Today’s post concludes the qualities of attentiveness presented by Leighton Ford in Chapter 1 of The Attentive Life. 4. Being mindful. To illustrate this quality, Mr. Ford relates the story of a monk who was quite upset that he’d lost his umbrella. When asked by a brother monk why this was so bothersome, the first […]
Leighton Ford offers a detailed analysis of the qualities of attentiveness in Chapter 1 of The Attentive Life. Five of these qualities really resonate with me. The first three qualities are shared in today’s post. The author’s descriptions are in bold type. 1. Looking freshly at what is familiar. The author cites Harvard naturalist Louis […]
In Chapter 1 of The Attentive Life, Leighton Ford discusses the death of his son Sandy during surgery to correct a life-threatening heart problem. The day prior to surgery, Leighton had a talk with God- or, as he puts it, an argument with God. As Sandy’s earthly father, Leighton would have healed his son if he’d had […]
Continuing his discussion of attentiveness in Chapter 1 of The Attentive Life, Leighton Ford notes that we’ve been told to “pay attention” since we were children, as if this were the simplest thing in the world. In reality, he asserts, attentiveness is a most difficult concept to grasp and a very hard discipline to learn. […]
“Time is not our enemy, nor is it a hostile place from which we must flee. It is a meeting place, a point of rendezvous with God.”- Dorothy Bass, Receiving the Day At the beginning of Chapter 1 (“Paying Attention: The Hours of Our Lives”) of The Attentive Life, Leighton Ford describes St. Benedict’s “rule […]
In the Introduction (“Short Flights and Quick Returns”) of his book The Attentive Life: Discerning God’s Presence in All Things, Leighton Ford states that he has come to realize that now is the time to pay more attention to our own hearts and deepen our friendship with God. Just as his deepest longing is to come home […]
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”- Jeremiah 2:13 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he […]
In Chapter 13 (“The God of Me”), the concluding chapter of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman states that it’s not a coincidence that he’s left the god of me for last. While we’ll confront many of the gods discussed in his book at some point in our lives, we grapple with the god of […]
“There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine, that belongs to me!’ “-Abraham Kuyper As Pastor Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 9 of Gods at War, he cites the above quote as a favorite of Charles Colson, who […]
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”- 2 Corinthians 4:18 One by-product of pursuing the god of achievement is distraction. We may become so distracted that we miss divine moments. God longs to say things to […]
In Chapter 9 (“The God of Achievement”) of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman states that he is not surprised that personal achievement is a powerful and alluring idol in our culture. He adds that when our lives are all about getting things done, there is little or no room for God. Our approach to […]
In today’s blog, Pastor Kyle Idleman (Gods at War) discusses questions 2-4 of his Idolatry ID. 2. How much anxiety do finances add to your life? The author notes that most of us have financial worries, ranging from unemployment to finding “there’s too much month at the end of the money.” Pastor Idleman asks us […]