Discipleship

JOURNEY INTO WHOLENESS

40 Days of Reflection & Growth

Week 1: Introduction

WHOLENESS: Rather than our life being made up of a separate silo for our physical life, emotional life, intellectual life, relational life, and spiritual life—so that each area is separate from the others—we are whole people.  One aspect of our life is integrally related to the other.  Rather than our spiritual life being the center of a wheel and everything else being the spokes—so that if we just get our spiritual life together, then everything else will come along—our walk with God is the entire wheel.  Our walk with God IS our physical bodies, our emotions, our intellect, and our relationships!

As we continue to make a journey together over the next 40 days, we will reflect in an honest and open way on our physical bodies, our emotions, our intellect, and our relationships.  We will explore aspects in each of these areas where we can grow and develop.  We will face our weaknesses and impediments in each of these areas honestly and openly.  We will dream and imagine of ways to “move on” beyond these weaknesses so that we can be whole, healthy, and growing people.  We will celebrate what it means for us to be made in God’s image in our entirety—body, emotions, intellect, and relationships.

Just to begin the thought processes…

Week 2: Mind

This week we reflect on the role that our mind has in our life and how we are nourishing our minds…

• Can you think of a time in your journey when you had one of those mental “a-ha” moments and came across a totally new way of thinking or even new information that you had not known before? How did you respond?

• When it comes to using your mind, how do you perceive yourself? Where did this self-perception of your mind come from? How does this self perception affect your ability to think and to learn? 

• What occupies your mind and thought processes during most of the day?
  
• In a typical learning setting, do you tend to engage your mind or do you tend to put it more into “neutral”? Why?
  
• What do you consider to be the top two or three sources in your life for giving you ways to think?
  
• When you are seeking information, where do you tend to go first?
  
• When you are introduced to new thoughts or concepts, how do you tend to react? Are you receptive to new ideas? How do you evaluate and analyze those thoughts and concepts?
  
• In exercising your mind, what are the two greatest struggles you face? What are two strengths?
  
• How do you see the interrelationship between your mind and your physical life? Your emotions? Your relationships?
  
• How does your walk with God affect your mind and thought processes? How does your mind and thought processes affect your walk with God?

Week 3: Body

• In taking care of your body, what are the two greatest struggles you face? What are two strengths?
  
• What does your daily diet look like? Are you aware of your calorie and fat intake? Do you attempt to eat foods that will provide healthy nourishment to your body? Why do you eat the way that you do?
  
• During a typical week, what type of exercise does your body get? What most often prohibits you from exercise and what can you do to overcome what prohibits you?
  
• On a regular basis, are you getting between 7-9 hours of sleep each night? Can you think of examples where lack of sleep affected your mind, relationships, and emotions? What most often prohibits you from getting the sleep that your body needs in order to remain healthy?
  
• How do you handle stress? Do you have someone with whom you can talk to when you are dealing with significant stress? Do you spend at least 30 minutes a day engaging in something relaxing to your body and mind?
  
• Are there other practices in your life that affect your physical life in negative ways that you might begin to deal with?
  
• Do you monitor the health of your body by regular physical check-ups with a physician?
  
• How do you see the interrelationship between your physical body and your mind? Your emotions? Your relationships?
  
• How does your walk with God affect the way in which you care for your body? How does the health of your body affect your walk with God?

Week 4: Relationships

This week we reflect on the role that our relationships have on our life and how we are caring for those relationships...

·  In taking care of your relationships, what are the two greatest struggles you face?  What are two areas of relational strength?

·  Are there relationships that need to be initiated, reconciled, or renewed?

·  How do you know if your relationships are healthy? How healthy are your relationships with your family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, roommates, etc.?

·  During a typical week, how much time are you investing in others? What ways are you investing in others? What most often prohibits you from being fully available to others?

·  Are there any relationships in which you have become judgmental, exclusive or proud? What steps can you take towards resolving those issues?

·  Do you have a relationship in which you are held accountable to the way you live your life? Are you able to be truly vulnerable and authentic with this person?

·  In what ways do you practice hospitality towards others?

·  How approachable are you by those that know you? How approachable are you by those who don’t know you?

·  What qualities do you expect in a good friend? Do you possess these qualities?

·  How do you see the interrelationship between your relationships and your mind? Your emotions? Your body?

·  How does your walk with God affect the way in which you care for others?  How does the health of your relationships affect your walk with God?

        Week 5: Walk with God 

· How is your relationship with God? What are you basing this perception on?

· During a typical week, how much time are you intentionally investing into your relationship with God? What most often prohibits you from being fully available to God?

· What spiritual disciplines (i.e. prayer, reading scripture, corporate worship, etc.) are you currently practicing? What are the fruit of these disciplines?

· Are there disciplines that you are not currently practicing that you want to start incorporating into your life? How can you begin to do that?

· Are there disciplines which you are not attracted to (i.e. fasting, silence, solitude, etc.), but might need in your life? Are you open to putting these into practice? How?

· What kind of accountability will you need in order to hold to these disciplines? Is there a person or a group that could provide this for you? Are you holding others accountable?

· How do you see the interrelationship between your walk with God and your mind? Your emotions? Your body?

· How does your walk with God affect the way you live?  How does the way you live affect your walk with God?