Two Handed Warriors

Tuesdays with Tozer / Wednesdays with Walter, by Margaret Feinberg

Ongoing Series: Culture Making Bloggers you should know

Prolific writer and blogger, Margaret Feinberg

Margaret Feinberg has written more than two dozen books and Bible studies including the critically-acclaimed The Organic God, The Sacred Echo, and Scouting the Divine. A popular speaker at churches and leading conferences such as Catalyst, CreationFest, and YouthSpecialties, Margaret is known for her relational teaching style and inviting people to discover the relevance of God and His Word in a modern world. She was recently named one of the ’30 Emerging Voices’ who will help lead the church in the next decade by Charisma magazine. Margaret currently lives in Morrison, Colorado, with her 6’8″ husband, Leif. When she’s not writing or traveling, she enjoys anything outdoors, lots of laughter, and their superpup, Hershey. But she says some of her best moments are spent communicating with her readers. So go ahead, become her friend on Facebook, or follow her on twitter:@mafeinberg.

 

Wednesdays with Walter

It’s no secret that Leif and I have struggled over the years to connect spiritually through our personal times of devotion. In the early days of our marriage, we tried a laundry list of things that simply didn’t work. We began reading Oswald Chambers together on January 1 one year. By January 18, we couldn’t even find the book. We attempted reading the same passages of scripture for discussion, but also felt a sense of awkward disconnect. We tried reading the same books, listening to the same sermons among other practices and yet it always felt forced, unnatural, anything but, well, organic. Those images of spiritual marital bliss faded into the reality that growing spiritually together as a couple takes time, perseverance and hard work.

Over the last few years, we’ve found something that works. (And when you find something that works when it comes to spiritual disciplines, do it and keep on doing it!) We sit on the couch beside each other  in the morning and read whatever we’re reading. I’m currently enjoying Bruce K. Waltke’s commentary on Genesis; Leif is making his way through The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan. As we read, we sometimes hmmm or oooh-ahhhh aloud, signifying we’ve found something special, then we share what we’re reading and our responses. It’s natural. Non-forced. The practice works for us. When we’re done, we each read a prayer aloud from Walter Brueggemann’s Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth (a book given to us by our special friend Troy Champ). Then we spend time in prayer–for our families, our leaders, our friend, our world, and yes, you!–together  aloud.

Brueggemann has a gift to bring hidden thoughts of the soul to light before God. Over the course of the fall, I wanted to share Walter Brueggemann with you every Wednesday. We invite you to join us for “Wednesdays With Walter” as you dive deeper in your own relation with God and prayer life…

Tuesdays with Tozer

Last fall, we celebrated Wednesday With Walter. Now, I’ve decided to shake things up and throw a Tuesday with Tozer party every week. I hope to offer short snippets from this wonderful writer and lover of God who penned classics including: The Pursuit of God and Knowledge of the Holy.

Tozer wasn’t a man of means. While on his way home from work at a tire company, a street preacher cried out, “If you don’t know how to be saved…just call on God.” When Tozer arrived home, he followed the street preacher’s advice and his life changed forever. Tozer’s story, like many others, reminds us not to mock to those whose approach to sharing the good news of God is different than our own.

Though he lacked formal theological training, Tozer became a pastor of a small church and continued to pastor for more than four decades. What made Tozer extraordinary was his approach to prayer and faith. He became enthralled by God in a way few men or women do-though many hope to. In his first editorial, he wrote:

“It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages, while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of that.”

I read those words multiple times, because I didn’t want them alive in my mind as much I wanted them true in my soul. I find that same desire to be true of much of Tozer’s writings. The beauty of his words are that they reflect God in such a way that they make us want to radiant Him even more.

Simply put: Tozer makes me hungry for God.

For complete entry and other gems go to Margaret’s Blog.

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