Practice the Presence
Introduction
Articles:
Books:
- Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
- Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
- Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard
- Habits of Grace by David Mathis
- Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley" by Harold L. Senkbeil
7 Practices for an Anxious Age
01
Begin with God
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” — Psalm 143:8.
Suggestions for becoming more present to the moment:
- Focus on your breathing: Breath in through your nose and out through your lips (as if blowing through a straw). Make the connection with the Holy Spirit being like breathe filling you.
- Keep a notepad: If you have thoughts or concerns that come to your mind that are distracting, jot them down to get back to later.
- Light a candle: Remind yourself that Jesus came as the light of the world.
- Come with coffee: Remember Jesus is a hospitable host — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise...
- Choose a helpful posture: Oftentimes our minds follow our posture. You may benefit from kneeling or having your palms up in a posture of receiving.
Suggested Reading:
- Read and meditate on a different Psalm each morning (consider using The Devotional Psalter)
- Read your way slowly through The Gospel of Matthew
- The One Year Bible
- Seeking God's Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year
- Download the Sacred Space app
02
End with God
“Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” — Psalm 141:2
Articles:
03
Limit Media
“If there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” — Philippians 4:8-9
Articles:
- Suggestions to parent your phone
- Tips for being off your phone more
- How to keep track of your screen time
- 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You (book trailer)
Books:
- The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy Crouch
- The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains by Nicholas Carr
- 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke
Watch:
- The Social Dilemma (yah...we get the irony of suggesting watching a film on a practice to "limit media")
04
Grow Gratitude
“It is good to give thanks to the LORD” — Psalm 92:1
Ideas:
- Write down things you're grateful for daily and take turns sharing them around the table
- Open up each prayer with thanksgiving before requests
- Take up a habit of writing "thank you" cards to others
- Make a “Thanksgiving chain”
Links:
- Article: Why Gratittude is Good (the benefits of gratitude at a scientific level)
05
Do Something Physical
“You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” — Psalm 139-13-14
Articles:
06
Reach Out to Others
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” — John 13:35
Articles:
07
Sabbath Worship
“The Sabbath was made for man” — Mark 2:27
Articles:
- The Gift of Sabbath: I Am Not a Machine
- Confessions of a Former Sabbath Breaker
- The Good-for-Nothing Sabbath
Books:
- The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
- Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting
by Marva Dawn - Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to a Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann
- The Taste of Sabbath: How to Delight in God's Rest by Stuart Bryan