I wonder if you’ve thought recently about how your life is shaping up and the pattern or blueprint from which you are working? How would you know what tools you need? Or, if you are employed, part of a church, or support an organization…why? What is it that is the center of how you spend your 24 precious hours a day?
Some of you who have heard of Grace for Days and this new ministry I am endeavoring know about and have participated in classes, workshops, or individual spiritual companionship with me. It dawned on me that I have not written about Grace for Days’ core values. And maybe in understanding what “drives” the classes, workshops, retreats, and spiritual direction I offer, you may be encouraged to think about what values you are centering your life around.
Here is what I believe and how I determine what to offer:
Identity: If I was born as a unique expression of God’s image, then embracing practices that clarify that image awakens my truest self.
Vulnerability: If hiding was my first step toward the bondage of shame, then revealing my true self in safe community illuminates my path toward freedom.
Longing: If shallow connections have left me longing for something that I can’t even name, then pursuing a real (even messy) relationship with God and others satisfies my heart’s truest desire.
Surrender: If the illusion of staying in control has left me with disappointment, resentment, and confusion, then discovering what I cling to and why frees me to let go.
Truth: If head knowledge of truth has been inadequate in facing the challenges of my everyday life, then experiencing truth empowers me to move forward.
Community: If insulated life is narrow and restricting, then experiencing life in safe authentic community expands my capacity for real living.
Grace : If God sees and loves me at my worst, then embracing grace truly transforms my flaws into unimaginable beauty.
If I were to sum all this up, I have found that coming to know my true self begins with longing that is beyond head knowledge. It requires vulnerability in grace-filled community, which provides me with the courage to surrender my illusion of control and embrace truth in a new way.
Everything I offer through Grace for Days is run through the filter of these values and serves to provide an opportunity or space for this work to happen.
How about you? I would encourage you to take some time to think through what is most important to you, and then take a realistic view of whether the things that you invest time and money in are either springing from or supportive of those values.
In the meantime, maybe you will find some of the upcoming events through Grace for Days that can support you in defining or shaping your life. Three of these offerings that are coming up soon are a class on the Examen Prayer, The Enneagram and the Character of Christ, and Beloved - a personal retreat. Learn more here: