Melissa and I have never been one of those couples who consistently spend time praying together each evening.  Don’t panic!  Yes, we pray – together and alone… often.  But it’s never been a scheduled every day practice for us.  Anyone else out there in this category??

It’s been one of those areas that both of us have wanted to change.  And for years we’ve talked about it, tried all sorts of different ideas, and remained frustrated with ourselves that we couldn’t do what we actually wanted.  However, like a lot of other areas in our lives and relationship, we’re taking advantage of our sabbatical to make a change.  Change takes time to sink in, but it requires us to make consistent decisions one day at a time.

During Lent (the Church season leading up to Easter), we are committing to doing a short meditation together each evening.  We are using a resource produced by Church Resource Ministries (our missions organization).  We think this will help us establish a new rhythm, a new habit, that we want to be part of our lives.

If you are like me, it’s easy to over-plan, over-commit, and give up too soon.  That’s why I like having something we are both excited about that is do-able.  Wondering if you have things you would like to be [more] part of your life?  Doesn’t have to be something spiritual.  Can you start with something small like we are?  Would love to encourage you any way we can, so feel free to send us a message and let us know!

btw, if you are interested in CRM’s Lent devotional, you can signup online to receive the daily reflections via email here – http://www.crmleaders.org/lent/

Comments(2)

A while back, Arthur Paul and I came up with a creative assignment for him. He chose songs for each person in our family, then wrote about why he chose the song and how it connects to them. Sort of a creative way to express love and affirmation. I did not help him except to suggest they types of things he might want to consider in choosing a song – a highly abstract yet personal task. After long hours spread over a few months, he got it all finished and shared with the family. It blew us away. Lots of laughter and tears. Here’s what he came up with (video of the song + what he wrote to each of us):

Mairin

Mairin, I chose this song for you because you are a pretty carefree person and not many people get to experience what is listed in the song, but you’re experiencing things as adventurous as this like: chasing butterflies, sliding on ice, living in a house that we got smoke out of, and lots of other things.
The tempo makes you feel like you’re in a flowery garden or a rain swept forest, a perfect place for a girl like you to explore!

Love your older bro. A.P.S. III

Iain

http://www.theparlotones.net/

The meaning/words mainly affected my choice for your song because the words/meaning is about people’s imagination in many different ways from Dragonflies to Astronauts. The tempo and feeling just reminds me of you in sooooooooooooooooo many different ways. Like the times you pretend to be a puffle, my dog, even my cat. It connects with you because you just have such a colossal imagination and it feels like the singer is talking about you.
Love, your older bro.
A.P.S. III

Melissa

http://www.aradhnamusic.com
(this is a beautiful sanskrit worship song about Jesus)

The line “Full of delightful qualities, yet beyond comprehension.” Reminded me of you because you have the great qualities such as: patience, love, compassion, focus, never ending energy, and of course you being a great cook!
The tempo is slow, but speeds up like the events happening in your/our lives.
I think it connects with you because these are all adjectives describing the person you help people to know.

Love, your oldest son
A.P.S. III

Arthur (dad)

http://www.itsmorrisseysworld.com/index.php

The tempo makes me feel like if you had a guitar solo it would be like this
I think this song connects with you because like in the song you have parts of you from different cultures.
Your oldest son,
A.P.S. III

Great job Arthur Paul.  We all felt love and valued by the time and heart you put into this on our behalf.

Comments(1)

I have a number of things I have half-written recently.  These include insightful cultural observations, humorous anecdotes, heart-warming family moments, what I’m learning, what we’ve been up to, and updates on what’s next for us.  I really want to get a bunch of these posts/articles/emails finished because they are important to me (and I think to many of you).  But…

• I usually have my best ideas either in the shower or at the gym – both places where I can’t write anything down as it crosses heart or mind
• I have talked about aspects of all of these with enough people that I don’t want to sit down and recap for everyone else
• I can be a bit of an idealist/perfectionist, so I want to consider every angle and put in every thought related to what I am writing about
• I’ve been struggling to sit and write – too many other things to do!
• I only have self-imposed deadlines, so it is easy to keep putting them off

BUT, I  want to get some of these off my to-do list AND really do need to get some of this on paper – for my sake and yours!  So, you can help me, dear reader, by sending me a message/email/comment along the lines of, “I would really like to hear about…” or “what was that thing you mentioned related to…”  Yes, I am asking for a bit of external motivation

thank you!

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