Liturgy of the Ordinary

Tonight I ventured into a place I haven’t been in a very long time—teaching adults! I had to add “adults” there because (pre-COVID) I taught Bible lessons to 1st-3rd graders for about 5 years. Although it’s a bit more nerve-wracking teaching adults, I also don’t need to deal with anyone doing somersaults while I’m teaching, so that’s nice.

Photo cred: Thomas, Proud Husband

Since we haven’t been able to offer in person adult electives this year our church is offering a Midweek Refresh—an hour long service of worship, teaching, and prayer. Tonight was Week 2 of Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Warren and our chapter was about Making the Bed. Actually it was less about making the bed and more about examining how you start your day and what that says about your heart. Here are a few highlights:

Remember that blog post I did about bed-making practices? Here’s where it relates. An act as ordinary as making your bed can be a tool that you use to draw near to God. If making your bed is something that you can do first thing in the morning, you can create a “sanctuary” of sorts, a place set aside in which to meet with God. Sit on your bed and be quiet. Listen. Pray. Meditate. Pause. Order your thoughts and your day before the Lord.

There are many stages of life when demands are placed on you from the moment you awake. If you have children younger than about 12 you are in this category. If you are a single parent with children at home you may be in this category. If you are the caregiver for an adult you are in this category. All hope is not lost! If the first action you do in your day is to change a diaper, take that opportunity to pray for your child. Or use it as a prompt to pray for grace as you encounter the messes of the day. The point is, it’s a tangible reminder that prompts a heart attitude—liturgy! If the first thing you do is to brew coffee, take a whiff of the coffee. Pause. Use the aroma of coffee to remind you of the presence of the Holy Spirit. That aroma is the incense of the ordinary!

Our daily lives are filled with ordinary, mundane things. If we believe the lie that the only time we can meet with God is when we have no distractions we will rarely, if ever, meet with God. Not only that but we’ll miss out on SO MUCH that God wants to teach us! Newsflash: there is no dichotomy between sacred and secular. Take every moment captive to God. He’s already in those ordinary moments.

That’s the much-consolidated version of what I shared with the adults tonight. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to walking through this book together. Check it out!