Jon C. Swanson's Blog, page 319

Prayer and a paper carrier story.

My friend sent me an email.

“This is hard for me, to be quiet and still. I feel like my prayer life is like a paper route. I lob prayers to God, much like the paper carrier lobs papers down the street, but I keep moving, and forget to listen for the response. The paper carrier just keeps rolling – and I do too. That’s my quest, to slow down enough to be still, and to have a conversation, not just one-sided interactions.”

I sat quietly after I read this, stunned into silence by the power of the...

giving up communication.

I think I want to give up communication for Lent this year. I think I want to stop trying to send messages, to cover all the channels. I think I’m tired of making sure all the bases are covered. I’m weary of needing more communication.

Instead, I think I want to focus on understanding.

Here’s what I mean: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is delightful. “Joseph” makes people laugh, makes me laugh. “Joseph” makes people sing. “Joseph” makes me sing.

But it’s too happy, isn’t it? It w...

my simplest statements about Lent for Non-Lent People.

I’ve tried to simplify how to talk about the book I wrote for Lent and how I describe myself in a couple places. With Lent starting one week from today, I wanted to share these with you and ask, if you would be willing, to share them with people who may find them helpful. And then, starting tomorrow, we’ll go back to other kinds of posts. But I realized one day that this book can help some people hear God more clearly. And that I need to encourage that, at least a little, as clearly and simpl...

Preparing for a conversation

“Okay,” my friend said. “I gave you a week to think. I want to ask the question again. Should we celebrate Lent?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of should. I think it’s a matter of could. I think it’s less a matter of obligation and more an opportunity. If we have to give something up, we harbor a little resentment and a little pride. We resent being told we have to do something. We are proud that we measure up. And both of those get in the way of the opportunity to develop a relation...

Practical reflections.

1. Too busy for email.

We want to help a friend overseas with a project that will change lives. We email his pastor, asking for his email address. His pastor writes back, “he is very busy by working discipleship he don’t have any time to check his email.” As much as I can argue that he should pay attention to us, he heart-deep in amazing work. And I thought, “How am I keeping busy?”

2. I was serious about emailing me.

FridayI laid out a plan to learn to answer this question:When my schedule blow...

An experiment in bite-sized spiritual life changes.

I was talking with a friend about how often we know more about how to live than we actual live out. I asked him how I could help him.I asked because I’ve been trying to understand how I can be more practical, more focused in my counsel.

After we talked, I decided to try bite-sized studies: a short list of activities designed to address a specific challenge.

For example, what if your challenge is this:When my schedule blows up, how do I remember to talk to God?

Read through this list. For the nex...

When we need help

I asked Nancy for help. “For 300,” I said. ”Ask me a question.”

Instead of a question, she sent me a coded message. “Proverbs 18:1. In the Holman.”

It’s a kind of code we understand. We understand Bible speak.

So I looked up the sentence she was pointing to, in the book of Proverbs, in the Bible.

One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires;

he rebels against all sound judgment.Proverbs 18:1

I smiled. And started writing. Because I had spent the previous hour not isolating myself, with a group...

A habit of listening to God

(Continuing our conversation from yesterday)

“Yes,” I said. “Part of the value of Lent is the time it gives to cultivate habits of listening.”

“Habits of listening?”

I decided to find out whether he remembered something we had covered once before. “You know how I’ve talked about routine before.”

“Yep,” he said. “You said, ‘For me, a routine is a set of thoughts and behaviors performed consistently. Repeated actions, routines, shape us and can then remind us of the context. It can be a bad thing,...

Listening for Lent.

[This continues a conversation started yesterday]

“That’s a great summary,” I said. “Lent is about talking and listening to God.”

“But isn’t there more?” he asked. “Why do we always hear about Lent as a time for giving things up? When I was growing up, my friend always gave up watermelon and black licorice. Of course, there wasn’t watermelon in the winter back then, but still. I thought it was about giving stuff up.”

I smiled. It was a great question. “Butisn’ttalking and listening always about...

Are you satisfied with your relationship with God?

We hadn’t talked for awhile. We met for coffee. We placed our orders and went to the end of the counter to wait.

“Should I celebrate Lent?” he said.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “Are you satisfied with your relationship with God?”

He looked startled. I felt a little queasy.

“Who is? But what’s that got to do with Lent?”

We got our coffee and sat down. It gave me time to think. I usually am more diplomatic. I started writing about Lent for the people who kept Lent, to give them a different way to th...