Posts by GEM Spiritual Life
Renewal
I have no idea when I started using this verse as a daily prayer for my life. It goes back pretty far, and God continues to accent things in it because I have conversed with Him about it for so long. Recently, He’s even shown me, and I have received it, that He’s slowly,…
Read MoreGrowth
Every time I set course to do something intentionally, whether it be writing reflectively, painting a picture, or filing an expense report, I wonder to myself whether God will show up yet again to make it happen. This may come across as an odd thing to worry about. After all, the God of universe, my…
Read MoreGrowth
There’s no formula for proving it, of course, but I am quite certain my emotional age is noticeably behind my physical age. I suppose that helps a bit if I want to interact with young people, but generally I find it a hindrance. My growth over the years has been stunted. With gardening, a number…
Read MoreBlossoming
Key Verse “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” – Psalm 1:3 (ESV) On my walk to and from the workspace I use during the week, there is a square where about…
Read MoreCreative Personal Reflection Prompts for RENEW
Movement + Prayer Grab different embroidery floss colors that are pleasing to you and start creating a bracelet. With each knot, braid, addition take time to create a list of topics you’re pondering with God. As you continue, take moments of silence to listen to Him respond, only moving your hands in rhythm, but listening…
Read MoreHandling God’s Word
The Spiritual Life Team, and Christian Spiritual Formation in general, treats the Word of God as foundational and as the invitation to experience life with God today. The Bible describes reality as it truly is, with the Triune God omnipresent throughout the universe, immanent in it and transcendent beyond it (Is. 66:1-2). The Scripture bears…
Read MoreTransformation
Transformation refers to the process of becoming like Christ from the inside-out (Matt. 23:25-26). The Bible recognizes the catastrophic impact of man’s separation from God due to sin. Transformation entails God returning us to Himself and full participation in His Kingdom. God continues to pursue His creational intent of restoring in Jesus Christ His glory…
Read MoreSpiritual Formation
Spiritual formation is the process of being transformed by the love of God into the image of Christ in intention, thinking and behavior, becoming a tangible representation of God’s love in the world. A good simple definition from Robert Mulholland is, “Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for…
Read MoreSpiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is when one person, the director, comes alongside another, the directee, to help them notice and pay attention to the presence, conversation and work of God in their lives. As the directee is sharing, the spiritual director practices double listening in which they listen to the directee but also to the Holy Spirit.…
Read MoreSolitude
When we practice solitude, we temporarily pull away from life with others in order to give our full attention to God. Alone with God, we put aside human expectations and our desire to please others, and we experience what it means in Acts 17:28 when it says, “in him we live and move and have…
Read More