#eugene peterson

[apesoformythoughts]

via swordandpencil

[theinwardlight]

Hebrews 13:13-15 (MSG)

[apenasumacristablr]

A oração a Deus deve tornar-se tão comum em nossa vida quanto uma conversa com nossos amigos.

Eugene Peterson

[craigtowens]

“Scripture without prayer has no soul; prayer without Scripture has no substance.” —Eugene Peterson

[idratherdreamofjune]

Religion in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Religion is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church; for others, occasional visits to special services. Some, with a bent for religious entertainment and sacred diversion, plan their lives around special events like retreats, rallies, and conferences.

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson

[contemplative-prayer-collec-blog]

Hope

Centering Prayer is a practice of hope.  As we quietly pray, we practice saying “yes” to God’s invitation, giving Him our attention above all else – in all else.  Centering ourselves in God’s presence we may not realize that we make a statement.  That action is a statement of hope. We are declaring, “I trust You more than anyone or anything else! My hope is in You!”  No matter what life may look like – we keep returning to the One who says, “I’m here.  I’ve always been here.  I’ve got you!” 

It’s can be hard at times.  The world may seem as if it is out of control.  Circumstances may feel crazy – even threatening.  But, as we pray, little by little, we learn we are most secure centered on the One who is always present.  We find Him in everything.  His presence shapes our view of Reality.  He is present.  That's our constant.  He is trustworthy.  In this we find hope.

Please read the words below from Eugene Peterson about hope, and then take a moment to experience a musical moment of worship from Vertical Church in Chicago, IL.        

Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. 

It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions.

It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality.

It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying.

And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain.

It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do.

It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it his way and in his time.

It is the opposite of making plans that we demand that God put into effect, telling him both how and when to do it.

That is not hoping in God but bullying God.

I pray to GOD -- my life a prayer -- and wait for what he'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning. [1]

[1] E. H. Peterson. (1980). A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society, p. 132.

[agardenofdaydreams]

God made my life complete

When I placed all the pieces before him

He gave me a fresh start

Now I’m alert to God’s ways.

Every day I review the ways he works.

I feel put back together.

God rewrote the text of my life,

When I opened the book of my heart before God’s eyes.

[olharfirmeemjesus]

Esperar em oração é uma disciplina de recusar agir antes das ações de Deus.

Eugene Peterson