Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Running as a spiritual Practice

Here my reflection about a spiritual practice that has been relevant for me lately:

I have always tried to keep a serious training program, some years ago I started to wake up earlier to walk, I couldn’t run because I at that time, I were too heavy to do it, by these times I got two friends who were willing to go walk with me every Saturday so we did it for a year. When came the idea to participate on a race, we did our best to accomplish the 5 km of the course, but better than finishing the race, it was such an amazing experience, we were among 8000 people enjoying a beautiful morning to run, walk and to exercise, the view prior to the launch line was so nice with all those people running those blue skirts with some other colors. Everybody on a good mood, some people so better prepared for running, but also some people very like me at that time: running a little, walking some time and running again, but everybody happy and in a good will, besides feeling so happy on being there, I was happy I could finish all course prior to 40 minutes and I was willing to repeat this kind of experience more times in this year.

So I started a deeper contact with a friend of mine who offered himself to prepare some weekly training spreadsheets to better my physical conditions and to get better performance. We started a kind of discipleship where he listed what kind of activities I should do (running, muscle exercises) and I would return to him my performance, doubts and some consequences, it is ironic how I started to have a good taste of discipleship here. It was good to learn how to run, the effects of food, exercises, heart controlling etc. Our friendship got so better so it is good to learn as it is good to teach too, so both of us are having fun with these experiences, we have not only time of sharing knowledge but also sharing victories as long as I have increased my performance through the races I have participated. Because of these new kinds of concerns, I started to be careful about the quality and quantity of what I eat, how much I should rest and how to run and then, I started to lose weight, to sleep better, and now I am able to even more.

It is interesting to think how many friends I started to make when I started these kind of activities, besides the folks who are running with me, there’s so many people willing to treat their selves better and as it is certified that this is a very good way to do so, when people note that you are losing weight without needing to get drugs, they want to know more how I did it, so we start to share our lives more frequently.

Thinking in all these matters, I realize how spiritual all those things are as long as when you see your body working better, and also your heart and even your brain started to work better when you move, you think that your whole body is now working as it is supposed to be. You think your body is not supposed to stay seated all your life between a cubicle and after office in a couch, your body is supposed to move and to challenge you to even more adventure. That is why you see so many people happy and with a good mood to share smiles, water and to cheer you up in those 5 or 10 km of race. I use to tell that I participate in these races instead of competing in them, when I am in a race, I belong to a people willing to live more as to live better, I can feel it in all course. I also feel as participating in my city, as I can run in some streets where prior I could run just by car. When I see so many good people thinking they are closer to God when they exercise and they feel so healthy and see their bodies responding so well, I think how am I needed there to participate also in their victories and also to help them to complete this journey to God with Jesus Christ.

Please find more spiritual practices at Christine Sine blog

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

What is a spiritual practice?

I have grown up in a Presbiterian tradition, what I mean here in Brazil is that I am supposed to have a very good biblical knowledge background and also very good leadership and administrative skills, though when I started to research about emerging churches phenomenon, I started to think how I lacked spiritual practices in my formation, that is why I have been learning a lot with a group of people in their missional blogs, specially from Mustard Seed Associates who have repeteadly make very good challenges to our faith.
Latelly Christine Sine started an amazing series with reflections from a wide variety of people telling about what they mean about Spiritual Practices. As I told you I lack a lot in this area so I have been learning a lot on this, but Christine also asked me regarding this issue, as challenging as it got to be, I chose to tell about how my running activities are meant by spiritual for me.
I hope to post it tomorrow.
I have seen such amazing reflections about seeing many activities as spiritual practies, so you will have and updated list in this post, and I recomend you to follow on.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

My good news day


Since Easter, JR Woodward has made an excelent job on gathering so good people to post daily on good news for their city, since then we have been had very good articles with very good insights from different perspectives.
Today is my Good News day (besides my birthday also), so you can read it and comment.
These series will bring more people to post until Pentecost.

Monday, August 13, 2007

An Image worth more...

I have found on Emerging Grace blog, some posters that I have been found in some emerging church blogs due to their missional church definitions. Messages are very rich and gets richer when besides so interesting pictures like those were taken, the one that I think reflect my moment now is stated below:

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

5 things I dig about Jesus

I was tagged by Paul Abspoel from Netherlands to tell you Five things I Dig about Jesus, I was very honored by this invitation. Yesterday I read in Exiles, from Michael Frost that we, in our churchy culture, have seen Jesus as a man to be worshiped instead a man to be followed; it is wierd when you get so block as to ennumerate what dig you about Jesus, makes me thing how far I put him in my life just to be worshiped and not think he was a man like me too:
  • 1. Availability - He was so available, even when he knew that he became a very public person, so demanded and even when he knew that some people searched him because of food and because of status, he attended all.
  • 2.Focus - Though he was very demanded, he never lost his focus, even when we forsaw his death, when he knew that what would happen to him, would happen due his mission here, he accepted.
  • 3. No prejudice - He knew everything about the people who he was talking with, he knew the kind of life everybody was used to live, but he received all that was sincere to present their fragmented life and rejected all important people that pretended was close to God and wanted to promote themselves over him
  • 4.Balanced - He knew when it was time to act, but knew also when was time to retire and rest, or pray. He didn't get overworked even with all demmand he had
  • 5. Great Teacher - He didn't explained all his purpose and all his doctrines, instead, he let people find it for themselves, his teachings was never long talks explaining everything, he liked to use questions and stories to make us think and realize for ourselves.


  • I will tag all my international buddies that, I thing, would do that: Rick Stilwell, Len Evans, Steve Knight,JR Woodward and Ken McCord

    Here are the rules:
    (a) Those tagged will share “Five Things They Dig About Jesus”.
    (b) Those tagged will tag 5 people.
    (c) Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007

    Dreaming to pray

    Today, between an snooze in my radio watch and other I was dreaming that I was praying for some folks in my office. It was a kind of weird, my time with God has been so irregular that I thought that, should I pray when I am sleeping because I have been so unable to set up a time to pray? I know I need a lot to pray, today I dismissed my internet in my breakfast to be with God.
    From that time on, I have been dreaming awaked, and now I am dreaming and praying a lot for a Summer Biblical School in my neighboorhood, I couldn't do that in my apartment because it is too small, I would need a house, so I need some prayer partners to be with me in that. I have some time in my holidays in July to do that, a house would help me a lot to start some plans.
    Tag - ;