Why you may be more "spiritual" than you think you are

Some quick thoughts on "giving thanks and praise"

Thanks and Praise?

Anyone who has read my work can assure you that I am not native to the land of “give thanks and praise to God”.

Even though for the last 1,800 years or so Christians have said these words when gathering around the table:

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Leader: "It is indeed right, our duty and our delight,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ..."

I mean, I do arrive there eventually, to the Land of Giving Thanks, but not before taking detours through Self-Centeredness River, Disappointment Forest and a quick meander through Control-Freak Village.

I eventually get to gratitude, but I always have to travel there. (Though as the years go on, the journey takes less time and effort!).

But for most of my life I was not even sure what it meant to “praise” God. It seems odd that God would somehow need us to sycophantically stroke his ego.

If you have struggled with these inelegant thoughts, please know you are not alone.

We are the GEYSER

Nestled between the protests and violence of last weekend and the bombings of this past weekend, I and five of my wild & holy friends, slipped away for a six-day Icelandic retreat together; a much needed “pause button” amidst the fast moving devastation of current news cycles and the non-stop demands of ministry.

This is why last Wednesday the six of us were standing around with others from all over the globe, waiting for water to spurt up from the earth.

We knew it would happen, it was why we were all stupidly staring at a hole in the ground, but the thing is, when it DID happen, when the water erupted from the ground, so did our utterances: ooohs and ahhhs and squeals and laughter. They were not planned nor measured. They just happened, and they just happened because humans are wired for wonder.

What shall we name the chorus of awe and delight that emerged from all those humans, every time the geyser just sort of did what geysers do? We shall name it praise. Praising God without even meaning to.