In this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Jim Teeters introduces ATM, his acrostic guide for discipleship: “Are you available? Are you teachable? Are you movable?”
Such good questions.
The brevity of each day’s Fruit of the Vine devotional makes it impossible for Jim to do much here, but what he offers regarding that first question is helpful: Listening to the Holy Spirit “takes my time and attention away from the normal duties and worries of my world.”
I don’t know about you, but it is just these normal duties and worries that control my schedule, my interactions, my thoughts. To set them aside—even for a few moments—feels both irresponsible (as if I am being somehow derelict) and also freeing (a space in which to breathe). Jim shares that he finds time for this kind of listening “when I go on my morning walk. I can pray, look around at God’s wonderful, changing creation and move into a state of spiritual listening.”
How are you making yourself available? When do you listen?
In tomorrow’s devotional, Jim briefly tackles the question of being teachable, and on Wednesday, he writes on what it can mean to make ourselves movable. Which reminds me. Fruit of the Vine is available as a quarterly booklet, but you can also receive it as a daily email (at a discounted rate).
In the meantime, Jim challenges us to “find a time and place for listening.” And he offers this prayer: “Lord, help me to be available, teachable, and movable in response to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Help me find the time and place for listening.”
Eric Muhr
What brings you life?
In this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Bethany Lee asks, “What brings you life? What do you love?”
I think of waterfalls.
This summer I’ve been taking time whenever I can find it to chase waterfalls. Old topographical maps and an online database of satellite images have helped me find ten so far in the county where I live. During one of those trips, I fell and broke my phone. During another, I had to hike in because the road had washed out. Another time, I had a run-in with a bear. Fortunately, he was more interested in berries than in me.
Bethany writes that these questions work better than more spiritual questions like, “How do you pray?” or “What’s your favorite Bible verse?” because of how easy it is for us to “get stuck thinking there are only a few acceptable ways to connect with God. And often the ones that seem most holy to us are the ones we find the most difficult.”
Bethany’s right. And it is good to be reminded that God is present, not only in my morning devotions, but also in outdoor adventure, in quiet spaces, in rushing water, in a close call with a bear.
Bethany writes that “when we start noticing what it is that brings us life, what revives us, we can learn to spot the ways God interacts with us. . . . So what brings you life?”
Eric Muhr
Face to Face and Close to the Ground
It's been a busy month here at Barclay Press, as we prepare for Northwest Yearly Meeting annual sessions at George Fox University. We'll be releasing two new titles during Yearly Meeting and now have them both available for pre-order.
Face to Face: Early Quaker Encounters with the Bible is the first of three volumes from T. Vail Palmer offering what C. Wess Daniels has called "the most comprehensive Quaker theology ever written." This first volume offers a "systematic look at Quakers' understanding and theology of the Bible." The second volume is scheduled for release in mid-2017.
In Close to the Ground: A Collection of Poems, Nancy Thomas explores "the grace of God hidden in the ordinariness of life." The first section, “Playing with Words,” celebrates language. In the second section, “Family Album,” Nancy celebrates memory, one of the ancient traditions of the Christian faith. The third section, “The Absurdity of Prayer,” focuses on the human side of our relationship with God. It notices the klutziness of being the church. It celebrates spirituality with dirt on its face and saints with sullied reputations. The final section, “Longing for Home,” affirms the hope of resurrection and new life.
I've spent a lot of time with both of these books over the last few months, and I'm convinced of the importance of both titles. Nancy's collection challenges me to think more creatively and to interact more playfully in my prayerful noticings of God with me. Vail's work offers perspective I wish I'd had years ago about what the Bible was for early Quakers and how their readings might offer life to us today. Please feel free to write me about your own experience with either title. I'd love to hear from you.
Eric Muhr