Archive for the Category »Spiritual Practices «

02
Feb
Three Free Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Valentine's love swansValentine’s Day is just two weeks away, and I’m on a hunt to find ways to show love. Like most people, our home economy is tight. Gift buying doesn’t fit into our budget at the moment, so expressions of love will have to be free.

Here’s some ways I’ve found to show sincere love—loving deeply from the heart (1 Peter 1:22).

Time

We live in a very fast paced culture. Many of us are workaholics. *scrunches face and looks guilty*

Giving the gift of your time to listen, laugh, and just “be” with someone is a gift that leaves warm memories in anyone’s mental scrapbook.

I remember wonderful afternoons of playing cards with my grandmother, fishing with my dad, hiking with my mom, and long, evening walks with my husband. These are the gifts of time I’ve received from people who have loved me and invested their time as a means to show that love.

Challenge: Purposefully set aside some time to do something special with someone you love. Make it cost effective by spending time, not money.

Thoughtfulness

It doesn’t cost much to show kindness to someone. It usually happens in the midst of doing something else— smile for a downcast face, a kind word shared with a friend, or a task completed for someone overwhelmed. Thoughtfulness = giving extra thought on how to best show kindness to an individual.

Challenge: Give the gift of thoughtfulness this Valentines Day.

Prayer

I know how special I feel when folks tell me they are praying specifically for me—especially when they share a Scripture promise that has inspired their prayer. How can you pray for someone in such a way that makes him or her feel loved and valued? Can you write your prayer on a card or send it by email? Can you put a prayer in a fortune cookie or in a bottle and give it to the person?

Challenge: Be creative and get prayin’!

Now it’s your turn: What is your favorite way to show love without spending money? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Susan Gaddis, Helping you build a spiritual legacy

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Category: Prayer, Seasons, Valentine's Day  Tags: , , , ,
16
Jan
Sometimes All it Takes is a Pause and a Wonder

Tom quickly hit the breaks as I struggled to see what kind of danger was threatening us with so little traffic around. The car coming toward us also hit their breaks forty feet in front of ours. What the …?

Without warning our busy schedule paused for three minutes to watch a proud, mother duck lead her six ducklings across the road. A sense of wonder lifted my heart as the little parade waddled into the bushes. Big grins mirrored ours from the opposite car. All of us had shared a moment we would not soon forget.

Sometimes all it takes to catch the Holy in the Daily is a pause and a wonder. Grab that cup of coffee or tea, sit back, and enjoy this short clip of wonder from the London Symphony Orchestra and wild life cameraman and travel journalist, Dylan Winter.

Now it’s your turn! What’s one Pause and Wonder moment you’ll never forget?

If you liked this post, pass it on. I’d love for you to spread the wonder.

Susan Gaddis, Helping you build your spiritual legacy

And…. in case you are interested, my Building a Spiritual Legacy newsletter goes out this Wednesday full of great links and tips. You can sign up for it here.

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Category: Communion, Daily, Monday's Moment Videos  Tags: , , , ,
08
Dec
How to Celebrate Christmas When You’re Not in the Mood
Christmas Bible text

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com

Are you avoiding Christmas this year because you aren’t in the mood? Is busyness or financial troubles making Christmas seem like too much of a hassle? I have a friend who doesn’t decorate for Christmas because she feels there is no one to enjoy it. The kids have all left home, and her husband has passed away. Another friend just isn’t in the mood for Christmas and plans to ignore it this year.

I can relate to sorrow invading the Christmas season, limiting our joy. I lost my mother a week before Christmas a few years ago, and it was a very sad time. The Christmas gathering at my house gets smaller every year as the kids marry and get involved in their extended families. Loneliness, sorrow, and depression are all valid feelings and shouldn’t be ignored during the holidays. But Christmas shouldn’t be ignored either.

Christmas isn’t about us. It is about the celebration of the coming of our King to planet earth–God becoming man. We call this season Advent, which means “arrival.” Christmas sets us up for the Christian’s main celebration of Easter–the death, burial, and resurrection of this God Man so that our sins could be forgiven. Without Christmas, there would be no Easter. In my book, celebrating Christmas is a form of worship.

Are you avoiding Christmas this year? Too busy? Financially strapped? Have sorrow, loneliness, or depression robbed you of the opportunity to worship the King?

Here are five tips for how to celebrate Christmas when you’re not in the mood:

1. Get yourself over to a senior citizen facility and ask the receptionist for the names and room numbers of those who have no family in the area to visit them. Then visit each senior and listen to their stories, pray with them, and leave a Christmas card or plate of cookies. If you have children still at home, get them involved in the baking and visiting.

2. Give a gift of value to those you love–a heart felt letter of appreciation for how their lives have touched yours, a pretty plate that belonged to your grandmother, a box of family recipes you’ve copied, or that set of teacups that are gathering dust in the china cabinet. Some things shouldn’t be left until you are too old to enjoy giving them away.

3. Plan a day to make Christmas crafts or cookies with your kids, grandkids, or some of the children from the church whose mother works and has little time for this kind of special activity. Play Christmas music, serve hot chocolate, and share with the children your memories of Christmas and how Jesus has impacted your life. Let them tell you their stories of Jesus.

4. Call your local homeless shelter or soup kitchen and find out what they need during December. Choose one avenue in which to help serve those less fortunate than you. Then do it.

5. Visit Ann Voskamp’s blog, A Holy Experience, and download her free Advent Jesse Tree book. For many years, our family has enjoyed the story of the coming of the Messiah as a December daily devotional. The kids enjoy putting the symbols of each Old Testament promise on the special tree as we slowly work our way up to December 25th, the day of the birth of the King. We use a traditional small fir tree, but my friend Vickie always finds a bare branch that she sprays white and sets in a weighted pot for her family’s Jessie Tree. Even though the kids have all left home, Vickie and Dave still celebrate Advent with their Jessie Tree.

What have you found helpful in keeping Christmas as a time of worship to our King? What brings Advent alive for you? I’d love to have your input.

Susan Gaddis, Helping you build your spiritual legacy

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Category: Advent, My village, raising kids, worship  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
01
Dec
Decorate Your Home With a Godly Heritage
window view at my Finnish home

Window view from our Finnish "home"

My home is decorated with a Godly heritage, and the decorating has taken years. I thought about this fact as I cradled my hot cup of coffee during a pause in my Christmas decorating.

Surveying the living room and kitchen from my perch on the couch, I noticed the hole in the vinyl floorcovering in front of the oven. The hole appeared about a week after the vinyl was put in when one of my sons dropped a hot skillet onto it. I’ve kept a kitchen throw rug over the hole in the years since the “christening.”  Today, the rug is in the laundry for a weekly cleaning. The laundry room floor, as well the hallway, is the original vinyl, over 27 years old. *sigh*

You’d think by now we would have replaced it all, but with the cost of raising six kids and other expenses that come with life, we haven’t. There. I’ve said it. My house reminds me of my grandmother’s–old, worn in places, and holding memories in each bump and bruise.

Luhtala home

The Luhtala home in Finland--our farmhouse "home"

This last summer we stayed in an old farmhouse while visiting Finland for our son Jonathan’s wedding. As soon as I walked in the door I felt the spiritual atmosphere of a godly heritage lived out in that home.

The small house stood empty now, but the memories smiled at me from the photos on the walls and the stash of knitted mittens in the mudroom. Loving family had lost a baby daughter and raised godly sons under a roof that kept the dark winters outside. Scrapbooks revealed a routine of worship services held in the main living area. Something else besides the physical memories lingered in that place–a sense of peace. The week we spent in that home remains one of my fondest memories of Finland.

Call me odd, but I’ve been an intercessor long enough to know that the physical realm is often influenced by the spiritual realm and visa versa. When a house has held prayer meetings, laughter, tears, and the daily living of honest Christian folk, there remains a sense of the Lord’s presence. You can feel it, and it wells up within your spirit connecting you with the kindred spirits who birthed the things of God in that house.

If you come to my home, you won’t find fancy decorating or the latest furniture styles. You’ll just find peace, people, and lots of books stacked next to each couch and comfy chair. Royal Rangers have graced my halls as well as many home groups and prayer meetings. Most of the children have been raised and the lessons taught and learned. Some of the dishes are chipped and the glasses don’t match, and that is how I like it. My house is almost done with its role in raising a godly heritage. I believe a little of our spiritual legacy has been deposited in this house for the next family who lives here. I hope they feel God here.

Are you decorating your home with a godly heritage? Are you leaving a spiritual legacy in the place where you live? Share your thoughts by clicking the green Leave a Comment link below.

(For more on this subject of creating a godly heritage in the place where you live, see my post “Is Your Home a Thin Place?“)

Susan Gaddis, Helping you build a spiritual legacy.

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Category: Daily, Prayer, raising kids, worship  Tags: , , , ,
24
Nov
What’s in Your Spiritual Scrapbook?
Three generations of women view photos

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com

Stirred from my sleep by a brightly colored dream, I managed to focus on the pictures running through my head. I knew the Lord was trying to answer my quiet prayer before bed, “How do you want me to pray for my child? What promise from Scripture do you want me to hold onto and pray during this time?”

I saw the wind of the Spirit blowing the pages of a photo album, turning each page slowly enough for me to grasp that they contained photos of all the answered prayers I had prayed in the past for this particular son. The colors in each photo were alive and radiant and I knew, as only you can in a dream, that I was to review and re-pray each promise for the current situation.

In the midst of this prayer adventure, the last part of Hebrews 10:23 jumped off the Scripture page at me. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (italics added).

I felt such relief. My faith wasn’t what was going to see these promises fulfilled—God’s faith would. He is full of faith (faithful), while I am often half empty in the faith department. My responsibility is simply to pray the promise of Scripture, and in the praying my faith increases. I’m not responsible to keep the promise—that’s the Lord’s job, not mine.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for a God who is full of faith and keeps his promises. I have a spiritual scrapbook to prove it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with little opportunities to build a spiritual legacy with your family and friends.

To mimic a popular commercial, “What’s in your spiritual scrapbook?” (Really, I’d like to know. Share your remarks by clicking on the green “Comment” below.)

Susan Gaddis

Helping you build your spiritual legacy.

If you found this post helpful, please share it via one of the Sociable buttons below. If you are interested in more articles like this, sign up for my newsletter Building a Spiritual Legacy at www.eternalfoundations.com/contact.

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Category: Prayer, praying for your kids, Thanksgiving  Tags: , , , , ,
26
Sep
What! Me Worship an Idol? No Way!

No way am I an idol worshipper. At least I don’t think I am. I don’t give much thought to idols unless I’m traveling to an underdeveloped country. Well that will have to change after viewing this short clip!

If you received this post via RSS or email and cannot view the clip, please visit my Holy in the Daily blog to give your brain a tweak for today.

So, what do you think? What are some of the idols you’ve encountered in our culture, and what makes them idols?

If you enjoyed this post and clip from the Skit Guys, please pass it on by using one of the Share and Enjoy buttons below.

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

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06
Jul
Texas Governor Perry Declares a Day of Prayer Based on the Book of Joel

Hats off to the Texas Governor Rick Perry for declaring a day of prayer and fasting for our nation based on the Bible book of Joel. In May his official proclamation went out to all the citizens of Texas along with a letter to the other 49 state governors asking them to participate.

Since I am currently reading the book of Joel, this proclamation resonated within my spirit. The complete proclamation appears below, but you can also read it on the Governor’s website where it was posted on the 4th of July.

In 1775, the Continental Congress asked the colonies to join in prayer, seeking wisdom as they faced the responsibility and opportunity of building a new nation. As leaders of that young nation assembled in 1787 to craft a Constitution, Benjamin Franklin implored the framers to pray for guidance, famously declaring, “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.” Decades later, during a time of national turmoil, President John Adams declared “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer,” asking citizens of all faiths to pray for America’s protection from danger. Later, as civil war tore our young country apart, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of national fasting and prayer, saying “It behooves us … to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray to the God that made us.” During World War II, with our troops locked in battle on the beaches of France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the nation in prayer, “As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.”

Given the trials that have beset our country and world – from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and wars that endanger our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and theaters of conflict around the globe, and the decline of our culture in the context of the demise of families – it seems imperative that the people of our nation should once again join together for a solemn day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation.

In times of trouble, even those who have been granted power by the people must turn to God in humility for wisdom, mercy and direction. In the spirit of the Book of Joel, Chapter 2, Verses 15-16, I urge a solemn gathering of prayer and fasting. As those verses admonish: “15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly… 16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly…” As Jesus prayed publicly for the benefit of others in John 11:41-42, so should we express our faith in this way.

THEREFORE, I invite my fellow Texans to join me on August 6 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, as we pray for unity and righteousness – for this great state, this great nation and all mankind. I urge Americans of faith to pray on that day for the healing of our country, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of enduring values as our guiding force.

THEREFORE, I, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, do hereby proclaim August 6, 2011, to be

A Day of Prayer and Fasting for Our Nation

in Texas, and urge the appropriate recognition whereof.

In official recognition whereof, I hereby affix my signature this the 23rd day of May, 2011.

RICK PERRY
 Governor of Texas

I don’t know if our California Governor Brown will participate in this day of prayer, but I’m encouraging those with whom I associate to put a little holy in their day by setting aside time on August 6 for prayer and fasting. If you can arrange a time to meet with others and pray as part of that day’s activities, all the better. I’m also calling our Father’s House intercessors to a day of fasting and prayer on August 6th. Mark your calendar and join with Texas in praying for our nation.

What are your thoughts concerning Governor Perry’s perspective on the need for prayer and fasting? What do you plan to do about it?

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

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10
Jun
My Prayer For You

June is a time of good-byes and launching our kids into their future, often in graduation or wedding ceremonies.  This prayer from the Northumbria Community is one of my favorites. It appears in their book Celtic Daily Prayer. I hope it touches your heart as it has mine.

My Prayer For You

May the Father of Life pour out His grace on you; may you feel His hand in everything you do and be strengthened by the things He brings you through: this is my prayer for you.

May the Son of God be Lord in all your ways; may He shepherd you the length of all your days, and in your heart may He receive the praise: this is my prayer for you.

And despite how simple it may sound, I pray that His grace will abound and motivate everything you do; and may the fullness of His love be shared through you.

May His Spirit comfort you, and make you strong, may He discipline you gently when you’re wrong, and in your heart may He give you a song: this is my prayer for you.

May Jesus be Lord in all your ways, may He shepherd you the length of all your days, and in your heart may He receive the praise: this is my prayer for you, my prayer for you.

Do you have a prayer that fits the launching of a graduate or wedding couple? I’d love to have you share it in the comment section below.

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

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Category: Celtic Christianity, praying for your kids, raising kids  Tags: , , , , , , ,
03
Jun
Traditional or Spicy–What Flavor of Communion Suits You?

Communion can either be traditional (however that looks to you), or it can be spicy. Last Sunday I was asked to set up communion before service. No problem. I’ve been in ministry for 36 years and setting up communion is rather a traditional, non-thinking type of duty.

I arrived early. Poured the wine (woops, I mean grape juice) into the chalice, and went looking for the bread to grace the plate. No bread. No flat bread either. No crackers that I could see. Not good.

Improvising, I asked Holly Hospitality if I could use a few of her plain bagels for communion bread. That worked, and the communion elements elegantly took their place on the red tablecloth.

Fathers House communion practice is to make the red table with the plate of bread and chalice available to any who would like to partake during worship. Since my friend Vickie was back in church after a few weeks of illness, we decided to take communion together.

Humble prayers graced our time together, and the small piece of bagel dipped in grape juice felt holy as we partook. Yet no sooner had the bread slipped over our tongues when fire rippled through our heads.

It wasn’t the fire of God. Holly Hospitality’s jalapeno bagels spiced up traditional, and communion burned within me through the rest of service.

I doubt they’ll ask me to prepare communion again.

What is your most unusual communion experience? We’d love to hear about it.

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

 

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01
Jun
Celtic Prayer of Safety

Life can be scary. Earthquakes, uprisings, war, famine, economic uncertainty, and just living with people who are as dysfunctional as I am, causes me to realize that our world is unsafe and unsure. I remind myself each morning and before bed of God’s protection. St. Brigid’s prayer is one of my favorites. It is also an easy prayer for your children to memorize.

Each day and each night that I place myself under his keeping,

I shall not be forgotten.

I shall not be destroyed.

I shall not be imprisoned.

I shall not be harassed by evil powers.

Do you have a simple prayer that comes easily to mind as you begin or end your day? Please share it with us in the comment section below.

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

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