Becce and I would like to invite you to another gathering. We will meet at noon, on Thursday, September 2nd in the library at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church. Bring your own brown bag lunch.
Pastor Joe Bettridge has offered to administer the Briggs-Meyers Personality test just before our gathering. If you wish to find out your personality type and how it impacts your calling, please arrive at 11:30 a.m.
Thanks! I can't wait to see you all again!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Chapter 10 The Ordered Life
Here is where the rubber really meets the road for me! I long to live an "ordered life." One filled with space to be, and space to grow. One of the quotes that has been important to me this summer from my time at Regent is, "In trying to spread myself around I am never truly present."
Smith talks about the "freedom" of order, and how this freedom comes not so much from "time management" as it does from "managing ourselves." He talks about Sabbath, and community and solitude. He writes, "Therefore, we must reslove before God that we willl not take on more work or responsiblity than we can fulfill with a calm and serene heart, free of hurry and rushed busyness" (pg 188).
I have to admit I am like a dog lapping up water for dear life when I read this sentence. Is it possible to live like that? Is he just pulling our leg? Is he a hypocrit? How does he live?
**Gordon Smith is going to be teaching a class called Spiritual Discerment the week of May 23-27, 2010 at Regent College. Maybe some of us can go together and take it.
My "call" for the year is to see if (as an extrovert who loves people, places, and things) this sentence can be lived out. I long to know. This chapter is going to be my devotional reading all year, and the paragraph on pg. 196 under Courage and Calling, will drive me to my knees as I seek God's way. I'll let you know how it goes.
What about you? What are you taking away from this summer's study? Share with our Blog friends and we will be talking about this in our time together.
Thanks for a great summer and the joy of searching out life together.
Becce
Smith talks about the "freedom" of order, and how this freedom comes not so much from "time management" as it does from "managing ourselves." He talks about Sabbath, and community and solitude. He writes, "Therefore, we must reslove before God that we willl not take on more work or responsiblity than we can fulfill with a calm and serene heart, free of hurry and rushed busyness" (pg 188).
I have to admit I am like a dog lapping up water for dear life when I read this sentence. Is it possible to live like that? Is he just pulling our leg? Is he a hypocrit? How does he live?
**Gordon Smith is going to be teaching a class called Spiritual Discerment the week of May 23-27, 2010 at Regent College. Maybe some of us can go together and take it.
My "call" for the year is to see if (as an extrovert who loves people, places, and things) this sentence can be lived out. I long to know. This chapter is going to be my devotional reading all year, and the paragraph on pg. 196 under Courage and Calling, will drive me to my knees as I seek God's way. I'll let you know how it goes.
What about you? What are you taking away from this summer's study? Share with our Blog friends and we will be talking about this in our time together.
Thanks for a great summer and the joy of searching out life together.
Becce
Monday, August 16, 2010
Chapter 9 - Working with and within Organizations
Hey, we are almost done. Next week is our last week and then we can plan another Face-to-Face to finish up the summer study.
This chapter will be more or less important to you depending upon your job history and current work. Those of you who have worked with or within organizations know the trials and tribulations of working with other people. But you also know the joys of working well with other people to accomplish great things.
Smith begins the chapter by saying, "We fulfill our vocation in partnership with others" (pg 163). And that "mature character includes both the humility and courage to live by our own conscience and the ability to live and work with others with grace, patience, and kindness" (pg 165). Then he goes on to list distinctive character traits we can nurture in order to be effective in our partnerships with others.
Question: Where are you primary skills, capacities, and strengths? Where and in what ways do you have need of others?
Discribe the best partnership (of people and skills) you ever experieinced. What was it like? How did it feel to be part of this group of folks working together?
This chapter will be more or less important to you depending upon your job history and current work. Those of you who have worked with or within organizations know the trials and tribulations of working with other people. But you also know the joys of working well with other people to accomplish great things.
Smith begins the chapter by saying, "We fulfill our vocation in partnership with others" (pg 163). And that "mature character includes both the humility and courage to live by our own conscience and the ability to live and work with others with grace, patience, and kindness" (pg 165). Then he goes on to list distinctive character traits we can nurture in order to be effective in our partnerships with others.
Question: Where are you primary skills, capacities, and strengths? Where and in what ways do you have need of others?
Discribe the best partnership (of people and skills) you ever experieinced. What was it like? How did it feel to be part of this group of folks working together?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Chapter 8 - Problems
Chapter 8 is about being emotionally healthy enough (in our real lives) to not screw up our lives so that we can even think about seeking a vocation. I have a great deal of this chapter marked and underlined. Things like "First, we should not be surprised by difficulty" (pg 143). And, "...life is not fair" (pg 143). Or how about, "...it is clear (to who?) that we need to make sense of difficulty and to see what significance it has for our capacity to fulfill a vocation. As we shall see, there is hardly anything more critical to personal and vocational development than the nature of our response to difficulty, setbacks, rejection, disappointment or suffering. The evidence that we are responded effectively is that we develop emotional maturity and resilience" (pg144).
Personally I know this is true. I know that my greatest growth is coming out of great pain...but I hate it! At least...I did hate it. But more recently...as the sharpness of the pain is less intense, I am beginning to be grateful for the grow that has resulted from the pain. I still am not thankful for the pain. That may never happen...but for the growth, I am grateful.
How would you describe your relationship with that pain that is forcing you (or has forced you) to grow?
We will be studying the book of Romans this year in Community Women's Bible study. This chapter looks at Romans 5 and 8. "...suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).
Personally I know this is true. I know that my greatest growth is coming out of great pain...but I hate it! At least...I did hate it. But more recently...as the sharpness of the pain is less intense, I am beginning to be grateful for the grow that has resulted from the pain. I still am not thankful for the pain. That may never happen...but for the growth, I am grateful.
How would you describe your relationship with that pain that is forcing you (or has forced you) to grow?
We will be studying the book of Romans this year in Community Women's Bible study. This chapter looks at Romans 5 and 8. "...suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).
Monday, August 9, 2010
Chapters 7 and 8 Wisdom and Problems
We are going to get caught up a bit by doing two chapters in one week. Chapter 7 is about how we learn and about the need for wisdom. When I was a Regent College this summer my professor (Susan Phillips) told the class that as we age we lose some of our capacity to remember facts (like names, places, etc...anyone else noticing this?). But in its place comes a greater capacity to integrate the wisdom we have gained in our lives with our actual experience.
Smith writes, "In the end, no one will care how successful you were, or how much you accomplished, or how important you were or what roles you had. All that will matter, the older we get, is whether we are wise women and men...the pursuit of wisdom provides focus and integration to our learning for the wise person is mature in relationships as well as work..." (pg. 138).
Question: How does one embark on a journey to gain wisdom?
Smith writes, "In the end, no one will care how successful you were, or how much you accomplished, or how important you were or what roles you had. All that will matter, the older we get, is whether we are wise women and men...the pursuit of wisdom provides focus and integration to our learning for the wise person is mature in relationships as well as work..." (pg. 138).
Question: How does one embark on a journey to gain wisdom?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR ® INSTRUMENT
If you are interested in completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® Instrument, Rev. Dr. Joe Bettridge is a certified test administrator and is willing to facilitate any Courage & Calling book study participants who wish to take the test. Joe is offering a small group session where he will administer, score and explain the rest results.
The Myers-Briggs will help you gain insight into your personality type. It can help you understand how you best communicate and identify your greatest strengths and abilities. Knowing your Myers-Briggs 4 letter personality type will enable you to better hone your vocational choices so they fulfill and enrich you rather than sapping your strength.
Since I have just returned to the island from vacation and Joe and Becky are about to leave, scheduling the test might be a couple weeks out, but now is a good time to start collecting interested persons. If you'd like to take the test please email me. In the email please indicate whether you prefer a lunch time meeting like we did last time, or if morning or late afternoon suit you better.
Thanks!
The Myers-Briggs will help you gain insight into your personality type. It can help you understand how you best communicate and identify your greatest strengths and abilities. Knowing your Myers-Briggs 4 letter personality type will enable you to better hone your vocational choices so they fulfill and enrich you rather than sapping your strength.
Since I have just returned to the island from vacation and Joe and Becky are about to leave, scheduling the test might be a couple weeks out, but now is a good time to start collecting interested persons. If you'd like to take the test please email me. In the email please indicate whether you prefer a lunch time meeting like we did last time, or if morning or late afternoon suit you better.
Thanks!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Chapter 6 - Finding the Courage to Follow Our Vocation
A lot of this chapter is about facing our fears. Fears of being honest with how we have lived so far. Fears about our own limitations. Fears about the future. Fears...fears...fears!
Smith writes, "It takes courage to pursue our vocation, the courage to be - the courage to be true to who we are, even if that means living on the edge, living with risk, living with less security and less influence and less power - because to pursue our vocation means that we have chosen the way that is true to who we are, true to ourselves, true to our call" (pg 123).
This summer I am working through what I feel to be God's new call to me to learn and practise the art of Spiritual Direction. For me this means making my life smaller rather than bigger. It means learning to take a long, loving look at what is real in my life so that I can help others do the same. Practically, what this means is having to say "no" to things I love that fill up space. I am told I need space in my life to pursue this call. One of the books I am reading lays out a process of discernment in which they ask you to place yourself on your deathbed looking back over your life at the descision you are currently making. From this end of your life perspective, what do you wish you had chosen? In a way it is asking, "What regrets do you NOT want to have?"
Courage...I guess we have gotten to the meaning behind the title of the book.
Quote: "Acknowledging our fears does not in itself make us courageous or justify our actions. But it is a start. When we acknowledge our fears, we can ask if they are legitimate; we can ask if we are really living in faith, hope, and love, or whether our fears are nothing more than rationalizations for actions tat are less than noble" (pg 122-124).
Ok..go for it...Honestly...can you name some of the primary fears you have that might be holding you back from embracing your vocation? And...realistically...are there ways you can be gentle with yourself and help yourself begin to overcome some of these fears?
Thanks for sharing.
Smith writes, "It takes courage to pursue our vocation, the courage to be - the courage to be true to who we are, even if that means living on the edge, living with risk, living with less security and less influence and less power - because to pursue our vocation means that we have chosen the way that is true to who we are, true to ourselves, true to our call" (pg 123).
This summer I am working through what I feel to be God's new call to me to learn and practise the art of Spiritual Direction. For me this means making my life smaller rather than bigger. It means learning to take a long, loving look at what is real in my life so that I can help others do the same. Practically, what this means is having to say "no" to things I love that fill up space. I am told I need space in my life to pursue this call. One of the books I am reading lays out a process of discernment in which they ask you to place yourself on your deathbed looking back over your life at the descision you are currently making. From this end of your life perspective, what do you wish you had chosen? In a way it is asking, "What regrets do you NOT want to have?"
Courage...I guess we have gotten to the meaning behind the title of the book.
Quote: "Acknowledging our fears does not in itself make us courageous or justify our actions. But it is a start. When we acknowledge our fears, we can ask if they are legitimate; we can ask if we are really living in faith, hope, and love, or whether our fears are nothing more than rationalizations for actions tat are less than noble" (pg 122-124).
Ok..go for it...Honestly...can you name some of the primary fears you have that might be holding you back from embracing your vocation? And...realistically...are there ways you can be gentle with yourself and help yourself begin to overcome some of these fears?
Thanks for sharing.
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