At the beginning of this year, Kym and I resolved to read more. Our plan has been to choose four books together, give ourselves four months to read them, and then finally have a meal together where we talk about what we've read. It's worked well, this exclusive little book club :) We're into our second batch of books for 2023.
One of the books we read in recent months was Barbara Brown Taylor's "An altar in the world". The author is an academic and a former Anglican priest and her book is wonderful. She gives us fresh eyes to see the possibilities for spiritual practices in the midst of every day life - we are helped to set up an altar in the world and meet God in the ordinary.
One of the practices she describes relates to physical labour. Specifically, she describes an extended power outage in her rural community in mid-winter which meant that it was necessary to keep a fire going all day and to fetch and carry water. She goes on to describe digging up potatoes, doing housework (even cleaning toilets) as opportunities for reflection, prayer and openness to God's transforming work.
We've had no water at home for the last day or so, and so this morning began with an early trip to fill up water bottles. I was still sleepy and hadn't had my first cup of coffee yet - I think I missed the opportunity to redeem the task and see the altar in the world. How about you - are there any routines for you that have the potential to become prayer?
One of the books we read in recent months was Barbara Brown Taylor's "An altar in the world". The author is an academic and a former Anglican priest and her book is wonderful. She gives us fresh eyes to see the possibilities for spiritual practices in the midst of every day life - we are helped to set up an altar in the world and meet God in the ordinary.
One of the practices she describes relates to physical labour. Specifically, she describes an extended power outage in her rural community in mid-winter which meant that it was necessary to keep a fire going all day and to fetch and carry water. She goes on to describe digging up potatoes, doing housework (even cleaning toilets) as opportunities for reflection, prayer and openness to God's transforming work.
We've had no water at home for the last day or so, and so this morning began with an early trip to fill up water bottles. I was still sleepy and hadn't had my first cup of coffee yet - I think I missed the opportunity to redeem the task and see the altar in the world. How about you - are there any routines for you that have the potential to become prayer?