Sunday, January 28, 2007

Reflection, Jan. 28, 2007

Chi Rho Reflection for the Week of January 28, 2007

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As one of the on-going ministries of Chi Rho Press, here is a selection from our book of daily devotions, "Living as the Beloved: One Day at a Time," by the Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok.

Please read the Scripture passage and Dr. Bochonok's meditation. We hope you will be blessed.

Thank you for forwarding this to your friends.

Praise

"I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long."
Psalm 146:2

My spiritual director once asked what my spiritual resolutions were for the new year. I piously pondered and responded, "Years ago I used to read ten chapters of scripture a day. I haven't done that for years. I'd like to resume that spiritual discipline." Her eyes twinkled as she laughed. "Ten chapters of scripture a day?" She gasped with glee. "You need to sit with ten words of scripture a day. Try praying a few words or phrases. Hold them in your heart and enjoy God."

How on earth can any of us truly enjoy God? Praise through singing is one good place to begin. When I baptized a little boy several years ago, I invited both his family and the church to teach this young child to sing before he got old enough to be self-conscious and worried about what other people think. Then we sang the beautiful hymn, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so." (Osbeck, Kenneth W. "Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions," p. 73. The author quotes Anna Warner's hymn, "Jesus Loves Me," written in 1860.)

The apostle Paul reminded the first century Colossian church, "with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God" (Colossians 3:16c). Singing praises helps us pray more fully. I have often heard it said that those who sing pray twice.

Any songs coming from our hearts are music to God's ears. Many enjoy singing scripture as a wonderful way to pray. So sing! Make up your own melodies. Sing in the shower. Sing in your car. Sing while cleaning bathrooms. Sing praises to God with gusto. God loves our joyful sounds. Sing for the rest of your precious lives. Enjoy God.

God, let psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs make beautiful music in my heart. Bless each reader with many songs of joy, gratitude, love, and peace. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Chi Rho Press

Please visit the Chi Rho Press Web site. You can order
using our convenient secure shopping cart and pay on
line using your credit card! http://www.ChiRhoPress.com

"Living as the Beloved" is available for $20.95 each,
plus shipping and handling. Six or more copies are
$15.75 each, plus shipping and handing. You can find
this book on our Web site at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLivingAsTheBeloved.htm

Subscribe to the Chi Rho Connection, our free twice
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Saturday, January 20, 2007

Reflection, Jan. 21, 2007

Chi Rho Reflection for the Week of January 21, 2007

**********

As one of the on-going ministries of Chi Rho Press, here is a selection from our book of daily
devotions, "Living as the Beloved: One Day at a Time," by the Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok.

Please read the Scripture passage and Dr. Bochonok's meditation. We hope you will be blessed.

Thank you for forwarding this to your friends.

Leisure

"The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves."
Mark 6:30–32

Today's verses are the only place in the entire Bible where we find the word "leisure." It is a story some of us might not be familiar with, yet all busy people can relate to it. Crowds of people are coming and going. They are eager to experience and hear a famed speaker. They need healing and want to see miracles. They are hoping to get something they need, even if they cannot put their needs into words.

The apostles are deeply involved with the demands from the noisy and needy crowds. The apostles were people deeply committed to Jesus and his message of faith, love, and hope. They are more frequently called "disciples" in other Bible stories. They "followed" Jesus and hungrily sought his teachings. In this story, Jesus sees his apostles are exhausted and hungry. They had no leisure to even eat. So he takes them away to a deserted place to rest a short while.

Welcome to a moment of leisure. Webster's dictionary defines leisure as having freedom from responsibilities and duties. How often are we too busy with duties and responsibilities that we cannot pause to eat? Do we need to come and rest awhile in a quiet place? Let us take time to slow down today. In North America, we live in a culture of fast foods and drive-ins. Many of us eat on the run, in the car, and while continuing our work and play.

Where are you in this story?

God, bring us a few leisure moments today. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Chi Rho Press

Please visit the Chi Rho Press Web site. You can order
using our convenient secure shopping cart and pay on
line using your credit card! http://www.ChiRhoPress.com

"Living as the Beloved" is available for $20.95 each,
plus shipping and handling. Six or more copies are
$15.75 each, plus shipping and handing. You can find
this book on our Web site at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLivingAsTheBeloved.htm

Subscribe to the Chi Rho Connection, our free twice
monthly electronic newsletter, and this Chi Rho
Reflection, our weekly meditation, by sending blank
e-mail to mailto:ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Please visit our new blog at http://chirhopress.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe, mailto:ChiRhoPress-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Reflection, Jan. 14, 2007

Chi Rho Reflection for the Week of January 14, 2007

**********

As one of the on-going ministries of Chi Rho Press, here is a selection from our book of daily devotions, "Living as the Beloved: One Day at a Time," by the Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok.

Please read the Scripture passage and Dr. Bochonok's meditation. We hope you will be blessed.

Thank you for forwarding this to your friends.

Spiritual empowerment and our human bodies

"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?"
1 Corinthians 3:16a

How we relate to our bodies profoundly influences our spirituality, our inner wellness. Our bodies affect how we live and how we relate to one another. Spiritual empowerment involves living with our bodies one day at a time. We are embodied beings in need of sacred space. We have many emotions that are part of our body experience. For wholeness, our deep feelings need to be acknowledged, honored, and heard with loving discernment. When our feelings are too deep for words, they can help us pray. When we are teased, rejected, criticized, stressed, and exhausted, our bodies show symptoms and reflect a spiritual concern.

As a minister in the United States, most people that I encounter, young and old, sick or well, rich or poor, gay or straight, male or female, single or married, do not love their bodies. This is a significant spiritual concern. Our bodies are a sacred trust, but negative self-images often lead to subtle and overt acts of self-hatred. Our bodies need loving care and attention. We need to cherish and nurture our bodies physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in order to thrive and live up to our fullest human potential. Our bodies are God's gift to us. In sickness and in health, they help us pray. It is in God that we live and move and have our being. Our bodies require responsible stewardship for they are our portable chapels. Our bodies reflect a sacred trust. We are God's temples. God's Spirit lives in each of us. Try praying today about your body and your many feelings.

Many people do not realize that learning to live peacefully with our imperfect bodies can help us grow in inner wellness and personal empowerment. Often our first memories and awareness involve our bodies with feelings of pleasure, shame, or other emotions. We were never meant to live as disembodied people. Our bodies can help us get grounded and centered.

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

God, help us love and nurture our bodies as precious gifts from you. Help us experience spiritual empowerment as embodied people. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Chi Rho Press

Please visit the Chi Rho Press Web site. You can order using our convenient secure shopping cart and pay on line using your credit card! http://www.chirhopress.com/

"Living as the Beloved" is available for $20.95 each, plus shipping and handling. Six or more copies are $15.75 each, plus shipping and handing. You can find this book on our Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLivingAsTheBeloved.htm

Subscribe to the Chi Rho Connection, our free twice monthly electronic newsletter, and this Chi Rho Reflection, our weekly meditation, by sending blank e-mail to mailto:ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

And visit our new blog at http://chirhopress.blogspot.com/

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Saturday, January 6, 2007

Reflection, Jan. 7, 2007

Chi Rho Reflection for the Week of January 7, 2007

**********

As one of the on-going ministries of Chi Rho Press, here is a selection from our book of daily
devotions, "Living as the Beloved: One Day at a Time," by the Rev. Dr. Sandra Bochonok.

Please read the Scripture passage and Dr. Bochonok's meditation. We hope you will be blessed.

Thank you for forwarding this to your friends.

Breath prayers

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving."
Colossians 4:2

Today I feel spiritually exhausted. I am weary of "doing prayer." Too many words feel like a grocery list to God. Why can I not simply be in holy presence without words? The ancients understood "God is closer than our breathing, nearer than our hands and feet" (Wuellner, Flora Slosson. "Prayer and Our Bodies," p. 36. Wuellner describes this as "beautiful words of an old prayer." She does not attribute the phrase to any particular person.) Perhaps answers are found in simple breath prayers of the heart. Sometimes all we can do is breathe. When life is chaotic, confusing, and painful, anything else is too difficult.

I have heard it said that there is no such thing as a little prayer. Oh God, teach me to pray! I sometimes wonder if God hears and if prayers make a difference. I wonder how to pray, for often I feel so inadequate even though I own dozens of books about prayer. The Internet also offers many spirituality Web sites eager to tell me how to pray. Why must prayer be so confusing? How can it be simplified? I think the answer is through breath prayers.

We must breathe everywhere we go. Breath prayers can travel with us everywhere, and help create an awareness of the inner chapel of our hearts. Through breathing, we can invite the Spirit to go deeper and help us in our prayers. By paying attention to our bodies through breathing, the healing breath of life from God can enter with each inhalation. Breath prayers help us hear our hearts beating with God.

Meister Eckhart has been credited with saying, "If the only prayer we ever pray is thank you, that would be enough." Perhaps the secret of devoting ourselves to prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving is found through a breath meditation used by Thich Nhat Hanh when he is with little children. Wherever they go, he teaches them to breathe in the words, "Yes, yes, yes." And to breathe out, "Thanks, thanks, thanks" (Hanh, Thich Nhat. "The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditations," p. 36.) He believes this prayer helps them respond to life, to society, and to the earth in a positive way.

Yes, yes, yes. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Chi Rho Press

Please visit the Chi Rho Press Web site. You can order using our convenient secure shopping cart and pay on line using your credit card! http://www.chirhopress.com/

"Living as the Beloved" is available for $20.95 each, plus shipping and handling. Six or more copies are $15.75 each, plus shipping and handing. You can find this book on our Web site at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLivingAsTheBeloved.htm

Subscribe to the Chi Rho Connection, our free twice monthly electronic newsletter, and this Chi Rho Reflection, our weekly meditation, by sending blank e-mail to mailto:ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

And visit our new blog at http://chirhopress.blogspot.com/

To unsubscribe, mailto:ChiRhoPress-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.