Pr. Dan’s Top Ten Spiritual Spring Cleaning Tips:
- Relax and enjoy the sunshine. God gives it to us for our enjoyment.
- Look back at those New Years resolutions. This time realistically set some new goals for rededication.
- Dust off the Bibles on your night stand. Read a psalm everyday for the next month. You will find plenty of encouragement there.
- Spring is about a new beginning. In a broken relationship choose to forgive and start anew. (Perhaps the person you most need to forgive is yourself).
- Ask your kids what they are learning about God. All too often they only hear what adults believe; rarely are they asked what they believe. Take a few minutes just to listen.
- Give journaling a try. Pr. Lucy Wynard recommends http://annagram.org/extras/journaling.html for those who find it overwhelming.
- It’s tempting when the weather gets good to skip church. Keep in mind how vital it is to keep plugged into God through your connections to God’s community.
- As you make your summer plans keep in mind a Christian camp, conference or retreat for your family. Check out LOMC (http://lomc.org/), Lutherdale (http://www.lutherdale.org/) or your friendly local pastor for specific ideas.
- Take your spouse, significant other or best friend on a date. Be intentional about discussing where you are at spiritually and how you want to grow.
- Did I mention relax and enjoy the sunshine? Eugene Peterson, the theologian and pastor who translated The Message version of the Bible, writes about Sabbath as being best kept in praying and playing. He says: “Praying and playing share this quality: they develop and mature with age, they don’t go into decline. Prayerfulness and playfulness reverse the deadening effects of sin-determined lives. They… counter boredom, reduce anxieties, push, pull, direct, prod us into the fullness of our humanity…” (Working the Angles, pg. 78).
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