interdependence(2/1)
Apostles co-create with God
When I ponder the spiritual gifts listed in Ephesians, APEST, I think about function. What does an apostle do? How is it different/similar to the evangelist’s gift? Rarely do I consider the experience of using the gift with God. Jessie Cruickshank offers a beautiful homily on the parental feeling inherent in giving birth to God’s kingdom in the world. She meditates on Mary's experience as the God-bearer, the prophets of the LORD, and the artisans of the Tabernacle.…
The way to practice dependence on the spirit was to need him
The instructions of Matthew 10 indicate that the key objective of this trip was to foster the missionaries' dependence upon the Holy Spirit. As Steve Addison says in What Jesus Started, “This was not a classroom approach to learning.” The only way they could practice dependence upon the Holy Spirit was to place themselves in situations where they’d need him.
Raising independent adults
Our approach to raising children has closely aligned with the traditional Montessori value for children’s independence. We’ve been shaped by working with Graham’s Montessori teachers, by reading Cline and Fay’s Love & Logic, and by our own desperation to reduce fear and incessant help. I’m still wrestling with the emphasis on independence on a philosophical level, even as I’m convinced of its practical importance. I believe healthy humans are never independent.…