faith
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God Speaks Simply
God said: You do not speak for me.I speak simply; you do not. Twitter of sparrows,creak of tall trees,hiss of blown snow,scrape of dry leaves,silence of stars. Laugh of a child,sigh of a lover,touch of a friend. I speak simply.… Continue reading
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Core Word #7: Awareness
Anthony de Mello wrote a potent little book titled Awareness. Do not read this book. If you read this book, you will be picked up, shaken out, and dropped several feet from where you started. You will most certainly be… Continue reading
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Burn Hot
"What is to give light, must endure burning," wrote Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. Greatly humbled by the context of this quote, I none-the-less suggest that it does fit, here and now, for many of us. When we are called to… Continue reading
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Stripping
Oh, you of the sacred plaid,and you of the holy stripes,you of the divine argyles and polka dots,you pinstripe believers and houndstooth congregants…it's time to strip clean. Leave your garments beside the door;exit your particular, peculiar house of worship. Out… Continue reading
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Core Word #6: Wonder
I never want to lose my sense of wonder: an infant's impossibly tiny, swirl-tipped fingers; hand-in-hand fireworks over a visionary, hope-filled land; colored lights glowing in a tree laden with history and promise; sweet agony and triumph in Beethoven's 5th; a heart-popping poem by Mary… Continue reading
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Core Word #5: Paradox
My dad once owned a sailboat with another physician. They named her Paradox. Get it? I appreciated the pun then, and I appreciate the concept now. Paradox means holding two opposing, contradictory points as equally true. If you need everything… Continue reading
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Core Word #4: Mystery
Mystery runs a close second to stillness in my list of favorite words In liturgical Christian churches, worshipers each week gather to proclaim "the mystery of our faith": Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ shall come again. The mystery… Continue reading
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Core Word #3: Expansion
As I've grown spiritually (and I do think of it as growth, though maybe it's change, or evolution, or devolution–in any case, because it gets better and better, I experience it as growth), it feels, even when I'm letting go… Continue reading
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Discover Your Silence
Discover your silence. Recover God. Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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Unselfing
If it unselfs you,treasure it,cultivate it. If it muscles through your grim, monotonous monitoringof what others think of youor whether or not you measure up,make a note. If it picks you up,shakes you out,and drops you a few feet away… Continue reading