Spiritual Direction

I've been reading Tony Jones' book THE SACRED WAY. Today I read ch. 10 on Spiritual Direction. On p.110 he says:

"...at its heart, spiritual direction attempts to recreate that same environment in which Adam walked with God: A time of peace and listening to discover where God is moving in one's life."

He goes on... "The belief implicit in spiritual direction is that God's Spirit is alive and active in the world, constantly moving in the believer's life. The second premise is that believers who are experienced in life and faith and who are committed to spiritual disciplines themselves may be able to help others to notice the movements of the Spirit." The 'experienced' believer would be the spiritual director.

He used a great metaphor: "We're like two people sitting on a train; I'm in the aisle seat, you're in the window seat, and you are describing to me what you see."

So... a question I have is... do you think spiritual direction can take place on a blog?

I know this isn't necessarily the same thing, but I think it would be great to find a group of people willing to share how they see God working in their lives -- without having to worry about someone else judging them or trying to "correct their thinking." Maybe that's too idealistic. It would be hard, no doubt. But just a thought.

Neil Young
I was reading about Neil Young and his recent brain aneurysm. It was in the middle of writing/recording his latest album (Prairie Wind). It is fantastic by the way. But anyway, following the surgery he had some complications and was in the hospital and he asked if someone could stay with him through the night. They had an elderly woman volunteer sit with him. She was sharing her faith with Neil and he said he had always believed in nature. And she simply asked about Who created it... what about the One who made it all, and him. And the last song on Prairie Wind is "When God Made Me." A beautiful song about faith and doubt and wonder. Neil even found out later that the recording studio he was using at the time had at one time been a church building. (I read about this in both 'Rolling Stone' magazine and the 'Readers Digest'.

Old Friends
Yesterday I had a suprise call from an old friend - Dave Draper, the President of the Seminary I attended (Winebrenner Theological Seminary, Findlay, OH). He was passing through and wondered if I could do lunch. What an awesome time. I can't believe he even called me - who the heck am I. And it's funny how with some people, you always come away feeling good after talking to them. That's what Dr. Draper is like. I wish I were more like that.

Another experience I had with an old friend was an email I received Saturday morning. It was from the sister of an old friend. I had blogged earlier about one of the main positive influences on me becoming a pastor being this girl Denise Royce. Denise was such a nice person. I wasn't really "close" with her, but we were friends nonetheless - we ran in the same circle. She always made me feel welcome; comfortable; at ease. And she could always smile no matter what she felt like at the time. Anyway, she died in a car accident several years ago. Her sister googled her name and found my blog and emailed me about it. I was really touched by that. It kind of makes me sad as I think about Denise - the accident and all - but it also makes me wonder... was there something more there. Was it all a part of God's plan... maybe for Tara; maybe for Denise's parents; maybe for me. I don't know. I think it's no mistake that I knew her; it's no mistake that her name appeared here; no mistake that google exists and can link untold names and places and events in history. Probably no mistake you're reading this today (assuming someone is).

I think that's the coolest thing about Spiritual Direction... it doesn't have to do with what we do so much, but with what God is doing around us... in us... through us. All I can say is... where do you see him in your life right now? Is He trying to tell you something? I don't know...

I feel good today. The sun is shining. There is a really cool shadow cast across the chair in my office. I love you, Lord. Thanks for loving me.

Peace. Revolution. Let's go.
d.