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Recently, I’ve been writing about my need to manage stress more effectively (see 3 Steps I’m Taking to Manage Stress Better and God’s Crushings). While journaling the other day, I reflected on a prayer I’ve been praying for at least the few months: “God, give me a heart like yours!” The prayer is based on … Read more
I’ve written several posts about The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson over the last few months, including … The Circle Maker” 1.0 The Circle Maker” 2.0 The Circle Maker” 3.0 The Circle Maker” 4.0 Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture Prayer Idiosyncrasies In this final post, I thought I’d share some takeaways from the book, practices … Read more
General Conference 2012 of The United Methodist Church (UMC) started Tuesday and will continue for ten days. This afternoon, while reflecting on some of the conference that I’ve followed online, I thought about a line from John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer … Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee The covenant prayer … Read more
I recently finished reading a great book on prayer called The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson. I’ve written some posts on the book already (and plan one final post with some specific takeaways); see “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, and “The Circle Maker” 3.0. Here are some of my favorite highlights from … Read more
Nearly three years ago, as Joleen and I began our second year in Clearfield, I wrote a prayer in my journal. Last July, I updated it and posted it on the blog: A Transformational Leadership Prayer. As I said last year, this prayer has stuck with me and I pray it every now and then. … Read more
One of the children’s books the kids have enjoyed over the last several months is Hermie, a Common Caterpillar, by Max Lucado (there’s also a DVD). Basically, Hermie, and his friend, Wormie, feel bad about being common caterpillars and keep asking God why they have to be so common. God keeps reminding them that he’s … Read more
I’m finally nearing the end of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, a book that’s having a tremendous impact on me. Batterson discusses fasting. He writes … Fasting has a way of fast-tracking our prayers. Because fasting is harder than praying, fasting is a form of praying hard. In my experience, it is the shortest … Read more
I’ve really enjoyed reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (see “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, as well as Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture). In the book, Batterson talks about idiosyncrasies. He begins by listing some of his own, and even some of Jesus’, including how “he loved to pray early in … Read more
I continue to revise my preaching-related prayer guide, which I started a couple of years ago (see 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0). It has remained pretty steady for a while, but I’ve been revising it again in the last couple of weeks. My purpose isn’t really to perfect it, but to reflect whatever I’m emphasizing … Read more
I’m reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (see my previous post, “The Circle Maker” 1.0). Picking up where I left off, here are more quotes that are impacting me. First, I love the phrase used in the book to describe kneeling prayer: “Stop, drop, and pray.” We tend to think that as we grow, … Read more