Daniel SAFARI: Week 7

Wow...another week has flown by in our SAFARI.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, His Girl, for never giving up, even when it must seem a thankless task at times, to encourage and educate this crew of travellers.  May blessings be heaped upon your head, Dear Friend.

This week, I'm diving into the following choice in our homework: 

 "Discuss your personal “Spiritual Education.” What factors have been key in your understanding of who God is?

The fact is, until I got so tired of the ivory tower machine that is gradual  graduate school--learning about studies, statistics, and therapy programs, that it took me a long time to want to read a book, write a note, or learn about anything EVER again.  I may have graduated from CU Boulder a qualified speech-language pathologist, but I very nearly lost my love of learning, and VERY much lost my love of reading for quite some time.  However, God is faithful, and with time, my curiosity grew, about many things...chiefly, Him. Further, since I must be wired as a speech therapist to some degree, He gave me access to a spiritual education which was tailor-made for my understanding. 

 My spiritual education is multi-modal in nature: 

I read/listen. 

I process. 

I speak/pray.

I write/do.  

 In thru the eyes and ears, to the heart and mind, and out through words and deeds. 

Each of these modalities, a.k.a. "factors" are intrinsic to my understanding of the nature of Christ.  I would love to tell you that I am 100% caught up on every Bible reading.  That I always think/process before I speak, and that prayer is my first behavior before any others, but that would simply be a lie.  However, God has given these tools, and many resources to help me know him. 

Read/Listen:  First and foremost, God speaks to me through His Word.  When I read the Bible, not only do I have the history of the world at my fingertips, but I also have access to His nature.  Who He is.  What pleases and glorifies Him.  What He deplores.  How deeply He loves. How richly He blesses.  In addition, I God has placed me in an amazing church--not perfect by any means, but amazing all the same--where Scripture is exegetically studied and shared by not only our teaching pastor, but by other leaders and friends, as well.

Process:  Processing requires...guess what?  Time.  Thought.  And for me...quiet.  Do I take as much time to process God's thoughts and meditate upon His Word as I "should".  No.  I am growing.  I also suppose it will never be enough, because a true, glorifying love of the Lord should always leave one thirsty for more. 

Speak/Pray:  I speak to others...mentors, mostly.  I am so blessed to know and be known by such amazing folks, not only in my church, but in The Church.  None of you participating in this study goes to my church.  Yet we "speak" to one another, and iron sharpens iron.  The same is true with my godly friendships with the men and women at my church.  My choir and worship team peeps, especially, create such a safe landing space for me each week.  I get to pray with and for them.  Speak and listen to them, and learn so very much from their understanding.

Write/Do:  Writing...in the form of a prayer list or even the scant journal entry.  Writing blog posts.  True confessions:  I am NOT a journaler by nature.  The only time I have really been successful at journaling was when I was deeply depressed.  Perhaps that's why I'm afraid of it.  But I do journal those other ways.  I write in the margins of my Bible.  I write scripture for memorization.  In fact, I have typed out a beloved Scripture, which is now dog-earred, but no less true, and have taped it to my van's dash to remind me of the following:

31 "As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shieldfor all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD ?

And who is the Rock except our God?"

2 Samuel 22:31-32

And as for the "do".  Well, hopefully, doing this study, being in the Word, mentoring and being mentored, praying, and being prayed for...well, it's my hope and belief that this leads to fruit.  His fruit:  love,joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  And when my actions do not lead to fruit, His gentle whisper of conviction leads me to repent, and to ask for his forgiveness (and just one more "mulligan"). 

And that's all I have to say about that. ;-)