One of the best things about The Academy for Spiritual Formation is that you develop deep, abiding friendships with some great folks. One of my dearest friends is a woman who was in my Academy covenant group. The thing about Lana Johnson that you would notice right away – were you to meet her – is that she has a priceless smile and a GREAT love of God. She exudes the grace and peace of Christ. Lana is on staff at Liberty Crossings United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama; a wife; a mom of two cute kids; a basketball coach; and probably lots of other things, too. She is exceedingly creative and during our journey together I’ve had the privilege of watching her develop some of the most innovative spiritual formation programs and activities for her church.
Lana also has a blog, which I follow, called My Savior Speaks. Three days ago she posted something that has stayed with me. She talked about how she had found a new sense of peace over the summer! Her secret? She stopped being in a hurry. That caught my attention right away! Most of my days include some portion of running amok trying to stay ahead of my various responsibilities and schedule. I would love to live a less-hurried life.
Lana wrote that she had reached this state of peace after reading the following statement by Dallas Willard, author of various books including Living in Christ’s Presence. Dallas wrote:
If you want to have true peace in your spirit, you must ruthlessly eliminate all hurry in your life.
Gets your attention doesn’t it? It sure got mine! I invite you to read Lana’s thoughts on it to see what difference it made in her life. Tomorrow I will offer a prayer bead devotion based on this idea of finding peace in a less-hurried life.
