II. How is God involved in my life journey? Home Greetings! This session is focused on God and the part God plays in your life as you discover who you are! We cannot understand who we have been created to be, if we do not know who our Creator is. God created us and wants us to live out who we are to the fullest! We will be exploring different ways of connecting with God in our day to day lives and finding ways that we can listen to what our Creator is up to in our lives! Our hope is that you will find ways that work for you to take time to “be” in the presence of God and hear what God is saying to you. As we begin, what does God have to do with your life journey thus far?

A.  Stop & Listen “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.” —Psalm 73:24 B.  Discovery Go to MethodX.org and learn about some different prayer forms. Over the next week, try a new prayer form and see if it works for you. Read about the different ways you can connect with God and journal about how you see God at work in your days.   C.  Reflection How do you see God’s presence in your life? Do you pray and what is your prayer life like? How do you listen to God? How has God been a part of the life decisions you’ve had to make?

Food For Thought One morning I finished praying and came back across the dunes and found Jacob Kahn on the porch. “I was watching you,” he said quietly. “I used to pray once.  Do you talk to God when you pray?” “Yes.” “ I have lost that faculty. I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting.”  “That’s also prayer.” -- from Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” —Psalm 37:7 Music:  Lead of Love by Caedmon’s Call A song about looking back at our lives in hindsight and realizing that even when we thought times were tough and God was nowhere to be found, He was leading us all along. Looking back at the road so far The journey's left its share of scars mostly from leaving the narrow and straight more Film:  Shawshank Redemption "Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover in the late 1940s. However, only Andy knows that he didn't commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy--a taciturn banker in the outside world--has to learn to get by in the brutal, cutthroat confines of prison life. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates--most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman)--and even much of the prison staff. But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom." - synopsis from RottenTomatoes.com Music:  I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2 I have climbed the highest mountain I have run through the fields Only to be with you Only to be with you I have run, I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for more Film:  Simon Birch "Born the size of a human hand, Simon Birch was not predicted to live through the first week of his life. Then the first month. Then the first year. Twelve years later, Simon is still alive, and still incredibly undersized. He constantly reminds his best friend Joe that God has a special plan for him. Meanwhile, Joe spends his time closed off from his mother's new suitors, preoccupied with the knowledge that he has never been told who his real father is. When fate intervenes in the form of a foul ball during a little league game, Joe understands that he will never learn the truth; unless Simon is right about there being a purpose for everything, that is. A hopeful, heartwarming tale that the whole family can enjoy. Based on John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany." - synopsis from RottenTomatoes.com