Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideDraw Near: A Lenten Devotional Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeAdvent DevotionalSabbath Keeping FastingA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPrayers of the New TestamentPrayers of the Old TestamentPersonality Type in CongregationsSabbathA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelDeath in Dunedin: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeFriending

Praying about the flow of time: The overlap of the sacred and the ordinary

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 12 2024

Praying about the flow of time: The overlap of the sacred and the ordinary

In 2013, I heard a speaker who changed my perspective on how congregations provide support that helps Christians grow in faith. Nancy Ammerman is a sociologist of religion. In two talks just over a decade ago, she described her recent research, published a few months later in her book Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life.She and her team of researchers interviewed dozens of people in two major cities, talking with them at length. The interviewees included Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and people committed to various other forms of spirituality.

The researchers found that people with...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: Small actions with big benefits

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 5 2024

Praying about the flow of time: Small actions with big benefits

A woman with school-age kids told me that after she says goodbye to her kids each morning when they leave for the school bus, she stands by the door for another minute. She places her hand on the door and prays for each child’s day at school.

A busy children’s ministries director at a church with lots of kids takes a complete day off every Thursday. She calls it her Sabbath, and one of her favorite Sabbath activities is grocery shopping. She lingers in the produce department, looking at the beauty of fruits and vegetables, handling them reverently as she places them...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints Day

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 29 2024

Praying about the flow of time: All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints Day

I was looking forward to researching this post. I don’t know a lot about the history of All Hallow’s Eve (which has morphed into Halloween) and All Saints Day (November 1). After reading a very long Wikipedia entry and a few other websites, I am more confused than ever. Did these two holidays originate with the Romans? Celts? Germans? Pagans? What a mishmash of traditions formed our current practice of Halloween. I did learn that Halloween is a major revenue source for many businesses—not a topic I would usually write about but perhaps something to pray about!

I do know that Christians have...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: Daily rhythms of prayer

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 22 2024

Praying about the flow of time: Daily rhythms of prayer

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy, Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray, Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

That hymn has been playing on repeat in my mind recently. It is sung to the traditional Irish tune of “Be Thou My Vision.” It has four verses, each focused on a different time of day. You can listen to it, with beautiful views of Westminster Abbey, here.

The author, Jan Struther, wrote the words in 1931, a few years before she began writing a column for The...

Read full article »
<< Newer | Older >>

Featured books

Featured articles

Nurturing a contemplative stance for navigating challenging times

Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023

By Lynne M. Baab

Spiritual Practices for People in Ministry

Lynne Baab • Sunday June 26 2022

Making Space for a Continuing Conversation with the Living God

Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021