“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” (Annie Dillard)

From the moment our bodies awaken, our eyes begin to open, and we enter into the ordinary wonder of a brand new day.

What do you do with the first few moments of your day? Does what comes ‘first’ really matter?

We gather as the church on the first day of the week and we worship together, because we believe it forms us. And it does.

But the rituals of our ordinary days form us so much more. The day in, day out patterns of where we point our eyes, our hearts. Our lives and our loves are shaped by what we do again and again.

From the very first moments of your day, your life is being formed; you are being formed.

When you awake, do you breathe in the wonder of the life that courses through your veins? Or do you rehearse with worry and anxiety the coming events of the day?

Do you pause in the stillness and tune your heart to God? Or do you launch headfirst into the mad rush of ‘things to be done’ and ‘hills to be climbed’?

Do you reach for a Bible to encounter the presence of God? Or for your phone, and its endless stream of entertainment, stimulation, information.

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. It is shaping who you become, whether you want it to or not. What will you put first?

Contemplations
First Things First

Ready for what's next?

Guided Prayer
Silence | Be Still

I don’t know how you’re finding the constant noise and endlessly swirling turmoil in the world these days. I often find myself feeling exhausted – like soul-level exhausted – by it. Wouldn’t you like to take a break from it all? An actual, real break? Wouldn’t that feel so good? 

Reflection
Examen | Last Week

This is a practice of looking backwards and trying to notice where God was at work in the past, in order to more easily spot and open up to where God is at work in our present moments. Since the regular noise of life tends to drown out that awareness. 

Activities
Practicing Love | Christmas Cards

I wonder how many of us are looking at the weeks ahead, and feeling like love is going to be pretty hard, in some situations. That maybe we’ll be in encounters – whether at family dinners, work parties, even extra time at home – with people we actually find it hard to love...