When I began my modern monastic journey, I set a simple goal for myself: I aimed to spend a certain amount of time with the Lord each and every day. At first, I aimed to spend around two hours per day in prayer and meditation. I gradually increased the goal over the next several months until I started aiming for…

I write a lot about the benefits of having lengthy times of prayer with God. However, some of you may be wondering: is there a place for shorter times of prayer too? I believe there is. Years ago, I was really struggling with connecting with the Lord through spiritual practices. I enacted a very simple strategy out of desperation to…

I used to play a lot of video games. That's not surprising; a lot of men do. It never became an issue for me when it came to things like studying for school or getting work done. I've always strived to study well and to produce good work. But playing video games can take a large amount of time. And that time must come from somewhere. More often than not, the time I required to…

Sunday is my "cheat day." The idea of a cheat day is drawn from a common practice in the fitness world. In order to achieve high levels of fitness and strength, a person needs to be incredibly disciplined with not only their workout routine but also with their food choices. Bodybuilders and athletes who compete at a very high level need to…

Many people go to the gym in an attempt to become physically healthier. They may desire to grow stronger by developing muscles or they might want to look a certain way when they view themselves in the mirror. Anyone who has ever stepped foot into a gym knows that there are many different machines and tools that a person can use to…

Let's face it: we can be busy people, and each day can look different from the next. That's part of living in a modern world. On some days, it's easy to spend a lot of time with God in prayer and meditation because there's little else on our agenda. Thank the Lord for such days. Then there are days where we might have…

The other day, I was spending some time with the Lord while watching over my one-year-old son. As a modern monastic with a very young family, I've had to learn to be creative with using the limited amount of time I have each day. Working through some spiritual exercises while attending to some light responsibilities is one way for me to…

Are you plateauing in your spiritual development? I think it's a pretty common experience. I've experienced it myself. I wonder if one reason a spiritual plateau occurs is because our spiritual practices have not kept up with our spiritual growth? We’re still using the same basic spiritual practices and techniques that we…

Those of us who consider ourselves to be pastors and Christian leaders have "heavy spiritual lifting" to do on a fairly regular basis. We preach sermons. We provide counsel. We mentor. We share the gospel message. We visit families in times of celebration and grief. We rebuke and correct. We care for souls. We protect sheep from the enemy. Our work, if we believe it, is a…

I pray what is often referred to as the "Lord's Prayer" multiple times a day. On a good day, I might recite this prayer four times throughout my day: during morning, midday, and evening prayers, and once with my son as I put him to bed. Whenever I recite this prayer, I try to be as…