August 2014 – 300 words a day

Learning to take counsel.

More on developing practical skills for hearing God better: Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Psalm 73:23-24 If we cannot take counsel in any part of our lives, it will be hard to take counsel […]

by Jon Swanson

Why I write.

Becky tagged me. She talked about why she writes and then included me in a list of three people she was challenging to answer the same question. I’ve talked about it a little before (writing for you and me), but I want to think about it again. I write because I can’t concentrate very well early in […]

by Jon Swanson

Learn to quiet our hearts.

More on developing practical skills for hearing God better: Psalm 131 is what we call “self-talk”. It is what we say to ourselves as we remind ourselves of what is important. And it is up to us to learn to quiet our hearts. O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself […]

by Jon Swanson

Removing yourself from distractions

Yesterday I talked about developing practical skills in hearing God better. Here’s an example. 1. Learn to remove yourself from distractions as much as it is up to you. Jesus regularly went into the hills in order to talk with God. That practice may be worth developing. Practice: For ten minutes, go into a room […]

by Jon Swanson

Building the core.

Here’s an email I wrote last Friday. It’s an introduction to a project that I’m working on. I’m at home today, as I am most Fridays (I’m a pastor and it’s the day I take out of the office). At the top of my project list today is writing for my blog that answers, as […]