sacred pathways tour part 1

Cover of Sacred Pathways

after the live production team finished reading sacred pathways by gary thomas (a wonderful book that you should all read), shannon arranged a tour of los angeles where we could experience each of the 9 pathways.

we started the tour at the arboretum, where we explored the pathways of the naturalist and the ascetic. there were fields of flowers, peacocks, waterfalls, and tons of other things to see and experience. this (and the huntington library) are two wonderful ways to experience nature and god's creativity right in the middle of the city.

we were also told to spend about five minutes sitting still and in silence meditating on god. i chose to sit in an alcove slightly off the main path by a quiet fountain. it was a wonderful time of loving god in solitude and simplicity. the verse we were given to meditate on was psalm 46:10. "be still and know that i am god."

by the waterfall there was a series of steps that shannon challenged us to walk up, pausing on each one to think of some quality of god that we are thankful for. this was to explore the contemplative pathway, or loving god through adoration. here is some of what i came up with:

mercy

justice

creativity

brilliance

sense of humor

kindness

grace

faithfulness

vision

guidance

beauty

constancy

acceptance

righteous anger

peacefulness

read psalm 63 and see what you come up with