First Line Friday #33: Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster

Thanks to Carrie at
Reading is My Superpower
for the Link-up

 

 

Title:  Streams of Living Water
Author:  Richard J. Foster
Genre:  Religion/Spirituality

  〰First Line〰

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As Jesus walked the earth, living and working among all kinds and classes of people, he gave us the divine paradigm for conjugating all the verbs of our living.
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Synopsis:  (From Goodreads) 

The author of the bestselling Celebration of Discipline explores the great traditions of Christian spirituality and their role in spiritual renewal today. In this landmark work, Foster examines the "streams of living water" –– the six dimensions of faith and practice that define Christian tradition. He lifts up the enduring character of each tradition and shows how a variety of practices, from individual study and retreat to disciplines of service and community, are all essential elements of growth and maturity. Foster examines the unique contributions of each of these traditions and offers as examples the inspiring stories of faithful people whose lives defined each of these "streams."

   〰First Thoughts〰

This volume is the second of three books that are part of our undergraduate level Spiritual Formation class at the university.  I was offered and accepted a contract, so I will be teaching the course this summer.  Like the previous volume I mentioned, my goals for this book are not purely academic.  While many mistakenly believe that Jesus was against all tradition, the author's application of spiritual traditions do not seem to be presented as Jesus described as those that "...cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition..." (Mark 7:13, NLT). 

Unfortunately, I've taught many students who were anti tradition, anti corporate worship, and who thought they could facilitate their own spiritual growth in isolation.  Sorry, but it doesn't work that way.  Along with the academic requirements of studying this work, I am hopeful that my students will see the benefits of applying the content to dispel these myths.

One worry I do have about the book is that it will be a retooling of Foster's famous work Celebration of Discipline.  Hopefully, the author has done more research and is much more savvy than that.

So, what's the first line of the book you're currently reading?

Pansies and Mollycoddling: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Many of our earliest presidents created words or expressions widely used today. Teddy Roosevelt is credited with mollycoddle, pack rat, frazzle, and loose cannon...which of those words/phrases currently relates to your life in some way? 

I think mollycoddle may fit the bill.  Mollycoddle also aligns with the concept of entitlement.  I just signed my summer teaching contract.  I'm teaching a course I've never facilitated before, so I hope this cuts down on my dealing with adult students who aren't ready to "adult" yet.  Don't get me wrong, 90% of my students are adults who know how to communicate and who work hard at their coursework.  It's the 10% who drive me to eat sometimes. 

Have you visited many (or any) of the US Presidents homes, monuments, libraries or related sites? If so what's been your favorite? Are there any you particularly want to see? Here's a link to presidential sites listed by state which is kind of fun to read-Presidential Places by State. And since several bloggers who participate in the HP each week live outside the US, here's a link to Presidential Places Outside the US. Have you seen any of those? 

When I was a senior in high school, our marching band did a whirlwind tour of Washington DC and Arlington, VA.  These are some of the things we saw.  Remember, these photos were taken 35 years ago with a disposable camera...

The Jefferson memorial from the bus window as we drove by. 

President Kennedy's eternal flame in Arlington, VA.

The Lincoln Memorial

Mount Vernon (president Washington's home).

 

The Washington Memorial

Honestly, this tour, that also included the White House (complete with us playing a concert on the steps of the Capitol), the Treasury Department, the National Mall, and parts of the Smithsonian, went by so fast that I barely remember any of it.  If the opportunity arises, I would so enjoy going back and taking my time to really absorb the sites, not to mention take better pictures.

February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day...will you celebrate? Given your choice of cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cheesecake with a cherry topping, or black forest cake which would you choose? 

No, I don't think I'll celebrate this round.  However, my choice of dish would be cheesecake with cherry topping.

Last time you worked a puzzle of some kind? Something that had you puzzled recently? 

I blogged about my last puzzle experience here in the "I'm thinking about" section.  For those of you who like doing puzzles, what do you think of my questions?

I've got so many situations right now that I'm puzzling over that I'd need many more blog posts to discuss them.

Of the early blooming flowers (January-early March depending on your zone) which one's your favorite? snowdrops, lenten roses, pansies, violets, snapdragons, reticulated iris, crocus, winter jasmine Do you have any of these in your own yard/garden? 

Many of these were unfamiliar to me.  My favorite out of the list is pansies.  However, my experience with pansies is that they are late fall through early summer flowers...at least in Alabama anyway.  They are not heat tolerant, so watering them with ice water made them last longer.  I had planned to buy pansies for my containers last fall, but they were sold out by the time I was ready to plant them.  I'll try again this fall to see how they fare in Colorado.

Until then, here's a watercolor of pansies I painted more than a decade ago.  Hmm...maybe I need to paint some more pansies.

Insert your own random thought here. 

In case you missed it:  

• My previous Hodgepodge post "Scraps and Such 03" is here.
• My latest Weekly Digest "Roasting Marshmallows" is here.
  
• My latest First Line Friday post: #32:  Hollowed Out by Jeremy S. Adams is here. 
• My "25 for 2025" challenge is here.  (Updated regularly)
• My "2025 I Can Only Blame MyShelf Reading Challenge" is here. (Updated regularly)

Roasting Marshmallows: The Weekly Digest

Looking out the window....

 

After enjoying our taste of spring, Colorado is back the normal cold and snow of February.

 

A cool experience...

 

The Loving Stitches quilt ministry met for a work session last weekend.  A recipient of one of our quilts and his wife stopped by to thank us and bring us gifts.  Without blasting the man's business on the internet, I'll just say he was very sick and close to death.  Now, he's been given a very good report from his doctors.  He and his wife were a fun couple and their visit was a sweet surprise.  No, we don't do it for the thanks, but it's encouraging to see the joy and comfort that our handiwork and prayers bring.

Favorite quote(s) of the week...

 

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it.  Action has magic, grace, and power in it.  - Goethe, qtd. by Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way, p. 67

 

When a woman knows that she is loved by a man, her entire being shines with the assurance that she's wanted and adored.  God wants you to have the same assurance--from Him.  No earthly love can compare!  Your beau may leave you desolate.  Your husband could desert you physically or emotionally.  But God's love for you never will fall short. - Heather Harpham Kopp, The Dieter's Prayer Book, p. 80.

 

The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel;  He will bless the house of Aaron.  He will bless those who fear the Lord, the small together with the great. - Psalm 115:12-13 NASB 

 

I'm thinking about...

 

My brain is a marshmallow right now,
so I don't have any poignant or salient comments to add.

 

What I've read since my last digest...

• Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter ✮✮✮ (Category:  Kiddie Lit)
• Ever Increasing Faith by Smith Wigglesworth ✮✮✮
• The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton ✮✮✮ (Category:  Recommended read).
• The Essentials of Prayer by E. M. Bounds  ✮✮ 
• The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton ✮✮✮ 1/2 (Category:  Recommended read).
  

I'm currently reading...

• The Artist's Way Julia Cameron 
• Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
• The Dieter's Prayer Book by Heather Harpham Kopp
  
• Faith's Checkbook by Charles Spurgeon
  
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
  
• The New American Standard Bible
  

This week's blog posts...

• My previous digest:  "Coloring Outside the Lines" is here.
• Scraps and Such 03:  The Weekly Hodgepodge is here. 
• First Line Friday #31:  Dry Bones Dancing by Tony Evans is here.
• First Line Friday #32:  Hollowed Out by Jeremy S. Adams is here.
  

I am thankful for...

• 
  The completion of my ironing station.  After killing my trusty Black and Decker steam iron by knocking it off my wobbly ironing board one time too many, I knew it was time to try to collect the needed materials to make a portable countertop ironing station.  We use them at our quilt group and they're great.  For an explanation of what I was trying to make, see this video from Stichin' Heaven.  I asked a co-worker who does woodworking as a hobby if he had a piece of scrap plywood for the base of my project.  He said he did, but what he brought me wasn't plywood; it was even better.  What it looks like is a section of solid surface countertop that's about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick.  It's heavier than plywood, but will be able to take heat and usage better.  I covered it with a couple of layers of cotton batting and a leftover piece of cotton fabric that I stapled to the bottom of the slab.  I covered the staples with felt as Rob suggested in the video.  Now, when I'm ready to quilt, I can pull the slab out from under my couch, slap in on the counter (or my folding table as shown), and get busy.  With about 24 X 42 inches of usable space, ironing quilt tops will be much easier, and sending my new iron crashing to the floor is MUCH less likely.
  
  
  
• Completion of another quilt top.  This was a pattern I improvised from a bunch of strip scraps someone from our quilt group handed me as a challenge.  I call it "Sound Waves."
• The prayers of friends.
• Dishwashers.
• Heat and hot water. 
• Coats and Clark's all purpose thread.
• A friend's successful surgery.
• Workouts that burn off the crazy.
• God's peace.
• My blanket ladder.  Diana and I made it together years ago.  Seeing brings back the fun memories of that day. 
• I'm thankful that our new washer in the laundry room is a top load with an agitator.  Our old one was a front load washer that spun the clothes around with a teaspoonful of water.  I never felt like my clothes were as clean as they could be.