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 Email Joan. 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.

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 Email Joan.   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.

by Joan Kelley, Director of Facilitator Development and oneLifemaps Facilitator

My son, Mitchell, (age 10) came bounding into our room this past Sunday morning.  He lives life with high energy from sunrise to bedtime.  John and I were still asleep as he came in.  He had the latest book order and wanted to share it with us.  Let’s just say we wake up slower than Mitchell does.  He begins to read and then stops and says, “Well are you going to really listen or just pretend to listen?”  My eyes popped open, I smiled and began to listen with every ounce of my body to why he desperately needed the “Stunt Boy” book.  His words will stay with me for years to come.  I needed to be reminded to quit pretending and “really listen.”

Mitchell came bounding into our room on this first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the church year calendar.  It’s an exciting time as we wait with anticipation for the coming birth of the Christ child.  It’s a time marked by the rhythms of slowing, savoring and quiet.  However, our culture is creating a much different rhythm to live by during this season.  The culture is pulling us and loudly shouting at us to race into this month, buy whatever and whenever we can, and really live multiple lives all in one month.

As we approach Advent, I think we have a choice as to which rhythm to follow and to whom we will listen.  I think God might be asking us the same question as Mitchell, “Are you going to really listen to me or just pretend to listen this year?”  Whose rhythm will you chose to follow this Christmas with your time, your checkbook, your words, your story?

Questions To Ponder:

• What do you need to change in your rhythm during this season of Advent so you can listen, really listen to God and others?
• What or who is driving your rhythm this month?
• Consider reading the Christmas story each day this month or an Advent devotional like Advent and Christmas by Henri Nouwen.
• What character from the story will you follow closely this season?
• Advent is the beginning of the church year.  Consider reading Living into the Christian Year by Bobby Gross.

Scripture:

“Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives –and we publish it.”  –2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (MSG)

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank you for this season of Advent.  Let us wait with joyful anticipation and quiet attention.  Let us welcome you as we approach the celebration of your birth.  Open our ears to hear your quiet calling amidst the shouts of the world that can easily draw us away from you.  Let us look for your presence in our everyday activities and conversations.  Help us to seek you first this Christmas.  –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 Email Joan.   Joan writes a blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/willkelley.

If this was forwarded to you by a friend, and you would like to subscribe to receive oneLife Letters on a regular basis, please go to www.oneLifemaps.com.

by Joan Kelley, Director of Facilitator Development and oneLifemaps Facilitator

I remember the things our kids said thanks for at the dinner table when they were small…peas, ketchup, ants on the sidewalk, ice cream cones.

My kids are getting older but I’m still learning lessons from their thankful hearts.  Here’s what God put on my heart just this week as I reflected on my need for gratitude.  “In the midst of life, whatever may be my current situation – love, loss, hopeful, helpless, expectant, anxious, honored, defeated…gratitude always seems to be one of the simplest, cheapest, most authentic ways to move toward hope, healing, and growth.”

If gratitude is so powerful, I wonder why we don’t do it more.  When was the last time you gave gratitude a try, a real try?  It seems so simple, almost too simple, so we don’t take the time to do it beyond the Thanksgiving dinner table.  I kind of fell into it as I began blogging about our family the last couple years.  Somewhere along the line, my writing became more than just telling what happened during the day.  It turned into a way of noticing and capturing where God was present throughout my day.  It became a way of life to search out God’s fingerprints in the ordinary moments…the sad, the sweet and everything in between.

As I have learned to reflect on my day with gratitude for the simple things, I have begun to realize in a fresh way the healing power it holds.  I’m certain it has made the most impact in my ability to move forward through the hard places and has grown me the most spiritually.  It’s been a critical, God-placed part of my journey…in the losses, in the highlights and especially in working through the places pulling me down into stuckness.  God has used it to stretch the empty places in my soul and fill the ache of longing with his presence.  It has taken the power away from the situation and led me to those interior places in my soul where God has placed the truest essence of myself, where real beauty and growth flourish and the hard work of life is done.

Gratitude has been the lens that has helped our family refocus on what is truly important…not stuff or grades or promotions or the way I look.  Gratitude keeps leading me to the present moment and pulling me to linger there without the cloud of worry and regret.  Gratitude has been teaching me how to be a kid again…to laugh more, to play more, to say what’s on my heart more, to remember more, to eat more ice cream and catch more fire flies and run in the raindrops and to cry big crocodile tears when it hurts.  I think this is how God intended for us to live…living as he created us and living beyond ourselves.

It’s so simple, but so profound.  Why not give it a try beginning this Thanksgiving week?  If you don’t know where to begin with this critical piece of your spiritual formation, take a listen to the thankful heart of some little ones in your own life.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

• How can I begin to capture what I’m grateful for on a consistent basis?
• Who can I begin this journey of gratitude with?
• What scripture regarding thankfulness has God put on your heart?
• What holds me back from spending time in gratefulness?

SCRIPTURE:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1

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 Email Joan.   Joan writes a daily blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/willkelley.

If this was forwarded to you by a friend, and you would like to subscribe to receive oneLife Letters on a regular basis, please go to www.oneLifemaps.com.

By Julie Jensen, oneLife Maps Facilitator

Psalm 31:19 has long been one of my favorite verses:  “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you.” I’ve memorized and repeated this verse over and over many times in my life, but recently God reminded me again of the truth of His Word.

Last winter, my husband, Mark, and I left our then snowy and cold home in the Pacific Northwest to visit Atlanta, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.  We had traveled to Atlanta so I could attend the Listen to My Life Facilitator’s Retreat; while in the south, we just couldn’t resist traveling to Charleston.

We had long dreamed of visiting Charleston, largely because of our longtime love of the writings of southern author, Pat Conroy.  His novels of the beauty and culture of the south had so captivated our imaginations that we knew one day we had to experience it for ourselves.  In fact, we are such Conroy nerds that our first tourist stop was to schedule a “South of Broad Tour”, based on homes and landmarks the author describes in his most recent novel.

What a rich time we had that early spring day, walking the cobblestone streets of Charleston, learning not only about the history of this influential Southern city, but also the characters of Conroy’s novels in an intimate way!  I recall walking by the many churches along our way, wondering what the spiritual climate of this proudly historic city is today.  In fact, after one of our last stops, I remember asking Mark, “Where do you suppose God is at work in Charleston?”

At the end of the tour, our guide handed us two coupons to a restaurant which was purportedly known as “Pat Conroy’s favorite”.   We were just a few minutes into our lunch, totally immersed in this experience of southern culture and cuisine, when the manager of the restaurant approached our table.  “Do you see the gentleman sitting two tables behind me?  Do you know who that is?”  I looked, and there in the same restaurant, was my author hero, Pat Conroy!

For a few minutes I sat, trying to decide whether to approach him or not.  Finally, gathering every bit of courage I owned, I walked over to his table, introduced myself, and told him that he was the reason we had made our way to Charleston.   We chatted for a few minutes and his indomitable Southern charm dominated the conversation.  I walked away from this encounter with all I needed to make me happy for the day: an autograph and a photo of my favorite author.

It was later in the afternoon, as I walked around Charleston with a smile on my face, that God spoke to my heart, “That’s where you’ll find me in Charleston”. And then I knew; I had known before, but I had forgotten.  God delights in making himself known to his children in ways that delight us!  Only God could have known that this seemingly “coincidental” encounter with a man who has so shaped my imagination would delight me as it did.

I walked through the rest of that trip marveling in the wonder of how well God knows me; I would have been perfectly happy with the tour that morning, the lunch that afternoon, the ambiance of this beautiful city.  But God wanted to give me a special gift that day; he wanted to remind me that I am his beloved child, and he wanted to give me this “kiss on the cheek” to remind me how well he knows what will bring me joy, and that he is wherever I am.

These experiences of noticing God make me more aware of his presence in my life and the immensity of his love for me.  It’s difficult to train our eyes to see his goodness; but the rewards are immeasurable.  We have a God who wants nothing more than to be in loving communication with us.  Are you open to his loving advances?

Scripture:

“How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.” (Ps. 31:19, NLT)

Questions to Ponder:

-  Where have you recently seen instances of God’s intimate love for you?

-  Are you paying attention to his overtures toward you, or are you caught up in the worries of this world?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for the goodness and love you have for us and the ways you want to lavish it upon us.  Help us to train our eyes to see the special gifts of love you give to us each day.

Julie Jensen is a Life Coach, blogger, and Listen to My Life Facilitator who lives in Bothell, Washington, just north of Seattle.  She is getting ready to launch her new website, Coaching Your Story, later this fall.  Julie and her husband have two grown sons, Eric and Scott.  She can be reached at julie@coachingyourstory.com.