P A U S E

Reflecting on how both God and swindlers are drawn to our desire-laden hearts + some of my favorite restful things lately

Hello, weary friends,

Welcome to the first edition of my new and improved weekly newsletter, in which I invite you to a midweek moment of reflection and share resources to help us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty in the restful way of Jesus.

An invitation

When I first became aware of the spiritual practice of contemplation, I felt uncertain that my little moments of silence and open-ended listening prayer were meaningful in any way. Instead of feeling closer to God, I’d turn off external noise, close my eyes, and just feel lost in my own random and mundane thoughts. The moments of quiet didn’t seem to add up to anything particularly meaningful. I’ve learned that often that’s what contemplation is supposed to feel like: a kind of surrender to silence with no agenda to get any profound feeling or insight out of it.

I know I’m not alone in struggling t…