{"id":23931,"date":"2019-09-10T12:21:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T19:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=23931"},"modified":"2019-09-10T12:21:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T19:21:41","slug":"nouwen-discernment-introduction-ch-1-3-5-7-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/nouwen-discernment-introduction-ch-1-3-5-7-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Nouwen,\u00a0Discernment\u00a0(Introduction, Ch. 1-3, 5-7, 9)"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><a class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Discernment-Reading-Signs-Daily-Life-ebook\/dp\/B009NG0XDG\/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1562674168&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nouwen,\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Discernment<\/span><\/em><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0(Introduction, Ch. 1-3, 5-7, 9)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Discernment is a book that I would be reading entirely because of the book sensitive topics that are very close to my heart. There is no doubt that Nouwen took his time to integrate precious aspects in his approach to the issue of Discernment. In my opinion, the author takes a very comprehensive perspective and incorporates essential elements that profoundly resonate in my life. He speaks on spiritual discipline as a means to know how to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit for our ministry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Nevertheless, there is a tendency to lean towards our abilities and resources. We tend to base our decisions on the obvious and the logical. After reading Nouwen, I think of my new journey with the doctoral studies in part leads me to question how much is emotion, and how prayers went into discernment. We will always have doubts but what helps us to find peace in our heart is to maintain that full consciousness in God through the spiritual disciplines of which the author submits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0\u201cDiscernment is a spiritual understanding and an experiential knowledge of how God is active in daily life that is acquired through disciplined spiritual practice. Discernment is faithful living and listening to God\u2019s love and direction so that we can fulfill our individual calling and shared mission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Discernment (p. 3). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0I like what the author says that we tend to maintain spiritual deafness that makes us unable to recognize what God is doing. He suggests that the solution to this problem is, therefore, to acquire that spiritual maturity through spiritual disciplines which takes time to desensitize. That is very true, and I admit that I am a victim of the spiritual deafness and get stuck in my endeavors of life. Only the blows, the challenges, and the problems stop me in the eagerness of life. Only in this way can I sit still, I believe that only in this way can God grab my attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0\u00a0&#8220;When we are spiritually deaf, we are not aware that anything important is happening in our lives.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Discernment (p. 5). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0One aspect of the spiritual discipline of which I have a lot of difficulties is in concern with the idea of discernment in solitude. That approach implies that I have to look for the time to be alone in the presence of the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;Communion with God alone in prayer leads inevitably to community with God\u2019s people, and then to ministry in the world.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Discernment (p. 10). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Matthew 6:6-7 Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">6\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cBut when you pray, enter into your chamber. And when you have shut your door, pray to your Father Who is in secret. And your Father, Who sees in secret, shall reward you openly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0One time I went to a convent to pray, and at first, I really had a hard time concentrating with all the distraction and noise. My mind was wandering around and unable to focus. An hour later, I picked up one of the books that the nun asked me to read. I was not sure if she was going to ask if I read the books after my time was over, so for respect, I decided to leaf through the pages. The name of the first book was Mi Coraz\u00f3n se fue tras \u00c9l: Diccionario Doctrinal de M. Mar\u00eda In\u00e9s-Teresa Arias by Juan Esquerda Bifet. The other was The Deceiver: Our Daily Struggle with Satan. As always, obedience paid off and I was blessed by what I read.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As I found myself in a cold and strange place, yet one full of the glory of God, I was able to be silent and listen to God\u2019s voice as He led me into a time of reconciliation with my vague intimacy with Him. Through the book of Mi Coraz\u00f3n se fue tras \u00c9l, The Holy Spirit taught me that a consecrated life in Christ represents a healthy marriage. It is full of commitment, responsibilities, and intimacy. The author asserts that this compares to marrying Jesus and living consecrated with Him in prayer. In the first chapter of the book The Deceiver, the author argues that life is a struggle but the passion of Christ and a consecrated prayer life is indispensable in spite of the struggles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0 \u00a0&#8220;When we are truly listening, we come to know that God is speaking to us, pointing the way, showing the direction. We simply need to learn to keep our ears open. Discernment is a life of listening to a deeper sound and marching to a different beat, a life in which we become \u201call ears.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Discernment (p. 5). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0In conclusion, I am encouraged by the author to remain attentive. To be sensitive to the ongoing connectivity with the Holy Spirit in the many ways already address. I pray that during my busy time of studies, I can discern carefully and pay attention to the Holy Spirit as He will be speaking to me in the many ways subjected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nouwen,\u00a0Discernment\u00a0(Introduction, Ch. 1-3, 5-7, 9) \u00a0Discernment is a book that I would be reading entirely because of the book sensitive topics that are very close to my heart. There is no doubt that Nouwen took his time to integrate precious aspects in his approach to the issue of Discernment. In my opinion, the author takes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23932,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23931\/revisions\/23932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}