Handmade rock labyrinths, listening, and a rule of life

Today I was reading the book that I’ve previously mentioned by Diana Butler Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith, and my interest was piqued when I read that Graham Standish’s church, Calvin Presbyterian, has a handmade rock labyrinth and that the church publishes a pamphlet called A Guide to Listening and Hearing God.

I had to put down the book and find the church online. When I read about the handmade rock labyrinth I thought it might be nice to have my own small labyrinth in my backyard with the river rocks we have that used to border the planting areas. I don’t know if that is feasible or not, but it’s something to consider. Meanwhile, I found a picture of the labyrinth at Calvin:

Then through some searching, I found the pamphlet written by Graham Standish: http://web.mac.com/ngstandish/Site/Resources/Entries/2008/7/2_Discernment_Guide_files/Guide%20to%20Hearing%20God%20v.2.pdf  As you can see, the pamphlet was located within a section entitled “Discernment Guide”. Listening and discernment go hand in hand. Since I’ve been talking about both “listening” and “discernment” here on my blog, this caught my attention. Standish offers nine pointers on how we can listen for and hear God. Check it out!

I also found a Rule of Life worksheet in PDF format that might be helpful for those seeking to establish a rule of life. (When I went back to the link, however, all I was able to see was the class slide notes. Hmm.) If you’re asking yourself, ‘what is she talking about?’ then, let me briefly explain. A rule of life is akin to a rhythm of life—what you put into practice, the structure in your life that leads to spiritual growth. Is that too brief of an explanation? :) You might want to check out one or both of these for more information: Ruth Haley Barton’s Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, Marjorie Thompson’s Soulfeast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life. Both books are dedicated to spiritual practices (or disciplines) and each book ends with a chapter about the rule of life and the challenge to create one for yourself.

How is your journey going?   Be sure to take some time to rest along the way.  Rest.  Silence.  Solitude.  Restorative healing for the mind, body, and soul.  Ahhhh.   I think I'll take some of that now.

Happy trails!

~Debra