The church needs men who are willing to MENTOR like this, and boys who are brave enough to allow themselves to be molded in such a way...
The Church needs a prayer like the prayer of the Citadel......
"Give me a boy, Oh God,who is willing to learn the true value of honor,the necessity of perseverance and loyalty,and the meaningfulness of devotion to God and country. And I shall take this boy as does a blacksmith take a crude piece of metal, and place him over a forge whose liberating flame of education is fired by the bellows of strict military discipline.

Into this ingot of a man I shall temper self-respect and self-discipline, fear of God and respect for mankind, appreciation of freedom and  awareness of what sacrifices must be made to preserve freedom, and above all an insatiable desire for truth and honesty.


And when all these things I have done, I shall brand my finished work with a ring of gold to let all of humanity know that I have given back to the world a Citadel Man".
 
John 8:3-11 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the sand with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”


       Jesus wore many titles, none greater the Son of God, my Messiah. But there's a certain title Jesus holds to me as a "provocateur", or someone who "provokes". He could rustle up some type of emotion, or just some good ol' fashioned dissension. In this particular scripture he is brought a woman caught in adultery, brought before him to be judged. SET THE SCENE BABY, THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN THE SAND! The pharisees (oh silly pharisees) are calling Jesus to make a clear judgement upon her. It's a slam dunk case. She was caught in the act! 

(My note:  I find it crucial to point that to the Pharisees it is not that they cared what SHE did, but how HE judged. Their own intentions of finding someone in the midst of sin was even off base according to their hearts. "VS 9 that they might have something of which to accuse Him".

Bella Principal: So literally theres a bunch of guys in robes running around trying to find an affair in action......AWWWWWKKKKKWWWWWARD!). 

      What does Jesus do here? What any provocateur would (fight me on Jesus NOT leading with sarcasm and I will bite your ear off). He starts building a sand castle (see sarcasm threat) "But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the sand with His finger, as though He did not hear"). Jesus never loses his cool, you never see him sweat. 
What you do see, is him disempowering the pharisees. By writing, he's actually erasing.

Those who came to provoke, stood in front of the king of provocation. Jesus brought dissension in the spirit of defense. By playing in the sand, Jesus erased the line of Legalism, the line of pride, the line of arrogance, the line of self-righteousness. Jesus, by writing in the sand, actually erased the lines drawn by men in the sand.

Bella Principal: People will accuse, hurt, wound and kick you in the teeth. These are lines being drawn, and you are being dared to cross them to start a fight, lose your peace, and act out irrationally. Be patient, find the peace of God, seek forgiveness and give it freely,  and erase the lines in the sand.

j
 
     In one of my favorite books of all-time Celebration of the Disciplines" Richard Foster is quoted as saying:

      In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things:  noise, hurry, and crowds.  If he can keep us engaged in the “much-ness” and “manyness,” he will rest satisfied…If we hope to move beyond the superficialities of our culture, including our religious culture, we must be willing to go down into the recreating silences, into the inner world of contemplation.  In their writings all the masters of meditation beckon us to be pioneers in the frontier of the Spirit.  Though is may sound strange to modern ears, we should without shame enroll as apprentices in the school of contemplative prayer. (p16)…Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word.  It is that simple.  I wish I could make it more complicated for those who like things difficult. 

    I'm a fan of silence. I'm a fan of the quiet. I'm a fan of the Story of Samuel and Gods whisper to his name. I'm even more of a fan of how Elijah ran, sought, and found God in the silence. At the end of the day, no other voice can sooth or calm then the Silence of God 
(and I'm a firm believer Silence is of God).
         I want to add a new twist however, and it's something I've been practicing of late. Vocality. Not just any type of vocality, but vocality of scripture. 
                                 We read, we process, we meditate in silence. All of which are powerful and good (some are even MORE Christian and journal, and of course us bloggers are seated at the left hand of Gabriel). Vocality of scripture (reading scripture aloud) has this sense of proclamation. Recently I've been seeking Gods face for direction for raising, and heading up my family. I went to James chapter 5 today and began reading aloud how we as a family would not:
-Long for riches
-Be patient in times of trouble or trials
-And that we would be a praying house of faith.

Then, I meditated...In the beautiful Language of Silence..I believe silence is a language God speaks fluently, and those who seek him in the silence, understand this language.
Vocality ensures the dialect is the same.
Give it a shot. 


Bella principal:  (modus operandi)

Find your "prayer theme"
Read your scripture aloud (preferably alone, or with your spouse)
Meditate in silence

*(thanks Ben Reed for challenging me to keep writing)