We enter solitude, in which also we lose loneliness. Only discord can come of the attempt to share solitude. True solitude is found in the wild places, where one is without human obligation. One's inner voices become audible. One feels the attraction of one's most intimate sources. In consequence, one responds more clearly to other …
Excerpts from Henri Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart
During my sabbatical, I re-read a book for the fifth time. That's not a very common occurrence for me, but Henri Nouwen's book The Way of the Heart is that sort of book for me. As I was looking through my sabbatical journals, I found excerpts from this book over a long stretch. So, as much for …
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Four Quotations on Prayer
This past weekend in my message "Making Space for Prayer," the first part of our series "The Art of Prayer" at Eastbrook Church, I shared four quotations on prayer that many people asked me about later. Here they are for your edification. “The truth is that we only learn to pray all the time everywhere after …
Solitude and Silence
This post continues my reflections on Dallas Willard's book, The Spirit of the Disciplines. Here, I look at two disciplines of abstinence that are critical to our entry into the deeper life with God are solitude and silence. Solitude Solitude is our intentional choice to step away from interaction with others, whether in person or …
Busyness: A Love/Hate Relationship
I struggle with busyness. I hate it, yet I love it. Being busy refreshes me, but it can also suck the life out of my soul. In my recent reading of a biography of Henri Nouwen, an amazing writer on the spiritual life who was also a professor at Yale and Harvard, I came across …
Matthew Erickson 