The Discipline of Meditation

Eight days ago I started out on an amazing journey with a group of eight (so far) amazing women! Kudos to Michelle for starting this Study Group, even though she is already quite busy enough raising three little girls and being the wife of a Pastor! I really appreciate you doing this Michelle! You are awesome! This new Journey I am on with these other women is based on the book to your left. It is a Study of the Spiritual Disciplines and it was written by a Lutheran Pastor's wife in CO. Her name is Valerie Hess. We meet every Tuesday morning. Right now we are talking about the Discipline of Meditation. Let me start out by saying, the Meditation Valerie Hess is referring to is not at all the same thing as non Christian forms of meditation! "In Christian meditation we seek to clear our minds of the clutter that prevents us from focusing fully on God." I love the comparison Valerie uses: "We seek to soak ourselves in God much like uncooked pasta or rice soaks in hot water, softening so that it becomes usable." "We train ourselves to........focus on what God wants us to become". This week my meditation consists of focusing on one Bible verse. "Within your temple O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." I am working on forming a new habit, a habit of intentionally thinking about God as a God of Love, since my previous image of God was less than loving. I am working on counterbalancing the wrong ideas with the Truth. So, this week, a suggestion from the book that I am using, is that I can learn to trust God's love for me by training myself to regularly say "God's love for me is unfailing!" Before I fell asleep last night I was meditating on this verse. On my walks at break time, I have been meditating on this verse. Hopefully soon, it will sink down to the very core of who I am, that God's love for ME (and for YOU) IS unfailing! "For great is your love, reaching to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies." Psalm 57:10