I. Why and how did I get here? Home Welcome to the first week of “What’s God Up To?”!  This first week together is fundamentally looking at the question of “Why and How did I get here?” It may seem like a simple question, but it helps us to look at where we’ve been and how we got to this very place in our lives. Many things have shaped who we are: our families, our friends, our faith, the places we’ve lived, the experiences we’ve had, and a variety of other things. All of these pieces of our puzzle have helped us to get to where we are today. Some of our experiences have been very hard, others easy, but they have all really impacted who we have become.

A.  Stop & Listen “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.” -- Psalm 139: 13-15 B.  Discovery Draw and map out your own life on a blank piece of paper. You can write it out in chronological order, or you can draw or write anyway you want. There is no right or wrong way of doing this….whatever works for you. On your life map, put down what has shaped you, what has moved you, who has shaped and been a part of your journey. What does God have to do with where you’ve ended up? Where have you lived? What have you done? What are your experiences? How did you get here? What are some of your dreams and hopes for your future? When you are done, look at your life map. Have you been able to identify those people, events, places that have shaped who you are today and helped you to get to the place where you are? You will be sharing your life maps with your small group. Remember that you only need to share what is comfortable for you.  C.  Reflection How did you get to this place in your life? What is the best part of being where you are? What is the most difficult part about being where you are? What is one experience that has impacted your life significantly?

Food for Thought “ Most of our life is in large part a rationalization of our failure to find out who we really are, what our basic strength is, what thing it is that we were meant to work upon in the world.” -- Ernest Becker, The Birth and Meaning of Death Who are you?  Why are you here?  What is life all about?  What is my call?  Do these questions leave you paralyzed by anxiety?  If so, try on this response: "Well, for right now, provisionally, to the best of my knowledge, I am this.  But I am open to further information.  I am open to further discovery.  I have set boundaries with my answer, but they are permeable.  They can be expanded toward new possibilities." -- David Spangler, The Call Film:  High Fidelity "HIGH FIDELITY is the story of Rob Gordon (John Cusack), the thirtysomething owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in the suburbs of Chicago. Rob is in the throes of a difficult breakup with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), and he creates a list of the ex-girlfriends who qualify as his Top Five Worst Breakups, then tracks them down one by one. At work, Rob's relationship with the geeky guys who help run the store, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), is hilarious and juvenile: The three espouse encyclopedic knowledge of records while making lists of everything from the Top Five Side 1s and Track 1s to the Top Five Songs About Death." - synopsis from RottenTomatoes.com Music: Pilgrim by Enya, A Day Without Rain Pilgrim, how you journey On the road you chose To find out where the winds die And where the stories go. All days come from one day That must you must know, You cannot change what's over But only where you go. more Music:  Prince of Darkness by Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark I do not feel the romance I do not catch the spark I don't know when I noticed life was life at my expense The words of my heart lined up like prisoners on a fence The dreams came in like needy children tugging at my sleeve I said I have no way of feeding you, so leave more

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