One of the exercises is to answer questions in a journal format. Since my blog is my spiritual journal of becoming more like St. Francis, I'll journal the questions here.
1. What experiences in your life have shaped your identity?
- being born
- being raised in a Christian family
- loving Jesus and singing songs to Him at screaming level
- the recurring nightmare from infancy
- discovering music
- dad's illness - or where will I sleep tonight?
- being tall (this is great since I was one of the youngest in my class)
- big hands (great for keyboarding), big feet (easy to get shoes on sale), big eyes
- sharing a birthday with a classmate
- old-fashioned corporeal punishment
- being appointed by not chosen
- dad dying
- my sister
- riding my bicycle
- working part-time
- no homework yet I excelled
- student bandmaster
- turning my back on God - and Him waiting like the prodigal's father
- 18 and finally ready to date
- greaser and owning a motorcycle
- college
- working full time
- marriage and divorce (times 3)
- coming back to God
- Bible school
- miscarriages
- life goal met: married with children
- two sons - lots of testosterone after years of estrogen-only living
- the joy of volunteering and helping the needy
- praise leader to pew sitter
- empty nest
- moving to Canada
- abuse and a woman's shelter
- 12-step and counseling
- a sponsor who was God's hands extended
- developing friendships
- Arms of Jesus participation
- legalistic religion to a budding friendship with God - throw out the rule book, sorta'
- seeing me "in Christ" and seeing "Christ in me" - whoa! Amazing
- learning about contemplation and later practicing meditation and contemplation (naval gazing is great because the Bible says out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water - John 7.38)
- scripture meditation
- Song of Solomon - powerful way to experience God and see who I am to Him.
- seeing blessings happen for me
- blessing others
- boundaries
- physical sickness can include spiritual & life healing
- growing old
- limitations, limitations, limitations or are they blessings
- learning to listen to the quiet
- loving self and loving others
- accepting celibacy/singleness
- accepting self
- growing
- laughing in the rain
- changing churches from holy roller to liturgical - what a blessing
- loving God, loving me, loving God, loving others
- recycling and learning to care for the planet
- accepting the occasional feeling of being alone and/or lonely as beautiful act of solitude
- Cursillo weekend
2. What experiences in your life have shaped your image of God?
- being taught of God and by God since infanthood
- platitudes about God when dad died
- talking to God while sitting on dad's gravestone
- perceiving God as mean since he stole daddy from me
- holding that attitude of a mean God
- returning to God
- accepting powerlessness in 12-step
- giving my power to God and accepting His power in me
- re-defining some words so they worked for me: humility, work, play, attitude, acceptance/approval
- healing
- live birth son
- scripture, especially memorizing
- Angela Thomas's book "Do you think I'm beautiful?"
- a beautiful death upstairs while I worked in the basement
- knowing I was victimized but I am not a victim - I'm a victor in Christ
- meditation and contemplation as inward knowing of God
- accepting self, accepting God, accepting others
- wondering where I end and God begins and knowing our unity prevails: God in me and me in God - WOW
- music
- scripture
- hearing preaching
- seeing an example: my parish priest and my Cursillo weekend
Debbie
