Something New and Something For You!

This week I stepped into an exciting new two year season in my life!

This blog is a bit different and is in place of my typical blog this week. I wanted to share this with you because I am sure without a shadow of a doubt these next two years will deeply influence what I write and what I am processing in my own life. If you haven't noticed by now, I use written words to process what God is currently doing in my life and am often brave enough or foolish enough to share it with the world. I'm not sure which it is at times and more than once I've wanted to hit the unpublish button after the blog has been sent. Don't worry, I keep a whole lot to myself too, but when I discover something about God I think is universal for everyone, how can I not share how good He is? I am not naive enough to think that anything I share is new or that no one has seen or heard it before, but I sure hope that as people read, a little more of Him is revealed. I know it happens for me even as I write. I keep thinking I pretty much understand a small aspect about Him and then discover I didn't know anything at all. I wonder if we'll be discovering Him for all of eternity? I sure hope so! 

Each of us hold a few pieces of the puzzle of who He is and they are often different pieces. We can learn so much from each other and need each other desperately. Never be afraid to share something He has given you because no matter how small it may seem to you, there is a good chance we all need to hear it.  When our kids were small, I was often amazed at how their little voiced perspectives about God created monumental shifts in mine. Not one voice is too small to reveal a little bit of God. I guess that shouldn't really surprise us because that's what we are. We're image bearers. Every single one of us whether we know it or not.

For these next two years, I am attending Renovare Institute of Spiritual Formation where I will be learning about how we are formed spiritually and more about who God is, what He is like, who we are in relation to Him and a whole bunch of other things about the spiritual life and how we grow. I have a lot of ideas about what I may do after the program ends, but for now I am going to really try to be present in the moment and see what God may have for me in these years. I have been wanting to do this for a long time and when I looked last fall, I saw the four week-long residencies are near Omaha this time! I will be joining 44 others from all over the world and we will be learning in community and remain in close contact throughout the program. 

I would be lying if I told you I am not a bit apprehensive about starting school again, having due dates and added things on my already busy calendar. More than apprehensive though, I am super excited about all I will learn. This week I have already enjoyed what I am learning and almost feel overwhelmed with the amount of content I have to process through writing. This week I have been learning all about how our view of God greatly affects our lives and the narratives we live by determine how we live. In the near future, you can expect "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" about the importance of watching our narratives. 

Thank you for continuing to read along and I look forward to sharing some of what I am learning with you! It will be an exciting two years! 

If any of you are interested, Renovare has put together a short free mini course called From the Inside Out  for anyone who is interested. In a meeting for applicants, they expressed that the Institute is a bit cost prohibitive and they can only allow 45 in per year even though they have many more applicants. It is also time restrictive for many people. The Renovare team feels strongly enough about the importance of the content, they want to make some of it available to anyone who would like to grow in spiritual formation. It can be done individually or in groups and answers the questions: 

• What is spiritual formation?
• What is my picture of God
• What is my picture of myself?
• What is my picture of the Gospel?
• How do people change?
• How do I follow Jesus?

Learning Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of Christian Spiritual Formation, the lifelong process by which Christlikeness is established in the depths of our being
• Learn how our picture of God, self, and the gospel shape how we think and live
• Grow in friendship with God through simple formational practices.

If you are interested in the two year school I am doing, the next cohort starts next August and is in Seattle. Here is the link to apply: Renovare Institute of Spiritual Formation

Looking forward to seeing all He has for us wherever this season finds us! 

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