Archive for the ‘Mornings’ Category

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Spring…into action

In art,blogging,business,holidays,Mornings,Uncategorized on April 23, 2018 by mstevensrev

images (3)Something happens to me as the days get longer. I’m finally aware of it after the past few years it becoming extremely noticeable. My goal was always to be steady, keep up a baseline of work and activity so that regardless of external factors, I know that I kept what I could in control.

Then there is a shift, both related to waking up and getting out of bed, but also in regards to my thoughts and creativity. The energy of the spring changes the way that I engage the world. At first, I thought it was just coincidence and that other factors in my life provided this energy. The explanation seems reasonable. Now after the fourth year of this change I’m embracing it, the slow pace of fall and winter begins to transition into a flurry of activity. This physical response has helped me better understand the world of liturgy and why spirituality is broken into seasonal expressions by most major religions.

Ecclesiastes 3  1There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every [a]event under heaven—

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

 

Writing becomes easier, thoughts flow thru more…leaving me excited for this season and the work that is before me.

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. -Margaret Atwood

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>Proverbs 9:13-18, the way of the fool

In Bible,Mornings,Proverbs on June 30, 2010 by mstevensrev

>13 The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Folly is also calling, just like wisdom. That makes following her understandable. On top of that we are told that the immediate result we get with her feels good, sweet, and pleasant. When I start acting that way it becomes intoxicating. So if you are there or have been there it’s okay and understandable, forgive yourself and God will forgive you as well. Also pay attention because her end, Lady Folly, is death. Not just death like end, but death like very bad place. You will end up in a mess that you do not want to be in.

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>Proverbs 9:7-12, do what with the fool.

In Bible,Mornings,Proverbs on June 28, 2010 by mstevensrev

>7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

These seems like very simple instructions. Though when you are in the circumstance and it is intense are a sweet reminder as to why younger facing difficulty. There are people who aree scoffers and wicked that will simoke tear into you. Often I assume since what I’m. sharing is right or good that it will be received. When it isn’t, I often question myself. That INS a very bad thing to do when dealing with wicked or scoffers.

This also challenges me to speak words of correction, which are not my favorite thing to do. I don’t like getting them most of the time, and I don’t like giving them. Yet there are wise people out there, and they love truth. How will in ever gove someone the chance to demonstrate if they are wicked or wise? And their reaction is not a reflection on me. Plus it is a path to love. That is motivating.

Verse 10 is another summary of the book of Proverbs. Fear of the Lord, not man, wife, job, children, or death…but fear of the Lord. You will live long if you get this and you will not be left alone.

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>6AM this morning

In exercise,Mornings,swimming on December 4, 2009 by mstevensrev

>The alarm went off at 6AM, I didn’t exactly jump out of bed. Actually reset my alarm for an hour, but then knew I had to try out my proof of concept. So I put on on running clothes, brushed my teeth and grabbed my backpack with my swimming gear.

The run is one mile. It was dark and cold but fun, mostly because it was new I think. Made it to the pool, checked in, changed showered and was in by 6:35. New goggles and not being in swim shape lead to lots of rest. My form needs work, but I did alright in the Easy lane. Over all I was in the pool for about 40 minutes. At my last stop I was seeing stars and feeling great, think it was the endorphins pumping (or that suit really is way too tight and messing me up).

Dried off and ran home. Looks like this is going to work. The biggest hindrance to repeating this over the next two weeks is my travel schedule, good news with that is the hotels I’m staying at have pools, so I can at least get sometime in working on my form if nothing else.

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>Morning Spiritual Practices

In Mornings,Spiritual on July 16, 2008 by mstevensrev

>Things really change in a year. Since there is constant change in life I try to incorporate that into my spiritual practice in the morning. The last few years I have read through the entire Bible which is pretty cool, but I was concerned that I would get bored so I decided to change things up. Last year I also completed my writing through the Psalms. Both of these fed me deeply and made my mornings really great.

This year I decided just to stick to the New Testament, since it is short I decided to read it thought four times, continue with reading the Psalms every morning and write on the Proverbs. For some reason, perhaps it is how busy I have been, perhaps it is because I am not taking the time in each morning, but for some reason I feel a million miles away. I picked up the Book of Common Prayer, only read it twice. My NT and Psalm readings are on track, picking up Eugene Peterson’s the Message helped that. My writing on the Proverbs has been dropped both because of time and the comment that I was obsessed with the wicked woman which made me realize the Proverbs are just hard to write on and I need more time and energy to do it.

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