Have you ever felt hopeless? Not knowing what to do? Not able to see ahead? Wanting some direction? I wonder how God might be calling you to practice hope in this season. I wonder what he might be revealing to you in the midst of your day about yourself, about others, about His deep love for you. Take some time to sit in his presence as you gaze on this picture, reflect on the quote and imagine together with God the buds of hope that are being revealed in your life this very moment. Then bask in being a part of His grander story.

by Marcy Hardy, oneLifemaps Facilitator

If I had a life verse to share with you– one that I believe God gave me early in my life and keeps bringing me to it would be “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

In my life– in childhood, and adult life. In marriage and child raising, in grandparenting, in pastoring and teaching and caring– God has always had a special plan for me. Even among the helpful books and studies that exist to help us become experts in all capacities of life development and service– there has been a special plan for me. This plan has been to “stop and wait to hear HIM and His voice above the reading and learning and life lessons and failures and loves– His voice as the only voice.” I learned that the very hard way.

I believe that is the case for every human. We can learn and work and even pray, but unless we understand that we have a wonderful, loving relationship with our Father, then we will have a tendency to develop an idol– a voice for us that speaks less than the perfection of our Father.

As I went to the last Listen to My Life Fall Workshop in Chicago, I so wanted my maps to envelop me. I wanted my time in the workshop to be everything for me, but it was not. It was wonderful and meaningful but it was incomplete without Jesus and what He had to say about it all. The maps are forever a wonderful tool for me personally and used in my ministry.  The relationships that are built through the map doing are the greatest of gifts. The ideas of the maps give me a thrill, but they are just a tool. Thus, when I lead a Listen to My Life group I inform my them:

“Please hear this:   as you do your maps each evening, as you answer the questions, and write, as you think about what your body is speaking to you– these tools are just that– tools. Nothing separates you from hearing the Spirit of God– these tools and questions are to enhance a relationship with our Father, with Jesus our brother, with the Holy Spirit our comforter. But they are not a requirement for that relationship; they are a way to get your focus– they are not the focus. Settle that with in please! So– if you lose your map, spill coffee on your pages, someone steals it, or you cannot down load the stuff that I send you from the website– it is ok– they are tools, they are means of grace– but they are not grace.”

“I love Jesus– because He loves me and you in a very special way. To know our special way– we must listen. Doing our work is enhancing, and study and meditation is wonderful– but HIS voice– His voice is the hope and future of our faith. His voice brings the relationship that no one else can bring.”

Questions to Ponder:

• What voices in your life right now seem to be vying for your attention?
• Do you know what God’s special plan is for you?
• Are there tools, books, people’s words you are listening to more than the voice of the Master?
• What tools are in your tool box that help you better listen to Him?
• Have you considered doing the maps on your own or in a group? Why not consider attending the Listen To My Life Fall Workshop in the Chicago Area? To sign up or find out more click Fall 2012 Workshop.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, I never want anything to be more important to me than you. Help me to recognize when I am trusting in tools or idols more than I am trusting in you. Please help me to listen to your voice above all others. Amen

Marcy Hardy is the wife of Ron Hardy for 40 years. Through this loving marriage, God has given to this world three lovely children and five grandchildren and three wonderful children-in-law. Marcy holds a doctorate in marriage and family from Eastern University, a Master of Divinity from Church of God Seminary and a BS in Psychology from Kennesaw State University. She is a pastor, a spiritual director, a therapist and currently leads a ministry named Haus Calls– specializing in Pastoral Care and Counseling. She attends Riverstone Church in Marietta, GA and enjoys her dogs Sam and Skoda and paints and gardens. She loves her life!

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

I turned 50 a few weeks ago.

I wanted to see if God might have something he wanted to say to me on my 50th birthday. I headed off to a beautiful garden and walked the paths admiring blooming crab apples, lilacs (in Chicago’s early April?) and tulips. I basked in the sun and soaked it in from head to toe.

I read scriptures that told me, once again, that God loves me. It soaked deeper into the soil of my soul.

I read about Mary’s encounter with Jesus at the tomb after he had risen from the dead. She was distraught, sobbing, looking for the body of her teacher, friend and lover of her soul. This is Jesus, who loves her for who she really is — no hiding, no performing, no striving to earn his love. She had experienced the mystery and beauty of knowing that she is both fully known and deeply loved. Mistaking Jesus for a grounds-keeper through her tear-filled eyes, Mary asks him where they have taken him.

“Mary!” he said. (John 20:16)

When Jesus calls her by name, she recognizes him and lunges to wrap her arms around him.

In the speaking of her name, all things are transformed. Even death could not separate her from his love.

I was found in her story. My story, a part of God’s story. It is my story.

“Sharon!” he said.

He is speaks your name, too.

Might you create some space so you can quiet yourself to hear? It changes everything….when you listen for your name and soak in that you are fully known and deeply loved.

Questions to Ponder:
• Are you absolutely convinced of his great love for you?
• Are you willing to receive his embrace?
• If not, what stands in the way?

Scripture:
“I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” Romans 8:38 (MSG)

Prayer:
Father, let me hear you speak my name this week. Help me to create some space to quiet myself and listen for your voice. Let me soak in your deep love of me and my story.

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 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 Julie Thomas, oneLifemaps Facilitator

How is your memory? I am finding mine isn’t very good. The busier I get, the more I depend on what is written down to help me avoid embarrassing moments like the time I forgot to pick up my oldest daughter from school.

Remembering isn’t just important when considering everyday schedules, but also in our walk with Christ. Think about how often God called the nation of Israel to build an altar and tell the generations that followed what God did in that place. And in the New Testament, He instructs us to take the Lord’s Supper, “In Remembrance” of Him. Why? I think the nation of Israel had the same problem I do – when adversity hit, they forgot!

That has never been as real in my life as it was last fall. I was struggling to recognize God in any area of my life. I had nothing to cling to that reminded me of God coming through in my life. In talking to a friend one day, she brought up a passage she had quoted MANY times that year – Lamentations 3:21-23. It says, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” As I reflected on that passage, I saw something I had never noticed. Jeremiah was writing this while in exile and had spent the previous three chapters lamenting about how tough it was and about his frustrations – even wondering if God noticed. But then, he stopped. He called to mind what God had done in his life in the past and his focus changed from lamenting to thanksgiving. HE CHOSE TO REMEMBER and it brought HOPE. That is what I needed to do. The prayer of my HEART became, “God teach me to remember your goodness!”

In trying to figure out what this looked like in my life, I tried several things:   journaling, keeping notes of lessons God was teaching me, collecting rocks and writing on them. I asked a friend what she did. She showed me a collection of things she kept to help her remember. I thought that was really cool, but I wasn’t coming up with “just that right thing” to help ME remember. I love working on the computer and I love photography. I had taken a scripture and added it to a photo card which I used to reflect on one month as I was trying to “sit with a passage.” I had a thought, “When did this become real?” I wrote my answer on the back. That was a remembrance maker for me!

We write our stories to help us recognize our stories in God’s greater story. But do we remember those precious moments of experiences with God while parents are going through Alzheimer’s, our spouse is battling cancer or our child has walked away from God? Jeremiah had the answer – REMEMBER.

Questions to Ponder:
• Do you tend to remember what God has done in your past?
• If so, what works for you? How have you built your own altars of remembrance to God?
• In those memories, did He use a particular scripture and make it real in your heart?
• If not, what might you do to help yourself remember those times?

Scripture:
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23

Prayer:
“God, thank you for those moments in our lives when You have done some incredible things. Forgive us for failing to remember. Teach me to REMEMBER your goodness in a way that reflects who you have created me to be and how you created me to remember.”

Julie works for a pregnancy center in Plano, Texas and is involved in facilitating bible studies at her church. She is currently using Listen to My Life in mentoring relationships. She is married to Marcus and has two beautiful teenage daughters, Robin and Sara, and one incredibly energetic son Bryan.

by Sibyl Towner, Co-Author of Listen To My Life and Co-Director of The Springs

Holy Week is here. Aren’t all weeks holy? What is different about this week?  It is the week where we see, feel, touch, taste, hear and ponder the length, width, depth, height, and breadth of God’s love for every human being that ever was and ever will be.

It is the week where we witness the full extent of Jesus’ obedience. He became sin and took on all the sin of all humanity and became vile to himself and to his Father and so became separated from the One he had obeyed. We are included in this crucifixion.

Come into this week reading the accounts of the journey Jesus and his friends made into Jerusalem on a beast of peace, a donkey. The crowds of people were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their cry was “free us from Rome’s grip.” He went on to the temple and threw out the money changers, saying they had made this space a place of thieves and it was meant to be a place of prayer for all the nations. He taught there each day. He knew they were trying to kill him. He took comfort with his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus, just outside of Jerusalem. Judas then agreed to betray him. Preparations were made for the Passover meal, now called the Last Supper, and we call communion. Jesus is still teaching his friends, who are fearful, caught up in their own concerns. He gives them words and actions which they experience in unknowing ways, yet come back to them in time with power and a new knowing.  Read these in at least 2 of the Gospel accounts and listen…

• Where do these accounts connect to your story….to deep longings and desires in your own life for a better way of living life?
• Where do you find yourself drawn? To the temple where the teaching went on, to the meal, to the arrest and what followed, to the hill of Golgatha, to the tomb, to the garden the first day of the week?

Take time this week to be still. Attend a service that invites your contemplative side some expression. Allow the full extent of His love into your being this week. Grace and peace as you enter into this Holy Week and all the holy weeks that follow.

Sibyl Towner is a co-author of Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story, a visual portfolio for small groups, mentoring relationships, workshops, retreats, classes, use between spiritual friends or individually to re-discover the storyline of the life they are authoring with God.  She is also co-director at The Springs Retreat Center.  More information is available at www.onelifemaps.com and  www.thespringsindiana.org.

Lent is a tool that in denying oneself extraneous desires we are able to more clearly see God’s provision for us. Jesus fasted to look beyond himself. We fast in order to get a better understanding of the power and provision of God. There is suffering in letting go of something; sacrifice in choosing to allow our provision to come from God rather than ourselves.

In the past, I have chosen to give something up for Lent. Sometimes I’m not sure what the impact has been, except that my body has benefited from the lack of soda or sugar in its system. I choose to enter into this discipline for the purpose of letting go of something to let God be in control. Pursuing suffering or sacrifice for its own sake does nothing to help my relationship with my Creator. The fast or any discipline can be misused if the tool itself becomes the focus rather than a guide to refocus our view towards God.

It’s evident in our culture that we practice excess rather than sacrifice. I expect life to be easy going rather than filled with suffering. I find reasons to indulge. The more I immerse myself in excess the more I expect life to give me. Where did this entitlement come from? Why shouldn’t I suffer? I work to avoid suffering at all costs.

If Jesus suffers, why should I assume I shouldn’t? In my personal experience, the more life is going well, the more I take control. It’s often the harder life gets the more I am aware of my choices either to wallow in my helplessness or trust God to lead me through. It’s in choosing to trust God when all my basic resources are gone that I find His strength. It’s when I’ve been stripped of all the extraneous stuff that I find a deeper connection with God. The illusion of control is gone.

So what is one of the biggest hindrances in my relationship with God? Often, it’s the perception that I’m in charge, in control of all situations that come my way. The effort I go to in order to keep the perception of happiness alive, rather than moving through all of life circumstances with God leading the way, keeps me from Him. In the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, the author shares her experience of learning to practice gratitude in all things. Here is what she has to say, “Joy and pain, they are but two arteries of the one heart that pumps through all those who don’t numb themselves to really living.” Learning to embrace joy and pain reminds me that I’m not in control and that there are powerful lessons in both places of our temporary home here on Earth.

Knowing and remembering that all of life is temporary, no matter what I do, no matter how much I plan and prepare, helps me hold on a bit looser to it all. The one thing that is permanent – bigger than death, hardship, and suffering – is God. As I loosen my grip on all that I have, I create room to hold on to Him.

As we enter into these last weeks of Lent, it’s not too late to consider these questions with new perspective.

Questions To Ponder:
• Why do you fast? What are you really experiencing with it this year?
• What is the purpose of sacrifice and suffering?
• What are you holding onto too tightly to in this world?
• What hinders your relationship with God?
• How can you create room to hold onto God more firmly?

Scripture:
“For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:11-12

Prayer:
Father, thank you for the reminders of your love for me that are found in this season of Lent. Help me to engage with you in suffering that draws me closer to you. Let me notice your presence this day with new perspective of your daily grace.

Jenny Trees is a facilitator and teacher who uses the Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story, a visual portfolio for 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. She currently serves as the Director of Spiritual Formation at Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, CA. Jenny organizes, supports and encourages the small group community, discipleship programs, and adult education programs. She is responsible for inviting and encouraging congregation members to participate in life transforming small groups that are submitted to the Holy Spirit, transformed by the word of God, living their faith out in the world, nurtured in community, and equipped to serve.

Mama Maggie led a comfortable life in Cairo.  A Coptic Christian from a prominent Egyptian family, she taught computer science and lectured at Cairo University.  But following a conviction from God,  she started a ministry to serve the poor in her city.  A Nobel Peace Prize nominee this year, Mama Maggie has spent 20 years serving the poorest of the poor.

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