Welcome to the Otter Creek Spiritual Disciplines blog! The practice of engaging in spiritual disciplines is an ancient practice designed to expand your capacity for being with God. Dwelling. Listening. Praying. And experiencing God. While there are many disciplines that can be practiced in community (some even require community) this guide will serve as a way of allowing an individual to experience God more deeply. The beauty of sharing this as a church family is that even as we practice these disciplines as individuals, we sojourn together knowing we share struggles, difficulties, growth, and successes with one another.

Practicing spiritual disciplines is not always easy. It does take some level of commitment. However, know that there is no perfect way to do this. The point of practicing the disciplines is not to feel a burden or guilt when you experience shortcomings. Rather, the point is to find God in deeper ways through this way of living.

If you want to go deeper than this blog, you might refer to Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s Spiritual Disciplines Handbook or Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth.

While this blog will share a new discipline each month, you may find that honing 2-3 disciplines in your life gives you the most growth. That is good. The hope is that by being intentional in your spiritual development, you will see growth over the years. This is a long game. Spiritual disciplines don’t generally change your life overnight. But if you open yourselves to the power of these ways of being with God, you may come to know God in new ways.