Thursday, April 09, 2009

Three questions for spiritual formation

I found this nice article on spiritual formation at Renew Community (via). They say, "Spiritual formation happens each week when we choose to join God more and resist him less." They also suggest we get together with some other folks on a regular basis and ask ourselves these Three Questions for Spiritual Formation:
  • Where did we see God at work this week?
  • How did we join God this week?
  • How did we resist God this week?
Sounds good to me.

Peace out; and in.

4 comments:

patti said...

I like these three basic questions, Dan. But I wonder if it's a gift (grace) to recognize when we encounter God in the midst of our daily lives. I think some of us are good at this and others are pretty clueless when God presents a special opportunity for growth, challenge, service, suffering, whatever.

dan said...

Patti,
I absolutely agree that it's a gift. But don't you think it's also something that can be learned through awareness? I see it as a large part of my job as a spiritual guide: helping people learn to see God in everyday life. We regularly share "God Sightings" during our Sunday gatherings. Sometimes it's very frustrating when people don't share, but every now and then it is a quite meaningful exercise.

I do think your point helped me see why it's so much more difficult for some. But I hope it's not futile. :)

Thanks for the comment.

patti said...

Oh, I really like the sharing of "God Sightings" idea. I bet you get to hear some neat stuff. Hope it's OK to share a recent one of my own. Last Friday--Good Friday--I woke up to find an email message from a student requesting a letter of recommendation by noon that day. That day! By noon! I was about to blow my top because of the last minute nature of the request, when I realized the request was a gift from God. Writing the letter gave me an opportunity to "suffer" some and not complain about doing a small favor for someone who needed my help... on Good Friday, the day we commemorate Jesus' redemptive suffering. I'm still walking around feeling incredibly blessed by the incident.

dan said...

Patti,
Very nice. Thanks for sharing it. And please feel free to share God sightings here anytime you like. I love hearing things like that.

Blessings to you.