After reflecting on the results of my personal and spiritual inventory, I discovered it provided opportunity to narrow in on the significant experiences I have had with the Lord. Throughout this process I realized I have allowed the nature of my circumstances to distract my ability to sometimes see all the blessings God has given me in situations. Though my background restrained me from properly knowing God, I have opportunity today to meditate on how to accept the past and seek blessing. Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” (English Standard Version) The significant experiences have lead me to develop meaningful discernment of how to trust that God's blessings are everywhere. Even though blessings can be difficult to pinpoint in situations, maintaining faith, trust and wisdom to the circumstances will …show more content…
The way my mother and brother treated me made me feel stupid and I questioned where I belonged. My parents were considered Catholics but it was more for show than depth of being in a relationship with a loving God. My grandmother would take me to church if I had questions but then my mother would yell at her for taking me to church too much. “The main difference between “religion” and “relationship” is our approach or attitude.” (Wilhite, 2013, p. 21) Though my parents baptized me when I was a baby, they never discussed their faith with me, and I never really knew who Jesus really was until I was 23. “He is the only one who can separate the true from the false; he alone can purify the motives of the heart.”(Foster, 2001, p. 87) I always thought that my family was just like everyone else’s but then I met a girl in kindergarten who changed my
Faith plays a pivotal role in our construction of religion. The work of Dr. Sharon Parks analyzes faith development throughout one’s life span but pays special attention to emerging adulthood. Dr. Parks has an extensive academic career which incorporates her attendance of Princeton University’s theological seminary. As well as her attendance of Harvard University’s divinity school where she obtained her doctorate. Through her extensive research in areas such as “developmental psychology, religion, theology, leadership and ethics” (Service Resources, 2014) Parks is able to focus her work on faith development. Her work is influenced by theorists such as Erickson, Piaget, Perry and Levinson but primarily it is based off of Fowlers work in faith development. Her background in teaching and counseling has allowed her close access to seeing students during this important portion of their lives.
The assessment tool that I plan to use in this intervention is the biopsychosocial spiritual assessment tool. This assessment tool will give me a good impression of what Marcel is dealing with. This assessment tool will give me information such as some of Marcel’s background information, such as age, mender, and ethnicity. This assessment tool will also give me some insight on Marcel’s childhood. Some of the things he may have experienced in that time in his life that has caused a negative effect on his life and if some of those experiences are connected to the problem that he is having. This assessment tool will also address some of Marcel’s family background. This information is important because it may show some of the
I come from a small family whose members include my immediate family. Like most Haitian-American living in my region, religion is a fundamental part of my upbringing. I was practically raised in a church and attended church three times a week as a child. Members of my church acted as parents to me and my sister and disciplined me with my mother consent. They played an active role in my upbringing and shaped my norms and taught me was considered appropriate and inappropriate. For example, I was taught to kiss adults and elders on the cheek when saying hello. I was told that I couldn’t address adults by their first name, and most importantly I was taught to always bite my tongue and always respect my
The Souls of Black Folk are a collection of essays composed by W.E.B Du Bois’ highlighting the problems that the African-American race faced in American society. Du Bois describes the feeling of being “shut out from the[ir] world by a vast veil” (4). The veil is a metaphor that Du Bois presents representing a symbolic wall that separates the “whites” and “blacks”. To Du Bois, the veil emphasises the racial boundaries that the African-Americans faced, as well as their invisibility within society in U.S history. Throughout the text, Du Bois makes it evident that the most important issues are education, economic opportunities, as well as the emotional journey being shared. Du Bois states, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both
I went to a Catholic grade school and was taught to trust in God for guidance. I would ask myself, hoping for an answer, why God would allow for the situation I was in. Why couldn't I have the ideal family life? It concerned me, especially because I was told by priests how awful divorce was and how it was a great sin. Was I really suppose to think that my parents were sinners because they weren't right for each other? This experience made me dislike parts of the faith that I was told to love. Never God, but the people seemed tainted by preaching a "holier than though" message to children in grade school. I became confident that my parents had made a proper decision as I became older, it would have been unhealthy to stay in a toxic environment and even a bit selfish. Putting a child through divorce is a bad experience, but I still remember being a preschooler and my parents arguing in our kitchen late at night. I even remember contemplating if there was sow thing I could do to help; I also remember just trying to pretend it wasn't there. Putting child through years of that is worse. Just as lying is worse than being honest, staying together to keep appearances (which some of my friend's parents did) is much worse. No one is happy in that
For the majority of my childhood, I never questioned the Catholic teachings, practices, or beliefs that I was taught to encompass into my everyday life. Being raised in an extremely catholic family and attending a catholic elementary school led to a unique form of socialization – the process whereby an individual develops an identity and culture through interacting and communicating with others (Sandstrom 2014). As a member of my city’s catholic community, there were numerous expectations to maintain, however, as I entered my early teenage years I began to question the Catholic system and the teachings that were instilled into these social institutions. By questioning the legitimacy of the information that priests, teachers, and my parents
The book, The Blessing, authored by John Trent, Ph.D. and Gary Smalley is a profoundly written book that highlights what a blessing is and how it is given. The authors of this manuscript emphasizes the meaning of the blessing and give accounts of people receiving their blessing in scripture, those not getting their blessing, and the importance of receiving and giving this incredible gift. Smalley is able to share the idea and describe what the blessing is with such ease and in that the book is able to flow and impact readers of all levels and those who are in different areas in their Christian walk. The book details the five stages the blessing is given to someone: meaningful touch, spoken message, attaching high value, picturing a special future, and active commitment. The author
As a young boy, one could say I was a religious person; certainly, my parents wanted me to be religious and I trusted in that judgment. I attended church, if begrudgingly at times, and trusted in the information given to me during the sermons. But, being the young person I was-- I had an endless stream of questions; a desire to understand the world around you is an intrinsic part of being young. The only problem is that, every once in a while, a question I asked would be greeted by a blank stare, a moment of perplexed, palpable silence followed by a response I grew to dread, "That's just the way i...
The truth was that I grew up in a Christian home and was extremely loved. My family showed no favoritism. My brothers and I were treated equally and we loved each other. We had our brushes with each other’s bad side often, but brothers do that.
I am a blessed girl who has had to overcome minimal obstacles throughout my life. Raised in a stable family with two loving parents that instilled morals and faith in my brother and I to last a lifetime. I grew up in a normal suburb neighborhood, playing backyard football games with the kids next door, and going to church every Sunday morning was a given. Dr. Seuss said “life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who do not and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” This paper will be about the ways God is working in my life, his
This past year has been full of many valuable lessons that have enabled me to grow morally, emotionally, and spiritually. I have not only gained enough insight to search for and discover personal growth, but have also been strengthened significantly as a follower of Christ. In these realizations, I have come to one ultimate goal that I will devote my every patience to mastering: trust God entirely. In order to accomplish that set ambition, I will have to conquer all threats of doubt, anxiety, fear, impatience, apathy, hatefulness and replace them with the everlasting promises of love, joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, self-control, and grace, all which I bountifully receive just by placing all faith and trust in the hands of my Heavenly Father. All it takes is humbly coming to the Father admitting that I am weak, and on my own, I stand no chance against my accusers.
Spiritual health is the capacity and ability to seek, experience, and express meaning and purpose in our lives often through love, hope, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, and community in order to enjoy a sense of the Sacred (as you understand it). Spiritual health provides the sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose and is defined by the ethics, morals and values that guide you and give meaning and direction to your life.
Growing up in a Catholic, old-fashioned family has not shaped me into the woman who I’m today. Real life is what made me who I’m now. When I grew up, my father went to church every Sunday, and I had an uncle who is a priest and an aunt who was a nun. As a little girl, my family went to see her at the monastery as often as we could. I was quite young. Even now, I remember the imposing building and the hallways what looked like cathedrals. My aunt was very sick and died when I was five years old, so I don’t have any happy memories with
Since I grew up in the Catholic faith, I understand that not everyone has the same religious beliefs that my religion teaches. The way a person is raised, has an impact on their religious beliefs. Your belief system is the actual set of precepts from which you live your daily life, those that govern your thoughts, words, and actions (Woods, 2006). Since, I had religion classes through out my school years I have been taught to accept other people's religious beliefs. Even my parents have taught me to look at a person's culture and beliefs to gain a better understanding of their point of view. With the understanding of others religious beliefs and cultures it has allowed me to deal with others in a fair and equal manner. Even though I have had some difficult time with others I remember how I was raised and it has helped me through those difficult times.
At the start of our lives, our parents decided where our education would begin. The type of institution we attended was out of our control: whether it was Jewish or Catholic school, or secular public school, our parents decided how we would start our education based on their own religious beliefs. Looking at our early institutions, we see how important religion was in our early education. Parent’s fell back on their faith of religion for the future of their children. In retrospect however it is questionable how much this push into a religious environment affected our religious beliefs now. Some of us have been positively pulled into religion while others have been repulsed by it.