Spirit Led Living

 This time of year people celebrate Christmas the way they see fit and Hollywood turns out show after show about the “real meaning” of Christmas. Of course, they always get it wrong. They say it’s about family, love, forgiveness, giving or coming together. Don’t get me wrong, those are all good things, but they miss the mark by a mile. I find it interesting how people pick and choose the things that they like, the things that fit their narrative and ignore that there is a lot more to the story than what they’ve chosen to highlight. For example, in recovery circles, the Serenity Prayer is often quoted as gospel in the quest for living in a way that doesn’t lead to relapse. This is the version that people quote:   God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change... Courage to change the things I can, And Wisdom to know the difference. While that is powerful, here is the full original version as written by Reinhold Niebuhr: God, give us grace to accept with s

Rom 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will . Unlike the rest of my extended family, I was not brought up with the idea of memorizing prayers that you would then recite in order to gain God’s favor. My mother, Gloria, taught me to kneel next to my bed and to pray to “Papa Dios”, or Daddy God. I would fold my hands and close my eyes and just talk to God. The more I grew to know His Word and understand Who He is, the more sophisticated my prayers became. 2 Tim 1:12b … I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. However, I have to say that a couple of events have greatly impacted the way that I view prayer. The fi