Do you have any gems on your bookshelf? I have an old paperback copy of The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence beside my desk. The edition I have was in its fifteenth printing in 1979 and has brown, craft-paper style pages. I'm not sure how I came to be in possession of this treasure but there is an inscription in the front cover and a stamp that reads, "From the library of Frank Pauls." This 63 page book was given to my late grandpa from my mom's sister and her husband. What a gift.

Brother Lawrence believed that his spiritual life had to be practiced in the everyday, mundane tasks of life. He found that when he submitted every moment to God, every dish to be washed and chore to be done, it profoundly impacted his relationship with Christ. This book is a collection of letters and conversations he had about this topic, trying to describe his prayer life outside of the chapel and prescribed times of prayer.

I wanted to draw your attention to these 17th century thoughts as a place to go for further reflection and challenge from our service on Sunday. Bjorn talked about the kitchen sink being a place where God has spoken to him. Meeting intentionally with God in every moment of the day can and will make a profound impact on your life. Have you ever experienced that?

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book...

"We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."

"Ah! knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance of God, we should never lose sight of Him - no, not for a moment."

"It is not necessary for being with God to be always at church. We may make an oratory of our heart wherein to retire from time to time to converse with Him in meekness, humility and love. Every one is capable of such familiar conversation with God, some more, some less. He knows what we can do. Let us begin, then."

See you Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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If you'd like to read this classic, the title above will link you to Amazon where there are dozens of version of it. Also, the Kitchener Public Library has it to borrow in print or as an audio book.

This Sunday...

Bjorn's outbound message is called Missional:

"Most of us have at least one story where we had a chance to share our faith with someone else. Maybe it happened when you least expected it or you were hoping it would come up for months. It feels amazing when it happens, at least when it goes well. We want more people to find freedom in Christ, but the conversations seem so few and far between. Why is that? Is there something we can do to increase this frequency? Let's talk about it. If you have 10 minutes, watch is video it is an excellent story." - Bjorn