Saturday, July 3, 2021

Nouwen Meditation: Everything is Indeed Good

In this week's episode of Henri Nouwen, Now & Then, New York Times best-selling author Brian D. McLaren makes the bold proposition in his latest book Faith After Doubt, that only doubt can save the world. And your faith.

DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 3, 2021
Everything is Indeed Good
I just returned from a walk through the dark woods. It was cool and windy, but everything spoke of you. Everything: the clouds, the trees, the wet grass, the valley with its distant lights, the sound of the wind. They all spoke of your resurrection; they all made me aware that everything is indeed good. In you all is created good, and by you all creation is renewed and brought to an even greater glory than it possessed at its beginning.

O Lord, I know now that it is in silence, in a quiet moment, in a forgotten corner that you will meet me, call me by name and speak to me a word of peace. It is in my stillest hour that you become the risen Lord to me.
"Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

ACTS 14:17 (ESV)
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Friday, July 2, 2021

Nouwen Meditation: The Choice of Gratitude

In this week's episode of Henri Nouwen, Now & Then, New York Times best-selling author Brian D. McLaren makes the bold proposition in his latest book Faith After Doubt, that only doubt can save the world. And your faith.

DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 2, 2021
The Choice of Gratitude
Gratitude...goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. . . . The choice for gratitude rarely comes without some real effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious. . . . There is an Estonian proverb that says: “Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.” Acts of gratitude make one grateful because, step by step, they reveal that all is grace.
"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you."

PSALM 118:28 (NIV)
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Thursday, July 1, 2021

Nouwen Meditation: Gratitude is a Quality of the Heart

In this week's episode of Henri Nouwen, Now & Then, New York Times best-selling author Brian D. McLaren makes the bold proposition in his latest book Faith After Doubt, that only doubt can save the world. And your faith.

DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 1, 2021
Gratitude is a Quality of the Heart
Gratitude is the awareness that life in all its manifestations is a gift for which we want to give thanks. The closer we come to God in prayer, the more we become aware of the abundance of God’s gifts to us. We may even discover the presence of these gifts in the midst of our pains and sorrows. The mystery of the spiritual life is that many of the events, people, and situations that for a long time seemed to inhibit our way to God become ways of being united more deeply with him. What seemed a hindrance proves to be a gift. Thus gratitude becomes a quality of our hearts that allows us to live joyfully and peacefully even though our struggles continue.
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others..."

HEBREWS 13:15 (NIV)
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Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today.