by Jan Owen, oneLifemaps Facilitator Retreat Worship Leader

In 2009, I found myself in a difficult place.  I had been serving as worship pastor at a church for almost 11 years and felt certain God was calling me to “more”.  What a nebulous calling!  What did it mean?  The only clue I had was that I felt a nudging to serve the nations.  As I tried to wrap my mind around this and share it with a few close friends, I almost felt embarrassed by it.  What did I know about other countries?  Why would God call me?  It all sounded a bit grandiose, unformed, and I really didn’t know for sure what God wanted me to do.  In addition to this calling, I was walking through the aftermath of a crisis and tragedy at our church and I was tired, exhausted, and on most days, more than a little confused.  I was facing working for a new pastor and was uncertain of his receptivity to the feeling I had that God was calling me to add mission work to my already full ministry schedule.

At this time, Sibyl Towner invited me to a Listen to My Life retreat in Dallas.  I was honored to be invited and eagerly signed up, not really sure of what to expect.  But from the first moment on, I knew we were on holy ground.  From telling my story (which I had never fully done), to identifying where we were in the journey, God spoke to me again and again.  I was able to process many of the hurts and even traumatic experiences I had gone through in the past few years and to receive clarity on how God would have me move forward.  I came to the second retreat with one BIG question in my heart.  Am I to stay in my position as a worship pastor?  It was a heart-wrenching decision for me.  As I prayed, I could not discern the will of God with any certainty.

Toward the end of our time together, after working through the maps, we had a time of worship where Sibyl gave us each two rocks and a marker.  She said, “As we worship, I want you to write down the word God brings to your mind on these rocks.” I anticipated having to pray about it but almost before she stopped speaking, I knew my word.  The word was “GO!”  I sat there with tears streaming down my face knowing with certainty that God had spoken.  What a beautiful thing it is to clearly hear the voice of the Lord for our life!  I have carried my rock around for almost three years now and when I have doubts, I get it out and it reminds me of what God said to me that day.

Listen to My Life helped me to process my past, be content in my present and see the path ahead for my future.  As we discussed what brought us joy or what we were noticing about our days, I went from a place of deep confusion and pain to a place of joy and hopeful anticipation for the future.

It wasn’t an easy step, mind you.  It was scary, exhilarating, fearsome, wondrous, breath-taking and all at the same time!  But I learned that God does not desire for us to live a life centered on safety, centered on only taking a step forward when we feel we can totally control and know the outcome.  He desires we use our one life for Him!  And that we step out in faith to do so…..

You are invited to sign up and join us for some upcoming Listen To My Life Events.  Click on the links below for more information:

• Click here for details about the Facilitator Retreat, March 4-6 in Dallas.
• If you have an interest in exploring possible events and groups in your area: Click here for a calendar of groups or click here for a calendar of events.

Scripture:

“We live by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7

 
Jan Owen grew up singing songs about Jesus.  She doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing!  From an early age, she knew God was calling her to live her life serving Him in ministry which led to the honor of serving as worship pastor in local churches for most of her adult life.  In 2009, she formed the Give Worship Project, a non-profit organization which provides resources and training for indigenous church leaders in developing countries, particularly in the area of worship and spiritual formation.  She has been married to her husband Phil for 28 years and they have three children: Maria (26), Philip (24) and Daniel (20).  She loves to travel and explore new places, read good books, take long bike rides, sit on their bluff overlooking the mountains and river, make music with friends and, of course, watch and cheer for Alabama Football!

By Sharon Swing, Co-Author, Listen to My Life:  Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story

This breath prayer is one I say as a way of reminding myself who I am and to whom I belong.  It offers me peace, perspective and perseverance in times when I may be willing to believe my circumstances or voices from my past more readily than intentionally listening for what God has to say to me.

Read this, and then repeat it slowly as you quiet your spirit.

Christ for me.  Christ in me.  Christ through me.

Expanding on this prayer gave it depth, more truth, and more beauty in my spirit.

Christ for me.

Jesus Christ, the reason why I exist, in whom I am forgiven, why I am free.

Christ for me?

He is not against me.  He encourages, prompts, acts on my behalf, protects, guides and wants what is best for me.

Christ for me?

Yes, for me.  Not only for everyone in general, but for me, very specifically and very personally.

______

Christ in me.

The Word, the Creator-God of the universe, the all-powerful one – Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace.

Christ in me?

Decides to reside, to make his home in me.

Christ in me?

In this body, in this soul, in this life, in the here and now, right where I live.

_______

Christ through me.

He is active and alive, as much today as he was in the beginning of time.

Christ through me?

Works to redeem, restore, love, make right the wrongs in this time and place in a very particular, and rather peculiar way.

Christ through me?

Yes, through me, initiating action through my presence, through my work, through my hugs, through my words of affirmation, through my very being.  His intention is to live through me, as he made me to be.

_______

These statements are also true of you.  God is abundantly able to give you perspective on who you are through his eyes.

Questions for Reflection:

• What part of this prayer is difficult to take in?
• What part of this prayer speaks God’s truth to your soul?
• Right now, might you be willing to ask God to speak to your spirit about these things?
• Take some time to develop your own breath prayer for the coming season.  Share the short word or phrase with us in the comments section.

Scripture:

“God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit, he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.”  2 Corinthians 1:22 MSG

Prayer:

Faithful God, help me to know and live these words:  “Christ for me, Christ in me, Christ through me” in the depth of my being.  I pray this truth would heal and transform the wounded places in my soul so I may love you, others and myself more freely.

Sharon Swing is an author, retreat leader, speaker, artist and consultant with interests in life story as a spiritual development tool, crafting experiences that give God space to do what he does best, art as a spiritual pathway, and change. With Sibyl Towner, she has co-authored Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story. For more information, visit www.onelifemaps.com. She is an organization development consultant specializing in planning, meeting facilitation, leadership development and change management. For more information, visit www.swingconsulting.com.

By Joan Kelley with poem by Larry James Peacock

“A Prayer for the New Year”

Loving God, journey with me this year so that I may feel Your presence, abide in Your forgiveness, grow in Your strength, and dwell in Your love. Give me an open heart, an open mind, and open eyes so that I may sing Your praise and follow Your path always and everywhere. Amen.

by Larry James Peacock in Openings

As we continue to end out 2011, let us reflect on God’s evidence in that season and remember with gratitude his presence in our lives. But also let us embrace this new season with hope and the possibilities of what is yet to be. I wonder what God may be calling you to do or be or end as you move forward into 2012.

Questions to Ponder:

• What new activities or ways of being is God calling/nudging/whispering to you?
• What is God asking you to disengage from, end or let go of in the new year?
• What word or phrase or scripture has God asked you to live into this year?
• What fruits of the spirit, character traits or personal values do you think God is hoping to see revealed in your life?
• What is God beginning to teach you already this year about His intense love for you and His unique piece of glory meant to be revealed through your story?
• How do you think he wants to intersect your story with others’ stories in the coming days?
• How will you be more aware of His presence every day?
• What’s an initial, specific step He wants you to take this week?
• What would your New Year’s prayer say this year?
• Write a letter to God telling him the honest desires of your heart for this new year.  Save it in a safe place and review it throughout the year.

Scripture:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14

Prayer:

Father, thank you for endings that lead to new beginnings. Help us to stand in the present moment of this new year, not overwhelmed with the unknown but with gratitude for our past and hope for the future. Help us to be more aware of your presence each day. Amen.

Joan Kelley is the Director of Facilitator Development for oneLife Maps and a facilitator and teacher using the “Listen to My Life:  Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,” a visual workbook to be used in small groups, mentoring relationships, workshops, retreats, classes, between spiritual friends, or individually to re-discover the storyline of the life they are authoring with God. More information is available at www.oneLifemaps.com, or contact us at service@onelifemaps.com.   Joan writes a blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/willkelley.

The spiritual practice of the daily examen, what we call “reviewing my day,”  helps us to live more fully in the present, learn from our moments of the day and recognize and respond to God.   The same practice of review can be applied to our spiritual year.   Take some time to select a few of the questions and journal your responses; then share with a friend.  Make this a practice to engage in as you close out a year and advance into the new year.  Consider doing this with your small group or listening group.

Questions to Ponder as you Review Your Year

• What were five places (experiences, relationships, moments in time) when you felt most alive with God this year?
• What were five places (experiences, relationships, moments in time) when you felt most distant from God this year?
• What did I read (books, blogs, devotionals, quotes) that helped me sense God’s presence in new ways, helped me reframe a situation or led me to better questions?
• What pieces of scripture were influential to my growth this year?
• What people were influential in my growth this year?
• What new questions am I asking myself?  What questions are still lingering?
• What experiences have you been able to “name” or “reframe” that have helped you begin working through a valley in your life?
• What experiences have you been able to share with a listening partner that have allowed you to take the next step of growth or healing?
• What are some new things that you would like to try in the new year?
• Based on what you learned this year, what new relationships would you like to seek out, what boundaries around current relationships need to be established or what relationships need to be let go?
• What are some things you would like to leave behind from this last year?
• How are you learning to live in the present moment in new ways?
• How are you keeping a learning posture by reviewing your day, week, and year?
• What would you like to pull forward into the new year?
• What other questions will help you “review your year?”

Scripture Reflection

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” –Ecclesiastes 3:1

By Leslie Dawson, oneLife Maps facilitator

As we begin this new year, I want to make wise choices going forward which include God in deeper ways in my everyday life.  In order to do that I have spent time reflecting on my past patterns, my interactions with God and struggles in faith to help me reframe my steps going forward.  One area I began to explore first was my known trigger points. These are places where I can find myself spiraling quickly downward into self-doubt, self-pity and self-condemnation.  These trigger points show up when I feel:

• I don’t measure up as a wife or a mother
• I’ve dropped the ball in a friendship
• I am less than in comparison to others’ accomplishments
• I am confused and can’t find the answers
• I am not enough

I can wonder, “Why hasn’t God come through for me?  Why hasn’t He helped me?”  Maybe at unexpected times you find yourself thinking about your own struggles of faith.  Where do you turn when you can’t meet the expectations of your employer; when you are facing another month of struggling to make ends meet; an unexpected medical condition turns your world upside down; relationships have left you wounded or stranded; children disappoint; you feel trapped in a job which brings no joy; you are weary of trying to meet expectations; circumstances rarely seem to go your way and life doesn’t turn out the way you wanted or expected or scripted it.  We wrestle with the conditions of poverty, sex trafficking, global financial crisis, genocide, terrorism.  Is God enough?  Can He really handle all of this?  Can He really handle all of us? Is He really big enough to overcome all the hurt and heartache in this world?  When a new year dawns full of promise, it seems these questions dissipate for a little while until they surface again weeks later after we have counted down the falling of the ball, the Christmas decorations find their way back to the attic and we go back to work, back to school and back to routine.

So, is God enough for me, for what’s on my plate, for my family, for my struggles, for the world?  I believe the answer is a resounding, “YES!  He is enough!!”  That is why He came.  I believe His heart aches much more deeply than mine.  He is moved by compassion and by love with each tender step alongside us. He came because He wanted to help. He came because He knew he could help.  He knew He had the answers. He knew He could heal and fill all our longings.  He came because He knew He was enough.  The baby in the manger, the Incarnate God, He gave his all, His life, and it was enough.  We celebrated him, worshipped him, praised him and thanked him during the Christmas season.  When life comes at us fast in this new year, let’s be sure we continue to celebrate, worship, praise and thank Him.  Let’s turn to Him and allow Him to be enough for us. I am not enough, but I know He is!  Such great freedom comes in living this truth.

Questions To Ponder:

• Where do you need to trust him to be enough in your life right now?
• What helps you believe He is enough?
• Who needs you to believe in Him for them and walk alongside them this year?
• How can you allow Jesus to be enough for you in 2012?

Scripture:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?”  Matthew 6:26

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus, that you came to rescue and redeem us.  Thank you that your compassion and love for us led you to take action on our behalf.  During this year full of promise, please help us watch for your activity in our lives, help us trust you to be enough for us and lead us in helping others draw close to you?

Leslie Dawson is a Listen To My Life Facilitator in Dallas, TX who desires to provide space for people to listen to and encounter the living God face to face.  She enjoys creating opportunities for individuals to enter silence and solitude with God.  In addition, she mentors women and is currently working on her spiritual direction certification.  Leslie is grateful to be married to Tiger and they have two awesome, teenage daughters.  You may contact Leslie at leslie@onelifemaps.com.

“What am I going to do with my one, wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver.  Most of us ask the question, “What is my purpose?” in one form or another.  Click here to listen as Sibyl helps us think through how to move forward with this all familiar question.

For the last 3 weeks of Advent we have considered several questions in this blog.  Are you listening?  Will you open the door?  Will I bring my gift to Him?  I wonder what questions God may be having you consider this week as we approach the last days of Advent.  What are you pondering in your heart?

I think God calls us to celebrate Advent –past, present and future.  We look back and celebrate thefirst Advent when Jesus was born.  We look forward to the second Advent when He will return.  But how do we live into Advent in the present moment?  How are you preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ today, in this moment?  In a culture that is calling us to fill our minds and hearts with things of this world, what will we chose that draws us closer to Christ this Christmas?  Will we make room?  Will we empty the clutter, chaos and clamor that loudly call us away from Him?  Will we begin to make daily choices with our time and resources that draw us toward him?

During Advent, God is calling us to Bethlehem.  He wants us to prepare the way to the baby.  But too often, I prepare the way but I never walk all the way into the manger.  I stand outside and look in.  I smile and wave and drop off my gift but never step all the way in.  I think God is calling me to come closer to the baby and really receive the gift.  This year I think He’s calling me to pick Him up and unwrap the gift that is sitting right in front of me.

Will I embrace Him fully this year?  Will I touch Him and smile at Him and gaze at Him?  Will I pick up the baby and receive the gift He has for me?  Will I bring the gift of myself to Him?  Will I open the door to receive Him?  Will I listen; really listen for his voice at the manager this year?

Scripture:

^“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. “–Luke 2:16-20

Prayer:

Father, help us to prepare the way, to wait for you with joy and anticipation, as we slow our pace and try to savor you in each moment.  Help us to celebrate Advent in new and fresh ways in these final days before Christmas.  Amen.

Joan Kelley is a facilitator and teacher using the “Listen to My Life:  Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,” a visual workbook to be used in small groups, mentoring relationships, workshops, retreats, classes, between spiritual friends, or individually to re-discover the storyline of the life they are authoring with God.   More information is available at www.oneLifemaps.com or contact us at service@onelifemaps.com.   Joan writes a blog at
www.caringbridge.org/visit/willkelley.

by Leslie Dawson, oneLife Maps Facilitator

While driving in early December, I heard a familiar Christmas carol on the radio.  Though I’ve known and loved this song for years, this day I was deeply struck by the lyrics.  I listened.  Questions crystalized in my mind, one after another.  I was taken by The Drummer Boy’s obedience, willingness and focus.  The boy was asked to come and he did.  He had no gift to bring but he gave anyway.  He gave his best and it was enough.  These questions led me to a soul searching conversation with my King.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum…Will I come?

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum…

Our finest gifts we bring…Will I bring my finest gifts?

To lay before the King…Will I lay them before the King?

So to honor Him…Will I honor Him? How?

When we come.

Little baby, pa rum pum pum pum…

I am a poor boy too…What do I have to give?

I have no gift to bring…Will I give what I have?

That’s fit to give the King…

Shall I play for you…Will I use what I have been given and return it as a gift?

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum…

The ox and lamb kept time…

I played my drum for Him…Will I do my best for Him?

I played my best for best for Him?…Do I give my best to Him?

Then he smiled at me…Will God smile at me?

Me and my drum.                                               The Little Drummer Boy originally written by Katherine Kennicott Davis

Even though the drummer boy thought he had no suitable gift, that didn’t stop him from giving.  I love that he chose to honor the Christ child anyway.  Will God smile at me and my gift given in this way?  Most definitely!  His focus was on the newborn King – not what he didn’t have, not how he measured up, nor the beautiful gifts brought by others.  I desire to live into this Christmas like the little drummer boy did . . . willing and obedient, laying my finest gifts before the newborn King to honor Him.

I encourage you to grab a cup of hot chocolate, sit by the fire and consider these questions. Let them take you into a conversation with the One we celebrate this season.

Questions To Ponder:

• This Christmas, what can help your focus remain on the King?
• What gift do you want to bring Him this year?
• What questions might God be asking you to consider this Christmas?
• Is there a place where He is inviting you to come?
• Is it a location, a vocation or a place in your heart?
• Are their steps of obedience you are being called to take in your life?

Scripture:

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”  Matthew 2:11

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you that you came to rescue and redeem us.  Thank you that your love and compassion for us brought you to this earth as a babe in the manger, the God of the universe!  Help us take time to consider your gift to us as well as our gift to you.

Leslie Dawson is a Listen To My Life Facilitator in Dallas, TX who desires to provide space for people to listen to and encounter the living God face to face.  She enjoys creating opportunities for individuals to enter into silence and solitude with God.  In addition, she mentors women and is currently working on her spiritual direction certification.  Leslie is married to Tiger and they are raising two beautiful, teenage daughters.  You may contact Leslie at leslie@onelifemaps.com.

Questions to Ponder:

• What story of Christ might you want to spend time reading this Christmas?
• What might you want to explore during this Advent season?
• Is there a door in your life that needs opening? What possibilities lie behind that door?
• How can you be present to the Creator’s Presence as we anticipate the celebration of Jesus’s birth?

Scripture:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we desire to step into your beauty and your mystery this season. Help us to celebrate your goodness and to be watchful for your activity in our lives and the lives of those around us. Give us the strength and courage to open the door of our hearts to you.