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An essay on the roles of family members
Spiritual Formation
The role and influence of family
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Spirit Lead Me
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Reflecting from this single Bible verse, I trust that God set forth plans for me to serve on this rock we call Earth. Time and time again, I am directed to assist others, revealing the everlasting light and love God has for mankind. Blessings fall upon me each moment, allowing a strive for an attitude to top the next. He is my Father, and I am His servant; therefore, I believe that I will walk every step with faith in Him. As a young child, raised into the general Christian culture, I immediately began to follow in my parents footsteps. The commitment to God only began as a habit, soon sparking a flame deep down in my soul that yearned for oxygen. Fire was set ablaze the more I woke up early, and dressed into my precious attire, blooming with all of the girly things. Sermons taught me to
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Introduced to a whole new set of acquaintances, pastors , and traditions, the fresh environment became more welcoming; I finally felt that I fit in, in which I had never experienced before. Although the modern denomination appeared great and all, it still had yet to fill my satisfaction to the rim. A mission trip opportunity came around, and I was eager to sign up, knowing that God had opened up this door. Next came fundraising, meetings, money goals, and more fundraising up until the actual day I left for the destination point of Crownepoint, New Mexico on the Navajo Indian reservations. The arrival certainly made a bold impact with the scene of sweet children coated in filth, pruned hands of the hardworking elderly, and spiritual drive of the mission leaders, whose years only added up to their twenties. A week of extensive labor, wholehearted devotions, and full-blown excitement through lessons and tear-jerking worship passed by, and I knew this was how God spoke for me to continue my work, my calling, in the missions
Professor and poet Deborah A. Miranda, pieces together the past and uncovers and presents us with a story--a Californian story--in her memoir, “Bad Indians.” Her use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates the irony of using the form of her oppressors as a call out for help, not to God, but to her past ancestors. We tend to think of religion as a form of salvation and redemption of our lives here on Earth, in which we bare down and ask for forgiveness. But by challenging this common discourse using theological allegories and satirical terminology, Miranda turns her attention away from a Deity to call the reader out for help. It is crucial to recognize the struggles that the Native community currently face. Californian Indians are often not given recognition for their identity and their heritage, and are also repeatedly stereotyped as abusive, alcoholic, uncivilized, and “freeloaders” of the United States government. Such generalizations root back from European colonization, nevertheless still linger in our contemporary society. Miranda has taken the first step forward in characterizing few of these stereotypes in her Novena, but she’s given her story. Now what are we going to do with ours? It’s up to us to create our
While comparing her time, theology and spiritual practice we realize she lived during the time of immense change, similarly we are living on the edge of a challenged modernity. Her spiritual direction allows us to recognize and develop further abilities in our pastoral ministries of caring for one another as participants within the corporate communities as well as within the mission fields.
Wilson, Barbara S., Arlene Flancher, and Susan T. Erdey. The Episcopal Handbook. New York, NY: Morehouse Pub., 2008. Print.
Navajo Tradition, Mormon Life follows the story of Jim Dandy and his family, members of the Navajo Native American tribe, as they adjust to living within the world of their ancestors and the new world of the white Americans. Jim Dandy, through telling his story, is able to show the similarities between the faith of Mormons and Navajo, the value of American education to the Navajo, and the what Mormons learned from the Natives. These recollections are a powerful insight into the life of a Navajo, their relationship with Mormons, and how both cultures have been able to exchange ideas that have enriched both sides.
BWH Bulletin. (2012, June 15). Past, Present and Future of BWH Discussed at Town Meeting. Retrieved from http://www.brighamandwomens.org/about_bwh/publicaffairs/news/publications/DisplayBulletin.aspx?articleid=5614
I grew up in a home with a family that attend church weekly and was active in the church family. I knew about God and about His son but I never remember the story of salvation and the personal need for a savoir. As a teenager I walked away from the religion that I thought did not offer my anything. In my thirties, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and I immediately started my negotiations with God. Little did I know that He was not a negotiator but it was during this time in my life that I needed God more than He needed me. Since accepting the gift of God’s love, the salvation of a Savoir, and the renovation of my heart, I look to God for the path of my life. I share Gods truth through my career change to a Christian nob-profit that’s vision is to share God’s love to the community through the platform of pregnancy care and family services. Personally I have fulfilled God’s call to help the less fortunate by adopting a sibling group and participating and supporting mission trips to third world countries to support his children and missions there. My final piece of God’s plan I feel lead to complete is to volunteer my professional expertise and finances to work with a mission group that provides laboratory services to third world mission hospitals. I have done one trip for them and am currently planning a trip to Honduras in the new year. My day to
2. Garrett J. Meditations with the Cherokee: Prayers, Songs and Stories of Healing and Harmony. Rochester, VT. Bear and Company; 2001.
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
It was approaching dusk as the conspicuous line of dark vans entered the reservation. These vehicles served the purpose of furnishing transportation for about 30 members of a Cleveland area youth group, whose mission was “to bring good news to the badlands';. In short, the group was ministering to the Indian children of the Pine Ridge Reservation, which was in close proximity to the natural wonder found in the foothills of “the badlands';. The trip became a tradition for my church, and I traveled there on three separate occasions. Each year, the team receives a welcoming message that could be described as anything but inviting.
To be completely transparent I don’t think that prior to this year I’ve lived in true communion with God. I compartmentalized my life in many ways, and I did not put one hundred percent of my life on the altar. The past few months and especially this book have shown me the attitudes, the compromises, the hurts, the habits, and the many other things in my life that have been displeasing to God. The things that have grieved His heart and broken the communion.
Impressively, the Native Americans “survived the catastrophe caused by the outsiders” with a disease that “killed millions, did not wipe out Native American nations altogether” (Martin, 2000). This is in part because of their religious “creativity and spiritual resiliency” that adapted to the new world while holding onto some of their own traditions and beliefs. It is certain that issues of the time reflected in their religion and “introduced major disruptions” but this upset “did not destroy them” (Martin, 2000). The stories and traditions were still carried along from generations to current day practice. It was possible as “ a shaman died, but a hunter remembered the songs of his father” and “a priest perished, but a seed-planter remembered the chants of her mother” (Martin, 2000). Certainly efforts were made in sharing the main concepts of their religion to the children as to continue its presence. The environment is persistently fluctuating, and the components that remain are those resilient enough to survive the journey. The Native American religion verified its place in the world as the result of the “long process of adapting to life in the new world created by unprecedented diseases and the novel presence of diverse European” (Martin,
From a young age, I was deeply involved in the community of faith and that swiftly led me into leadership in the church. My sense of rootedness in the church and my success in children and student ministry leadership, led me to Seattle Pacific University to pursue training in theology and educational ministry, and from there to my first call in vocational ministry as a student pastor at Kent Covenant Church where I served for e...
...hat share my faith and together worship Jesus. I believe that by being in fellowship with other believers I will have a strong opportunity to pursue and fulfill God’s purpose in my life, whether it is a daily or lifetime calling.
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.