Comments for Joel J. Miller

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick – by Michael Hyatt « BG Allen

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:06:43 +0000

[...] friends what you are committed to achieving. Better yet, post your resolutions on your blog like my son-in-law did. Going public creates accountability and leverage. Several years ago, I blogged about my goal to [...]

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Ali

Ali — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:27:39 +0000

Joel, my priest gave me a copy from an old parishioner when I was in the process of converting. Father Stephen Freeman has made references to it on his blog. It is white and has a little red outline on the cover, My copy is quite battered up, but it obviously works fine. I go to an OCA Church so obviously some of our prayers are a little different. I have gone to several Antiochian Churches (my sponsor is/was Antiochian and is at seminary with her husband), and I always get confused during the prayer before Communion. I only have it memorized in the OCA version!

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Joel J. Miller

Joel J. Miller — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:04:56 +0000

Ali: I haven’t seen the little St. Tikhon’s prayerbook, but I’ll have to check it out. (I mostly use the St. Vlad’s one and the pocket edition put out by the Antiochian archdiocese.)

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Ali

Ali — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:56:29 +0000

PS I actually bought the pocket Psalter after I saw you recommend it. It is coming this week, and I am totally looking forward to looking at it and using it. It will definitely find a place in my purse along with personal notebook for religious notes and my small Orthodox prayer book put out by St. Tikhon’s.

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by John Rowley

John Rowley — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:54:36 +0000

Joel,
Nicely done! I just did the same thing on my blog, it is important to put yourself out there.
I know you will achieve all you want to in 2010 and if I can be of any assistance please let me know.
I have heard nice things about you from Bucky Rosenbaum!
God bless!
John

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Carolyn Wilker

Carolyn Wilker — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:44:14 +0000

What an idea for accountability! Bless you as you make your way through the year with these goals in heart and mind.
Will you also post on how you’re doing?

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Four must strategies for resolutions/new goals « Strengthened by Grace

Four must strategies for resolutions/new goals « Strengthened by Grace — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:03:21 +0000

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick

How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:54:10 +0000

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by patriciazell

patriciazell — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:04:54 +0000

Hi, Joel,

Can I relate to your statement about your mind wandering during prayer! When I was younger, my mind would go all over the place when I prayed. I think what changed for me was my desire to understand the Bible for myself. The more time I spent delving into the scriptures and the more I wanted to understand, I found it almost natural to ask God to give me knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. I’m glad you have found direction in a prayer book–isn’t God wonderful in how He meets our individual needs? In fact, He’s just wonderful, period. I will be praying for you and I ask that you will pray for me. God bless!

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:50:13 +0000

These resolutions are awesome. I’m proud of you!

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Joel J. Miller

Joel J. Miller — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:18:47 +0000

Patricia,

I appreciate your kind words and gracious offer to pray for me. I grew up in a charismatic church that put a high stress on spontaneous prayer. I knew many very dedicated and holy people in that church and still know many of them. I can say, however, that I was never spiritually mature enough to pray so well. I found using a prayer book to be one of the most wonderful and liberating experiences ever–and count it God’s great mercy that he led me to a tradition that uses one regularly. I’ve written a bit about it here. I hope it helps explain where I’m coming from a bit.

Blessings in the New Year (and many thanks, again, for the prayers).

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by patriciazell

patriciazell — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:43:33 +0000

Happy New Year, Joel!

I am fairly unfamiliar with your church, but I want to share a picture I carry in my “spiritual” wallet. I live my life seated on the most comfy couch between my Papa Father and my big brother, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:6). I am constantly talking to both of them about everything–what’s going on, what I think, what I feel, how should I deal with things.–and I ask for their knowledge, understanding, and wisdom in everything.

In Deuteronomy 30:20, God encourages us to cleave to (become one with Him) because He is our life. So my prayer for you and those you love and relate to is that you’ll go beyond the formal prayers into living the nitty-gritty of life snuggled between our Father and our Big Brother.

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Ali

Ali — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:26:55 +0000

Like Sheila and Justin, I am amazed at your ambition to pray the entire Psalter through each week. And that you will pray the offices each day! And you hold a steady job and have a wife and kids–wow! I am single, hold a steady job, and try to have a social life so my spiritual goals exist as well, but I have to be careful not to let them consume me–because they could if I let them! I want to memorize more Psalms, and try (the operative word being try) to pray at the third, sixth, and ninth hours. I want to finish my study of the Old Testament with commentaries (I started last year), and I want to get through the New Testament again. I only read a few New Testament books last year because I focused more on the Old Testament.

I have found that the Scriptures opened up in a whole new way once I converted to Orthodoxy two years ago.

Happy New Year!

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Joel J. Miller

Joel J. Miller — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:19:39 +0000

Justin, Sheila: Holy Transfiguration Monastery puts out a great little portable/pocket Psalter–not much bigger than a prayer book. It’s broken out by kathisma. There are guides and schedules in the back.

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Justin

Justin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:13:49 +0000

Very nice. I have the Psalter broken out by kathisma and staseis on CDs/mp3s, which I listened to straight through on the way to and from PA. I think Fr. Thomas Hopko says the Psalter is like a microcosm of the Scriptures; it really is beautiful.

Comment on Resolutions for 2010 by Shelia

Shelia — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:46:34 +0000

Nicely done! And rather ambitious, I might add. I can only imagine how meaningful it will be to read through the Psalter every week. Marvelous strength for the journey. In fact, perhaps it will help with the whole tobacco thing.

Comment on Hustle, reflection, and prayer by Ali

Ali — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:42:21 +0000

This is such a thought-provoking post. I have plenty of free time, but many times I would rather spend it reading books other than the Bible or spending time in prayer. There is so much I want to read, and I find that my prayer life and Scripture reading get short shrift sometimes. And I suspect that I am like most people in that I go through peaks and valleys in my spiritual life–times where I find myself actively wanting to pray and read and times where I don’t want to do that so much. I know the crucial thing is to pray despite what I feel because ultimately our faith is not all about emotions (as Flannery O’Connor so eloquently states many times in The Habit of Being and as the Church Fathers tell us time and time again). Still, it is hard sometimes.

Comment on The Search for God and Guinness by I'm Giving Away Two Copies Of The Search For God & Guinness by Stephen Manfield | Spence Smith

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:43:15 +0000

[...] which comes out next month. Joel Miller has written a great post about the book which you can read here. Joel also has this to say [...]

Comment on Start a buzz for ‘God and Guinness’ by Jeff (theCRICKETtoy) Anderson

Jeff (theCRICKETtoy) Anderson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:48:21 +0000

So let me get this straight…in order to get a ‘buzz’ going about a book, you’re offering it free with a beer?

You’ve got me laughing (and I retweeted it)

Concern that people will remember the book after the buzz is gone.

Chirp. Chirp. (crickets chirping at lame joke).

Great idea Stephen.

Jeff Anderson
http://www.theCRICKETtoy.com

Comment on Start a buzz for ‘God and Guinness’ by Joel J. Miller

Joel J. Miller — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:47:18 +0000

Time is tricky business. Wish I had three or four more hours every day. Alas. But Guinness! It’s not so tricky, just fascinating. The back story here is really eyeopening. Hope you enjoy it!