“Art for the Sake of the Soul” in Collage Book, DS
Introduction
In my youth I avidly read each book required by courses. I joined into class discussion, my hand always in the air. Debates fascinated. Once upon a time, in a flurry of defences, I argued against free will. When I listened, I became convinced of the other side, for a lifetime. Mrs. Krueger was the freedom fighter. I wonder now at her background. Were her arguments from experience?
I was more to be found on the dance floor than at the library door. I married young and had my children. It was then, in the hours after bedtime, and during naps, that I read as if my life depended on it. The first tome was Gone With the Wind. I began university and was interrupted by life many times. This became my pattern.
The Gleanings Project, to begin in the New Year, will be part of one of those interruptions. I will glean books for glimpses of knowledge and wisdom, fun and study, using fewer than 500 words. Later, I will get down to serious work again. Thank you for being companions on the way. Your likes and comments are awesome.
. . .
Benner, David G. The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
500 words
“Jesus’ paradoxical teaching . . . it is in losing ourself that we truly find it . . . I have done neither [here]. . . journey of finding our authentic self in Christ and rooting our identity in this reality is dramatically different from the agenda of self-fulfillment promoted by pop psychology. ” (13)
“The goal of the spiritual journey is the transformation of the self.” (14)
“Beneath the roles and masks lies a possibility of a self that is as unique as a snowflake.” (15)
“A humble self-knowledge is a surer way to God than a search after deep learning.” (a Kempis in Benner, 20)
“Personal knowledge is never simply a matter of the head. Because it is rooted in experience , it is grounded in deep laces of our being. The things we know from experience we know beyond belief. Such knowing is not incompatible with such belief, but is not dependent on it.” (25)
“Paradoxically, we come to know God best not by looking at God exclusively, but by looking at God, then looking at ourselves –– then looking at God, and then looking at ourselves . . . mostly fully known in relationship to each other.” (26)
“God’s call to a deep personal encounter . . . is an invitation to step out of the security of the boat and meet Jesus in the vulnerability and chaos of our inner storms.” (31)
“Revelation is not simply something that happened at some distant point in the past. If it were, all we could ever hope for is information from this historic event.” (34)
Because God is love, God can only be known through love . . . This is transformational knowing . . . also requires surrender . . . Genuine knowing also demands a response . . . To surrender to Divine love is to find our soul’s home.” (35)
“Relationships develop when people spend time together . . . the essence of prayer . . .Spirit-guided meditation on the Gospels. ” (37)
“The meditation I am recommending is not the same as Bible study. It is more an exercise of the imagination than it is of the intellect. It involves allowing the Spirit of God to help you imaginatively enter an event in the life of Christ as presented in the Gospels.”
“My journey, however, has not been easy. I have trouble visualizing things . . . But . . . allowing myself to daydream on it –– is sharing Jesus’ experience with Him . . . slowly moving to a new level of personal knowing of Jesus.” (39)
“Coming to know and trust God’s love is a lifelong process . . . allowing our identity to be re-formed . . . core of the spiritual transformation. “ (51)
“In human community . . .” (52)
“Spiritual transformation, not self-knowledge is the goal of Christian spirituality. “ (72)
“Every moment of every day or our life God wanders in our inner garden, seeking our companionship.” (88)
. . .
ShellseekerReflections 