Abide

We don't usually notice how much we're being shaped. The feed, the pace, the hundred small inputs of a day. Most of it forms us without us knowing, and not always toward the people we want to become.

Paul says do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He assumes formation is happening either way. He just wants us awake to it, and pointed in a better direction.

Abiding is how we get re-formed by the One who actually loves us.

We're not used to quiet. That's exactly why we need it.

Here's something I didn't expect to be hard: sitting in silence with God for a while. No phone, no task, no words to fill the space. Just being there.

The first few minutes are restless. The mind wanders to the to-do list. The conversations I've been avoiding. The ways I've messed up. And then, eventually, something settles.

Someone who tried it at Abide Week this spring put it simply. There's no right or wrong way to do it. The point is to focus on Christ. You don't have to be good at stillness. You just have to show up to it.

If you want to try, start small. Five minutes. Let it be a little awkward. Just keep coming back.

Like a tree planted by streams of water. That's the picture Psalm 1 gives of a life rooted in God. It still meets dry seasons. It just doesn't wither in them, because the roots reach water the surface can't see.

We can't always control the heat of a given season. We can pay attention to where our roots are going.

Before they were sent to do anything, they were called to be with him.

When Jesus chose the twelve, Mark tells us why. He appointed them so that they might be with him, and then to be sent out.

Being with him came first. The work grew out of the togetherness, not the other way around.

I find that easy to forget. I'm quick to ask what God wants me to do and slow to remember that often he just wants me to stay near and be transformed by his loving presence. Maybe you're the same.

Jesus says, abide in me, and I in you. A branch doesn't work to produce fruit. It stays connected, and the fruit comes.

Most of us know the version of faith that’s all pressure. Earn it, prove it, feel guilty, repeat. But that isn't what he asked of us. He asked us to stay close.

There's relief in that, and there's something better than relief. He is good to be with. We were made for his company.

Sign-ups are open for our two Abide Weeks this fall.

Most of us love Jesus and still find that ordinary life crowds him to the edges of the day. We mean to be with him, and somehow whole days go by where we barely turn his way.

Abide Week is six days to learn how to actually be with him throughout your days: by paying attention, returning to his presence, and building a few simple practices that hold once you're home. The kind of thing you can keep doing in your ordinary life.

Time with him, and time with each other.

Monticello, IL: August 30 to September 4 (Allerton Retreat Center)
Syracuse, IN: September 27 to October 2 (Quaker Haven Camp)

We close registration about two weeks before each week starts, so if it's on your heart, sign up early. Link in bio.

Coming on your own? You won't be alone.

What we did this week was simple. Sat with scripture. Prayed for each other. Ate three meals a day together. Got off our phones for six days. None of it complicated. All of it harder to do at home alone. That's why we keep doing these.
The August Abide Week is open. Link in bio.

The things that actually change the kinds of people we are, generally, did not happen in a hurry. I keep relearning that I cannot rush the things I most want God to do in me.

The August Abide Week in Illinois is open. If you've been thinking about it, this is the nudge. Link in bio.

Last day of Abide Week. Three things I’m grateful for from these six days.

1. A chance to slow down.
2. Learning more about the life Jesus envisions for us.
3. Living life in community.

What are three of yours from this week?

Three days in. We’re spending a lot of time in in quiet. We’re noticing things we’d been moving too fast to notice.