The format is great. Short chapters with questions at the end. It is meant to be a daily devotional, something you can chew slowly.
Today I read the chapter on curiosity, "The Art of Curiosity". Chapter 6. I wanted to share a few of my notes and thoughts from my reading, and the questions at the end.
When I think of the word "curious", one of the first things that pops into my mind is a man with a big yellow hat and an adorable monkey named George. Yes, I'm referring to Curious George.
Curious George is the epitome of curiosity. His curiosity takes him on all kinds of adventures. It is this openness to learning, to risking, to trying new things that I think of when I hear the word "curious".
But that has nothing to do with the chapter.
The chapter begins with a quote from Barbara Brown Taylor: "I became a detective of divinity, collecting evidence of God's genius and admiring the traces left for me to follow."
The Scripture for this chapter is from Exodus 3:3-4 as Moses observes the burning bush and God has his full attention.
"Amazing!" Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go over to see this." When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention, God called to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied." Exodus 3:3-4 (NLT) [The book says it is NLT, but the NLT linked here from Biblegateway is slightly different.]
Some of the words and phrases that caught my attention in this chapter:
- curiosity
- slows me down
- innocent wonder
- asks questions
- explored
- entered the experience
- awareness
- holy curiosity
- sacred invitation
Some quotes:
"...curiosity is integral to soul care. Curiosity invites us to wonder." (40)
"To reclaim our curiosity, we simply become more like a child, which is something Jesus told us to do." (40)
"Scriptures encourage us to become detectives of divinity." (41)
"Curiosity becomes a sacred invitation to experience God." (41)
I have begun to slow down over the years, intentionally.
I enjoy looking with curiosity for the hidden wonders in creation. I find that when I am curious, when I slow down, when I look with eyes of innocent wonder (and one can do so even if one cannot visually see), when I ask questions, when I explore, when I enter the experience and am aware, when I accept the holy invitation, I find myself in the presence of my Creator.
This morning I took some time to explore the back yard. Here is a collage of what I found this morning in my exploration:
As you grow in your soul care, here are three questions that the author poses at the end of this chapter:
- What are you curious about in relationship to God?
- What robs you of holy curiosity?
- How can you practice more spiritual curiosity?
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
No comments:
Post a Comment