Journal

Category: Contemplative Life

This Summer I Prayed the Examen

This Summer I Prayed the Examen

Here is a post by a friend of ours about a reflective prayer practice called the Examen Prayer.  It is a powerful way to recognize God in our everyday activities. This Summer I Prayed the Examen by Abby Deatherage This summer, by happenstance and friends-of-friends...

Speaking Life Aloud

Sensory clutter surrounds us.  Extremely sensitive to it, I’ve used toilet paper from public rest rooms to plug my ears in school hallways, coffee shops, and grocery stores.  Why is so much “nothing” available, and why at such loud volumes, in such bright colors?  And...

Life and Heat

Lord, a holy man make me, set apart blown apart to be set free and dance deep and wild a tender fire wicking words into heat and light so some may see life truly lived quiet penetrating and...

Tolkien Speaks: The Secret to a Happy Marriage

We came across this blog about marriage and self-sacrifice: “…J.R.R. Tolkien was happily married for 55 years. In contrast, the modern divorce rate is shockingly high, and some are giving up on monogamous marriage altogether, claiming it simply isn’t...

Quiet in the (Beltway) Chaos

We live in a frenzied and seemingly chaotic world. We drive ourselves to distraction with our devices and multitasking. We strive for the next customer, contract, or position. For many the electronic world means that the work world is always present. We carry our...

Reflections on our Wedding

15 Years Ago Today!!    But this was written about two weeks after we said, “Yes.” Reflections on Our Wedding– by Bill and Tara Scherer Haley The Irish Celts had a word for those locations where God seems to be more easily seen. They called them ‘thin...
Cleaning Out the House

Cleaning Out the House

In Psalm 21:4, it says that David “asked life” from God and God “gave it to him – length of days forever and ever,” as the New King James renders it. When I read those words last week, I was struck by David’s request. He wanted...

Men of Reparation

This article was written by Soren Johnson. Men repair stuff. I know — I’m resorting to stereotypes. But I don’t know any guys who find happiness by waking up day after day to a bunch of broken things. And yet, according to a friend of mine who oversees facilities for...
Corhaven Kids Club

Corhaven Kids Club

“Corhaven Kids Club”–Fun, Friendship, Character, and Jesus It’s been said that when you have kids, the days last forever and the years fly by! All parents want to take every opportunity build into their children and set them up well for life. To do this it takes...

God in the Perfect Storm

I’ve noticed something, and come to believe it, and it’s proving quite powerful and helpful in those hard seasons that we all go through–the season of “The Perfect Storm”. You know the image, you’ve been there, you might be in such a season now! The Perfect Storm is a...

A review of “Surrender to Love”

In his book Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality, David Benner argues that surrendering to Divine Love is the key to spiritual growth and genuine transformation.  In fact, Benner goes so far as to say that “the deepest need for all human...

Welcoming Weakness

I recently listened to an interview with Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche communities, and was struck by a particular question he posed. He asked: “How can we welcome fully the weakness of another if we haven’t welcomed our own weakness?” The question...

God-sightings at Corhaven in May 2015

On a personal retreat “My time here helped me to clean my head, stop, be still and just rest in God’s presence.  He reminded me of all the ways that He has blessed me (definitely a weekend of gratitude) and convinced me about how I can be doing a better job of...

Begin the Song Exactly Where You Are

“Singing Bowl” by Malcolm Guite Begin the song exactly where you are, Remain within the world of which you’re made. Call nothing common in the earth or air, Accept it all and let it be for good. Start with the very breath you breathe in now, This moment’s pulse, this...

The Truth We Don’t Believe

The most consistent prayer I offer when people come out for a few hours or a day or overnight at Corhaven is, “God, please help them to encounter your love, your deep deep love for them”, and we try to facilitate that in any way we can. One of the reasons why this...
Reflection On A Construction Dumpster

Reflection On A Construction Dumpster

“It is time.” These are the words of beginning for me and I know that I’ve come to a beginning when I hear them inwardly.  My wife and I heard them almost a year ago the summer of 2014 concerning our house. It was time to deal with the leaky bathroom issues, and...