Monday Morning Confessional

Last updated on: January 27, 2014 at 8:03 am by Tim Suttle

Monday Morning Confessional 2014-01-27T08:03:02-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I confess that I have been a terrible Sabbath breaker for the past few months. I have allowed myself to work on Mondays in order to knock out the manuscript I was working on, and to work on filling a staff position at church. The funny thing about being a Sabbath breaker is that it is a completely acceptable form of decadence, so nobody really cares. What makes it so destructive is that you can never get those days and weeks back. If you disengage from tithing for a few months, you can make it up later. Just give a little extra for a few months and you are back on track. But if you don’t take a Sabbath, you can’t get back the weeks you spent working more than you should work. You can’t take back the extra hours you spent in frustration or anxiety because you didn’t let your body rest. We always pay the price for flouting the way we are designed to function. So, today marks the beginning of my re-engagement with Sabbath… hoping for an unproductive day.

I confess that I was a terrible blogger last week.

I confess that I am in search of new good music for my practice of centering prayer. Last summer I scrapped my rule of life for awhile, and built it back slowly, starting with the Divine Office, and a few of the daily and weekly routines that have become second nature. Centering prayer has been more sporadic for me over the years, but since the summer it has been more of a regular thing. Music is a big part of my centering prayer ritual. It’s one of the few things that will consistently help me turn my brain off. I have my four or five standard artists I can play, and it’s so familiar that I can completely ignore them. My parameters are that it needs to be calming (usually tempo needs to be subtle and in flux), and it either needs to have no words, or words in a language I don’t understand. Last week I was exposed to some good music for centering prayer, and I realized how important this is to my practice, and how I’ve become a big stagnated on that account. So I gathered three year’s worth of itunes gift cards, cashed them in, and started buying some new stuff. I would love to hear what some of you listen to when you pray, study, or want some music on that you can ignore. Here’s my standard fare:

Ólafur Arnalds – …And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness.
Ólafur Arnalds – Eulogy for Evolution
Ólafur Arnalds – Living Room Singles
Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur RósHvarf – Heim
Sigur Rós – Takk…
Sigur Rós – ( )
Sacred Treasures I: Choral Masterworks from Russia
The Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos – Chant
Anonymous 4 – Legends of St. Nicholas
Anonymous 4 – On Yoolis Night

I confess that I watched the Grammy Awards for just a bit last night. I confess that bravado is so tiresome. Also, I can’t believe they let Yoko anywhere near Paul & Ringo.

I confess that I’m a sucker for a good spy film. I love the Jason Bourne movies, Mission Impossible, James Bond (w/out Pierce Brosnan). If I channel surf, I’m likely to pause on something from that genre. I also love heist movies. I think that as a rule, there should always be a good spy or heist film in the theaters at all times.

I confess that we watched Back to the Future with our boys last night, and they completely loved it. Nearly 30 years later and the film still holds up. They only current cultural references that they always got were illusions to Star Wars… yet another reminder that Lucas is a marketing genius.

I confess that I had a phenomenal week of teaching last week at NTS. It was a lot of fun to be back in the classroom, and a bit strange to be on the other side of the desk for the first time. I learned a lot about what to do, what not to do, and how to prepare for a class. When I was a student, I wanted teachers who would give me something I couldn’t just read in books. I learned a bit more this week about how difficult that is to pull off. One hour of lecture material that isn’t just copied from a book somewhere, requires about ten hours of reading, and three or four more hours to write it up. I think that taking students through the same class several times, generating more material, getting rid of what doesn’t work, and refining what’s already there would allow an instructor to really create something special… I think about 4th of 5th time through a class is when a professor probably starts to get really good at it.

I confess that I cleaned my home office, got rid of all the clutter, and tried to zero in on what would make for a good space (in light of last week’s post). I think more drastic measures are going to be needed to make this work.

Okay, that’s my confession for this week… time for yours:

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 21, 2014

Shrink Cover Art

Next Post

January 29, 2014 Being Pulled Through the Knothole: David Brooks on Paradox & Presence

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the seventh commandment?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Thou shall not covet. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shall have no other gods before me. Thou shall not commit adultery.