Rule of Life

All posts tagged Rule of Life

A review of “Faith Habits and how to form them by Emma Timms

Posted by David Ward on 23/07/2025
Posted in: Books/Articles, discipleship, Spirituality, Spititual Practices. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

I’ve read a lot of books about spiritual disciplines and developing a rule of life over the years. Emma’s book stands out because of its deliberate simplicity, it’s tone of practical reality and it’s guilt-free introduction to habits that will make a difference as we seek to draw closer to Jesus and more closely resemble him in our everyday lives.

It is a vulnerable book, where Emma shares some of her story and her changing relationship with faith habits over the years, finding new practices and rhythms as she adjusts to seasons of life and family.

The book begins with Emma sharing her faith story and gradual discovery of helpful Faith Habits, especially the development of a Rule of Life. She goes on to briefly outline the neuroscience of habit formation before asking the reader to consider why they are interested in pursuing faith habits.

This is followed by a brief look at some monks, saints and mystics and their experiences of a rule of life and faith habits before looking in more detail at some of the practices themselves. These are very helpfully split into daily, monthly and yearly practices, which Emma suggests may vary throughout the seasons of the year and through different stages of life.

This exploration is never prescriptive and always personal, as we are encouraged to “try it and see” before deciding which habits to develop.

I particularly like the section where Emma discusses what she calls different stages of life…life events such as raising young children, chronic illness, transitions, caring and intense study or workload. We all experience time like this, and it’s good to be reminded that God loves us and wants to be alongside us in these circumstances when we may find it difficult to feel close or even aware of God’s closeness, let alone engage in Faith Habits!

The book is rounded of by what Emma calls a Workbook, although don’t be put off by the title. It gives the reader examples and a helpful template for putting together our own rule of life, once again in Emma’s do-able and non-guilt inducing style.

If you want to know more about Emma and the resources she offers you can go to her website HERE and her Facebook page HERE.

Apprentices of Jesus…

Posted by David Ward on 08/04/2024
Posted in: Books/Articles, discipleship, Spititual Practices. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

A brief review of “Practicing the Way…be with Jesus, become like him, do as he did” by John Mark Comer.

This book builds on some of the ideas introduced in John Mark’s previous book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”.

It focuses on three questions:

  • Who or what are you following?
  • Who or what are you becoming?
  • Who or what are you entrusting your life to?

The fact is, we’re all building our lives on someone or something, it’s an inevitable part of being human. There are people or philosophies of life we admire and seek to emulate; it’s not just religious people. And it follows that as people we are becoming like the people or things we admire…they affect our thinking, our behaviour and our relationships. In fact, every part of our lives.

In the world of the New Testament, such a person in Jewish culture would be called a rabbi (teacher). Jesus was a rabbi, who went around saying, “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19). But what does that mean? John Mark Comer writes:

“Contrary to what many assume, Jesus did not invite people to convert to Christianity. He didn’t even call people to become Christians (keep reading…); he invited people to apprentice (disciple) under him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.”

“Practicing the Way” p xvi

The rest of the book investigates how Jesus did this and suggests three “Goals” to pursue so we can be transformed into Jesus image by being with him, becoming like him and doing what he did.

The final bit of the book looks at the practical ways we can pursue the three goals, focussing on a having a Rule of Life lived out through nine spiritual practices that Jesus followed in his life.

A number of my friends found John Mark Comer’s “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” to be “a bit legalistic”, and I dare say might level the same criticism at this book.

However, it’s important to note that the close relationship to Jesus is key. Without it copying the things that Jesus said and did will not really change us one bit and is in danger of becoming a box-ticking kind of legalism.

I found this to be a most helpful book, and one I would not hesitate to recommend to new followers of Jesus or those mentoring them. There is even a helpful online course for groups (it might be possible to use as an individual too); you can find it here: https://www.practicingtheway.org/course .

The heartbeat of life…

Posted by David Ward on 27/11/2010
Posted in: In the Media, Pilgrimage. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
— Annie Dillard

As travelling is to the pilgrim, so is rhythm to life. Rhythm is , it seems, hard-wired into the whole of creation. Day and night, the seasons, the cycle of birth and death, the ebb and flow of the tides, sleep and wakefulness…all serve as reminders of the rhythm of our world.

Human beings work best when they appreciate that we are creatures made to live in harmony with these natural rhythms. Alas, there is often a conscious effort to subvert or ignore these rhythms, particularly in the worlds of  production and the city. Lighting and central heating make it possible to ignore day and night and even the seasonal changes to some degree. The 24/7 culture and the shift system wring the last penny or the last bit of work out of those who are its captives. In such a society it is not long before we see signs that the physical, mental and spiritual health of people begins to suffer.

Monastic life at its best has long stood as a prophetic symbol of a life of rhythm lived in harmony. The rhythm of prayer, work, rest and recreation are built into the system, and many people in our modern world have began to appreciate that what was seen as antiquated and outmoded actually has something to teach us, if we’re willing to look, listen and learn. The popularity of BBC television’s “The Monastery” and the proliferation of programmes and books on ‘monasticism-for-today’ that followed it are evidence that there is a hunger for a return to the sanity of rhythm and the wholeness it can bring. “New Monasticism”, where groups of believers are reinterpreting monasticism for today, has become part of the movement to discover contemporary ways of being church.

Monastic rhythm has at its heart two fundamental ideas. They are: a Rule of Life and a Rhythm of Prayer (or fixed hour prayer, as some call it). A Rule of Life brings balance to the pattern of our life over the course of a day, a month and a year. It is a way of ensuring that we get times of busy-ness and times of rest, times of receiving and times of giving out and times for ourselves, for others and for God in our lives. A Rhythm of Prayer is really a part of that overall Rule, but provides useful ‘punctuation points’ within the day to pull us up and keep us on track. This is a huge subject and I will probably return here with some of my own experiences of trying to live this way at some point (if I don’t get distracted!).

Although there are many books to help here, I have found the writings of Robert Benson to be particularly helpful, particularly his book about the Rule of St Benedict, “A Good Life” and his book on fixed hour prayer, “In Constant Prayer”. The Grove Booklet “Finding a Personal Rule of Life” may also be helpful. A quick search online will bring up huge lists on these subjects, evidence of their current importance.