Five Ways to Take Your Faith More Seriously

Have you ever met someone who takes his/her faith seriously, as in more seriously than you?  Maybe it was the way in which they spoke or a gesture of piety that they displayed.  It could have been something that they wrote in a letter or email.

I met someone like this and my life wasn’t the same from that moment on.

His name was (still is) Fr. Dennis.  A tall man with a great belly laugh and an ability to preach about anything and have it sound interesting, Dennis showed me that he took his faith quite seriously.   

I saw his zeal for God in the most subtle of gestures:

• He always makes a little cross on the back of an envelope
• He makes the sign of the cross whenever he passes by a Catholic church
• He always prays before a trip in the car, even if it’s just to the local Wawa or 7/11

What he didn’t do was talk a whole lot about these little acts of faith.  He just did them and they were enough to show me a more focused, honest lifestyle.   

I’ve tried to do each of these in my own life.  Thanks Dennis!

So how do you know that your faith isn’t as robust as it could be?  How do you diagnose “spiritual flatness”?

• First, your prayer life is inconsistent and drab.  
• Second, when you worship publicly, there is a disconnect between what the worship leader is saying and what your life is doing.  
• Third and finally, when someone is spontaneously in need, you are paralyzed and do nothing to help them.

I can relate to these qualities and admittedly my spiritual life has gone through peaks and valleys.  Once in college, I genuinely felt as if I had experienced what St. John of the Cross calls the “dark night of the soul”.  It’s that time in your life when God feels distant and nothing seems to be going right.  

“To saints, their very slumber is a prayer.”  St. John of the Cross

So here are five ways that you can take your faith from flat to flying:

1. Pray before meals.  Whether you are at home on Thanksgiving or grabbing a burger at McDonalds, thank God for the blessing of provision.  So what if others see you bow your head in prayer?
2. Pray before you drive in the car.  It’s amazing that more accidents don’t occur in parking lots, intersections or during commutes.  Pray a simple prayer that God would keep you (and others) safe during your drive.
3. Bless yourself when you pass by a church.  God is everywhere for sure but what takes place each Sunday in a church is truly remarkable.  Honoring this through a simple gesture like making the sign of the cross is another small way to acknowledge God’s presence in your day.
4. Prepare for weekend worship.  Find out what the readings will be and study them.  Sit with them and talk about them with someone with whom you can talk about your faith.  When you get in church later in the weekend, the readings will seem all the more alive.  God can work with that kind of preparation.
5. Commit to journaling every single day.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  If you’re not convinced of the power of journaling, read Bill Hybels’ book Too Busy Not to Pray.  Guilty as charged if I keep mentioning Hybels’ book- it changed my life about two years ago. 

These five action steps are extremely simple to put into effect in your own life.  The one thing they take is a primitive desire to draw closer to God and take your faith more seriously.  This implies courage- courage to be more than ordinary and courage to let the Lord actually make a difference in your life.  As Hybels says, "

Truly, spiritual courage is on the endangered character-quality list."

Here’s to your faith and the the small ways that you can be more open to God’s grace and presence in your life.  It only takes a minute to pray.  It doesn’t cost anything to be aware of God’s presence in the middle of the work day.  

Which of the five suggestions resonate with you?

Slowing Down as a Spiritual Practice

It's official- if the internet of a few years ago (remember the famous Nicholas Carr piece in The Atlantic?) made us dumb, the internet of today is making is dumb faster.  

Michael Hyatt has weighed in with some strong suggestions for countering the effects of the internet.  I appreciate his emphasis on slowing down the pace of life.

I've had some great clarity this summer.  Vacation helped with that and an easier schedule has allowed me to come home at night with some energy actually left in the tank.  I feel more alert and better able to focus on Grace, Thomas, Ella and Benjamin (who is now speaking in sentences so what's not to love about that?!)

Slowing down is also a vital spiritual practice, especially for busy folks.  The key though is to routinely slow down so that "the next slow down" doesn't feel exotic- it just feels natural.  

Sort of like turning off the tv.  If you never do it, it's hard to bear the silence.  If you do it often, you'll be a silence-appreciator.  

How are you slowing down the pace of life this summer?

Photo courtesy of MV

Why the Present Moment is so Elusive

Let's face it, with all of our technology and gadgets, enjoying the present moment can be difficult.  Did I get a new text?  Is my email inbox free and clear?  The phone is ringing again!  

But even with technology, there may be another reason why the present moment is so darn difficult to enjoy.

Unresolved commitments.  

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”  Mother Theresa of Calcutta

If technology demands represent the tip of the iceberg, unresolved commitments are what lie beneath the surface.  Sure, a buzzing phone can be annoying but the noise of an unresolved commitment can be even louder. 

So what can you do to push back on the noise and enjoy the present moment more fully?  Here are three suggestions:

1. Write down your commitments.  Sometimes called a "mind dump" by GTD enthusiasts, this method gets things out of your head and out into the world.  
2. Find a task management system that works for you.  I like Nozbe and Producteev.  You may find something like Wunderlist a more simple and perfectly satisfying tool.  
3. Review your commitments weekly.  This could take place in a quiet space and should not take more than 30-45 minutes.  I like to steal some time on a Sunday afternoon when the kids' activities are winding down.  

That's it.  This three step approach will work every time.  I've used it now for a few years and find that it keeps things out of my head and into my system.  I can then be more fully present for my kids and my wife when they need me most.  

Why do you feel that the present moment is so elusive?

*photo by AMDG

The Balance Between Stepping Back and Stepping Up

I am privileged to work with some truly amazing people.  Some are in the education field for decades and still come to work with a desire to impact lives.  Others are fairly new to schooling and face the challenges of trying to make their mark.

Making a mark sounds easy but it's not.

The Glory of God is a Human Being, Fully Alive.  St. Iraneous

There are at least three things that hold young leaders back from their desire to step up:

1. The system.  Education, like many fields, isn't great at innovating for the next generation.
2. Lack of recognition.  Sad that you have to be "in the field" for 30 years before your first award.
3. Negative voices.  You know them and they absolutely repel young leaders.

With this said, the great ones are those who can not only recognize the speedbumps but go through them.  We celebrate these folks in America- the Steve Jobs types who overcame something in order to do something big, really big.  I was in a meeting with a man this week who literally worked himself into success- he had grown up with very little and painted houses each summer until he could jump into a better job.  Wicked good story.

But what if you can't step up?  What if the obstacles are just too strong?  You can remember your mom telling you to "offer it up" and I guess that's good advice.  My mom never told me that but I hear of other Catholics who received similar gems from their parents.  

Or, you can learn to be more humble, even if it's just a few hours sort of thing like Stephen Martin has done.

Lastly, you can just let it go. Step back from the moment and let things happen- this may be your greatest moment of patience, humility and sacrifice.  All three qualities are those that leaders aspire to practice.  Let's be honest when we say that your workplace shapes your identity.  Each day, with each interaction, you become more fully who you are.  If your leadership is built on ambition then that's ok.  On the other hand, if it's comprised of patient waiting for the right moment then that may be even better.  There is a real mystery here between push and pull.

The key is to know when to step back and when to step up.  Both have value.

*photo courtesy of AMDG

Parking Lots and Productivity

When was the last time that you had a bad parking lot encounter?  I typically average one a year.  

A fender bender, a honking horn, a rude driver- all come with the territory when it comes to parking lots.  I had a unique experience this past weekend in the local Shop Rite here in town.  

We had dropped off my wife so that she could get some items for Sunday night dinner.  As we usually do, we began to do loops, looking for an available parking space.  

An answer to prayer then presents itself- not only an open spot but the very first spot in the best row in the entire lot.  Can it get any better than this?  

I position my vehicle, ok so it's a minivan I admit it, and prepare to back into the spot.  Then, out of nowhere, a horn starts honking as if to wave me off of my incredible find.  An older woman in an older car had apparently seen my spot from 30 yards away.  

My spot.

I have to make a quick decision.  To keep the space or pass it along to her.  Keep it.  Pass it along.  Keep.  Pass.

Who would have thought that a parking space would produce such anxiety?  My decision became clear- surrender the space.  After all, I had to show my kids, all of whom were cheering me on to practically brawl with the woman, that generosity can appear in the most unlikely of places.  

The moment came and went and Mrs. That's-My-Space got her wish.  

I then explained to my audience that there are rules to parking lots.  You know them right?  Don't park over the yellow lines.  Don't ding someone else's door.  Person closest to the space claims it.  

The woman clearly didn't know the rules of parking lot etiquette or worse, ignored them altogether.  

Let's switch to work- who is ignoring a rule that you think is sacred?  Who allowed the pot-pie to explode in the microwave oven?  Who jammed the copier and then left for "more important work"?  

Every day, all over the world, people are ignoring things that you think are important.  You may even take them for granted.  My advice is simple: the next time you are totally frustrated by someone else, consider the unspoken rule that you hold dear.  

Name it and find out why it's important to you.

Photo courtesy of AMDG.