Tim's Toolbox: Tools 1-4 = A Life in Motion

Just a quick pause in between introducing tools 4 and 5 to make an observation: the first four tools work together as a kind of "minimum viable product" for having a life in motion. Here's how that works:

The FLOW tool gives you a simple way to think about life as a "receive and release" arrangement. If you embrace that way of thinking about life then the first thing you want to do is to receive, to let the love flow in, which is what the ABIDE tool is about. Recognizing that the inflow has such a high priority, it's only wise then that you order your life in such a way that being filled up isn't something that just happens by accident or on occasion. So you put in place regular practices and scheduled times that add a RHYTHM to your abiding. Being filled up now becomes a routine in your life, and all that accumulating inflow will want to go somewhere, so the FOLLOW tool becomes the way you seek out ongoing direction on where your flow is intended to go. A sustainable life in motion is the result.

The remaining tools then can be seen as navigation aids for the journey you are on. Using the FOLLOW tool involves a lot of observation and discernment: what's going on around me right now? What's the opportunity for Kingdom Come that this particular Kairos moment is opening up? Tools 5-10 can help to focus those kinds of questions in helpful ways, as well as give guidance for some of the challenges and questions that are likely to arise along the way.

Next week I'll introduce one of the most helpful "navigation aids" in the toolbox - the BALANCE tool which points us to the three core relationships we want to tend in life.

Be sure to bookmark the Toolbox Page for a helpful index to these resources.

Tim's Toolbox: ABIDE - Start Here

Here's tool #2 in the toolbox, which is the first tool that has something for you to do. In keeping with the traditions of my Lutheran tribe, the first thing to do is to stop doing and receive. Read on!

To find the full set of tools, go to Toolbox Central.  Here is a sermon on Abiding as well.

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Jesus teaches us that love is the center of life and faith. His summary of what’s truly important is that we should “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) We are also taught that being loved comes before being loving. As it says in 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.” So the starting point in life is learning to be loved, which is surprisingly difficult for many of us!

Jesus uses a particular word and a powerful image to talk about remaining open and connected to God to receive that love. The word is Abide, and the image is the Vine and Branches in John 15:1-11. “I am the vine, you are the branches... Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me… Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” It’s hard to overstate the importance of abiding for the branches. Not only is abiding in the vine what allows the branch to bear fruit, it’s what keeps the branch alive in the first place! The Pipe metaphor points this out as well, reminding us that there’s no outflow without an inflow first. That’s why the icon for Abide has a circle at the top of the pipe shape, to focus our attention on the inflow first.

To abide then is to remain intimately connected to God and receiving the flow of love as a way of life. And as we live moment by moment, it’s a sense of resting in that security. Abiding is what’s envisioned for us when Jesus invites; “Come to me… and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

We believe that God loves us, loves us all the time, and loves us just as we are. But for many people, ”being loved” doesn’t go much further. It’s something they believe, but not something they experience. It’s like a radio station that is broadcasting all the time but we’re not listening to it. How then do we “tune in” to the station? How do we learn to Abide?

The answer to that may be different for different people, and it may be different for the same person at different times! But a good starting point is to look at the beautiful moment of abiding between Jesus and the Father at his baptism. What we see there is Jesus simply listening, “soaking it in” as the Father declares three things to him: You are my son, I love you, and I’m pleased with you. (Mark 1:9-11) Jesus abides constantly in the relationship declared in those three statements. That relationship is his source of strength and direction for all he does and endures.

Learning to be loved can begin by spending time in prayer simply listening to the Father just as Jesus did. Listen to the Father speak those same words to you. Let it wash over you and soak into your heart. Physical experiences can also help us re-center on the spiritual reality of God’s love for us. For example, pausing in the moment when the warm water of your shower runs down over your head can be a powerful reminder of the peace and well-being you have with God’s love showering down on you. Wrapping a comforter around your shoulders can be a physical representation of God’s tender embrace.

John 15:16 (I chose you)

1 John 3:1a (Children of God)

Zephaniah 3:17 (God sings over you)

Is Your God Silly Enough?

Is your God silly enough?

In Chapter 1 of Ephesians in The Message version, I was caught by the line "What pleasure he took in planning this!" This is one of the things I love about The Message - it helps me get a sense of God's emotions.
One of the most awesome things about being human is our capacity to experience joy, delight, playfulness and just FUN! Well, we're made in God's image... so wouldn't we expect God to be like that too, only even more so? How odd... it seems to me that we have no problem thinking of God as being more powerful than humans, more loving than us, more holy and so on. Yet it comes as a revelation to even begin to imagine that God could be more playful, more joyful, more enthusiastic than us. Maybe even more SILLY than us!
I think we're seriously missing the boat here.
This connects to my "Abiding" tool too. As we grow in an understanding of the joy-filled heart of God, this can be a profound blessing to us in our abiding times as we begin to get a sense of how utterly delighted God is with us as His children.
To sit and soak for even a few minutes each morning as objects of Daddy's delight... that will transform us in the best way possible.
And... it gives us something good to share with others.
(PS - I nabbed that awesome photo off of a website called Rediscovered Families. Looks like a good one you may want to check it out!)

Join the Conversation in June

For the month of June I'm inviting people into conversation - with each other and with me - around four weekly themes that I have found to be foundational in the way I understand and practice my faith. Would you like to join in?

The themes are part of a "Visual Catechism" I'm developing. The first theme is "Flow," which explores the idea that humans are designed to be like L-shaped pipes that receive and release goodness so that it flows through us from God to each other. The second theme, "Abide" emphasizes the importance of learning how to be loved since the inflow from God is what drives the outflow. "Rhythm" considers how we can order our lives so that this way of living is built into our schedules and not dependent on when we happen to be having a good day. Finally, the "Follow" theme looks at how we can hear and act on what God is up to in our lives which gives our outflow direction in the world.

To support conversation on those themes I've created a downloadable Travel Guide with scripture references and discussion questions, and a Facebook page that will follow along with the weekly message I will be preaching at St. Stephen's in West Saint Paul. The messages will be posted online here for easy access. All these resources are being collected on the Excursion tab on this blog, so that's the hub for pretty much everything you might want.

To participate, all you need to do is find someone else that you'd like to explore these themes with, grab the resource and run with it! If you'd like to be in conversation with me and others along the way, the Facebook page is the place for that.

I hope you'll come along on the Excursion! It's be a joy to have you in conversation and a real help to me as I continue to work on creating a resource that I hope can be valuable to many.

Tim

P.S. - Some of my icons are drawn from or influenced by the resources of the 3dm Movement. I HIGHLY recommend you check them out!

"Road Trip" Sermon #4 - Balance

Message #4 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.

Title: "Balance"

Summary: Begins with a quick tip for abiding in prayer using a prayer posture that emphasizes receptivity and joy rather than humility. Main topic is observing how Jesus attends to three dimensions of life - "Up" with the Father; "In" with the disciples and his faith family; "Out" with the crowds. He works to keep a balanced attention on all three of these relationships. Introduces the Triangle as a simple graphic to help us remember this. As disciples, we seek to pursue the same kind of three-point balancing in our own lives.

Slides: Click here to view slides in a new window.

Video: View the video from Sunday November 26th here.

"Road Trip" Sermon #3 - Abiding is Job #1

Message #3 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.

Title: "Abiding is Job #1"

Summary: As disciples of (apprentices to) Jesus, we want to learn from him how to abide. A great example he gives us is in Luke 3:21-22 which tells about Jesus' baptism. We see him there, in prayer, having a moment of "quality time" with the Father and hearing the Father remind him; "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." This is a simple, clear and direct practice that we can learn from him: find ways to "soak it up" as we listen to the Father declare the same things to us. The most straightforward way to do this is by having a moment of listening prayer every time you take a shower or bath.

Slides: Click here to view slides in a new window.

Video: View the video from Saturday November 4th here.