memories – Joel Bidderman

Don’t Let Me Forget: The song on the radio in a room called “Remember”

2022-06-03T18:04:48+00:00By Joel|Audio, Memoirs, memories, Nomad Chronicles|

This week I've been pondering, as many have, the end of this year. The spiritual practice of "Remembering" has become a helpful and comfortable place for me over the years. Like broken in jeans, or shoes, or that piece of furniture that has become contoured to your shape over time. I've recently been thinking of a Frederick Buechner book entitled, "A Room Called Remember." The book is introduced and themed around a dream that Buechner had. He had a dream where he was staying in an incredibly euphoric hotel room but when he left it he found that he couldn’t find it again. He went to a front desk to explain his predicament, and the room, [...]

The Peace of God [Audio]

2019-12-27T16:31:02+00:00By Joel|discipleship, Kingdom of God, memories, prayer, Spiritual Formation, theology, Worldview|

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 "The peace of God is not about the mere absence of conflict, but rather about His abiding presence throughout whatever comes our way." December 8, 2019; Invitation to Peace Peace. It's a topic that I keep coming back to. It's like north on my heart's compass. I may get off-track. I do get off-track, but 'peace' - it keeps leading me back. I never understood why until my feet wore to callouses and, well, my heart did too I guess. I've walked [...]

39 and the journey

2018-01-16T06:48:42+00:00By Joel|Abandonment, Memoirs, memories, Music, trust|

Today I turn 39. One soul-training exercise that I do: create space to remember God's faithfulness. Part of that process is letting go of the frailty fixations of my false self (i.e. regret), and I believe part of that process is inviting Holy Spirit to give me proper perspective on what really matters in life. As I approached my birthday this year, I couldn't help but remember a song that I wrote back in 1999, called 39 (a letter home). Anyone who knows me knows that a conceptual theme for me is the fleetingness of life, and in light of that this place is not our final destination...it's not our home in that sense. We are [...]

The slow death of hurry

2018-01-16T15:20:41+00:00By Joel|Breathe, discipleship, memories, Minimalism, prayer, Rhythms, Simplicity|

I remember the morning, and mornings just like it. Early morning sunlight streamed in the window of the cabin, as the end of my bed started to warm from the first rays of sunlight. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, I hung my feet off the side, letting my feet feel the cool wood floor of the cabin. Shuffling my feet on the ground I made my way to the kitchen of the small cabin, where I put some coffee on, and I stared anxiously as the pot dripped enough for me to pour into a mug. I took my cup outside to the picnic bench in the front yard where I sat, prayed, [...]