{"id":5684,"date":"2019-09-09T15:55:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T23:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5684"},"modified":"2019-09-09T15:55:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T23:55:42","slug":"celebration-of-discipline-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/09\/09\/celebration-of-discipline-celebration","title":{"rendered":"Celebration of Discipline: Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"book<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Blog read\u00aders: Chi Alpha @ Stan\u00adford is engag\u00ading in our annu\u00adal sum\u00admer read\u00ading project. As we read through an anno\u00adtat\u00aded trans\u00adla\u00adtion of Pascal\u2019s Pensees called Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty For Mod\u00adern Pagans<\/a>, I\u2019ll post the thoughts I\u2019m email\u00ading the stu\u00addents here (which will large\u00adly con\u00adsist of excerpts I found insight\u00adful). They are all tagged sum\u00admer-read\u00ading-project-2020<\/a>. The read\u00ading sched\u00adule is online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope this sum\u00admer has been a bless\u00ading to you! Today we come to the final dis\u00adci\u00adpline \u2014 the dis\u00adci\u00adpline of cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion (which is an inver\u00adsion of the book\u2019s title, and this does not seem to be acci\u00adden\u00adtal). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion as Fos\u00adter describes it is a joy-filled approach to dai\u00adly liv\u00ading that we share with oth\u00aders. He is not pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly refer\u00adring to events like wor\u00adship ser\u00advices or par\u00adties. He has in mind things like laugh\u00ading with your friends in the cafe\u00adte\u00adria or turn\u00ading chores into games. When we con\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly and authen\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly live with joy, every\u00adthing (includ\u00ading wor\u00adship ser\u00advices and par\u00adties) get bet\u00adter. But when we do not live this way, even the spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines we have been study\u00ading can become hor\u00adri\u00adble things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion is cen\u00adtral to all the Spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal Dis\u00adci\u00adplines. With\u00adout a joy\u00adful spir\u00adit of fes\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adty the Dis\u00adci\u00adplines become dull, death-breath\u00ading tools in the hands of mod\u00adern Phar\u00adisees. Every Dis\u00adci\u00adpline should be char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adized by care\u00adfree gai\u00adety and a sense of thanks\u00adgiv\u00ading. <\/p>Richard Fos\u00adter, Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline, page 191<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is, no doubt, why Fos\u00adter enti\u00adtled his book Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline<\/em>. The spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines must them\u00adselves be both sources of joy and expres\u00adsions of joy. This does not mean turn from fast\u00ading to feast\u00ading the moment we get hun\u00adgry, or that when gen\u00aderos\u00adi\u00adty is a chal\u00adlenge that we instead turn to greed. Of course the dis\u00adci\u00adplines will be hard at times \u2014 that is why we call them dis\u00adci\u00adplines! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if our prac\u00adtice of the spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines is noth\u00ading but duty with\u00adout delight, we have bad\u00adly missed the mark. In this regard the spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines are no dif\u00adfer\u00adent than the phys\u00adi\u00adcal dis\u00adci\u00adplines \u2014 exer\u00adcis\u00ading is hard at times but peo\u00adple endure it because they enjoy what comes on the oth\u00ader side of the pain (and exer\u00adcise itself is some\u00adtimes fun). And so our spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines must be a cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion. But since the spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adplines are woven into our every\u00adday lives, they can only be marked by cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion if our every\u00adday lives are marked by cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some peo\u00adple strug\u00adgle to believe that God wants them to live this way. They have a hard time expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading joy with\u00adout guilt. Some plea\u00adsures, of course, are sin\u00adful. But there are peo\u00adple who are sus\u00adpi\u00adcious of even whole\u00adsome plea\u00adsures. If that\u2019s you, I urge you to remem\u00adber that enjoy\u00ading life is not only pleas\u00adant but wise. Eccle\u00adsi\u00adastes makes this point repeat\u00aded\u00adly: \u201ca per\u00adson can do noth\u00ading bet\u00adter than to eat and drink and find sat\u00adis\u00adfac\u00adtion in their own toil\u201d (Ecc 2:24\u201325), \u201cthere is noth\u00ading bet\u00adter for peo\u00adple than to be hap\u00adpy and to do good while they live\u201d (Ecc 3:12\u201313), \u201cthere is noth\u00ading bet\u00adter for a per\u00adson than to enjoy their work\u201d (Ecc 3:22), \u201cwhen God gives some\u00adone wealth and pos\u00adses\u00adsions, and the abil\u00adi\u00adty to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be hap\u00adpy in their toil \u2014 this is a gift of God\u201d (Ecc 5:18\u201320), \u201cgo, eat your food with glad\u00adness, and drink your wine with a joy\u00adful heart, for God has already approved of what you do\u201d (Ecc 9:7\u201310), \u201cyou who are young be hap\u00adpy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth\u2026 ban\u00adish anx\u00adi\u00adety from your heart\u201d (Ecc 11:9\u201310).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per\u00adhaps, on the oth\u00ader hand, you do believe this but have a hard time putting it into prac\u00adtice. Maybe you even feel guilty that you don\u2019t enjoy life more. Fos\u00adter has good advice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has estab\u00adlished a cre\u00adat\u00aded order full of excel\u00adlent and good things, and it fol\u00adlows nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly that as we give our atten\u00adtion to those things we will be hap\u00adpy. That is God\u2019s appoint\u00aded way to joy. If we think we will have joy only by pray\u00ading and singing psalms, we will be dis\u00adil\u00adlu\u00adsioned. But if we fill our lives with sim\u00adple good things and con\u00adstant\u00adly thank God for them, we will be joy\u00adful, that is, full of joy. And what about our prob\u00adlems? When we deter\u00admine to dwell on the good and excel\u00adlent things in life, we will be so full of those things that they will tend to swal\u00adlow our prob\u00adlems. The deci\u00adsion to set the mind on the high\u00ader things of life an act of the will. That is why cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion is a Dis\u00adci\u00adpline. It is not some\u00adthing that falls on our heads. It is the result of a con\u00adscious\u00adly cho\u00adsen way of think\u00ading and liv\u00ading.<\/p>Richard Fos\u00adter, Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline, page 195<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If you strug\u00adgle to live with joy, choose to fill your life with \u201csim\u00adple good things\u201d and thank God for them. Are you broke? Take walks in beau\u00adti\u00adful places. Watch fun\u00adny videos online. Invite friends to come hang out at your place. Do you have some spare cash? Buy foods that you real\u00adly enjoy eat\u00ading. Buy the pre\u00admi\u00adum ver\u00adsion of an app that you already like using. Pur\u00adchase tick\u00adets to an event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And always remem\u00adber that the goal is to cul\u00adti\u00advate a tru\u00adly joy\u00adful spir\u00adit. We\u2019re not try\u00ading to live by hype; joy that lasts has a foun\u00adda\u00adtion. I appre\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded Fos\u00adter\u2019s warn\u00ading in this regard:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often we try to pump up peo\u00adple with joy when in real\u00adi\u00adty noth\u00ading has hap\u00adpened in their lives. God has not bro\u00adken into the rou\u00adtine expe\u00adri\u00adences of their dai\u00adly exis\u00adtence. Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion comes with the com\u00admon ven\u00adtures of life are redeemed. It is impor\u00adtant to avoid the kind of cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtions that real\u00adly cel\u00ade\u00adbrate noth\u00ading. Worse yet is to pre\u00adtend to cel\u00ade\u00adbrate when the spir\u00adit of cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion is not in us. <\/p>Richard Fos\u00adter, Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline, page 193<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And with that, I close. We\u2019re offi\u00adcial\u00adly done with the book, but I\u2019ll send one more sum\u00adma\u00adry email next week. Thanks for read\u00ading along! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the mean\u00adwhile, I have a ques\u00adtion for you: which chap\u00adter did you find most help\u00adful? Reply and let me know \u2014 I\u2019ll share the results anony\u00admous\u00adly with every\u00adone! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I hope this sum\u00admer has been a bless\u00ading to you! Today we come to the final dis\u00adci\u00adpline \u2014 the dis\u00adci\u00adpline of cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion (which is an inver\u00adsion of the book\u2019s title, and this does not seem to be acci\u00adden\u00adtal). Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion as Fos\u00adter describes it is a joy-filled approach to dai\u00adly liv\u00ading that we share with oth\u00aders. \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u201cCel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline: Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Some thoughts about living with joy.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[264,263],"class_list":["post-5684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources-reviews","tag-celebration-of-discipline","tag-summer-reading-project-2019"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1tG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5684"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5690,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5684\/revisions\/5690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}