INTERMEDIATE AND
ADVANCED EXERCISES

As you approach the intermediate and advanced exercises for the spiritual
temperaments, remember to pay attention to what brings life to
your relationship with God. Notice the ways the presence of Jesus is
mediated that enable you to hear His voice and sense His live-giving
Spirit with clarity and surety.

As my friend Sam Metcalf put it:
The older I get, the more I realize that God is remarkably
accommodating, far beyond my imagination or comprehension.
He longs to relate with me so much that He will go to great
extremes to overcome the frailties of my humanity. Consider what
He has done throughout redemptive history and the huge variety
of means He has employed to reveal Himself: angels, a pillar of fire,
a Temple, an ass, an audible voice from heaven. . . .

Like all liturgical practice, regularity [of time with God] can
bring confidence and surety. It is like the regular exercise of a
muscle. However, structure can be deadening and can suck the life
right out of the most passionate pursuit of God. While discipline is
certainly admirable regardless of the pace, structure without grace
can be the death of real spiritual vitality.1

So enter into these exercises with attentiveness to how your own
soul is responding to the Lord as you taste and see for yourself that He
is indeed good.

1Sam Metcalf is the president of Church Resource Ministries. This entry appeared on his personal blog
(January 2007).

8
THE ACTIVIST
Loving God through Confrontation with Evil
Record your temperament score for the Activist from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Activist. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE ACTIVIST
Week 1

READ: In the Bible, we are told to uphold the cause of those who do
not have the political, social, or economic power to care for themselves.
We are told to lend them our voices, our advocacy, our strength. Read
these two passages that discuss this directive:
Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless
or the widow. Deuteronomy 27:19

Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who
delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for
once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately
forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently
at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having
become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be
blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious,
and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this
man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the
sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:22-27 (NASB)

REFLECT: Ask God now to show you those in your sphere of influence—
family, neighborhood, church, or community—who do not have
the political, social, or economic power to care for themselves: the alien
(those who live near you but are not citizens), the fatherless (those who
have lost a parent to death, divorce, or desertion), the widow (those who
have lost their husbands). Consider how the Lord might be inviting you
to get involved or to lend your voice, your advocacy, or your strength.
Wait on Him today for insight and discernment. Jot down the ideas that
come to mind.

RESPOND: What specifically did the Lord show you?
Ask Him for grace and wisdom to take action this week and care for one
person He brought to mind. Depend upon Him and let Him lead you in
how you respond.

RECORD: How did you take action this week?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her
to check in with you next month about this situation and the action
you took.

Now write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: In her book Suffering, Dorothee Soelle says that middle-class
society insulates itself from the pain of those who are in distress and
even from the pain inside themselves. In our materialist desire for
heaven on earth, we anesthetize ourselves against feeling pain of any
kind and will only move toward that which is orderly and therefore
unfelt.1

REFLECT: Look around your neighborhood, church, or community
this week. Do you see anything that may be causing pain to the heart
of God?
What grief might He be inviting you to share with Him?

RESPOND: Step out this week toward that pain. If it is a person in
need, do not try to meet his or her need financially. Instead, ask God for
the grace to begin a genuine friendship with that person so that Jesus
may incarnationally (in the flesh) love and serve through you.

RECORD: How did you take action this week?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about this situation and the action you took.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last few weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED ACTIVIST
Week 1
READ: In Micah 6:8, the prophet said, “He has showed you, O man,
what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and
to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

REFLECT: In the Lord’s economy, mercy, humility, and walking with
God must accompany acts of justice. Take a few minutes to stop now
and examine your own heart and character. Take a personal inventory,
ranking how you are doing in the following areas:

(1 is low; 5 is high)
_____ Compassion (sympathy and concern for the suffering of others, with a
desire to help)
_____ Courage (the ability to face difficulty, uncertainty, or the threat of pain
without being sidetracked)

_____ Wisdom (the insight and experience needed to see life from God’s
perspective)
_____ Knowledge (attentiveness to facts and an ability to assess data based
on God’s principles)
_____ Humility (a high regard and respect for others with no assumption of
self-importance)
_____ Empathy (the capacity to feel the pain of others)
_____ A servant heart (the desire to be the heart of God in a lost world)
_____ Grief (the habit of weeping over your own sin and the sins of others)
_____ Holiness (the ability to love the sinner while hating the sin)
_____ Being motivated only by God’s glory (the willingness to listen to
people who are different from you, not evaluating them based upon
how active they are in your cause)
_____ Forgiveness (the ability to bless those who vigorously oppose your
cause)
_____ Eternal perspective (the habit of blessing those who curse you, and
moving your eyes back toward God)

RESPOND: How did you do overall on this inventory? If you scored
an average of 4 or 5, you are most likely responding in sync with God’s
heart as you move to accomplish justice in your area of influence. If you
scored an average of 3, you may want to ask the Lord to help you regain
His heart and perspective in these specific areas. If you scored an average
of 1 or 2, you may need to take an extended break, a time to be alone with
God, away from action. Spend some time resting and being with God,
asking Him to help you regain His motivation and compassion.

In what areas do you need to invite the Father to refresh you and make
your heart and character more like Christ’s?
Ask Him now to change you, by His grace.

RECORD: How did you take action this week?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share this with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with
you next month about how you are doing.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: In Exodus 18 we see how God helped one Activist survive in
ministry:

It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and
the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening.
Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for
the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the
people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand
about you from morning until evening?” Moses said to his father-inlaw,
“Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they
have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his
neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” Moses’
father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.
You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are
with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You
be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes
to God, then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known
to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are
to do. Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men
who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you
shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of
fifties and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times; and let it
be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor
dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and
they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing and God so
commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people
also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses listened to his fatherin-
law and did all that he had said. Exodus 18:13-24 (NASB)

REFLECT: Not only does the Lord want us to survive in service for
Him, He also wants us to thrive. Ask Him and others close to you how
they think you are doing personally, emotionally, spiritually, and in relationship
to your family and others. Listen carefully to what they say. To
help with your self-assessment, respond honestly to the following statements
with T (true), F (false), or S (sometimes).

_____ I have good co-laborers who support me in my work as an Activist.
_____ I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for what I do.
_____ My relationship with God is strong and vibrant.
_____ Depression is not an issue for me.
_____ I have a good counselor I could turn to anytime.
_____ My financial resources are strong.
_____ I keep the Sabbath weekly.
_____ I have friends I can be “off ” with, folks I spend time with at least twice
a month.
_____ I get away by myself to rest and pray at least one day each month.
_____ I take time for my hobbies and have enjoyed several of them this
month.
_____ I take at least three days off from work each month, in addition to my
weekly Sabbath.
_____ I have at least ten people I could name right now who regularly pray
for my family and me.
_____ My feelings of love for the marginalized and oppressed are strong.
_____ I have at least three people who regularly encourage me.
_____ I have good mentors—like Moses’ father-in-law—who speak into my
life on a consistent basis.

RESPOND: What did God (or those close to you) say about your
current health and well-being?
Ask the Lord to show you what your next steps need to be in building
a “thrival” strategy. List them in your journal.
If needed, what mentor or group of Activists can you approach this
week who might help you add balance to your life?

RECORD: How did you take action this week?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share your plans with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check
in with you next month about the action you are taking.
Now write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last few weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable
love for you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises
the last few weeks.

9
THE ASCETIC
Loving God through Solitude and Simplicity
Record your temperament score for the Ascetic from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Ascetic. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings
growth and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal
with us at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we
will be focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful
for you to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to
increase your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the
exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE ASCETIC
Week 1

READ: The Bible is indeed God’s love letter to His people, the infallible
record of His acts throughout history; it is literally God-breathed
(see 2 Timothy 3:16). Yet God calls us to go beyond merely knowing
and studying the Bible; He calls us to know and study Him (see John
17:3). As we do, His Spirit, through His Word, transforms us (see 2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

One of my friends told me that after graduating from Bible school
and seminary at the top of his class, it took a spiritual crisis for him to
feel free to “have a relationship with a Person instead of a book.” Yet our
fathers and mothers in the faith have understood the merger of Spirit
and Word for centuries through the practice of lectio divina, or “spiritual
reading.” Guigo II, a second-century monk, was the first to articulate
the four steps of lectio divina1 when he wrote this letter to a friend:
One day when I was busy working with my hands I began to think
about our spiritual work, and all at once four stages in spiritual
exercise came into my mind: reading, meditation, prayer and
contemplation.

These make a ladder for monks by which they are
lifted up from earth to heaven. It has a few rungs, yet its length is
immense and wonderful, for its lower end rests upon the earth, but
its top pierces the clouds and touches heavenly secrets.2
In lectio:
Reading is the careful study of the Scriptures.
Meditation is the application of the mind to seek knowledge and
hidden truth.
Prayer is the heart turning to God to drive away evil and obtain
what is good.
Contemplation is when the mind is lifted up to God and held
above itself, so that it “tastes the joys of everlasting sweetness.”3

Thus we read (lectio) under the eye of God (meditatio) until the
heart leaps (oratio) and bursts into flame (contemplatio).

In spiritual reading we are using the Bible as a conduit of God’s
Spirit, not as an intellectual tool to try to analyze God. The Word
becomes a means for God to speak to us and impress His truth upon our
hearts and minds in the moment.

REFLECT: How do you usually read the Bible? Describe your method
and motivation in your journal.
How effective is your current method of reading Scripture?
Describe how you experience life transformation through your Bible
reading.

How free do you feel to have a relationship with God—a Person—
instead of His Book?

RESPOND: Now try utilizing lectio divina as you read the story of the
Prodigal Son.

Lectio: Read the story in Luke 15:11-32. Lectio is imaginative reading, so
as you begin, invite the Spirit to use your God-given, God-surrendered
imagination to take you to the time and place of the setting. Your
creative imagination may recreate the story in a contemporary context,
or you may see the setting as you imagine it was in Jesus’ day. Read the
passage aloud slowly and thoughtfully, allowing the pictures in your
mind to be formed as you hear the words. (Allow up to fifteen minutes.)
Meditatio: Reflect upon what you have read (allow up to twenty
minutes). Ponder the ideas and insights communicated in the passage.
Feel your way into the text, personalizing your reading and considering
what it means to you. Where do you see yourself in the story? As
you read the parable in the present moment, do you identify with the
wayward younger brother or the self-satisfied older brother? Perhaps
you felt more kinship with the father, or maybe you saw yourself as an
onlooker, someone invited (or not invited) to the party. Reflect upon
what that reveals about you and your interaction with God. If Jesus
were with you right now, telling you the story as He did to the disciples,
what more might He say to you?

Oratio: Speak to God (allow ten to thirty minutes). Oratio is the part of
the exercise that we generally think of as prayer or talking with God.
Having read the text aloud and having brought it to life by pondering
its meaning for you, now you enter a highly personal dialogue with
God about what you’ve experienced. A profound bonding and a deeper,
transformative healing occur when you talk with God about your life
through the Scripture.

Tell God what you heard, saw, experienced, and received from the
passage. Share your feelings and thoughts with Him, your insights and
concerns, and your questions about things that are unclear. Thank Him
for any instruction you received, and share with Him what you intend to do now. Ask for what you would like because of the message you heard.
Your response may sound something like this:
God, I wish I had a father like the one in the story. Such mercy.
I do feel like the Prodigal, running away from responsibility
and often living life for myself. Even though I am Your child
and I know You love me, I have trouble believing You want
me close to You, that You are waiting and watching for me to
come, that You run to meet me and want to celebrate my life as
I approach You. But Lord, interestingly, I also see myself as the
older brother. I, too, feel resentful that in life I carry so much of
the burden while others just seem to get by doing so little. Dear
God, please take away the bitterness that is poisoning me and
replace it with Your love and grace. Help me when I’m feeling
jealous of others or when I’m miffed that my efforts go unnoticed.
Make me like You, Father: generous of heart and willing to give
sacrificially.

Contemplatio: Be quiet with the Lord (allow ten to thirty minutes).
This is the last step in the exercise, the time when you simply
receive from the Lord what you need—His grace, forgiveness, love, or
quiet presence. This is not a time to talk, but to just be with God, ready
to listen and receive. Be attentive to God’s Spirit in and with you. Focus
on Him and just sit quietly in His abiding presence.
As you repeat this exercise this week, go through this same passage
using lectio. Then choose another passage if you’d like, perhaps Luke
15:4-7 or Luke 15:8-10.

RECORD: How would you describe your times of lectio divina this
week?

How has your relationship with the Lord grown or changed through
reading Scripture this way with the Lord?

If you struggled with lectio, is there someone you might be able to talk
with who could help you get “unstuck”?

Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with you next month about how lectio divina is enriching your time with God in His Word.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Just as Socrates said, “Know thyself,” Saint Augustine said, “Let
me know myself, let me know Thee!” Many of our early church fathers
and mothers were proponents of the “double knowing”—believing that
knowledge of God was dependent on knowledge of oneself and one’s need
for grace, and that knowledge of oneself was only possible with greater
knowledge of God and His vast ocean of love and mercy. John Calvin
taught that the deeper one’s walk with God, the deeper one’s reflective life
and study of self must be, including one’s faults, limitations, moral weaknesses, and inadequacies. This degree of self-revelation creates a channel for God’s grace to flood the humble, repentant heart.
It was also believed that this extent of self-knowing could not be
done in isolation. Benedictine Joan Chittister writes, “Alone, I am what I
am, but in community I have the chance to become everything that I can
be.”4 Thus serious believers have long sought spiritual companions and
guides to travel with them on the inner journey.

Today, one way to find spiritual companionship is through a
spiritual director, someone on the path ahead of you who is able
to listen and be with you as God develops new habits of the heart.
Margaret Guenther likens a spiritual director to a “midwife of the
soul,” a tenacious guardian who is present with us in times of spiritual
vulnerability, offering support and feedback at every stage, attending to
the new life God is forming within us.5

I have had a spiritual director for years, someone who is trained
in the art of discernment and listening, who helps me identify and
sort through—with wisdom and grace—what God is doing in my
life. I sometimes come to my spiritual director with what seem like
complicated spiritual and theological questions—things that hang me
up—and together we bring these pieces to the Lord for clarity. I have been greatly helped by my spiritual director’s capacity to walk with me,
as she is often several steps ahead.

REFLECT: Do you have a spiritual director, someone who is able and
willing to put himself or herself aside so that the total attention will be
focused on what God is doing in you?
How would you feel about having a person like this in your life?

RESPOND: If you are ready for a spiritual director and don’t already
have one, ask the Lord to lead you to someone in the near future. Then
read Margaret Guenther’s book Holy Listening and ask someone you
think could help you find a spiritual director.

RECORD: How did you take action this week regarding a spiritual
director?

What follow-up do you need to do in the future?

Share your interest with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how your search for a spiritual
director is taking shape.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED ASCETIC
Week 1
READ: Larry Crabb said, “As surely as birds were made to fly and fish
to swim, we were made for community, for the kind of community the Trinity enjoys, for spiritual community. And to the degree we experience
it, we change, we grow, we heal.”6

We are inescapably communal creatures, made in the image of
a Trinitarian God, and we depend on others to be born, to survive,
to be buried, and to be remembered. We live and have our being in
community, however sparse that community may become.7
Even though we see community reflected in the Trinity and we
hear God’s pronouncement that it is not good for humankind to be
alone (see Genesis 2:18), there are many factors in our culture working
against commitment to community. We tend to believe and act as if:
Faith and salvation were essentially private, acultural and
ahistorical . . . an individual concern, something that gives color
to our private lives but is not publicly accountable. What I think
or feel about God is between me and my conscience. “Spirituality”
is an amorphous, ever mutable engagement between two isolated
selves—the human individual and “God,” both apart from the
world, change, time, place and community.8

But spiritual formation is not a private affair, nor is the Christian
life ever simply an individual struggle; it is a community project, with
each of us becoming an instrument of God’s Spirit to one another.9
Thus, personal freedom reaches its greatest meaning when viewed
within a web of accountable spiritual relationships. Here we learn
something essential from the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit; we
discover how the presence (and pressure) of others actually helps us
become who we truly are meant to be, together in Christ.10

REFLECT: If growing in Christ is a community project, are you
seeking someone in your life to be in your web of accountable spiritual
relationships?

If so, who is it?

Together, how are you attending to your hearts?

RESPOND: In Trinitarian fashion, find two people this week with whom
you would like to form a six-month accountability group to pursue an
ongoing renovation of the heart. Don’t just select people quickly, but pray
and see whom God brings to mind. When you come together, you might
want to be prepared to share your responses to a few questions. Some
triads don’t need prewritten questions, but if it would help you, here are a
few questions that may assist you in getting started:

What truth affected you most from either a spoken message or
your study of God’s Word since we last met?

How have you sensed God leading you this week, and what
action will you take in partnership with Him?

How is your intimate life—your intimacy with your spouse,
your children, or your close friends? Your intimate times with
the Lord? How are you pursuing greater spiritual and soul
intimacy?

How are you contributing to God’s world? What are you
re investing in others that the Lord has invested in you? How
are you showing excellence on the job?

How can we support you in areas where God’s Spirit is inviting
you to grow and change?
What challenges are you facing that you would like us to pray
with you about?

RECORD: How did you take action this week in finding two soul
friends to journey with you spiritually?
What follow-up do you need to do next?
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Ascetics know that one important way to grow in Christ is
through the discipline of submission—not only yielding to God, but
also regarding as essential the voices of those in our communities. This
relinquishing of self-will to the common voice of wisdom and truth,
even when it is difficult, is the way to freedom through obedience. The Benedictines held a strong conviction that to submit to others, especially
those in authority, was to submit to God.11 Esther deWaal reflects:
Subjecting myself to another “in all obedience for the love of God”
means giving up my power, my arrogance, and instead submitting
myself to seek the will of God through others. If I want to grow,
openness and interaction with others is imperative since then I can
grow with the help of someone else’s gifts. I admit my limitations
and my weakness, and I let someone else hold me up so that I can
go on. This of course prevents any false self-image and cuts down
my pride in my own sufficiency.12

This is the gift submission brings. Richard Foster describes
submission as “the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always
needing to get our own way. . . . Only submission can free us sufficiently
to enable us to distinguish between genuine issues and stubborn selfwill.
In submission we are at last free to value other people.”13
To be free from ourselves is to be truly free for God; that is the
greatest kind of freedom! For as the Bible says,
So Christ has made us free. . . . Not freedom to do wrong, but
freedom to love and serve each other. Galatians 5:1, 13 (TLB)

REFLECT: As you look at your own patterns of decision making, how
willing are you to submit to others?

RESPOND: Show your continuum to your accountability partners or
people you trust. Invite them to place the initial of their first name on
your continuum based upon how they honestly experience you in the
area of submission.

autonomous and self-governing

harmonious and accommodating

Place an “N” on the continuum where you are now.
Then place an “L” on the continuum to represent where you would like to be.

Thank them for wherever they placed their initials—even if you
disagree—and ask God to help you move to greater Christlikeness in
this area. Feel free to ask others you trust to also place their initials
on the continuum and give you their feedback. Discuss with them the
“L” you gave yourself, and invite them to speak into your life whenever
they think it would be helpful. Listen to their comments in silence; try
to take seriously what they say, even when you are prone to argue or
disregard them. Talk with God about their feedback, and listen carefully
to what He says.

RECORD: How would you describe your submission this week and
your ability to receive input from God through others?

Feedback is very important. Proverbs 15:5 says that a wise person
learns from correction. When the prophet Nathan told David that God
would establish His throne and Kingdom through him, God also said,
“I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits
iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men” (2 Samuel 7:14, nasb).
How are you at listening to correction when it comes through the “rod
of men”?

Talk with God now about helping you grow in this area.
Share your intentions with a friend you can trust, asking him or her
to check in with you next month about your progress in appropriate
submission to others.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

10
THE CAREGIVER
Loving God through Serving Others
Record your temperament score for Caregiver from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for Caregiver. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE CAREGIVER
Week 1

READ: For the Caregiver, shouldering the burdens of others is a form
of worship. Mother Teresa taught us to look behind the eyes of the
poor, the sick, and the needy to see the eyes of God. She loved God
by caring for others; thus, she knew what Jesus meant when He said,
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did
for me” (Matthew 25:40).

REFLECT: Who are the “least of these” in your life right now—those
who require care but give nothing in return?

What attitude might God be inviting you to have in the way you serve
these people (seeing His face, His eyes, His needs in them)? How can
you free yourself to show love in a new way, as if you were caring for
Jesus’ physical presence through them?

RESPOND: In your journal, list those you care for whom you need to
see differently this week.
Ask God now for the grace to care for these people as you would care
for Him, to see His bodily presence in them.

RECORD: How did you change this week in attitude and action?
What do you still need God to do in your life to love the “least of these”
as Jesus loves them—and you?

Share your progress with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about your attitude and actions toward
“the least of these.” Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: In his book Conspiracy of Kindness, Steve Sjogren suggests
that Christians mix service with evangelism by doing random acts of
kindness for unbelievers, such as raking leaves for an elderly neighbor,
shoveling the snow on someone’s sidewalk, or giving out cookies on a
university campus.1 If possible, read the book this week.

REFLECT: In Sjogren’s book, random acts of kindness are done to
indirectly stimulate recipients to consider the kindness of God. Consider
God’s caregiving heart toward you. Think about the ways He has
shown kindness to you, especially through the care of others. List those
in your journal.

RESPOND: This week, ask the Lord to help you notice and respond
to random (unplanned) opportunities where you can show kindness to
others—preferably things others will not know you did.

Note the attitude of your heart as you show care. Try to remember the
ways God has cared for you, and make your actions an act of worship
to God.

RECORD: How would your describe your attempts at doing random
acts of kindness this week?
What did you learn about yourself in the process?
How is God encouraging you to be a better Caregiver?
Where do you still need to grow?

Share your progress with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check
in with you next month about this situation and the action you took.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?

How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED CAREGIVER
Week 1

READ: The Bible instructs us on how to be good Caregivers:
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one
another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation,
devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing
hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who
weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty
in mind, but associate with the lowly. Romans 12:10-16 (NASB)

REFLECT: On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being low and 5 being high),
evaluate yourself as a Caregiver in the following areas:
_____ Being devoted to others in brotherly love
_____ Giving preference to others in honor
_____ Diligently and fervently serving the Lord as you serve others
_____ Praying for others
_____ Contributing to the financial and practical needs of the saints
_____ Practicing hospitality
_____ Blessing those who persecute you
_____ Rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep
_____ Being teachable, humble, and open-minded
_____ Associating with the lowly

RESPOND: Show your numbers to someone you trust and ask that
person if you are seeing yourself accurately. If this person cannot
confirm your numbers, you will have a chance to practice being teachable,
humble, and open-minded regarding their feedback.
Select one area from the list in which you especially need to grow.

Write Romans 12:10-16 on a three-by-five card and carry it with you
this week. As you meditate on the passage, ask God to give you an
opportunity to practice caring with a new attitude.

Plan to take action this week in one of the areas above in which
you did not score a 4 or 5. For example, if the area is hospitality, invite
someone you would not normally spend time with to your house for
lunch or dinner. Start small if you need to—in other words, you may
want to invite someone from church or your neighborhood whom you
don’t know well, as opposed to a homeless person. On the other hand,
God may prompt you to care for someone you do not know who lives on
the streets, so be sensitive to His leading.

RECORD: How did you take action this week in the area of caregiving?
What did you see God do in your life as you were being stretched?

What did you see God do through you?
What did you learn?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share your progress with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check
in with you next month about this situation and the action you took.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2

READ: On the day before His death, Jesus—the greatest Caregiver of
all—gave us an amazing picture of what it looks like to care for others,
even in the midst of His own impending crucifixion. In this humble act
of service, Jesus invites us to join Him:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,
and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a
towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin,
and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the
towel with which He was girded. . . . He said to them, “Do you
know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord;
and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher,
washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I
gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly,
truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one
who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these
things, you are blessed if you do them.” John 13:3-5, 12-17 (NASB)

REFLECT: Why do you think Jesus washed the disciples’ feet that
night?

Since most of the people we have contact with probably wear shoes
and drive cars, how is Jesus’ example of removing the travelers’ dirt
applicable in your life today?

Jesus not only washed John the Beloved’s feet, He also washed Judas’s
feet. Ask God how you might apply this principle of humble service:
in your home
in your neighborhood
in your church

RESPOND: In solidarity with Jesus, find time to wash the feet of those
who look to you for leadership. If you are a pastor or business leader,
how will you wash the feet of your staff ? If you are a father or mother,
how will you wash the feet of those in your family? If no one looks to
you for leadership, select another group of people.

If possible, make this exercise a literal foot washing and explain
why you are doing it. What will you say to introduce this activity in a
way that will bless those whose feet you wash?

If you work in an environment with people who do not yet know the
Lord and who would not understand this gesture, ask God to give you
an alternate way to serve them, still utilizing the caregiving spirit. Try
to select an act of kindness that will cost you more time than money and
will increase your humility and love for others.

RECORD: How did you emulate Jesus’ example this week by washing
the feet of those who look to you?
How did that feel?
What did you learn about yourself in this process?
What did you learn about the people whose feet you washed?
What did you learn about the Lord?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share this experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how you are humbly continuing to
“wash the feet of others.”

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
Are there ways you need to take action in the future? If so, write them
in your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

11
THE CONTEMPLATIVE
Loving God through Adoration
Record your temperament score for the Contemplative from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Contemplative. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE CONTEMPLATIVE
Week 1

READ: In Scripture, the idea of living a full, productive life while intermittently
beholding God’s face was exactly the way lovers of God were
portrayed. The Bible says this about the face of God:
Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually (see
Psalm 105:4).

The Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks with his
friend (see Exodus 33:11).

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face
shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26, emphasis
added)
“When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he
exclaimed, ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the
Lord face to face!’” (Judges 6:22, emphasis added)
“Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for
I am in trouble.” (Psalm 69:17, emphasis added)
“Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will
see you face to face and be satisfied.” (Psalm 17:15, NLT, emphasis
added)

REFLECT: As you consider these Scriptures, what do you think it
means to see the face of God?
Why do you think it seems important for God’s people to see
His face?
How might that look in your life?

The Lord enjoys face-to-face encounters with us. He loves to
look into our faces and study us (see Psalm 139), just as He likes us
to look into His face and study Him—His tender eyes; His gentle,
affectionate, and affirming smile; His strength, grace, and longing for
us. Gazing at Him, you can become lost in His love. In that moment,
we forget ourselves—our blunders and the blunders of others—and
the only thing we see is God. We are transformed, changed, rearranged
by beholding His glory with an unveiled face (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
As the psalmist said,
It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm
bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light
of your face, for you loved them. Psalm 44:3

RESPOND: What is so special about a face?
Think of a person whose face you enjoy looking at, a person whose face
you are always happy to see. Who comes to mind?

In your journal, draw this person’s face or write the words that come
to mind when you look at him or her: physical characteristics or inner
attributes detected from her or his countenance.

Now spend a few moments quietly seeking the Lord’s face. What might
you learn about God from seeing His face that you would not know
otherwise?What words describe His attributes as you gaze at Him?
Write everything you see in your journal.

Talk with the Lord about your desire to see and know Him face-to-face.

RECORD: In what ways did God show you His face this week?
What would you like the Lord to do in your heart and mind to increase
your hunger, longing, and ability to see His face?

Share this experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how you are doing in your face-toface
encounters with the Lord.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).
Week 2

READ: Thomas Merton said that contemplation is the desire for unity
with God—“a return to the inmost self united with the Absolute, a
quest for Him Who is above all, and in all, and Who Alone is Alone.”1
This union with God is the goal of our faith, just as Jesus prayed:
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you
are in me, Father, and I am in you. John 17:21 (NLT)

Teresa of Avila described our union with God as living in an
interior castle, with God at the center. As we approach God and come
to live in greater union with Him, our lives begin to be given over
to our loving Lord, including regular times of deep, adoring silence.
Motives are purified as we become aware of God’s holiness and our
sinfulness; worship and work become intertwined because both become
expressions of God’s life flowing through us. This is the life Jesus
prayed we would experience with Him.

REFLECT: Ponder Merton’s words that the One “who is above all, and
in all, and Who Alone is Alone” is indeed the transcendent One who is
profoundly other in holiness and unlimited power and knowledge, with
absolute authority, command, influence, and sovereign dominion. Then
consider that this God, the Creator and Sustainer of life, has come to
earth as Immanuel—God with us—and is praying for us (see Hebrews
7:25), is living in us (see John 14:17), and has reconciled us to Himself
(see Romans 5:11).

Take a moment to consider the decision of a transcendent God to
become immanent, to be present with us and in us, to be constantly
attentive, near, accessible, active, and daily, moment-by-moment, fully
engaged with us, alive to us and in us—forever.

How does it feel to belong to this One who is nearer than breath?

RESPOND: Write John 17:20-23 on a three-by-five card. Carry it
with you this week so that at every opportunity—when you are stopping
at an intersection in your car, waiting in line, sitting between
appointments—you can meditate on the truth that God invites you to
know Him and be one with Him, just as Jesus was one with the Father.
Talk with God now about the fact that Jesus prayed for and made a
way for your union with Him to happen.
Do you think Jesus would have prayed for something that He did not
expect to occur?
If He expects it to happen, how do you think oneness with God will
look in your life?
How might you cooperate more with Him in His desire for oneness?

RECORD: Describe the state of your heart this week as you were meditating
on God’s truth—that He is transcendent yet immanent.
What did you learn about God?
What did you learn about yourself ?
Did anything change inside as you meditated upon God’s invitation to
be one with Him?
What do you think that means for you?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how oneness with God is slowly
transforming you.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God been teaching you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED CONTEMPLATIVE
Week 1

READ: For hundreds of years, people have followed the Rule of Saint
Ignatius of Loyola and have experienced what Ignatius called consolation
and desolation. These terms describe two fundamental spiritual conditions
or experiences—ways that God operates within us. Consolation is
the presence of enlivening feelings, while desolation brings feelings of
death. Ignatius described these conditions of the soul this way:
Consolation is when we are caused to love God more. When we
shed tears of love for our Lord, whether out of sorrow for our sins,
or for the Passion of Christ, or because of other things directly
connected with His service and praise, we are in consolation.
Consolation is every increase of hope, faith and charity, and all
interior joy that calls us to heavenly things, giving us peace in our
Creator and Lord.2

In contrast, this is Ignatius’s description of desolation:
Desolation is all the contrary of the first rule, such as prevailing
love for things low and earthly, the unquiet of different
temptations, lack of confidence in God, when we love not God,
when we find ourselves all lazy, tepid, sad, and as if separated from
our Creator and Lord.3

Ignatius taught that consolation was never ours to achieve or
possess, but only God’s to give. Sometimes Christians believe that if
they are doing everything correctly, all will be well in their spiritual
lives and they will automatically sense God’s presence and grow in
ever-increasing intimacy. Conversely, they believe that if desolation
comes, they must be doing something wrong. While it may well be that
desolation follows the willful blocking of God’s Spirit through carnal
behavior or attitudes, that is not always the case. Certainly when we
are not trusting God but are running our own lives, we will eventually
experience desolation. “Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land”
(Psalm 68:6, nasb). But desolation also comes because we live in a fallen world and continue to experience the results of our own fallenness,
plus that of others. Thus, even in His darkest hour, the sinless Christ
experienced desolation when He said, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). Desolation comes to all humanity this side
of heaven.

Though desolation is certainly not desirable, God allows it to
expose conditions of the heart that need to be transformed by the Lord.
It is also good for us to learn to live without the blessing of God’s “felt
presence.” When consolation is withheld (or even when dark nights of
the senses or soul are present, as described by Saint John of the Cross),
we can still live in obedience, resting wholly in God’s goodness, or as
Psalm 37:3 says, “Feed . . . on His faithfulness” (amp). Thus, when there
is no light to comfort us and we are forced to live wholly by faith, we
learn persistence and patience, and our love for God can be purified. It is
then that we realize that it is only peaceful trust in God’s character that
is required for our happiness; nothing else is needed to sustain us.

REFLECT: Developing an ever-deepening relationship with God calls
for an understanding about our lives with the Lord over time. Think
back and use the line below as a time line of your relationship with
God—from birth on the left to the present on the right. Have there
been seasons of consolation and desolation? Seasons of consolation
include times of hope, faith, and love for God, as well as all interior joy.
Seasons of desolation include times of temptation, lack of confidence in
God, laziness, and sadness.

Birth------------------------------------------------------------------------------Death

RESPOND: Now draw some symbols on the time line to reflect your
spiritual story. Use symbols to depict your significant times with God, both positive and negative, placing positive experiences above the line
and negative ones below it.

Using the line as a baseline, graph your times of consolation—
times you experienced the nearness of God—above the line. (The
higher above the line you place the symbol, the greater the intimacy
and consolation you experienced.) Also graph your times of desolation
below the line—seasons when you were unaware of God’s presence
and love, even though you may have been walking with Him. Make
this graph the story of your spiritual life.4

Now look back over your time line and circle seasons or events
when the Lord might have been inviting you to continue on with Him in
loving obedience—even when feelings of consolation were not present.
What might He have been teaching you?

How were your roots going deeper into Him during these times?
Talk with the Lord about these seasons and ways that He may even
now be inviting you to a new place of grace—either because you have
not been cooperating with Him or because you have misunderstood
desolation and your heart has grown cold. Perhaps you need His
encouragement in the midst of your current season. Tell Him that now.
Ignatius of Loyola taught that desolation is useful because it
helps us grow indifferent—even detached—from all that hinders our
relationship with God:

We were created to praise, reverence and serve God, our Lord,
and by this means to experience salvation. All things on earth are
created for us and to help us praise, reverence and serve God.

We are to use them as much as they help us in this praise, reverence and service, and ought to rid ourselves of anything that hinders our praise, reverence and service. For this it is necessary that we become indifferent to all created things so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest, desiring and choosing only what helps us praise,
reverence and serve God. This detachment comes only if we have a stronger attachment; therefore our one dominating desire and fundamental choice must be to constantly live in the living presence and wisdom of Christ, our Savior. God loves us and wants us to share life with Him forever. Our love response takes shape in our praise and honor and service of the God of our lives. All the things in this world are created because of God’s love and they become a context of His gifts, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and return His love more readily. As a result, we show reverence for all the gifts of creation.. . . But if we abuse any . . . or take them as the center of our lives, we break our relationship with God and hinder our growth as
loving persons. . . . We must hold ourselves in balance. . . . Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.5

RECORD: What did God show you this week as you made your consolation
and desolation time line?
What grace are you asking Him for in your life?
What did you learn about the Lord?
What did you learn about yourself ?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how consolation and desolation are
affecting your life with God.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Although suffering is not unique to the Contemplative spiritual
temperament, it does tend to be a theme that drives the Contemplative’s
roots deeper into the Lord. The Bible says:
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord
their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a
riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

Many Contemplatives perceive suffering as a fundamental
ingredient to open the human soul to deeper levels of spiritual insight.
From suffering comes what Isaiah referred to as the “treasures of
darkness” (Isaiah 45:3): grace that yields greater faith, intimacy with
God, patience, perspective, and wisdom. Consider these ideas about
suffering from some Contemplatives who have walked before us:

The Contemplative life, in which the hidden life of oneness with
the Divine becomes more and more central, may well begin in
an experience of pain. Evelyn Underhill calls the first stage in
the mystic journey “conversion” or “un-selfing.”6

The willingness to suffer is essential to the Contemplative
because suffering can bring new seeing, new feeling, and new
awareness; it is a path to God. Fully receptive and open, the
Contemplative is increasingly aware of her own pain and the
pain around her.7

Only through embracing our own brokenness and inadequacy
will we experience growth and new life. Thus, as we recognize
our own alienation, false gods, and deluded hopes, suffering
is inevitable. It need not be sought out; it is within, awaiting
acknowledgment.8

Beauty and cruelty, intimacy and horror, extravagance and
waste are recurring themes in Annie Dillard’s prose. In solitary
retreats she experiences intense mystic moments . . . moments
of new seeing, of profound oneness with the Source of life
. . . always accompanied by suffering, loss, despair, doubt, and
anxiety. God’s absence and God’s presence are felt simultaneously.
Dillard’s work proposes that suffering is a chief characteristic
of the contemporary mystic way.9

REFLECT: How has suffering been a part of your life?
Has suffering brought you into greater union with God? If so, how?

Think back over your life. Focus on three or four times when you were
experiencing some form of anguish or prolonged distress. How did you
respond to God while suffering?

How have you allowed the treasures or lessons of darkness—new
insights, character, and depth with God—to adorn your soul?
Do you think God causes suffering, or is it primarily an outcome of
living in a fallen world? Consider sharing your answer with a friend.

RESPOND: Write a letter to the Lord thanking Him for the treasures
or lessons of darkness you have received during times of
suffering, and thank Him for always being with you—even when you
didn’t see or feel Him. Thank Jesus for transforming the most difficult
times into good in your life, as He said He would:
We know that God causes all things to work together for good
to those who love God, to those who are called according to His
purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Note: This verse does not say that God causes all things; it says that God
takes all things that happen—even the worst of things—and causes
them to have a transformative effect that brings ultimate good into the
lives of those who love Him. In other words, God redeems all things. He
is the great Redeemer, and thus there is nothing He cannot and will not
restore and ultimately use for our benefit.

RECORD: What has God redeemed in your heart and relationship
with Him this week?
What would you still like Him to redeem in the future?
Share with a friend you can trust what God is redeeming in you—what
He is restoring and using for your ultimate benefit—and ask him or her
to check in with you next month to see how your life of redemption is
progressing.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

12
THE ENTHUSIAST
Loving God through Mystery and Celebration
Record your temperament score for the Enthusiast from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Enthusiast. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him and His truth each time you revisit
the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE ENTHUSIAST
Week 1

READ: The word worship appears in the Bible more than one hundred
times, and the word praise is used in more than two hundred passages.
Obviously, praising and worshipping God has long been an essential
aspect of spiritual life, and it continues to be vitally important in
expressing love and thanksgiving to Jesus. The word worship in the
New Testament is proskuneo, which means “to move toward” (pros) and
“kiss” (kuneo).1 Inherent in the idea of worship is the notion of bringing
a heart of affection, devotion, and love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

REFLECT: As you reflect upon your own attitude during times of
worship, do you bring your affection, devotion, and love to God?
How comfortable are you expressing your feelings to God when an
emotion is present?
Practice expressing affection, devotion, and love to God by reading the
words of this song to Him. As you do, “turn toward Him” to offer Him a
“kiss”:

No other Lover could ever discover the hope and the longing I keep in my
heart.
Only You, Jesus, could fill every longing, Only You, Jesus, could meet
every need.
You are kindness and compassion, full of mercy, full of grace,
And I love when You so tenderly hold me in Your embrace.
Always faithful, ever able, bringing healing to my soul, You’re my laughter,
You’re my treasure, You’re my song of songs, strong and true, I belong to
only You.
You are Daystar; You are Dawning, Light of lights, Joy of joys,
You are Kingdom, You are Power, You are Glory, You are Lord.2

RESPOND: Talk with God now about your ability to express affection,
devotion, and love to Him through worship. If you struggle with this,
ask Jesus for the grace to be free in the Spirit to offer Him a “heart kiss.”
This week borrow or purchase a CD with a collection of songs
containing intimate dialogue with the Lord. If you aren’t sure which
CDs fit this description, ask a staff member at your local Christian
bookstore or a friend. Then find a comfortable, quiet place where you
can listen to the songs, inviting the Lord to open your heart to Him so
you can both give and receive holy affection. Practice this exercise as
many times as possible this week.

RECORD: How would you describe your times of worship with God
this week?

What will you ask the Lord to help you do in the future so that your
love for Him will flow more freely?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about your heart of worship with God.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37: 5).

Week 2

READ: The Enthusiast is comfortable with the mystical aspects of God
and Christian spirituality, and doesn’t avoid those expressions of the
faith that, although reasonable, are sometimes unexplainable. Author
and teacher Eugene Peterson writes:
There is a huge world that we have not yet seen, an incredible
creation that we cannot account for, a complex reality that
is not defined or controlled by our experience of it. There is
more—far more. Our experience, while authentic enough, is not
encompassing. There is far more that we don’t know than what
we do know.3

Prayer, too, seems to be a mystery. How can someone in California
petition God to protect a friend in Kenya and have that protection come
within moments of the request? Like electricity, we may not be able
to totally understand how it works, but we can still use it to light our
homes! So it is with prayer: It is “a gift, a mystery made up of moments
of experience.”4

REFLECT: How do you handle the mysteries of God and those aspects
of Him or the spiritual realm you don’t totally understand?
Do you ever doubt what you can’t see or understand, especially when
it comes to the unknown, obscure workings of God? If so, how do you
process that doubt?

Psalm 103:7 says that while God made His acts known to the children of
Israel, He showed Moses His ways—how He did things and why. God
took Moses backstage, so to speak, and he got to see more revelation
from the heart and mind of God. Is there someone in your life you can talk with about your questions—a spiritual friend who knows the Lord
deeply and might help you understand more of God and His ways? If so,
who comes to mind?
What are some questions you might ask this person?

RESPOND: Call that person this week and ask her or him if you can get
together soon. If the person lives out of town, set up a time for a phone
conversation about your questions and your relationship with God.
If possible, share some of your questions in advance with this person so
he or she can think and pray before you get together.

RECORD: How would you describe your appointment with your spiritual
friend this week?
What did you learn?
Would you like to meet with this person again, perhaps on a regular
basis? If so, ask God to prepare the way for that to happen.
Share your progress into the mysteries of God with a friend you can
trust, asking him or her to check in with you next month about how you
are processing and progressing.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED ENTHUSIAST
Week 1
READ: As we’ve already seen, worship is something that is done with
the whole person—body, soul, and spirit. When we look at examples of worshippers in Scripture, we see that some are moved to silence (see
Zechariah 2:13), some stand (see Deuteronomy 29:10), some lift their
hands (see 1 Timothy 2:8), some clap (see Psalm 47:1), some bow down
(see Genesis 24:48), some shout (see Ezra 3:11), while others lie prostrate
(see Revelation 19:10). Many people even dance when worshipping
the Lord:
The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and
young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into
joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.
Jeremiah 31:13 (NLT)

Interestingly, Scripture infers that God dances too. In the seventh
century, Syrian theologian John of Damascus described the relationship
of the Trinity as a perichoresis, a “circle dance.” Choros is an ancient
Greek round dance performed at banquets and festive occasions. John
envisioned the Godhead as a holy community, a circle in which existed a
sense of joy, freedom, song, intimacy, celebration, and harmony—and we
have been invited in! Here’s what the Bible says about God delighting—
maybe even dancing—over us.

The Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He
will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm
all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

REFLECT: How comfortable are you using your whole body to
worship God?
Have you ever been moved to stand, clap, bow, shout, or lie prostrate as
you worshipped God? If so, how did it feel to use your body this way to
worship the Lord?
The psalms say, “Praise his name with dancing and make music to him
with tambourine and harp. . . . Praise him with tambourine and dancing”
(Psalm 149:3; 150:4). Have you ever danced before the Lord, using your
body as a vehicle to express your love for God?

RESPOND: Practice worshipping God this week with your whole
body. Play one of your favorite praise albums and listen closely to the
words. More important, allow the words to saturate your heart. If they
indicate standing or bowing, allow your body to assume that posture
before God.

As different thoughts and emotions come to mind, raise your hands
high or stretch them out wide to signify your abandonment and utter
devotion to God. Let your body move however it desires to express
worship and praise. Only Jesus is watching, and He is pleased by your
full surrender.
Feel the music as much as you can, allowing your body to become
an instrument of worship to the Lord. Sing along only as it helps you
express your love for God.
If you feel awkward or silly, try to “press in” past that feeling.
Pressing in, as I call it, is what happens when we commit to the process
of getting closer to God in spite of our feelings of discomfort or
uneasiness. Just as blind Bartimaeus pressed in to know Jesus (see
Mark 10:46-47) and the woman with the hemorrhage of blood pressed
in to touch Christ’s robe (see Mark 5:25-34), so we must press in with
this same dogged determination, moving past all obstacles. Pressing
in happens when we imagine ourselves on the tenth floor of a burning
building. The elevator is going down for the last time, and when the
door opens on your floor, you realize the elevator is already full. But
because there is no other way out of the building, your need for life
motivates you to press in. Compelled by a desire to save your own life,
you don’t allow social customs, the opinions of others, or even your own
comfort to stop you from getting into that elevator. In the same way,
when we want spiritual life that badly, we must press in to get it!
Practice this exercise as many times as possible this week.

RECORD: How did you experience worshipping God this week—body,
soul, and spirit?
Did you press in past your feelings and just go for it—as if it were a
matter of life or death?

What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share your worship experience with a friend you can trust, asking him
or her to check in with you next month about how you are pressing in
to God and how your relationship with Him is changing.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Even Enthusiasts—no matter how much they are able to
worship and celebrate—do not constantly live on the mountaintop. In
fact, the Bible tells us about times when God Himself led His people into
the desert or other difficult places to have their faith examined, tested,
and developed (see Matthew 4:1). Saint John of the Cross talks about
God-directed times of darkness as “dark nights of the senses and soul.”5

These times teach us detachment and attachment, helping us to become
so attached to Christ that we long to constantly live in His presence more
than we want any other created thing—we don’t care if we’re healthy
or sick, rich or poor, honored or dishonored. When we learn to detach
from all the “good things” in this world and attach ourselves primarily
to Christ, He becomes ultimately all that matters. Thus, we desire and
choose only that which helps us praise, reverence, and serve our God.
It is often these “dark night” experiences that bring us into greater
love and communion with Jesus as we detach from the things we can see
and feel, and more deeply attach our hearts to Jesus. God promises this:
I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of
secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God
of Israel, who calls you by your name. Isaiah 45:3 (NASB)

REFLECT: Have you ever been in a place of spiritual darkness, a place
you didn’t understand, where you hung on to God even though you did
not sense His presence?
If so, how did you feel and react during that time?
Did you blame yourself for being in a low place spiritually?
If so, why?

What did you learn about the Lord and about yourself during that dark
season?
What treasures of the soul did God give you during your time in the
darkness?

RESPOND: Our lives with God go through seasons. Sometimes we
feel closer, more in tune to Him. At other times we may not sense God’s
presence at all, even though He is still there. The mothers and fathers
of the faith believed that God withdrew His presence at certain times so
that His children could learn to walk with Him without the support of
“good feelings.”

To understand more about the dark seasons of life, consider reading
one of the following books:
Dark Night of the Soul, by Saint John of the Cross
Abba’s Child or Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning
Let Your Life Speak, by Parker Palmer
The North Face of God: Hope for the Times When God Seems Indifferent, by Ken Gire

After you’ve read one of these books, discuss what you learned with a close friend who understands the soul seasons of life.

RECORD: What did you learn about this season of your life this week?
If this season is not dark or difficult, what has God shown you about
times past when darkness was your companion?
Does anyone come to mind who may need to hear about what you learned?
Share with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with
you next month about this new learning and your life with God.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

13
THE INTELLECTUAL
Loving God through the Mind
Record your temperament score for the Intellectual from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Intellectual. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE INTELLECTUAL
Week 1
READ: In Old Testament times, Ezra was a man who vigorously
studied the Word of God.
Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law
of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
Ezra 7:10
For a Hebrew, studying the Torah meant being devoted to
understanding and knowing Jehovah and His message—to caringly,
faithfully, and constantly examine and probe the ancient manuscripts for

their meaning. We, too, are encouraged to be like Ezra and vigorously
study the Word of God—caringly, faithfully, and constantly.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman
who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word
of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB)

REFLECT: What biblical words or topics have you wanted to understand
more completely (for example, God’s glory, the fear of the Lord,
forgiveness, caring for the poor, God’s love and mercy)?
What is it that you want to know about this topic?
Why is this aspect of God interesting to you?
When you are curious about a Bible topic, how do you usually begin to
learn more about it?

Thomas Brooks, a seventeenth-century preacher, said, “It is not
the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey, but her
abiding for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he
that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove to be the
choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.”

RESPOND: Start a Bible study this week on a specific word or topic of
interest to you. You will need several tools: an exhaustive concordance,
a Bible dictionary, a Bible commentary, and several different translations
of the Bible. Pray that the Lord will teach you and give you understanding
of Himself and His truth as you open His Word and other
books.

First, select your word or topic and look up all the relevant and
corresponding words in your Bible and Bible dictionary.
Next, look up the word or topic in your exhaustive concordance;
find each time the word is used in Scripture.
Comparing different versions of the Bible, what do you believe
the word or verses mean? For example, compare the following
four versions of the John 1:14 and see how each gives a slightly
different flavor to the Incarnation—God becoming man:

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His
glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth. (NASB)

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was
full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory,
the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (NLT)

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind
glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start
to finish. (THE MESSAGE)

Now look up your word or topic in a Bible commentary and
study what scholars have said about it.
Continue this study until you find what you think the Lord has
for you to learn.

RECORD: What did God teach you as you studied His Word this
week?
How will your life be different from the understanding you gained about
the Lord through the topic you studied?
What did God show you about Himself ?
What did God show you about yourself ?
Share your study with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check
in with you next month about this topic and the effect it is having on
your life.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: The Bible makes an interesting statement:
Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NLT)

Here is how this verse appears in THE MESSAGE:
Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work; use your head:
The more brains, the less muscle.

REFLECT: What do you think this verse means?
What is your “ax,” and how might it need sharpening?
My pastor friend George Haraksin defines wisdom as an experiential
understanding of how to live happily, deeply, and in harmony with God,
oneself, others, and the cosmos. How is wisdom especially important in
your life?
Thinking back over the years, how has wisdom given you success? How
has ignoring it caused you trouble?

RESPOND: Ask one of your pastor friends to lunch this week—preferably
one who challenges you intellectually. At lunch, ask the pastor
how he or she stays sharp mentally—how he or she “sharpens the ax.”
Inquire about books this pastor has been reading or would recommend
to you, and about the seminars he or she is planning to attend. If these
books or seminars interest you, purchase the book or plan to attend the
seminar. Then, after you have read the book or attended the seminar,
buy lunch for your pastor friend again. This time, discuss what you’ve
learned and how you were challenged in your thinking.

RECORD: How was your time with your pastor friend this week?
What have you decided to do to keep your ax sharpened?
How will you intentionally pursue wisdom and the success it brings?
Share your pursuit with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about your longing for wisdom and the
action you are taking.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?

How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED INTELLECTUAL
Week 1
READ: The book of Proverbs tells us that just as iron sharpens iron—
one substance honing and polishing material of equal sturdiness—so
friends can sharpen, challenge, and polish one another (see Proverbs
27:17). When I read this verse, I picture two equally matched gladiators
sparring with their swords, building up one another’s strength, skills,
and capacity during practice because of the challenge they provide.
A person with an Intellectual spiritual temperament is especially
in need of friends who can challenge and provoke him or her—equals
in some capacity who can both stimulate and speak the truth in love.
This sparring may occur during hearty spiritual discussions or through
personal words of challenge. Ephesians says,
Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him
who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

REFLECT: Who in your life challenges you by speaking the truth in love?
Is there someone who may have real truth to speak into your life,
someone to whom you both enjoy talking and listening?
Is there a person to whom you resist listening because his or her style
of delivery is not the same as yours?

RESPOND: This week, ask the Lord to bring someone into your life
with whom you are equally matched in some capacity, a person who is
not afraid to speak the truth in love to you. When this person comes,
ask God to open your heart to the truth he or she brings and to give
you grace during the conversation, remembering Proverbs 12:1:
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates
correction is stupid.

RECORD: Did anyone speak the truth in love to you this week?
If so, how did you “spar”?
Did the encounter become an intellectual debate, or did you experience
it as a personal challenge from the Lord?
What was most difficult for you to receive?
How will you grow and change from the encounter?
Ask God now to give you the grace to receive the truth from others so
that you can grow from the feedback you need—both from those who
can be iron sharpening iron as well as from those whose presentations
are not as sharp as your own.
Share your growing edges with a friend you can trust, asking him or
her to check in with you next month about how you are receiving the
truth from others around you.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: There is an old song that tells us that when we’re trying to
express love for someone, the words sometimes get in the way. So it is
in our lives with God; at times the words get in the way, especially when
we try to understand, analyze, and think about all that is happening as
we spend time with the Divine. Our minds can become so busy, so full
of words, that we never come to the point of being able to simply rest,
relax, and receive from the Lord. Of course, for some, the thought of
receiving implies an increase in vulnerability and a decrease in control,
and that in and of itself can feel uncomfortable. But prayer must eventually
move from being active to receptive, especially when it comes to
allowing our minds to rest and slow down.
Psalm 46:10 says this:
Cease striving and know that I am God. (NASB, emphasis added)

In the Hebrew, the words “cease striving” literally mean to be still,
relax, fall limp, let go. God is not only asking us to give Him our lives;
He is also asking us to give Him our minds, to come to the point where
we can relax our intellects because He is God! Thus, we can stop having
to figure everything out as we let ourselves rest in the arms of a very
big God who is exquisitely brilliant.

REFLECT: How are you at turning off the flow of words in your
head—even during prayer—truly letting go, being still, relaxing your
mind in order to just be with God, ready to receive whatever He has
for you?
What would it look like for you to cease striving so that your mind
could “be still, relax, fall limp, and let go” during your times with God?
If this idea makes you uneasy, consider Psalm 46:10 again and what
it might progressively mean for you to “cease striving and know that
[He is] God.”

RESPOND: Spend some time with the Lord now. If you have a
hammock or a place to recline, go to that place, and as you lie there,
picture yourself being held by the Lord as He supports all your weight.
You are not too heavy for Him. As you begin, open your heart in this
quiet place to receive whatever God has for you. Ask for His agenda and
not your own. Now read the words of Psalm 46:1-11 (nasb):
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Now simply rest. Take time to be still and do nothing. If a word
or phrase caught your attention as you read the passage, slowly and
gently repeat the word or phrase to the Lord. Allow Jesus to bring an
image into your mind’s eye if He should choose. Let His Spirit lead your
time together. Listen for what He may want to say to you, especially if
something comforting comes to mind that you would not normally say
to yourself. Then rest in the stillness as much as possible. If your mind
begins to race or tries to control your experience, ask God for the grace
to rest and allow the words in your mind to stop so that you can make
space for Him to speak into a place of peace. Be aware of what you are
feeling.1

When your time has ended, thank the Lord for always holding
you—for being God—even when you are not in a hammock or reclining.
Now go on your way in peace.

RECORD: How was this time of letting your mind relax for you?
Did the words in your head actually stop?
What, if anything, did Jesus say to you?
What pictures came to mind?
This week, ask God to help you allow your mind to be more receptive to
His leading when you need to be still, relax, and let go.
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with you next month about how you are learning to let
go and relax with God.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

14
THE NATURALIST
Loving God through Experiencing Him Outdoors
Record your temperament score for the Naturalist from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Naturalist. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE NATURALIST
Week 1
READ: From the beginning of recorded time, the Lord has met with
His people in a garden, and it was to a garden that Jesus retreated to be
with His Father during His darkest hour:
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he
said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”Matthew 26:36
In the garden, Jesus found His “sacred space” with Abba—a place
where He could be completely vulnerable and open about what was in
His heart. For Him, the garden was a place of surrender, yieldedness, submission, and relinquishment. Here eternal decisions were at stake.
And in the solitude of that garden setting, Jesus was able to receive
from the Father the strength and comfort He needed to face what was
coming next: the Cross.

REFLECT: Just as the Son of God met His Father in a garden, where do
you most often find your “sacred space” to receive strength and comfort
from the Father during difficult times?
Why do you choose this place?
How different would it be for you to meet God outdoors for prayer—
at least a few times each week—if you are not already doing that?

RESPOND: This week, as you face each day, find a gardenlike spot, a
quiet place outdoors where you can be with the Father to gain perspective,
strength, comfort, and deep connection. As you do this, consider Jesus and
His Gethsemane. Ask the Lord to give you grace to surrender your will
as He did, trusting the ultimate outcome into the hands of a good and allknowing
Father. Practice this exercise as many times as possible this week.

RECORD: How did you meet God in the garden this week, and what
was the outcome?
How did Jesus’ Gethsemane encourage you to surrender more fully?
Share about your time with a friend you can trust, asking him or her
to check in with you next month about this and how you are doing
meeting God outdoors.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Creation inspires us to be creative. We see that God is not
simply a functional God, He is also a God of limitless variety, detail, and
extravagant beauty. Simone Weil said, “The soul’s natural inclination to
love beauty is the trap God most frequently uses in order to win it.” The
beauty of God’s creation will always have the power to move us, because
creation is still speaking—as it always has—of the wonder and magnificence of God Himself. Beauty is not just about what God makes; it’s also
about who God is. Perhaps nothing shouts more loudly of the God who
is essentially and lavishly beautiful than the creation itself. Consider
these words, which were inspired by the Creator and His creation:

THE WILD CHRIST
I surrender to an infinite Christ,
not a local, owned version but a spontaneous sanity of silence
who makes the Pleiades burn in utterly pure flame
who smears the orange chalk of the sun all over the leaves and bodies of
the trees
who rides careening clouds, like gray ponies prancing down wild rivers
of wind
who changes breezes into His angel to whisper a spacious laugh of liberty
who puts a silver moistness in dark valleys
a seep between mountains where the wild ones drink;
who cherishes birds passionately
from the inside they have to sing!
who swells succulent grasses for the white teeth of cattle;
who breathes life into a sullen bear and sucks it out again when those dark,
simmering eyes cease to burn;
who makes pear trees drip slow, golden bodies for the juice of the sun;
who seduces water into wine in every grape of the world
to celebrate a perpetual wedding feast;
who makes the human heart like a candle in meditation
to spout through it words as sputters of flame in a wind—
to sing his own wonder at the infinite plentitude of Wisdom’s everywhere
wise, spontaneous lush of being.
This is the wild Christ no one can tame!
This is the new, unknowable name.1

REFLECT: What type of “wild Christ” do you see when you look at
creation?
Do you allow yourself time to be inspired by what He has made? If so,
do you allow yourself to create after being inspired?

RESPOND: This week, as you are in God’s creation, ask Him to motivate
you to be creative in a way that best suits you. Perhaps it will be
through writing a poem, a hymn, a letter, or a story. Perhaps you will
gather leaves or see colors that inspire you to redecorate your home, add
color to your dinner table or office, or recognize the loveliness in others.
You may be inspired to visit a friend and bring flowers or a book. Allow
God to move you through His creative genius. Allow God’s beauty to
inspire you as many times as possible this week.

RECORD: What did you do that was creative this week?
What was encouraging about allowing God’s handiwork to inspire you?
What did you find challenging?
How does your soul feel when you interact with an original, artistic,
inventive God?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how the Creator is inspiring your
creativity.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED NATURALIST
Week 1
READ: God’s creation teaches us about rhythms, timing, and the
seasons of life and death. In our world, we often try to push and manipulate
to make things happen. But in God’s creation, time is required
for a seed to flower or an egg to hatch, and when the flower has lost its petals or the chick has lost its breath, no amount of effort on our part
can keep either of them alive. We humans are put in our place, humbled
by what we cannot make or control. Here we remember that God is in
charge and we are not. Nature doesn’t ask our permission to carry on;
it doesn’t check our schedules. The weather doesn’t care what we have
planned. Here we can find comfort in being smaller than the One who
is in charge.

REFLECT: How easy or difficult is it for you to experience your
powerlessness in the face of God’s unlimited supremacy?
How are you at yielding control when the rhythms of life force you to
admit that you cannot make things happen your way, at your time?
What in nature helps reinforce this lesson for you?

RESPOND: In your journal, list the things in your life that currently
escape your control.

How is God’s timing different from yours?
What in the universe encourages you to trust God with those people
and situations that you cannot move, change, or rearrange, especially
at your speed?
Write the things in creation that remind you of God’s unlimited, infinite
capacity (for example, the hundreds of millions of galaxies of stars
that God ordained, and the fact that He knows each of them by name,
according to Psalm 8:3; 147:4).
Pray a prayer of relinquishment, acknowledging your finite limitations
and God’s unlimited capacity to run His universe. Speak the truth
that God is sovereign, and allow Him to comfort you by giving you
examples from nature of the new life to come.

RECORD: How did you feel about practicing relinquishment this week?
How are you different after consciously putting yourself in a posture
that acknowledges your trust in an infinite God?

Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with you next month about your growing awareness of
God’s unlimited capacity.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: It is good to recall that God is Master of the forces of nature,
even the wind and the waves:
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side
of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he
fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was
being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went
and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm
subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his
disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who
is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they
obey him.” Luke 8:22-25

REFLECT: Imagine what it must have been like to be with Jesus and
feel constantly unprepared—even somewhat jarred and unsettled—
by His tendency to say and do the unexpected, even the supernatural.
How do you think you would have responded in this same situation, had
you been with Jesus in the boat as it was filling with water?
As you reread the passage, what strikes you about Jesus’ character and
behavior in this story?

The Scripture tells us that after Jesus fell asleep, a fierce gale of wind
descended and the boat was actually in real danger. Perhaps this was
a typical storm, or maybe it was one brought on by the enemy, whose
intention it was to wipe out the Son of God. Why do you think Jesus
was able to sleep during such a bad storm?
If you had Jesus’ perspective, how might that alter your peace in the
storms you are facing?

Jesus’ storm was real; the water in the boat was real; the danger was
real! Why, then, do you think Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?”
What do you think He expected of His disciples?

RESPOND: In the account of this storm, we suppose the Son of God
was sleeping because He knew His Father wasn’t. The Scriptures say,
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:2-8

Isn’t it nice to know that the Sovereign God is never sleeping on
the job? Do you think Jesus might have expected the disciples to step up
to the plate and exercise their faith and delegated authority to stop the
storm themselves (see Matthew 10:1; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1)? Do you think
they could have used their own faith and the delegated authority Jesus
had already given them, to rebuke the wind and waves, saying, “Peace,
be still”? Why or why not?

How have these words of Jesus, “I tell you the truth, anyone who
has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater
things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12),
allowed you to use His delegated authority to stop storms in your life—
literally or otherwise?
Think about the areas of your life in which God’s authority needs to be exercised over the enemy and the elements. Partner with Him
now in prayer and speak to the storms in your life, using your delegated
authority to say, “Peace, be still.”

RECORD: How did you partner with God this week over the enemy
and the elements?
What new initiatives did you sense God giving you as you prayed?
Share your insights with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how you are learning to partner
with Jesus to see His peace come into your life and the lives of others.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

15
THE SENSATE
Loving God through the Senses
Record your temperament score for the Sensate from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Sensate. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE SENSATE
Week 1
READ: Music must be extremely important to God, because it is
talked about from Genesis to Revelation. Even at Creation, the morning
stars were singing together and the angels were lifting their voices in
joy (see Job 38:6-7).

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great
and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior
has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and
Master.” . . . At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir
singing God’s praises. Luke 2:10-13 (THE MESSAGE, emphasis added)

I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like
the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the
sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song
before the throne. Revelation 14:2-3 (NASB, emphasis added)
The Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He
will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm
all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT, emphasis added)

REFLECT: How important is music to you—the kind of music that
soothes your soul?
Have you ever wondered what the following events were (or will be) like?
the morning stars singing together and the sons of God
shouting for joy
the angelic choir lighting up the sky and singing at Christ’s birth
the throne of God with the elders and thousands of saints
singing to the Lamb
the Lord Himself singing over you a happy song
If you could experience one of these events now, which would you most
like to hear?

RESPOND: Select some classical or contemporary music to listen to that
has no words. If you don’t know where to start, Handel’s “Pastorale” from
Messiah or Pachelbel’s Canon in D might be helpful, though any soothing
instrumental music will do. Then use your spiritual imagination to listen
for God’s voice through the sounds and moods of the music. Allow the
music to suggest words and a story as you listen.
Let the songs become a prayer, a melody of love between you and the
Lord, and let your soul be “held” by the melody as it unfolds.

RECORD: How did the music inspire your interaction with God this
week?
What did you learn about yourself and the Lord?

What surprised you? What challenged you? What blessed you most?
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or
her to check in with you next month about your life with the God of
music and song.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: When Jesus walked the earth He taught His disciples to pray
for and believe in the unseen:
Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 (emphasis added)
In Hebrews, it is recorded,
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see. Hebrews 11:1 (emphasis added)
As we partner with God in intercessory prayer, He allows us to use our
God-given, God-surrendered imaginations to visualize the unseen by
faith. In His grace, He invites us to trust Him to call that which is not
yet visible into being.

REFLECT: How is your prayer life? Do you ever use visualization—
picturing people and things in your mind—as you pray?
When you pray, do you mostly visualize circumstances as they are
now—the current condition of things—or do you see what you are
hoping for and asking God to do?
As you intercede for others, do you sense that you are a partner with
the Almighty and that He has given you authority to work with Him by
asking boldly—believing that you have received that for which you’ve
asked?

RESPOND: On a note card, write the names of five or more people
you feel led to intercede for this week. Feel free to fill up the card
with names if you prefer. These may be friends or family members, people coping with chronic illness, loved ones far away from the Lord,
or just people for whom you want to intercede.

Now as you pray, look at the card; as you see each name, visualize
the face of the person for whom you are praying. Take a few moments
to focus on his or her face, seeing all the features you can remember.
Picture the face of that person as it might be right at this moment.

Then, as you think of that person’s need, with his or her face still in
focus, invite the Lord to lead you in His Kingdom purpose for that
person’s life; see the Lord touch that person and provide exactly what
you are asking. If you are praying for people who are ill, picture the
Lord touching them and healing them. Say aloud words like these:
Lord, I bring to You [name]; surround [him/her] with Your
loving arms this day and give [him/her] great strength.
Lord, I lift up [name]; may Your healing hand touch [him/her]
and raise [him/her] out of that place of depression.
Continue to pray for whatever is needed as you move through your list
using visualizing faith.1

RECORD: How was your prayer time this week as you visualized and
interceded for others?
Write down the date and what you pictured for each person. Be ready to
see God’s answers when they come.
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or
her to check in with you next month about how God is answering your
prayers of faith visualized.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?

If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED SENSATE
Week 1
READ: The art and architecture humankind creates can speak powerfully
of the Creator’s magnificence and beauty. Sometimes a masterpiece on
canvas or stained glass can lead us deeply into an awareness of God and
enhance our communion with Him. Some people find that they can best
meditate on God’s character and attributes by studying a photograph, a
drawing, or a work of art. Many Sensates discover that great paintings
viewed in a book or museum give concrete expression to their prayers.
Paintings or drawings can be explicitly religious, such as Michelangelo’s
well-known depiction of the creation of Adam, or simple landscapes or
pictures of children may move to an awareness of God.

This week, find a place of beauty that speaks to you—such as a
painting, a cathedral, a museum, or a High Church with icons. As you
drive through your town, be aware of the architecture as it catches your
eye. Then find one painting, statue, or stained-glass window on which
to focus. Allow ten to twenty minutes to sit and be spoken to through
the message of the art and artist. Study what humankind can do, and
let it inspire you to praise the great, eternal Designer, Architect, and
Artist.

RECORD: How did the beauty of art, architecture, marble, or stained
glass inspire you spiritually this week?
What did you learn about the Lord?
What did you learn about yourself ?
What were you prompted to do as a result of focusing upon this piece
of created beauty?
Share about your time with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how the created beauty around you
is stirring you spiritually.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: Worshipping God is, of course, more than just singing
songs; it is allowing ourselves—body, soul, and spirit—to come into
God’s presence while releasing ourselves into His hands. One way
of moving into God’s presence is through the use of prayer chants, a
spiritual exercise going back centuries to our Judeo-Christian roots.
Long before a system of musical notation was developed, monks were
learning to chant orally, gathering a repertoire of more than five thousand
chanted melodies that still exist today.

Just as gloves adapt themselves to hands, so chants adapt
themselves to prayer, and prayer is a window through which we gaze
at God. Chanting is a rhythmic, verbal, auditory, and kinesthetic
practice. Likened to praying through song, a chant is different from
ahymn because, while a hymn is linear—moving from a beginning to
an end, usually through several verses—a chant is circular, relying
upon repetition to facilitate the experience.2 Psalm 136 is an example
of a biblical chant:
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 136:1-5 (NASB)

REFLECT: How familiar are you with Christian chanting?
If it is foreign to you, consider how God has met you in the past
through new and unfamiliar experiences.
Invite the Lord to meet you as you enjoy an experience of “cutting loose” and worshipping Him in a way that might be new and different
for you.

RESPOND: Begin now worshipping with a prayer chant. Use the
repetitive phrase in Psalm 136 as your model: “His lovingkindness is
everlasting.”

As you begin, think of ways you have experienced the Lord’s
lovingkindness in the last few months. Then spontaneously create and
sing out words of praise or thanksgiving; keep all the words on one
note, with the exception of the next to the last syllable, which is raised
or lowered by a third. In the word “ev-er-last-ing,” the syllable “last”
will be lowered a third. This gives the chant a harmonic, dissonant
flavor. (If you have heard Gregorian chants or the psalms sung in a
monastery, this process may be familiar to you.) The important thing is
not that you get this exactly right but that you pray aloud to the Lord
in a way that makes His goodness more vivid in your heart and mind.
Don’t worry about the tune; just make one up if that suits you better,
or use my suggested breaks here:
Thank You, Lord, for help-ing me get this pro-ject com-plet-ed
(hold the last note),
Your lov-ing-kind-ness is e-ver-la-a-sting.
I love You, Lord, for the grace and en-er-gy You give me,
Your lov-ing-kind-ness is e-ver-la-a-sting.
May You re-ceive glor-y and plea-sure from my work, Lord,
Your lov-ing-kind-ness is e-ver-la-a-sting.

Now put in your own words, and let them be spontaneous, with
“Your lovingkindness is everlasting” after each impromptu phrase.
Practice this exercise as many times as possible this week, using a
different psalm each time or making up the words on your own.

RECORD: How did you feel as you practiced your prayer chants this
week?

Were you able to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you through unfamiliar
times of worship as you formed impromptu words of unplanned praise?
What did you learn about the Lord?
What did you learn about yourself ?
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or
her to check in with you next month about your ongoing life of prayer
with God.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

16
THE TRADITIONALIST
Loving God through Ritual and Symbol
Record your temperament score for the Traditionalist from page 158. ______
Is it high, medium, or low? ______
Record your practice score for the Traditionalist. _____
Is it high, medium, or low? _____

In spiritual development, repetition is one way the Lord brings growth
and transformation. Through repetition, God’s Spirit can deal with us
at ever-deepening levels and in more detail, which is why we will be
focusing on one exercise for an entire week. It will be helpful for you
to read and review the weekly activity each day, asking God to increase
your capacity to know and love Him each time you revisit the exercise.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE INTERMEDIATE TRADITIONALIST
Week 1
READ: Rituals keep our lives ordered and in rhythm. Just like brushing
our teeth daily is a habit that helps us take care of our teeth, so spiritual
habits help us take care of our relationship with God. Because rituals
“provide a way for us to enter into God’s glory and still be protected
from a force that is too great for human experience,”1 the Bible suggests
many practices that can help us know and love God more deeply.

One such practice is the way in which we come to the Lord, the
attitude and posture of our hearts. As Scripture tells us:
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and
come into his presence. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
1 Chronicles 16:29 (NLT)

In this passage, we are taught to come to God:
reverently respectful, recognizing who God is and all He has done,
attentive to the glory He deserves sacrificially surrendered, bringing an offering of value to Him This means we come with a soul that is clothed in peace and trust.

REFLECT: When you come to worship the Lord, what is the attitude
of your heart? Are you reverently respectful—mindful of who He is and
all He has done, attentive to the glory He deserves?
Do you come sacrificially surrendered, bringing an offering of value to
Him?
In what condition is your soul? Is it prepared? ready? expecting to
experience His splendor? Do you anticipate that God will meet you?

RESPOND: This week as you come to God, give Him your full attention.
When you come, begin in silence and allow at least the first five
minutes to be a time to recall who God is and all He has done—from
the beginning of time until today.

Then bring Him an offering. As you go to your regular place of
worship, your offering may be your regular church tithe, or it may be
something sacrificial you do for someone that you keep secret between
you and the Lord. Ask God to show you what sacrifice or offering He
would like you to give.

In Old Testament times, people covered their heads during worship
to show respect and surrender. This head covering was like a modernday
shawl.

In the privacy of your own home, find a shawl or something
appropriate to use to cover your head during your time of prayer. As
you do this, realize that the shawl is a symbol of the submission and
respect God deserves. Remember that you are doing this to honor God,
showing that you have set aside this time especially for Him. You may
want to say something to the Lord as you put on the shawl, such as, “I
am a servant of the living God, adorning myself for You, Jesus.” Then,
as you cover your head, use a moment of your time to examine your
heart. Look within and ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas where
repentance and deeper surrender are needed.

RECORD: How was your time with the Lord this week?
How did it feel to come to God?
reverently respectful, mindful of who He is and all He has done,
attentive to the glory He deserves?
sacrificially surrendered, bringing to Him an offering of value?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him
or her to check in with you next month about how you are sacrificially
coming to the Lord with respect.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 2
READ: In the Bible, many of God’s people built altars to represent victories
or special meeting times when the Lord came to them or changed
their lives significantly (such as Noah in Genesis 8:20; Abraham in
Genesis 12:7; Isaac in Genesis 26:25; Jacob in Genesis 35:1; Moses in
Exodus 17:15; Balaam and Balak in Numbers 23:2; and Joshua in Joshua
8:30). One generation taught the next generation to build altars of stones
as a memorial to God, symbolizing their encounters with Him.
The Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be
remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it. . . .” Moses built
an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. Exodus 17:14-15

REFLECT: Consider all the times God has led you and met you in
significant ways.
If you were to build an altar of stones representing the things God has
done for you, what would some of your stones signify?

RESPOND: With your family or close friends, construct an altar to the
Lord. Find enough rocks so that all who gather can signify with stones
what the Lord has done for them, special times He has led and blessed
their lives both individually and as a family. Use actual stones and write
on them with a permanent marker, constructing this altar in a significant
place in your yard (or in a park somewhere you can visit), a place
you can use to help you remember God’s work on your behalf. If you
live in a place where constructing an altar is not feasible, draw an altar
in your journal and write words signifying the meaning of every stone.

Begin by giving every person five to ten small stones, with more
available as needed. Allow everyone to remember God’s work in his or
her life, writing on the stones the title or theme of the event. Do not
minimize this experience for children, even though you may need to
help them think of times God answered prayer or blessed them. When
everyone is finished writing, begin to build the altar. It may be good to
go around the circle, allowing each person to share one stone at a time.
Once your altar has been built, close your time in prayer. Revisit
your altar as often as you want or need to—when it is important for you
to remember what God has done for you individually or as a family.

RECORD: How did your family or friends respond this week to
building an altar?
What did you learn about the Lord?
What did you learn about your family or friends?
What did you learn about yourself ?
What follow-up do you need to do in the future?
Share about your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him
or her to check in with you next month about how your altar-building
experience is encouraging your family and increasing their trust in God.

Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FOR THE ADVANCED TRADITIONALIST
Week 1
READ: Change is unavoidable. Things wear out and new items need
to be purchased to replace the old; jobs come and go; friends and family
move or pass away. In fact, in this life, nothing remains unchanged—
except God Himself:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
God alone is permanently unchangeable!

REFLECT: Consider all the changes in your life—both those that were
helpful and those that were particularly hard. Think through the life of
Jesus and all the changes He ushered in, even though many of the religious people of His day resisted those changes.
Are there changes in your life (or in your church) that you are watching
or resisting, even though Jesus may actually be ushering them in?
What might some of those changes be?
If you are watching, how can you get involved? If you are resisting,
consider why you are inflexible. What are you afraid of ?

RESPOND: Read through the book of Acts in the New Testament this
week. Record all the changes God brought to His people—first-time
experiences for the church.
How did the people respond to the changes?
How would you have handled the Spirit’s movement if He had brought
so many changes to your church that quickly?

RECORD: How do you typically respond to change in your life?
Ask your spouse or a close friend to pray with you, inviting God to give
you the grace to accept His changes with peace and to trust in your
unchanging God.
What did God show you about yourself and Him?
Share your insights with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to
check in with you next month about how you are handling change.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).
Week 2

READ: Jesus asks us specifically to “remember Him” when we gather.
He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them,
saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance
of me.” Luke 22:19
Though Jesus instituted a time and space for us to remember Him,
just before His crucifixion, He is also remembering us now, refusing to
drink the cup again until we are with Him in His Kingdom:
Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink
it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom. Matthew 26:29 (NLT)

REFLECT: Consider how often you take time and make space to really
remember Jesus and what He has done for you.
Is it daily, weekly, or monthly Communion? Any other times?

RESPOND: This week, allow Communion to be a daily reminder of the
Lord. If others in your home would like to participate, welcome them to
join you, but do not allow their lack of interest to deter you.
Begin your time of Communion by preparing some bread and wine (or
grape juice). Then read this Scripture:
I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that
the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My
body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same
way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new
covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance
of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NASB)

Take some bread and break it, saying, “This is the body of Christ,
which was broken for me.” Now eat the bread slowly, remembering
Christ’s body broken for you. (If you are taking Communion with
another person, give the bread to one another, saying, “This is the body
of Christ, which was broken for you.”)

Then drink the wine or grape juice and say, “This is the blood of
Christ, poured out for my sins and the sin of the whole world.” Drink
the wine or grape juice slowly, remembering Christ’s blood shed for
you. (If you are taking Communion with another person, give the wine
or grape juice to one another saying, “This is the blood of Christ, which
was spilled for you.”)

After you are done, do as Jesus did and sing a hymn or one of your
favorite worship songs (see Matthew 26:30).

RECORD: How were your times of Communion this week?
What did remembering Jesus do for your relationship with Him?
What did you learn about yourself ? about the Lord?
Share your experience with a friend you can trust, asking him or her to check in with you next month about how taking Communion has helped
you remember the One who always remembers you.
Write a prayer, committing your steps to the Lord (see Psalm 37:5).

Week 3
INTEGRATION: Review the last two weeks. What has God taught
you?
How will you integrate what you have learned into your life?
If there are ways you need to take action in the future, write them in
your journal.
Now receive God’s total grace and reflect upon His unalterable love for
you—no matter how you feel you did on these spiritual exercises the
last few weeks.

NOTES
CHAPTER 8
1 Dorothee Soelle, Suffering (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975).
CHAPTER 9
1 Thomas Crum, Journey to Center (New York: Fireside, 1997), 56.
2 Guigo II, The Ladder of Monks: A Letter on the Contemplative Life and Twelve Meditations,
translated By Edmund College and James Walsh (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian
Publications, 1979), 67–68.
3 Ibid., 68.
4 Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of Saint Benedict Today
(San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990), 49.
5 Margaret Guenther, Holy Listening (Boston: Cowley Publications, 1992), 82–93.
6 Larry Crabb, The Safest Place on Earth: Where People Connect and Are Forever Changed
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999), 124.
7 Rodney Clapp, A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, l996), 194.
8 Ibid., 34, 36.
9 Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans,
2000), 496–497.
10 Norvene Vest, Friend of the Soul: A Benedictine Spirituality of Work (Boston: Cowley
Publications, 1997), 115.
11 Brent Peery, “Benedictine Spirituality Contextualized for Evangelical Christians”
(DMin dissertation, Azusa Pacific University, 2002), 83.
12 Esther DeWaal, Seeking God: The Way of Saint Benedict (Collegeville, Minn.: The
Liturgical Press, l984), 47.
13 Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: Harper, 1978), 111–113.
CHAPTER 10
1 Steve Sjogren, Conspiracy of Kindness (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant, l993).
CHAPTER 11
1 Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation (San Francisco: Harper,
1959), 30.
2 James Wakefield, Sacred Listening (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2006), 43–44.
3 Ibid., 44.
4 Thanks to Church Resource Ministries, my friend and colleague Dave Jackson, and the
Imago Christi Team for developing this exercise.

5 Ignatius of Loyola, “Principle and Foundation” (handout in Catherine Gregg’s class on
Ignatian Spirituality, July 2002, Azusa Pacific University).
6 Peter Berger, A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural
(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969), 135.
7 Ibid., 486.
8 Bruce Ronda, “Annie Dillard and the Fire of God,” Christian Century 100 (May 18,
1983), 485.
9 Ibid., 483.
CHAPTER 12
1 W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Volume IV (Old Tappan,
N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1966), 235.
2 Andrea Hunter and Marty Goetz, “Only You, Jesus,” Healing Presence, Life Unto Life
Music, 1996, Singin’ in the Rain Music.
3 Eugene Peterson, Subversive Spirituality (Vancouver, B.C.: Regent College, 1994), 21.
4 Sebastian Moore and Kevin Maguire, The Experience of Prayer (London: Darton,
Longman & Todd, 1969), 103–104.
5 Saint John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, translated and edited E. Allison Peers
(N.Y.: Doubleday, 1990).
CHAPTER 13
1 Thanks to my friend Nancy McDowell for sharing her meditative prayer model.
CHAPTER 14
1 Poem by Blake Steele, a mystic and a poet. Used with permission.
CHAPTER 15
1 Exercise adapted from Floyd W. Churn, “Nourishment for Peculiar Pilgrims on the
Journey of Faith,” DMin dissertation, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1995, 119.
2 Ibid., 132.
CHAPTER 16
1 Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 88.