Ancient Christian Wisdom
for Everyday Life
Wisdom for those with the wild ambition of getting as close to Jesus as they can on earth and living the kind of life that God desires every single day
Welcome to the Daily Monastic. I’m Barnabas the Monastic.
I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I attempt to do that by learning to become a modern monastic. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in my modern everyday life. I write about it here. Feel free to write to me about your own journey. I currently reside in the “Great White North.”
Tips for Memorizing Scripture
We know memorizing Bible verses is good for us. If you went to Sunday School, your teacher likely encouraged you to memorize verses. But this can be a daunting spiritual activity to do on a regular basis. Some of us might even admit that we haven't memorized Bible verses since…
Spirituality in Community
In this blog, I write quite a bit about growing a relationship with Christ that is personal to each of us. Each of us is ultimately responsible for our own spiritual development. We can't…
Falling Asleep While Praying
It might be a bit strange to admit this: I've occasionally fallen asleep while in the middle of prayer and meditation. In fact, my wife has caught me dozing off a number of times when I'm supposed to be reflecting or meditating (I never admit it to her though!). It's embarrassing to…
God’s Word Changes Us
There's an elderly woman who lives relatively close to where I do. Because of her age and health condition, she remains completely bed-ridden pretty much all day. Once a week, I visit her and…
Reconcile and Relate
Many of us have an internal desire to help other people, should it be within our capacity to do so. Helping others is one way for us to imitate our Lord Jesus who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28 ESV). Serving others sacrificially was…
Memorizing Scripture
I have a pretty bad memory. At least, that's what my wife says. Maybe she's right. But for several months now, I've been memorizing multiple Scripture verses each week. So far, I've managed to memorize over 170 verses of the Bible.
Getting Proper Amounts of Rest
Our physical bodies are valuable gifts given to us by God. It is through our bodies that we interact with our world. It is through our bodies that we relate to other people. It is through our bodies that we work and play. It is…
A Well that is Dry
Almost 15 years ago, I was a young pastor in my second year of ministry serving at a local church. One day, I was chatting with one of the other pastors who had been serving God for a while. He shared with me a little bit about his struggling spiritual condition at the time. It's an…
A Slower Pace of Life
I've had to frequently remind myself lately to "go a little slower" in life. It's not because I'm going through a crisis or a health issue. We often encourage overworked or aging family members to adopt a slower pace of life. The reason I'm hoping to go slower in life is…
Contemplation versus Consumption
I spend a lot of time engaging in contemplation. It's not unusual to see me at a coffee shop for a couple of hours with my journal in hand. Or to find me in the middle of my thoughts while sitting in my favorite chair at home. I consider these…