Starring Spiritual Discipline

The "star words" for 2024 are from a short list of 12 spiritual disciplines. You may prayerfully look through this list and discern how the Spirit is calling you. Or you may click here to be directed to a random number generator. Set 1 as the lower limit and 12 as the upper. Click and see what number you get, corresponding to a discipline on the list below. 

Spiritual Disciplines 2024

A guide to living the baptized life ever more fully

 

1.    Abstention – restraining from indulgence

 

If your first thought regarding abstention is about dieting, think again. This spiritual discipline invites us into refraining from indulgences that cause us to stray from the will of God. This is an invitation to work on self-restraint with words and actions. This is a call to abstain from judgment of others, quick and thoughtless comments, or mindless actions that cause you to feel regret or frustration later. The practice of abstention may find you being quiet a little more often, as well as holding back in situations where groupthink may not lead to productive or healing actions.  

For kids: abstention means to NOT do things we know better than to do, but sometimes to do anyway. It’s connected to self-control. 

 

Bible verse: 2 Timothy 1:7

 

2.    Celebration – marking occasions with joy and hope

 

Any excuse for a party! Sort of. The spiritual discipline of celebration is an outward engagement with joy and praise at God’s work in the world. A call to disciplined celebration is a call to seek where and how the Divine will is being accomplished in and around us. Has there been healing? Celebrate with thanksgiving. Is there spiritual growth? Celebrate with prayer and singing. Has there been reconciliation? Celebrate with Holy Communion! You have been invited into a year of looking deeper toward joy and hope in the fulfilling of God’s promises. 

 

For kids: celebrate means to be excited about things that show God’s love and work in the world- in creation, at church, with friends and family. 

 

Bible verse: Philippians 4:4

 

3.    Fellowship – engagement with others, especially those outside your “usual” group

 

Fellowship is a discipline of engagement. Rather than merely meaning that you commit to staying for coffee hour, it means that the Spirit is inviting you into closer community with your fellow Christians and your neighbors. Committing to growth in the discipline of fellowship might mean participating in a group activity you’ve been meaning to try or arranging a get together with friends you think might enjoy one another’s company. This is not an invitation to exhaustion, but a welcome opportunity to deepen relationships with people around you through intentional activities. 

 

For kids: fellowship means doing things with people who aren’t always in your friend group. Not people who aren’t kind, necessarily, but people who might feel left out or need an invitation to play or sit with you at lunch. 

Bible verse: Hebrews 10:24-25

 

4.    Meditation – mental exercise for the purpose of spiritual growth 

 

Meditation embraces several spiritual disciplines into one practice: silence, prayer, and awareness. Developing a practice of meditation means embracing God’s call toward stillness of mind and body. Baby steps in the practice include working toward quieting the mind, paying attention to surroundings, and listening for God. Of all the disciplines in the list, expect great failure in this one unless you’re already pretty good at it. Great failure at first, however, means room for amazing growth! 

 

For kids: meditation means taking time to help our bodies and minds learn to pay attention to God. What is God doing and saying around you? 

 

Bible verse: Isaiah 26:3

 

5.    Perseverance – the characteristic or action of steadfastness; unwavering commitment

 

Hooray! You’ve received the opportunity to be stubborn for a year! Well, you’ve received an invitation into stubbornly pursuing the will of God. The discipline of perseverance means pursuing words and deeds that are directed at justice, healing, renewal, and mercy throughout the year. It means bringing up the issue when others want to ignore it. It means potentially setting aside your own uncertainty to pursue hope and aid for another. You have been called to stubbornly persist in seeing God’s will done on earth as in heaven. 

 

For kids: perseverance means to keep trying on something you know you have to learn how to do. You might not get it the first or the second time, but remember God is with you and helping you. 

 

Bible verse: Galatians 6:9

 

6.    Prayer – earnest (usually intentional) communication with God

 

Initially, the discipline of prayer may seem easy. Couldn’t you just say the Lord’s Prayer every day and say you did it? That’s the letter of the discipline, but not the spirit. Genuine prayer involves conversation with God, back and forth, listening and speaking. Your growth in prayer discipline may not look the same as someone else’s for there are many ways to pray. This is a good discipline to discuss with Pastor Julia. What stands in your way? What would work for you? How can you be kind to yourself as you become more disciplined in prayer. 

 

For kids: prayer is talking to and listening to God. It can mean saying thank you, asking for help for yourself or someone else, or saying what amazing things God has done. 

 

Bible verse: 1 Timothy 2:1

 

7.    Sabbath – a day (or time) set aside for rest and, ideally, for spiritual focus

 

The discipline of sabbath-keeping is probably the discipline in this list that is most counter-cultural. The Spirit is welcoming you into intentionally setting aside time for rest and renewal. While the most strict interpretation of sabbath-keeping would be to be at church more often, the intention of the discipline is to see what idols have cropped up in your life and how to let them go. What is taking time, attention, resources, and energy that rightfully belong to God? This includes things that keep you from rest, since rest is an aspect of godliness that our Creator desires for us. 

 

For kids: sabbath means a time of rest and a time of worship. What could you do to help your family have quiet times and times of praising God? 

 

Bible verse: Leviticus 23:3

 

8.    Service – participation in helpful activity

 

This particular discipline has two sides. If you are already a person who easily says yes, the discipline of service is to refrain from committing to additional activities. Instead, listen to how the Spirit is guiding you to deeper and fuller commitment to what you already do. 
If you are a person who watches while others do (yes, I mean you), the Spirit is nudging you into helpful action. This doesn’t mean filling your days with activities, but it does mean paying attention to where a simple yes from you could really make a difference. Drying the dishes? Keeping company? Carrying something to or back from Bozeman or Billings? You are being called to service for others in the name of the Lord. 

 

For kids: service means helping others. Look for ways to be a helper and watch for all the different helpers around you. 

 

Bible verse: Mark 10:42-45

 

9.    Simplicity – being plain, natural, and easy to understand

 

The discipline of simplicity is an invitation to freedom. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be. In fact, this may be the Spirit’s nudge to make things simpler in your life. What needs to be set in order? What needs to be eliminated? This is the discipline of letting enough be as good as a feast. This is not an opportunity to do nothing, but the chance to let your life and mind become a little more quiet and at peace through attention to God’s direction and call. 

 

For kids: simplicity means easy and not too fancy. Working with simplicity means being happy with what you have and taking care of it to show your gratitude and care for God and others. This includes being gentle with things and people. 

 

Bible verse: Proverbs 16:8

 

10. Study – devotion of time and energy to learning

 

Bible study is at 7 pm on Mondays and noon on Wednesdays! The discipline of  study goes beyond increasing one’s Bible knowledge. The Spirit is inviting you into a deeper understanding of some aspect of your spiritual life and development. Perhaps you can spend intentional time in conversation about questions you’ve held for a long time. Maybe this is the time to slowly read the book you’ve always meant to or learn more about a saint or church father or mother who piques your interest. Study can take many shapes and our faith has a wealth of mysteries that invite investigation, but never yield mastery. Study means learning and action, together, but individually and in community. 

 

For kids: study means learning more about God. This might mean talking with a grownup more or spending time reading your Bible or another book about God. 

 

Bible verse: Psalm 119:105

 

11. Submission – embracing humility and yielding to the will of God

 

Submission gets a bad rap because it is a) easily abused and b) not really something any of us want to do. 

First, it is not submission to remain in a situation that causes harm to one’s body or spirit or to allow one’s self to be pressured into actions that are clearly counter to the will of God for resurrection, restoration, and renewal. 

Secondly, humility is not the same as humiliation. Humility has more in common with humbleness. It means a willingness to consider the perspective of others, to be circumspect in decision-making, and to allow that one might be wrong. 

The discipline of submission is an invitation to reflection and stillness in a world that wants immediacy and action. Embracing submission means resisting being rushed and seeking the will of God first in all situations. All situations. This discipline will likely mean grinding your teeth, clenching fists, and saying, “Okay” under one’s breath. Remember to relax your muscles and drop your shoulders from your ears. 

 

For kids: submission means listening to and respecting people who are responsible for taking care of us. If they are doing their job of care, you are called to do your job of listening to and respecting them. 

 

Bible verse: Matthew 6:33

12. Worship – a demonstration of reverence and adoration of God

 

Similar to sabbath (above), the discipline of worship goes beyond just more frequent church attendance. A call to more worship in one’s life is an invitation to look for and mark opportunities for prayer, praise, and confessions. An attitude of worship extends beyond the physical sanctuary into the fullness of God’s creation. Embracing the discipline of worship might include keeping a hymnal or prayerbook handy. Learning a number of new Bible verses. Being willing to make a moment awkward and holy by insisting on prayer- whether in supplication or thanksgiving. This may also be an invitation to participate in a new or different way in the worship life of the community (church). 

 

For kids: worship is how we show our love to God- by singing, praying, reading the Bible, and sharing the experience with others. 

 

Bible verse: Revelation 4:9-11

 

Star Word 2016: Respect (1)

It's late, which means writing a post is probably a bad idea since this is neither a confessional nor a diary. Nevertheless, I'm typing away. On Sunday, we (the congregation I serve and me) drew our star words- adjectives and adverbs that might give shape to our year in one way or another.

Since drawing my word, I've wrestled win it. I will unspool some of that wresting here and some will be between me and the Holy Spirit.

My word is "respect".

Of all the things I might struggle to respect- close to the top of the list is the President- Elect. However, I have always been respectful of the office of the President. It makes me sad and frustrated when people refuse to call a president by name, using epithets or euphemisms. I have been driven to deep grief by how people have treated and spoken about President Obama.

I said many things about Mr. Trump when he was a candidate. Most weren't kind and I did mean them. However, I have skin in the game of the American Experiment and I respect certain offices, though I disdain racism, sexism, anti- LGBTQ actions, idolatry of the free market, and abuses of power. In a little over a week, the prayers of the people will change to be "We pray for our president, Donald, our governor Bill, our Senators Dan and Lisa... "

I have been praying for how I can pray with deep intention and respect for the President-Elect and how I can respond with courage and power to the real concerns and fears of many people, including myself.

I can respect that people see things differently than I do. I can respect that I could be wrong. I can respect certain roles and titles and traditions.

However, I will not ask for Divine Help to respect taunting, intentional disruption livelihoods, petty behavior, jealousy, treason, deliberate ignorance, pandering, or pouting. Someone once told me that I preached tolerance, which told me that they don't listen to me. I never use that word. I might accept certain things that the next person doesn't accept, but if I don't think it's okay- I don't tolerate it.

I will continue to respect the office of the president. I will pray for President-Elect Trump in his transition and in office. However, I am still the very very very politically minded girl I've been all my life and, as I always have had with every president, there are a few things that I will not tolerate.

Star Words and Approachability

In 2015, after several years of meaning to do this, I copied my friend Marci Glass and did Star words with the congregation I serve, Lutheran Church of Hope. Marci has written about this practice on her blog in several posts. I recommend scrolling down and reading this first posts and then you can pick and choose (or read them all). 

I used the PDF of words she had created and shared generously with other RevGalBlogPals via our (closed) Facebook page. LCOH's diligent administrative assistant and I cut out 300+ stars last year. We also made a separate set of stars for kids from the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). While I'm not saying that adults shouldn't also choose from that list, it was easier to have a more condensed and more easily interpreted set of words for our younger members. An adult can wrestle with approachability. A six-year-old, not so much. 

This year, on 1/8/17, we will choose words again. Because I don't like to feel wasteful, we are not choosing from a complete set. We are choosing from the 260+ words that are left over, which also means that there are no repeats from last year. 

You can read from my January 2017 newsletter article below on my own thoughts about my 2016 word. 

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Last year on Epiphany, we drew out Star Words as a congregation. Reaching into a bowl of more than 300 possibilities, we pulled out words like “fun”, “encouraging”, “solemn”, “inviting”, “tactful”, and many others. Some people may not have thought about their word again since that Sunday. Others have worked it into their lives or paid attention to where it showed up. A congregation member recently encouraged people to tell the story of their word.

I got the word “approachable”. This word gave me pause in many ways. I try to be as accessible as possible, but I frequently hear that people don’t find me approachable. Strangers feel okay asking me questions or seeking my help, so then I am surprised when I find out that church people do not. One congregation member told me that I am very approachable if a person needs help, but it is harder to approach me as a person who wants to help me.

In my time in Poland, I spent 11 days looking for people who were approachable to help me with directions, transportation, and translation. Standing on a sidewalk in the middle of a place where you know no one and no one knows you can be very scary. I think about this experience a lot when I think of refugees or immigrants who may have very little knowledge of where they are or how things work. How approachable do I seem when I am out and about?

On January 8, we will draw new stars, new words, for 2017. Does this mean I can quit thinking about approachability? We had enough stars last year to go again from the same pile. So the words that were taken are gone. We all get a fresh start. How should we approach this exercise?

When I drew stars for people who wanted them, but were not at church, I prayed for them before reaching into the bowl. Is there a way to be open to this experience and to a year of the Spirit’s work in clear and mysterious ways? Even if you’ve long tossed out your star, think back on your word and on your year. What did you learn? What would you like to learn? How approachable are you to the Holy Spirit’s work and power?

If you are interested in a word of your own, please comment below or email me at lcohpastor@alaska.net. Next week, I will pray for people by name before I draw a word specifically for them. The words are all face down in an opaque bowl. I can't see anything about any star when I reach in and draw.