ancestors created
- Total population of Rio de Janeiro is 6.5 million (2005)
- One million (about 15%) live in the favela slum communities

Sources: www.wordmadeflesh.com; www.wikipedia.org; Brazil: An Oxfam Country Profile by Jan Rocha (1999)

Prayer Requests
- For God’s best for David while he lives and serves in Brazil from August-December 2006
- For continued wisdom and discernment for David during this season of next steps in ministry
- For David, as he learns basic Portuguese and seeks to establish relationships with new friends in Brazil
- For safety in and around the WMF staff neighborhoods and when they are downtown
- For continual deepening of relationships with the kids on the streets and people in the neighborhoods
- For the problems of drugs and violence in Rio
- For the church in Rio to truly be the light of God in the darkness and among the poor
- For all of the WMF staff visa situations - For the friends of WMF as they live and survive on the streets of Rio

Rich, Rebecca, & baby Anna Nichols and Ben Miller
(Jenna was in Rio when we took the picture)

South Africa - At a Glance

South Africa is a beautiful and complex country. South Africa is often referred to as The Rainbow Nation as a metaphor to describe the country's newly-developing multicultural diversity in the wake of separatist apartheid ideology. South Africa is in many respects a developed country, but much of its population lives in poverty. If you want to understand the country, you'll have to deal with the full spectrum. With its post-apartheid identity still in process of definition, issues of poverty, the AIDS pandemic, racism, and violence remain a problem.

Population & Poverty
- Total population of South Africa is estimated 47.4 million (2005)
- 50% live below the poverty line
- South Africa has one of the largest income disparities in the world
- Population of Cape Town is 3 million
- Cape Flats townships have an estimated population of 1 million*
- 75% of those in Cape Flats live below the poverty line

*The term Cape Flats refers to a flat, sandy stretch of land which is located on the outskirts of the city of Cape Town. It has been described as the "dumping ground of apartheid" and it is here that the non-whites were relocated to, in terms of the infamous Group Areas Act.

Race in South Africa:
75% Black
13% White
9% Coloured*
3% Indian/Asian

Race in Cape Town:
50% Coloured*
30% Black
20% White

* The term "Coloured" is still largely used for the people of mixed race descended from slaves brought in from East and Central Africa, the indigenous Khoisan who lived in the Cape at the time, indigenous African Blacks, Whites (mostly the Dutch/Afrikaner settlers and the English) as well as an admixture of Javanese, Malay, Indian, Malagasy and other European and Asian blood (such as Portuguese and Burmese).

HIV/AIDS in South Africa
- Estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS is 5.3 million (2003)
- Percent of adult population estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS is 21.5% (2003)
- South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world
- Estimated number of AIDS orphans is 1.1 million (2003)
- Estimated number of AIDS orphans by 2010 is 5 million

Sources: www.wikipedia.com; www.unaids.org; www.capeflats.org; www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu; The Economist, April 8, 2006

Prayer Requests
- That God would use David’s time in Brazil to prepare him for what’s ahead in South Africa
- For housing arrangements for David during his time in Cape Town from January-April 2007
- For continued ministry relationships with those already serving the poor in Cape Town
- For wisdom and discernment in God’s best for future ministry in Cape Town

time to regroup

well...after today's brasil loss, i'm feeling a little stunned and lost on where to direct my world cup energies. all my favorites have now been eliminated. trying to regroup, so i can keep the fun alive these remaining three games next week.