Columbia Sabbatical

This is my third round of classes for a doctor of ministry degree.  The term doctorate sounds very studious but instead I'm finding it very freeing.  More often than not in the Gospel and Culture track at Columbia Seminary we practice creative Christian thinking. This week I thought we'd be sitting around meditating, doing lectio divina, or walking a labyrinth. Instead we're exploring embodied practices - the things we do over time that shapes our way of life.

What do you do over time that shapes your way of life? Here are some of the non-traditional (in terms of being associated with church) practices shared in class:

• Practice of the Porch - John sits outside reading the paper on his porch which connect him to the immediate neighborhood and the larger world.
  
• Practice of the Evening Walk - Chris' family walks every evening.  The neighborhood has watched this family grow from couplehood to having a dog and now two children join their band of merry walkers.  
  
• Practice of the Fountain Pen - This activity makes Jeff slow down, be intentional about the words he writes since there is no back space button.
  
• Practice of Cooking Over an Outdoor Fire - Mason and his preschool sons build a fire in the morning, tend it for a good part of the day, and then cook something wildly southern over the open fire.  They are out in the God's good creation, taking Sabbath time to cook the fruits of the earth, rather than turning the stove on and having dinner in 30 minutes.   
  
• Practice of Walking and Biking - trying not to increase my carbon footprint anymore than I have to I try to walk or bike as much as I can to the gym, the library, to Starbucks, etc.  It sharpens my senses as I smell the flowers and the soil, feel the changes in the weather, listen to the birds chirping and the dogs barking. Overall it makes me attentive to the creation. This practice evolved from an effort to be 'green' yet it sends me to prayer almost every time.  I don't do it in church, but I often feel way more gratitude to God, so it must be a Christian practice.  

What's your life giving, life shaping practice?