[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fhlaAhp-13zK4-UoFEB9uagOXXECKrCb6JrwCCldjSxw":3,"$fpj-Lea9tdCXA_DrQdLH3nFMiN-f7nOfS49QHXK_gwM0":23},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},45566,"Lauren F. Winner","L",49,null,"lauren-f-winner",[12,16,19],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},85,"faith",6,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":15},41775,"spiritual-disciplines",{"tag_id":20,"tag_name":21,"tag_count":22},3176,"prayer",5,{"quotes":24,"pagination":89},[25,33,39,45,52,58,64,70,77,83],{"id":26,"quote_text":27,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":29,"source":30,"quote_tag":31,"commentary":32},3214893,"But if roteness is a danger, it is also the way liturgy works. When you don’t have to think all the time about what words you are going to say next, you are free to fully enter into the act of praying; you are free to participate in the life of God.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is from Lauren F. Winner's book \"Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Simple Spirituality\" (2003), a memoir that explores her spiritual journey as a convert to Christianity. At the time of writing, Winner was reflecting on her experiences with liturgy and prayer, grappling with the tension between intellectual understanding and spiritual practice. As a historian, I note that Winner's work often engages with the complexities of faith and spirituality in a way that is both deeply personal and universally relatable.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe hidden insight in this quote lies in the paradox that roteness (or routine) can be both a danger and a liberating force. On one hand, excessive roteness can lead to mindlessness and spiritual stagnation. On the other hand, when liturgy becomes a familiar, habitual practice, it can free us from the burden of constant self-reflection and allow us to enter more fully into the act of praying. This tension highlights the importance of finding a balance between intellectual engagement and spiritual surrender.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in your own life, try embracing the roteness of your daily spiritual practices, whether that's a daily devotional, a weekly worship service, or a daily meditation practice. By making these practices a habitual part of your routine, you can free yourself to engage more deeply with the spiritual life, allowing yourself to be shaped by the rhythms and patterns of liturgy rather than constantly trying to manufacture spiritual experiences.",{"id":34,"quote_text":35,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":36,"source":37,"quote_tag":38,"commentary":9},3214885,"Admittedly, it’s a little crazy. Grand, infinite God taking on the squalling form of a human baby boy. It’s what some of the old-timers call a scandal, the scandal of the Gospel. But it is also the whole point.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":40,"quote_text":41,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":42,"source":43,"quote_tag":44,"commentary":9},3214876,"It is a great gift when God gives me a stirring, a feeling, a something-at-all in prayer. But work is being done whether I feel it or not.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":46,"quote_text":47,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":48,"source":49,"quote_tag":50,"commentary":51},3214871,"Phyllis and I pray these chaplets together; at three o’clock, every first Saturday. We are never in the same town. For months, we do not speak on the phone or email. We pray these chaplets for just a few minutes, maybe as many as sixty minutes, once a month on a Saturday afternoon. Intimacy with the elusive God is that kind of intimacy. It is the closeness of praying together, apart.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nLauren F. Winner, a historian and theologian, likely wrote this passage in one of her books or essays, drawing from her experiences with spiritual practices. The quote captures a moment of introspection and reflection on the nature of intimacy with God, particularly in a context where physical distance and silence are present. This passage may have been written during a time when Winner was exploring the intersections of faith, spirituality, and relationships.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe hidden insight in this quote lies in the paradox of intimacy being forged through separation and distance, rather than proximity and closeness. This challenges the conventional understanding of intimacy as requiring physical presence and direct communication, instead suggesting that true intimacy can be cultivated through shared spiritual practices, even when physically apart.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider establishing a regular spiritual practice with a friend or colleague who shares similar values, even if you're physically distant. By committing to a shared spiritual practice, such as prayer or meditation, you can cultivate a deeper sense of intimacy and connection, despite physical distance.",{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},3214864,"Maybe, if God is fire, we are a grove of ponderosa pines. Without the heat and burn of God’s flame, our pinecones would remain closed tight around the seeds that are needed for our thriving and growth and new life.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},3214856,"The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,” she says, raising the silver chalice to our lips. Receiving from her is my favorite part of Sunday services. She always says her line with such joy, like it is the greatest thing in the world, which, of course, it is.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":65,"quote_text":66,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":67,"source":68,"quote_tag":69,"commentary":9},3214851,"When something needs to be fixed, when I need something to change, my first and abiding instinct is to read. I think I can read my way to a solution. Or at least an evasion.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":71,"quote_text":72,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":73,"source":74,"quote_tag":75,"commentary":76},3214842,"Then perhaps there is a third kind of loss – the loss that comes when you notice the limits of your knowledge of God, when you feel bereft of guidance, when you feel the loss of God’s saving power or of God’s grace. This feeling of loss is really a way of noting, and mourning, God’s hiddenness. This is the loss you name when you ask why God does not answer your prayers. It is the loss entailed when you realize that Jesus is more mysterious and more inscrutible than you had at first understood.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nLauren F. Winner's quote resonates within the context of her theological reflections on the human experience of God's presence and absence. As a historian, I note that Winner's work often grapples with the complexities of faith, doubt, and the search for meaning. This particular quote likely stems from her book \"Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis,\" where she explores the nuances of spiritual growth and the limitations of human understanding.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a profound paradox: the loss of God's guidance or saving power can be a necessary step in deepening one's faith. By acknowledging and mourning God's hiddenness, individuals can come to a more mature understanding of their relationship with the divine, recognizing that Jesus is indeed mysterious and inscrutable.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, acknowledge and accept the limits of your knowledge and understanding. Instead of seeking to control or explain God's actions, focus on cultivating a deeper sense of trust and surrender, recognizing that the mystery of faith is an integral part of the human experience. By embracing the unknown, you can begin to let go of the need for certainties and instead, find a more authentic and meaningful connection with the divine.",{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},3214823,"I began to realize that my pictures of God were old. They were not old in the sense of antique champagne flutes, which are abundant with significance precisely because they are old – when you sip from them you remember your grandmother using them at birthday dinners, or your sister toasting her beloved at their wedding. Rather, they were old like a seventh-grade health textbook from 1963: moderately interesting for what it might say about culture and science in 1963, but generally out of date.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":28,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},3214814,"I cannot describe God in the same way that I cannot describe a picture I am holding millimeters from my eyes – the picture is made strange and unknowable not because it is distant but because it is so close.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":90,"totalPages":22,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":91},1,10]