I don't think of myself as a busy person. In fact, I kind of view myself as a highly motivated slug. I've got great ideas and intentions, but my energy lets me down.
This is why I'm excited that I've actually stopped sluggishly, and taken the time to meditate for the past three mornings. What I do is simple, I take a passage of scripture, memorize it and go through it in my head.
Having done this for about a year and a half, I have four passages from the Psalms I can rehearse. This is pretty impressive for me, as holding on to memory verses seems extremely difficult, like juggling wet noodles for example, just less satisfying, unless you go two times round with the noodles - that can be pretty satisfying.
I'm finding that meditating changes the character of my day. A daily reminder of my Creator and his words is immensely satisfying. Who would have thunk it?
Another practice I've taken up, which is extremely border-line for a good Presbyterian boy like me, is writing down what I think God is saying to me each day. So my new commentary on Revelation is coming... Just kidding.
When I picture meditation, I always think of hindus or hippies with body-piercings and paint or tie-dye swaying back and forth whilst repeating a mantra, with eyes rolled back, all set in a candle lit and incense filled room (with crystals tinkling, you can't forget the crystals).
This mental picture kind of made me a little hesitant when I began, but I was greatly helped when a friend of mine said that meditating is sort of like brushing your teeth every-morning, it's a necessity, and not a performance.
I don't really know why I'm sharing all this with you this morning, save to say that it's a practice that seems to go in and out of style for a host of reasons, and I think Christians need to take another look at it.
For one thing, it enables me to allow God's word to move from my head on down to my heart. My daughter's quote "I've have a verse hidden in my heart" and David's thought "I've hidden the word of the LORD in my heart, that I might not sin against thee" apply here. And for another, I think that in a culture where I am constantly bombarded with messages, I need to begin to allow God to bombard me with his. Otherwise the great "transformation of my mind" may never occur. Scary thought.
Plus in meditation, I'm reminded that I'm a human being with a soul. I remember that I am both physical and spiritual. And my very physical repetition of God's truth impacts me both physically and spiritually. It brings peace, slows my heart rate (sometimes) and brings cheer. I am cheered by the fact that I am loved and have a purpose and this cheer effects me both physiologically and spiritually.
So as my reader/fan/can't-believe-Philip-is-so-profound base, I look forward to occasionally sharing with you the very infallible words of God that he shares with me. Then I can begin my new cult and you can drink the Kool-Aid with me.
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