Ten Ways to Sharpen the Spiritual Saw

Steven Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His seventh habit is called “Sharpen the Saw.” Covey uses the common analogy of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days straight and is becoming less and less productive. The process of cutting dulls the blade. So the solution is to periodically sharpen the saw.

He tells the story of two lumber jacks in the woods sawing down trees. One of them is working feverishly at the task, rarely stopping to take a break. The other is working at a slower but steady pace and takes breaks frequently. At the end of the day, the lumberjack working at the slower pace has cut down twice as many trees as the one working feverishly. When questioned by the worn out, tired lumberjack as to how he accomplished twice as much in the same amount of time, and working at a slower pace, his answer is quiet simple: “I took time out to sharpen my saw.”


He writes, “Sharpening the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have – you.”

With summer ending and four months left to 2009, how will you sharpen your saw spiritually? How will you renew your spirit so you can better hear, serve and love God? What aspect of your lifestyle is dull and overworked?

Here are ten ideas for saw sharpening. Chose one or more (but don’t over do it) to concentrate on between now and December 31st:

1. Pray – spend some longer time in prayer. I find when I begin each day with silent meditation and worship, the rest of the day goes better. Try a new devotional. Write out your prayers.
2. Attend a one day workshop/retreat. Even Jesus went away for refreshment. Search out a place of renewal to nurture your spirit.
3. Read a book – I have several new books on spiritual formation I plan to study this fall. Read a chapter in the Bible you haven’t read for awhile. Study the Psalms or Proverbs.
4. Journal – This is one of my favorite holy habits and one I have neglected a lot this summer. I hope to journal more often this fall.
5. Simplify – what is one thing to let go of, get rid of, unclutter or no longer do? This can be really difficult. I had several goals for this year that no longer seem to fit so think I will set those aside and quit feeling guilty for not trying them.
6. Serve – how will you serve the kingdom this fall? I prayfully will continue to serve once a month at the Medical Free Clinic and also fill the pastor’s request to help with Wednesday evening adult study
7. Study – so as I help other grow mentally and spiritually, how will I study this fall? I am taking an online course on the American Religious Experience and the history of Christianity in the US and Canada.
8. Listen – I caught myself just today interrupting with MY thoughts/opinions as someone else spoke. And I call myself a spiritual director, ha! Really hearing what someone else is saying is hard work but one I value so will continue to work on this. Who are you not listening to?
9. Relationships – One goal I have accomplished this year is reconnecting with people I miss in my life. What fun this has been. My prayer is to be open to other opportunities to deepen my friendship with others yet this year.
10. Worship/celebrate – My spirit is refreshed when I focus more on God than myself in worship. It is not about me after all. Are you fully engaged when celebrating what God has done in your life? I confess I fail often at this as I let little things distract my heart from God.

The Holy Spirit is present, ready to sharpen our saws and refresh our spirits. We only need to be open to his ways and be obedient to his guidance.


How will you open your heart to God’s deepening within you this fall?

How to Live to be 98 – Lessons Learned from my Best Friend, Esther

My best friend, Esther, celebrated her 98th birthday last week. Ask her what her secret to a long life is and she will tell you with a giggle:

“Pie and ice cream.”

Esther still lives independently in her own home. She goes out with friends and would mow her lawn if she had the strength. She does love working in the yard, picking the weeds and planting green peppers, tomatoes and flowers each year. Right now she is busy deciding whether to get her house repainted (lasting 15 years) or sided (to last much longer.)

“They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green.” - Psalm 92:14.

When I read this verse, I think of Esther. What a role model she is for aging with grace.

What lessons have I gleaned from watching her?

Reaching Out – Esther reaches out to others with simple acts of kindness such as baking pies for funeral dinners and sending cards. But she also reaches out when she needs help. She has a broad network of people she leans upon for help and is willing to pick up the phone to ask for assistance – something I know I have great trouble doing. She identifies her need and seeks aid in solving that problem.

Laughing and Smiling – Esther’s laugh erupts in a hearty ha-ha-ha. And her smile which she offers frequently lights up her whole face.

Music – This is a lady who in her mid 90s bought a CD player so she could buy CDs from her newly discovered favorite artist, Daniel O'Donnell. She will stay up past midnight when his show is on PBS and has written him for his autograph. We attended his concert together in Toledo and when he went through the audience, he kissed her on the cheek. She gushed like a 14 year old saying she would never wash her face again. One is never too old to become a groupie.

Expressing feelings – When I ask Esther how she is doing, I get an honest answer. She has good days but will also respond to me, “not so good today. I am feeling tired/sad/lonely.” She openly tells me at times when she goes to bed at night she prays she doesn’t wake up but when she does, she is thankful to God for a new day. She identifies and articulates her deepest emotions.

Lifelong Learning – Esther reads and reads and reads. She love learning through CDs, books, PBS and good old Dr. Phil. She likes to discuss current news, especially politics.

Flexibility - Last week we talked about the recent changes in our church’s policy to ordain openly gay clergy. I would assume that older people would have great difficult with this new view. It surprised me how willing she accepted this massive revision. “God loves us all, Jeanie,” she said. “Jesus welcomes gays as readily as you and me.” You may not agree with her but, wow, that is an open, accepting attitude. I call that - unconditional love.

Go anyway – One of her practices is not to hide out in her home – If she doesn’t feel like going to church, go anyway. The same holds true for visiting hours at a funeral home or a hospital/nursing home visit. Doing what is right is more important than feeling sorry for yourself.

My life is much richer knowing Esther, but I need to go now. I am feeling a growing desire for some reason for “pie and ice cream.”

Powerful Pauses for Prayer Resources

This last edition of the series of pausing for prayer will feature some resources to help you explore more about this holy habit.

What I Learned
I have learned a great deal in this experiment. I pay attention more to my surroundings and how God is touching my every moment. I consciously take deep breaths throughout the day, allowing a cloak of relaxation to gently cover my soul. And I hear God and my true self more clearly, not all the chatty voices of the world.

Resources
Want to learn more about what is called Praying the Hours, the Divine Office/Hours, or the Liturgy of the Hours?

The book I used through this journey was:
Seven Sacred Pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr.

Other books that you may find useful are:
Robert Benson’s Venite – a Book of Daly Prayer
The Divine Hours – Phyllis Tickle
The Rhythm of God’s Grace - Arthur Paul Boers

The Internet offers many resources:
http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/
http://www.missionstclare.com/
http://www.explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed
http://www.prayerfoundation.org/dailyoffice
http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?loc_id=962,92&act=nav_loc
http://sacredspace.ie/

Even Twitter has members who “tweet” reminders and prayers:

http://twitter.com/prayinghours
http://twitter.com/CommonPrayer
http://twitter.com/Twiturgy

God awaits us at any hour, any minute. His invitation to be with Him. Pause and spend time with the Lord.

Powerful Pauses for Prayer at Yellowstone/Grand Tetons

Many of you know I recently returned from a camping trip with my husband to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

God's artistry, whimiscal creativity and breathtaking beauty offered many reminders during my visit. I paused to breath in the present moment and behold the wonder of this world God made and gave us.

I will allow a few of my photos witness to His handwork without my inadequate words to interfer. Take a pause and enjoy:

AMEN!!

AMEN AND AMEN!!

The Night Shift

The temperature in our camper by 4 AM dropped to 33 degrees. BRRR. Our stay at Yellowstone exceeded our expectations in its beauty, diversity of scenery and awe at God’s creation. Yet when our tent camper’s small furnace refused to stay on more than ten minutes, the nights on this trip dragged on in never-ending numbness.

So I spent my nippy nighttime wakefulness in prayer – arctic adoration and icy interchange with our God.

The seventh and last pause I am learning more about is Matins or Vigils.

Pause and Listen to the Lesson of the Hour
In monastic traditions, the middle of the night prayers are often called vigils. Those who keep vigil are the watchers or sentinels of the night. In many communities, this practice has moved to early morning hours while it is still dark – almost a predawn prayer time.

Themes for this hour are vigilance, deep listening, mystery, surrender and trust.

Vigils – waiting, watching for the first signs of dawn, knowing God is present and anticipating His next move in our lives.

Stretch and Grow
We tightly squeeze our eyes shut, ignoring the darkness, yet if we ask the deep question of the night, often we grow the most in the times without light.

This pause celebrates prayerful waiting and watching – lifting others we love up in prayer, knowing God is listening, receiving them in His heart.

“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I put my hope in your word. My eyes are awake before each watch of the night that I may mediate on you promise.” Psalms 119: 147-148

In this sacred darkness I sit in silence.
Open in this moment, I trust in the darkness.
Waiting in trust, growing in trust.
Waiting and trusting the sacred darkness.
I surrender
I surrender.
I surrender.
- Macrina Wiederkehr

I have seen too many stars to let the darkness overwhelm me. – Macrina Wiederkehr

Prayer goes deep at night, Images dissolve. There is only God, and silence, kindness and grace – Coleman Barks

Bedtime Hour - “Seven times a day I praise you…” Psalm 119:164

Do you have a ritual before going to sleep? Sometimes I follow one similar to the sacred pauses of this hour. But other times I either fall asleep in the recliner watching some mindless television show or decide to check the email and Twitter one more time as my eyes get heavier and heavier.

Pausing before God and reflecting on the past day nourishes gratitude and compassion within my heart. I know this is one pause I want to practice more consistently.

The sixth pause of the day is Night.

Pause and Listen to the Lesson of the Hour

Themes for this hour are silence, rest, sleep, darkness, trust and repentance.

I snuggle under my comforter and drift asleep in God’s arms. I offer up this past day like incense back to the Lord.

Compline is the special word describing this nighttime practice. The word compline comes from the Latin root word meaning complete. How have we completed the day? The day is done and gone. It is a time to look within as a personal prayer to reconcile any discords with God, ourselves and others.

Stretch and Grow

Wiederkehr suggests and I have made the practice of nighttime examine of conscious -an invitation to reflect on each day as we settle in for rest. Frequently I ask myself: What am I most grateful for today? What am I least grateful for? I have found over the years much more to be thankful for, even on difficult days and often what at the time seemed awful, actually evolved into a blessing.

A more challenging question to ponder is where have I seen God today and where have I been His love to others?

Another reflection to consider: Did I spend the gift of this past day in alignment to the deep yearnings of my heart?

Wiederkehr contributes other questions to contemplate:

Have I been a good memory in anyone’s life today?
Have the ears of my heart opened to the voice of God? the needs of others?
What do I know, but live as though I do not know?
Have I worked with joy or drudgery?
What is the one thing in my life that is standing on tip toe crying, “May I have your attention please?” What needs my attention?

“I yearn to be held in the great hand of your heart – oh, let them take me now. Into them I place these fragments, my life and you, God – spend them however you want" (Rainer Maria Rilke)

The Evening Hour -- “Seven times a day I praise you…” Psalm 119:164

When I worked fulltime outside of the home, evening meant relaxing, then fatigue to me. I lost all of get up and go as the sun set.

Now that I am working as a freelance writer, I often find renewed energy to write in the evening – a new discovery for me.

Let’s explore together the lesson the evening hour holds when we pause to listen to its story.

The fifth pause of the day is Evening.

Pause and Listen to the Lesson of the Hour
I love how Macrina Wiederkehr describes this time of day. “One hand cradles daylight, the other welcomes night, In this Vespers hour, I sense a very thin veil between heaven and earth…As I symbolically take off my work clothes and put on the robe of prayer, my soul ages like good wine.”

Themes for this hour are gratitude, praise, serenity and mystery.

Many evenings overflow with additional duties and activities. Pausing allows our hearts time to take a breath, cross over the transom from day work to evening responsibilities and find a moment of peace.

Stretch and Grow
She offers questions to ponder at this time:

What has been the greatest blessing of this day?

What one accomplishment can I smile over?

Is there an unfinished task that is taking away my sense of fulfillment? If so, bless it with the promise that you will attend to it tomorrow.

And the zinger: John of the Cross says, “In the evening of life we shall be judged by love.” How well have I loved this day?

A prayer by Macrina Wiederkehr:
O You whose face is a thousand colors: Look upon us in this twilight hour, and color our faces with the radiance of your love. As the light of the sun fades away, light the lamps of our hearts that we may see one another more clearly. Let the incense of our gratitude rise as our hearts become full of music and song. May the work that we bring with us into this hour fall away from our minds as we enter into the mystical grace of the evening hour.

Midafternoon - “Seven times a day I praise you…” Psalm 119:164

The Midafternoon pause scares me. I am afraid if I pause I will nap, then struggle to get anything else done. Midafternoon for me represents lethargy, sluggishness and panic over what I haven’t accomplished.

So this pause will be difficult for me, yet one I really need to ponder and digest.

The fourth pause of the day is Midafternoon.

Pause and Listen to the Lesson of the Hour
The theme of this hour according to Macrina Wiederkehr is steadfastness, surrender, forgiveness and wisdom. She notes that the “day is aging. Shadows lengthen as the light stretches toward evening…There is a yearning for completion. It is longing to put my house in order before the day ends.”

This is the time of day the truth hits you:
Have you lived today?
Have you paused and been present to the Lord?
This day will not last much longer, no matter how good, productive, or terrible the day was, how have our spent the gift of this day?

Wiederkehr also notes that one of the themes of Midafternoon is impermanence. That may not be all bad as who would like this day never to end? We really have no lasting time or home on earth anyway.

Life is so fragile. Midafternoon reminds us to pause and be mindful what a gift life and time is for us.

Stretch and Grow
I am beginning to appreciate and learn the lessons of Midafternoon. This pause in diminishing light brings new colors as the sun sets. A new way of gaining perspective on life and all the busyness of doing that imprisons us during the day.

Questions to ponder:
What am I clinging to so fiercely that I need to let go?
Did I take a deep breath and enjoy God’s creation today and while I still have time to do so?

Henry David Thoreau writes, “To affect the quality of the day, is the highest of arts.” How have we affected the quality of this day?

Wiederkehr writes, “The ancients had a different relationship wit time than most of us have. Time was not an enemy with which to do battle. For the elders of our historic past, time was more of a loving companion.”

Midafternoon is wisdom hour, yes a loving companion. I have much to learn from her.

“We stand before the dying day, offering our bouquet of life.”

“Sustain me as you have promised that I may live; disappoint me not in my hope.” Psalm 119:116

High Noon - - “Seven times a day I praise you…” Psalm 119:164

How do you spend your noon hour?
Most of us break for quick bite of lunch and rush though some errands that urgently snap up our time. Some may walk at a fast pace, working on their fitness while others put their feet up listening to the news. My hubby's favorite noon time is watching Price is Right with Drew and the "Come on Down" challenge.

But how many of us pause, be present to God and pray? "Come on Down" may be God's challenge to us to slow down and listen for Him over this midday stop.
The third time to pause is Noon.

Pause and Listen to the Lesson of the Hour
Light is the theme for the noon hour. The sun is at its peak with the day half gone. You know the old adage, is the cup half full or half empty? The same can be applied to the noon pause.
This pause gives us time to review the morning and recharge for the rest of the day.

Stretch and Grow
Wiederkehr offers us questions to ponder at noon time:

“Do we find ourselves focusing on the fact that the day is half gone or feeling delighted that much of the day is still ours with vast opportunities to use wisely?

Are we filled with a healthy acceptance of ourselves at this time of day?

Are we able to stand before the hour with an open heart?

Are we willing to make a commitment to move on into the afternoon with a hopeful and positive spirit?

Or are we battling what is sometimes called the noonday devil, the voice of discouragement?”

So let’s slow down at least for a brief pause each noon. Enjoy your meal with all of your senses engaged. Take a moment to look up at the sky. Smile. Thank the Lord for something from the morning activities and seek his wisdom for the afternoon plans.

A noon time prayer from Macrina Wiederkehr:
“Beautiful reflection of divine light, shine on me at this noonday hour. Rejuvenate and invigorate me. Renew my commitment to the tasks of this day. Lead me to my courage, Warm what has grown cold in me. Energize all that has become lethargic. Enliven my growing moments, In the middle of this day, help me to stand before my life with an open heart. In communion with all who have gone before me, I pray."