Monday, March 14, 2011

the present tense.



Our first book! I love that we're gaining all these things in common through our CIRCLES experience. All right, so I'm definitely a fan of Here and Now. It's all so simple, so straightforward. Just like many people have said, the idea of living in the present (although it's one we've all been exposed to) catches me off guard sometimes. 

I feel like there are two ways our culture goes on this. The first is to dwell completely in the past or become burdened by the future. In this way, we reject the present completely and drain it of any significance. The second is to live for present pleasure. Many take living in the present to mean living only for the sake of each moment, becoming entangled with the temporary pleasures of a self-focused lifestyle. This attitude abuses and degrades the present moment.

We're being called to a new attitude: focused on the present, with an eternal Kingdom in mind and in heart. The beauty of it jars me. 

Just wanted to put a few parts that stood out to me here. Most of it had to do with how we treat our relationships, an area I often break and damage because of my sinful heart.


"As we recognize God's presence in our own hearts, we can also recognize that presence in the hearts of others, because the God who has chosen us as a dwelling-place gives us the eyes to see the God who dwells in others. When we see only demons within ourselves, we can see only demons in others, but when we see God within ourselves, we can see God also in others."

My interactions and judgments of others directly reflect my interactions and feelings on God and myself. This helps me understand why I judge others: that it is not because of the person, but because of my own heart.


"We all have these moments if we are attentive to the movements of God's Spirit within us. They are like glimpses of heaven, glimpses of beauty and peace."

He goes on to talk about the importance of claiming these for God's kingdom. To be intentional about the claiming proves essential; otherwise, we'll belittle these moments by blaming them on our own sort of romantic thinking. That is not enough. Heaven is happening now. I just hope God will open my heart to be a part of it.


"The question that truly counts is not whether we imitate Mother Teresa, but whether we are open to the many little sufferings of those we share our life with."

Ah, I love this one. Sometimes I find myself feeling guilty for not just picking up and moving to another country to be a missionary. But I need to have faith and trust that God will put that desire in my heart if that's where He wants me. While I'm here, wherever "here" is, to be like Christ means to be attentive to the people around me, to take notice of the subtleties of suffering in each of my relationships. Our sorrows all look different. The little sufferings are important too. Each of them are opportunities for us to show the love and grace of Christ to one another.


"I cannot take your pain away, I cannot offer you a solution for your problem, but I can promise you that I won't leave you alone and will hold on to you as long and as well as I can."

I think this speaks for itself. And I hope I remember this next time I'm presented with someone else's pain.


"All human relationships, be they between parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends, or between members of a community, are meant to be signs of God's love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular."

This is radical. This is everything.


I love you guys. Thanks for doing all this alongside me.

9 comments:

  1. "The question that truly counts is not whether we imitate Mother Teresa, but whether we are open to the many little sufferings of those we share our life with."
    I also love this statement. I can relate with you in feeling that I need to "go" to be a missionary, but God has been showing me that there are people hurting right here that I need to be loving on. I love what you said about each little suffering being important. It is so true!
    Thanks for sharing and thanks for letting us walk alongside you! Love you!

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  2. "I cannot take your pain away, I cannot offer you a solution for your problem, but I can promise you that I won't leave you alone and will hold on to you as long and as well as I can."

    well... gosh.

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  3. Bayley, I love how you write. Thoughtful, Honest, stripped of pretense. I to am taken with this concept of living in the now, yet living for something greater than myself. I am intrigued to see what this looks like in our lives a year from now.

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  4. 1 Thessalonians 3: 12-13 "May the Lord amke your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blamelessand holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."

    Thanks for being you Bayley.

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  5. "All human relationships, be they between parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends, or between members of a community, are meant to be signs of God's love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular."

    I love this. It really made me think about how I show God's love with other people through my relationships. Am I doing it to the best of my ability? Probably not but I am working on it and it helps to be more aware of it every day. Thanks Bayley! It was great having dinner with you on Sat.

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  6. Bayley, this is wonderfully insightful, even brilliantly discerning at times. Thank you for your thoughts.

    I was struck by this:

    "Heaven is happening now. I just hope God will open my heart to be a part of it."

    What role do you think we play in God's opening of our hearts? It's certainly not a passive one, but neither are we fully in control of the un-hardening of our hearts.

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  7. I was totally going to write exactly what Nick said. Such a good line! Definitely loved the other quotes too. Thanks for sharing. I love the power of quotes and how meaningful they can be to others. :)

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  8. Bayley, it seems like all the things you love about Nouwen's writing, you also possess in your own writing.

    Great review of the material, and great insight into how it impacts you personally.

    Maybe it's time to start thinking about the book you're going to write?

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  9. I never considered what it meant to live for the SAKE of the present moment... like doing it just to do it. I want to be faithful to the moment because it is the moment that God alone has given to me. : ) thanks for this reminder!!

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