I took a lifelong vow at the age of five and I'm a full-time servant of God.
We are a private Bible-based, Christ-centered, born-again Christian Monastery. In our God-centered monastic lifestyle we actively work out a lifelong vow deeply devoted to God.
Why a Monk and a Monastery?
I dedicated my life to God at the age of five, when I became a born-again Christian. At the age of 21 my full-time job was to study and share the Bible, which I've continued to do for more than 24 years.
“My journey to becoming a monk was unexpected.”
My journey to becoming a monk was unexpected. I was seriously injured by a western medical doctor during a routine surgery. The damage he caused is irreversible and considered “permanent and progressive with no cure or treatment”. It's left me unable to regularly perform basic daily self care, and reduces my ability to leave my house. Aside from medical appointments, I've rarely left my house over the past 11 years.
“Thanks to the medical confinement necessary to keep me alive, I've rarely left my house in the past 11 years.”
During much of those years, I've spent countless hours confined to bed. As a naturally outgoing, socially active, and physically athletic person, this much time spent in a silent room, alone with my thoughts, leaves me ready to go insane. But the alternative is death.
“I had to find a way to embrace this new, unwanted lifelong quarantine.”
I've always loved to travel and I spent part of my junior year on a writing scholarship attending High School in Kyoto, Japan. Now, in bed, with nothing to do but think, I remembered witnessing Buddhist Monks and visiting many of their temples. I imagined if anyone could embrace being isolated (aside from the support of my loving husband/caregiver), for countless weeks at a time, it would be a monk. Some of the monks stayed in their own humble quarters, separate from the larger buildings. Perhaps they were the oldest, wisest ones that the others would come to with questions. They seem to not only survive in solitude but thrive in it. Not something that appeals to me at all, but with no alternative, I might as well learn from those who do it best.
“If I was going to stay sane, I would have to dig deep and somehow discover my inner monk.”
Instead of resentment for my forced quarantine, loneliness over social isolation, and hatred for the lack of physical exercise, I learn the art of stillness. By embracing the moment, I discover blessings in the silence that I didn't know existed. Instead of wishing I had more time, I now have what seems like endless time - hour after long hour in bed to read the Bible, all the way through, over and over again. I have the opportunity for all-day worship, deeply exhaustive Bible study, and nearly endless meditation on God's word. I discover the blessing of the more I read God's word, the more I crave it in my heart. The more I let go of the world I once knew, the more freedom I experience in Christ.
“By simply changing my perspective, I had changed my life.”
This dramatic awakening, learning to embrace the stillness and seeing God's blessings in the simplicities of life became a daily gift. I found peace within the smallest moment, in every God-given season and every leaf of His creation. I witnessed the changes of the seasons, the give and take of His Five Elements and learned the purposeful balance of constant change.
These deep understandings of God also created changes in my physical body. While my diagnosis remains the same and my body continues to struggle daily, I'm miraculously defying the odds. I'm living in western medicine's statically zero chances of survival. I'm doing things my doctors considered "impossible". I'm not only surviving, I'm thriving!
“I decided to make my profound perspective more official.”
With my laptop as my social interaction, I connected with monks all across the planet. I discovered a group of several thousand monks who are also born-again Christians, who fully devote their lives to God, just as I was already doing. My daily prayers, meditation, and deeply researched Bible studies could take up as much of 95% of my waking life. I was already walking the walk, so I decided to make it official.
“I then began my two-year process of becoming a monk.”
In 2016 my journey into becoming a Lay Monk began, and my home and acreage officially became a Monastery as I completed my ordination.
While my being a monk is official, it's the change in my heart and perspective, the slowing down and choosing where to place my focus... on God, that changed my life. In this way, anyone can become a born-again monk in their heart. My journey was enlightened by God and through the tiniest moments, while isolated to a single room for the majority of the past 11 years. It's where I still remain for most of my days, and where I sit to type these words. Everyone's journey is unique, yet I pray for depth and a larger, more powerful picture of God for all of you; I pray that you'll know Him as your personal savior, no matter how you get there.
Create Your Own Sacred Space
You don't need to become a monk to change your perspective. You can make these changes in your every day thoughts, awareness, and actions. How would your world look different if you treated your body and your home like a sacred space? Would you be more careful about what belongs in your personal sanctuary? Would you be more aware of anything entering it - through television, the internet, and emotions?
You are sacred to God. How would it change your life if you believed that in your soul and put in into action?
Join Me
For more than 25 years I've dedicated my life to the study of Biblical theology, with a focus on eschatology. This field has never been more relevant than today. Join me as I continue in my studies. I'm honored to grow beside so many other beautiful souls.
Please enjoy my blog here on my website, and I would love to connect with you on Instagram and Facebook. Let's encourage each other and be a light for the world. I'll see you there!
#lovelikechrist #theology #eschatology #bornagainchristian #theologymatters #blessingsinquarantine #thetaoofpem
I tell you these things, not to convince you, but to spark curiosity and encourage you to dig deep and explore these issues for yourself.
As always, don't take my word for it.
Examine the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are true.
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the word with eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
- Acts 17:11
Written by Lori Grimmett, a student of Biblical studies for more than 40 years,
and of Biblical theology and eschatology for more than 25 years.
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