LIFE Publication
Edition 10, Issue 37 - 2020
Keep hope alive, even when the path ahead is unclear Candy Daniels
IN THIS ISSUE • • • • •
Courageous HOPE Trusting the Equipment Responding to Trauma The Language of Play God Languages
Turn the pages to discover more!
WELCOME.... The LIFE publication is produced quarterly. Our goal is to motivate and encourage you as you take one step at at time on the path ahead. Life is a journey with many twists and turns, valleys and mountains, laughter and sorrows. It is not always how we start that matters, rather how we choose to live everyday with the options and choices that are before us. Each edition offers articles and life stories (LIFE-talks) of peoples’ joys, struggles, beliefs and why they have come to certain conclusions or how they contine to unpack the journey ahead. We hope that these will offer you hope with tips you can implement as you journey through life. Today, choose to live and love your life!
Table of Contents Edition 10, Issue 37 - 2020....................................................................................... 1
Courageous Hope ........................................................................................... 2 Trusting the Equipment .................................................................................. 3 Loosening the Grip ......................................................................................... 3 Year of 20/20.................................................................................................. 4 Responding to Trauma ................................................................................... 5 Freedom ......................................................................................................... 7 The Language of Play ...................................................................................... 7 ~ LIFE-talks ~ ................................................................................................. 8 God Languages‌ .................................................................................................... 8
Courageous Hope Candy Daniels It is with a grateful heart that I reflect on the beginning of our tenth year of this publication. Firstly, I would like to thank all those who have contributed to each of the 37 issues. To our many readers from around the world, thank you for journeying with us and for the emails and comments over the years. We love having feedback, as we thrive on interaction. When the publication started, little did I know that it would reach people across the waters from Australia, nor the many contributors who have graced us with their thoughts and stories. I believe all the articles over the years have been thought provoking and the many personal stories have been inspiring. The goal of the articles has always been to write from the heart. Writing from the heart to an unknown audience is challenging and thus takes courage. When we start something new, we never know the outcome. Yet, a step was taken with courageous hope and I dared to dream of sharing articles and life stories that would inspire, challenge, encourage and motivate. As we face a new year and new decade, and for many it is a new season, I would encourage you to take hold of hope with courage. Courage is the ability and strength of the mind to not give up or give in when faced with challenges. The issue is how we perceive the challenge before us. The battleground is most often in our mind. We fight many battles in our mind regularly. Take a moment to stop and think about how many you have won, how many battles you have given in to or walked away from, and how many you have lost. Now, with all these battles in your mind, what was your perspective? What did you see as you looked around the battlefield? Where had you placed your trust and what was your expectation of the challenge you perceived? LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
You see, we all need a dose of hope for daily living. Hope gives us light to see clearly amidst the challenge. Hope ignites desire within the heart and cultivates trust within the mind. When our soul is hopeful, we rise up with courage and are ready to look at things from different angles, to seek different perspectives to rise above the challenges, because then we focus on the desire. I once read a quote by James Allen who stated, "Whether you be man or woman you will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour." This year I dare you to step out of the battlefield of your mind, gain a new perspective, take a closer look at the desires of your heart and dare to not just dream but to chase after them. Believe you have what it takes. If you can’t believe, then find someone who believes in you and your ability and dream. Fine tune the skills you have and if you need new skills then get trained up. Get rid of the excuses. Reach out and hold fast with courageous hope. There is a path before you, take one step at a time and start walking. Listen to those who will challenge, motivate and encourage you. Watch out for those who will cast doubt upon you. Doubt is where the dust starts to unsettle in the mind, and we forget the goal ahead and our vision becomes blurred. Each day put HOPE into practice. H – honour your body, soul and spirit Ensure you are rested, have movement and consume a healthy diet. O – observe your thought life You will become the person you think you are. P – pursue your goals with purpose You were created with purpose; pursue it with passion. E - establish your network Grow your circle of influencers, encouragers and motivators. If you would like to know more about establishing courageous HOPE, get in touch. 2020
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Trusting the Equipment Jodie Chambers All strapped in. The guide checks all the clips to make sure they are secure. He turns to me and says, “Whenever you are ready!”. I lean into the harness with my husband’s words, “Trust the equipment”, echoing in my head. I push off and go flying through the air, supported on my zipline by one clip. There is no turning back; I am heading off to the end regardless of anything I do. Oh, I could put the brake on the slide and come to a stop, but then I will be stuck in the middle, as well as having to endure the embarrassment of being rescued. I could close my eyes and wait for the ride to end, a very promising idea, or enjoy the scenery as it rushes by me. I could even go completely wild and do some twirls and flips that the guide has suggested I do along the way. Whatever I decide, I can’t change the fact that I need to “Trust the equipment”. I also need to trust the guide who clipped me in, although trusting the guide feels a little easier for me to do than trusting the equipment. I mean, equipment can fail at any time…can’t it? The year has come to an end and a new one is about to begin. The end of one season and the start of another. For some, it is the end of one chapter in life and the start of another. Life is full of endings and beginnings and we don’t really know what the new year is going to bring, yet we head straight into the unknown of 2020. We set things up to run through the year as usual like doing the same job, living in the same house, still doing the daily chores but it’s the small things we are unaware of that create the ups and downs, surprises and joys in life. Will the equipment fail? Will I be able to stop? What control will I have? Should I try a triple summersault? These questions can leave us not trusting the equipment and perhaps not engaging in life. When my husband said that the best way to overcome my misgivings at ziplining was to trust the equipment, I thought it sounded so LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
true and yet so hard to do. I was holding on to my harness as though my life depended on it. In reality, my life depended on the one little man-made clip that attached me to the zipline. Things that we trust to help us in life tend to be man-made. The car we drive, the house we live in, electrical equipment and other gadgets have all been made by human hands and we place our trust in their efficiency. At some time or another they have all failed. Cars break down, houses age and need maintenance and in this disposable society, electrical goods need replacing. We are told that when we put our trust in God, He never fails. He doesn’t break down, fall over or wear out, yet He is the last person we trust. God is fully equipped to bring us through any crazy ride that life throws at us while also helping us look at the scenery. He is the equipment! Life is to be lived forward. We can’t turn back time or go back to a different year. We are all moving forward yet how many of us are trying to move forward while always looking back? By not trusting where we are going and the path that is before us, we are walking backwards. It stands to reason that if we continue to allow our past-focused brain to dominate our God-equipped future, we will stay in the same place. Our future is in God’s hands. He knows what 2020 has for each of us. Are your ready to trust the equipment and allow Him to take control of the little things and the big things ahead? Perhaps you could trust enough to try some crazy twirls and summersaults.
Loosening the Grip Amorelle Blom We have just welcomed in a new year, which stirs up mixed thoughts and emotions. For some, there may be a sense of eager anticipation and excitement at the possibilities which lie ahead. For some, a sense of dread that the challenges of the previous or yester years may 2020
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continue, while yet for others, fears and uncertainties loom large and overwhelming. Then there are the self-confessed ‘happy-go-lucky’ types, who sail through from one year to the next, apparently carefree and often directionless. Which category do you fit into? Whichever it is, we all deserve happiness, security, fulfilment of dreams, peace of mind and heart… and the list goes on. So, what does this all have to do with grip? Isn’t it a good thing to hold on tight in order to achieve goals, aim for that target, strive for that medal, build that house, manage that relationship and so on? Well, that depends on how much of ‘you’ is being invested into the task or role. Take a moment to consider where you are and what your involvements are. Then assess: how much of yourself are you giving to whatever is your focus? How tightly are you holding on? Now, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with setting goals, aiming high and working towards what we want in life. However, there is a negative outworking when we make these things our sole focus and sow too much of ourselves into these pursuits. Why? Because life is uncertain and we humans are easily duped by the falsity of tomorrow, next year and the year after, when all we have is now. EVERYTHING in this life is transitory and the tighter we hold on, the greater the pain when we lose it. Let’s consider a few important things: • • • •
pointment, anxiety, stress, and in some instances, regret, guilt, anger, depression, overwhelming grief and even suicide. We are unable to insulate ourselves against these, but can we develop a better process of navigation? The Christian worldview is one which acknowledges God as the Creator, offers eternal life (beyond the grave) through salvation in Jesus Christ and the indwelling presence of God through the Holy Spirit to those who call upon Him. In addition, there are the resources of biblical teaching, prayer, faith and community/church involvement, which serve to inform and instruct us on life and death and the transitory process in-between. The teachings of Jesus alone, found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John instruct us to live and love, with the focus not just on this world, but on eternity (Matthew 6:19-21, 25-34; Mark 8:36-37; Luke 12:15-21; John 5:24, 16:33). There is freedom and joy in the here and now when we accept that we can’t control life and learn to let go. There is peace when we surrender our prized pursuits and deepest relationships to God who loves us and in whose hands alone everything is safe. So, have those goals, dream those dreams, and cherish those relationships, but don’t hold on too tightly. Let go. Unclench that fist. Release that squeeze. Loosen that grip. Happy navigation!
Family/loved ones Relationships Health (physical and mental) Status/business/career
In the blink of an eye situations can change, altering our lives forever. How many of these have you experienced? Or you know someone, even in this past year, who has lost a loved one suddenly, been diagnosed with an illness, lost their job, their home, etc. No one is immune from these situations. It touches us all, and the ensuing issues and emotions are sorrow, disap-
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Year of 20/20 Adriana Valez We live in a visual world. That can’t be more truthful than in the times we currently live. We see so much, are bombarded with so much and drawn to so much, to the extent that we are unable to see anything else in the spiritual realm. The world promises so much and keeps our eyes riveted on worldly gains so that our focus becomes fixated on the mirages of this world. We see what we focus on. We see what we
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want to see, we validate what we want to validate, look for proof that we are correct, that we are on the right path.
Responding to Trauma
What if we choose to see more? What if we choose to look and see a glimpse of what God sees?
In light of the extreme bushfires Australians are experiencing, I felt it appropriate to provide readers with some information and resources about trauma and recovery for themselves or others. I have decided, considering the vast volume of resources available, to incorporate just a sampling of links (below) to reputable articles and children’s stories which can be read or listened to.
We need to consider that our sight may not be as healthy as we assume. Perhaps our vision is impaired and we see the world skewed, out of focus and distorted. Perhaps we have become so diluted, so immersed in the world that we no longer really see. This is probably true of many of us, yet we are unaware of it. There is one way to test our thermostat, one way to find out how we are really doing. The Bible says to look at the fruits, and you can tell the state of the tree. You can tell if it has enough water, the right nutrients, the right master tending it. Yes, you can tell the state of that tree by its fruit or lack thereof. Even the trees that look good can be deceiving. Some things just seem so good, but upon closer inspection, you can see the rot setting in, the tree slowly dying and in need of drastic measures before it’s too late. The Bible says in Matthew 6:22-23 (ESV), “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” What you let in is what you let out. It is what you send out into the world. You are a lamp on a hill, so make sure your light is bright and clear, that you shine as bright as the light that He pours in. It is time to turn our eyes towards the heavens. Turn your eyes upwards and inwards. Time to awaken the sleeping giant within. Pray for the Lord to let you see. Really see. This year of 2020, let it be a year of 20/20 vision and focus on the One who walks before us. Turn your eyes towards Him, and see what He wants you to see. Then shine with the light you are meant to shine. Shine bright in a world of increasing darkness, so that others can find their way home too. LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
Donna Hunter
Trauma is an emotional response to a lifethreatening event(s) which is either personally experienced or witnessed. Life-threatening events can include assaults, accidents, illnesses and natural disasters. Initial reactions of shock and denial are common, and other reactions such as anger, fear, sadness and confusion, etc., follow. Ongoing symptoms of post-traumatic stress can develop if a person feels overwhelmed and helpless throughout a traumatic experience (freeze response). A complex trauma response can develop if the threating event is ongoing or reccurring. If a young child (< 5 years old) is exposed to repeated news stories on television, radio, or in conversation by adults about the same event, they can perceive it as multiple events. Their limited understanding and stage of brain development may cause them to think there are multiple trauma events happening when in fact there may be just one. This puts them at greater risk of developing ongoing symptoms of stress and behavioural problems as they get older. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress may include: • flashbacks • nightmares • regression to previous life stages (particularly in young children - bedwetting, thumb sucking, baby talk, etc.)
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• • •
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avoidance behaviours (fear of things experienced during the trauma / triggering of stress response when hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting things associated with the trauma) negative thinking (catastrophising other things) mood disturbances (e.g. depression/anxiety) hyper-arousal (high emotion/risk-taking, particularly in teens) or hypoarousal (disinterest/lethargy/withdrawal/hopelessness) and hypervigilance (worry/anxiety).
If these symptoms persist and don’t go away, there is need for concern and further support. When experiencing trauma, the body activates the ‘survival response’, which allows the person to appraise the situation and either stay and fight or run away to safety; however, if overwhelmed, they may freeze. When the threat is over, the body can regulate back to calm and in 2-4 weeks integrate the experience into history and make meaning of the story. If not, this can lead to a post-traumatic response. Children usually start to get back into ‘normal’ life within 2-3 weeks, whereas adolescents and adults may take 3-4 weeks. If a person has a continued trauma response after these time frames they may be struggling to cope and need further support. Article Bushfire Trauma – 12 Expert Tips for Helping Someone Who’s Struggling to Cope: “We Need to Rally Together” Link: https://hope1032.com.au/stories/life/healthand-fitness/2020/bushfire-trauma-12-experttips-for-helping-someone-whos-struggling-tocope-we-need-to-rally-together/ Webcast Lyn Worsley- Bushfire trauma. Link: https://hope1032.com.au/stories/uncategorized/2013/lyn-worsley-bushfire-trauma/ LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
A Children’s Story Trinka and Sam and the Big Fire (includes colouring) Link: https://www.nctsn.org/resources/trinka-and-sam-big-fire I want to note here that grief and loss are different to trauma. However, in light of the bushfire crisis in Australia at present, some people may be experiencing both, through loss of family, friends, pets, homes, belongings and even livelihoods. Experiencing loss during a traumatic event can make it even more complex and difficult to come to terms with. Others may be experiencing what is known as ‘survivor guilt’, where their house survived, and their neighbour’s didn’t, or they survived and someone else didn’t. There are also those who have had to euthanize animals and may experience the guilt of not being able to save them. It will take whole communities to come together and support each other. Checking in, helping out, encouraging each other, normalising responses, not being afraid to ask those difficult questions if you think someone is struggling and encouraging further support. Connecting to empathic and emotionally safe relationships through community will help the healing process. Don’t isolate. If you are particularly concerned about a child, friend or family member who may be isolating and/or showing signs of experiencing ongoing symptoms of stress after the traumatic event has passed, they may need support from a professionally registered and trauma-informed counsellor, psychotherapist or psychologist. Checking in with a local doctor can be a first step for anyone who may feel resistant to counselling – a person can ask for a Mental Health Plan to access 6-10 sessions with a psychologist at minimal to no cost. Lastly, I have included links to accrediting bodies within Australia where you can search for registered and appropriately trained counsellors and psychotherapists closest to you. Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA): https://ccaa.net.au/ 2020
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Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA): https://www.pacfa.org.au/find-a-therapist/
myriad of promises He has made, and He continues to make to you by His Spirit and by His word.
Australian Counselling Association (ACA): https://www.theaca.net.au/
He is with you in the battle. When you allow Him to reign within your heart, you not only discover the freedom and the victory, but also the justice that pours out from the power and authority of His Son and His heart for you.
Freedom Julie Kelly ‘For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’ (2 Corinthians 3:17) NIV.
‘For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and He will give you victory!’ (Deuteronomy 20:4) ‘For the Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly” (Psalm 103:6)
Freedom - what is it exactly? Is it the freedom to do whatever you choose, whenever you choose? If the answer is yes, then that’s not good news for those being abused.
‘And the truth shall set you free’ (John 8:32).
For someone impacted by domestic violence, freedom comes from escaping the abuser, yet the relief can be short lived as a new loss of freedom is encountered. Suddenly an alwayshome-parent becomes a some-days-absent-one; suddenly the regular catch up with a friend becomes an infrequent one; suddenly the freedom to do whatever you choose to, whenever you choose, is lost.
Cassie Eckard
‘But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.’ (2 Corinthians 3:16) ‘So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord - who is Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.’ (2 Corinthians 3:18) Freedom - where the Spirit is, where the Lord is - there freedom is found in being your true self and in becoming more and more like Christ; there in the image of who He created you to be. True freedom for the survivor comes from knowing who they are and whose they are; as we are daughters and sons of the King of Kings. Once you know this, you discover the LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
The Language of Play I love working with young people and have a great interest in developmental psychology. Combining the two is a dream for me. This is what I’ve been able to do in my job as a school counsellor and more recently having joined the team at Life Wellbeing Services. Working in wellbeing requires a holistic approach from a therapist, where the child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and spiritual development is considered. It is by building a picture of the whole person that a therapist is best able to understand each child’s unique experience and share their journey. However, such an approach is not always taught at university. Psychological studies often focus more on a cognitive approach, primarily that of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The premise of such an approach is that if you can change your negative thought patterns, you can change the way you feel about yourself and the resulting behaviours 2020
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will be more positive. Whilst CBT is a fantastic therapeutic intervention, it has its limitations, especially when working with children. For example, imagine a parent brings their child for therapy. The parent says the child is ‘anxious’ and has frequent tantrums when being dropped off at school. The child also complains of stomach upsets throughout the day. How can CBT be used in such a situation? As a younger person, fresh-faced from my undergraduate studies in psychology and with a head full of theory, I would have wanted to sit down with this child and ask them ‘what negative thoughts did you have before you had a sore tummy?’ All I can say is thank goodness for university placement during my masters, where the real learning happened! I was privileged to work closely with a gifted play and sandplay therapist during my first placement. She quickly advised me of the limitations of CBT when working with younger clientele. I soon learned that children struggle to express themselves using only their ‘head’ or a cognitive approach. Emotional concepts can be difficult to express verbally, especially when one’s vocabulary and brain are still developing! Sometimes, in order for the heart to be expressed, the hands need to take over through play-based methods. Garry L. Landreth, a famous play therapist, says “Toys are children’s words and play is their language”. In this way, children can express complex feelings without having to rely on head knowledge and words. Once children have used their hands to show what is in their heart, this information can be used in a therapeutic context for personal growth. Working with children therapeutically requires me as their therapist to engage with them beyond the cognitive level in a more holistic fashion that considers their developmental stage and their emotional capacity, whilst engaging them creatively. This process is beautifully expressed by play therapist Virginia Axline, “Enter into children’s play and you will find the place where their minds, hearts and souls meet”. I’ve LIFE Edition 10, Issue 37
learned so much in my journey working with children and am thankful every day for the language of play.
~ LIFE-talks ~ Knowing God — Knowing Self
God Languages… What is yours? Trudy Buchanan It is difficult to be intimate with someone if we don’t know how to communicate with them, hear from them, or know who they/we are in the relationship. There are many tools available to assist us in getting to know ourselves. These range from simple personality tests to a more detailed needs analysis, etc. Understanding your God language/s is one such tool. The concept of God languages is similar to love languages. Like any theory and concept such as personalities and love languages, knowing our God language doesn’t mean we focus on whatever our one thing is, but that we acknowledge it as a strength and primary communication style, while still working to develop our more challenging areas. Part of my own story is that as a Christian I often felt like a freak because I didn’t fit the stereotypes within the church system of what a Christian should be, or experience God as others appeared to do. I would attend conferences and seminars and hear stuff that would sound foreign or was alienating and hard to reconcile to who I actually was. I used to hear people saying, “God told me this or that”, and they seemed to experience God in ways I did not. When we feel different, the natural conclusion we often come to is that there is something 2020
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wrong with us. At the core of our being we need to know we are acceptable, at the same time maintaining the balance of working with God on our flaws but knowing we have inherent worth in his eyes. Ultimately, relationship with God and others is about intimacy, not perfection; otherwise our faith becomes performance-based, not grace-based. My favourite phrase in relationships is different isn’t wrong or stupid, it’s just different. God made us all unique and very different. Part of accepting others’ differences means we have to accept and integrate our own personal differences—our strengths and weaknesses—first. Brennan Manning, in Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, stated that “If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others.”(1) Until we embrace who God has made us to be, we will continually try to make others in our own image.
•
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Your gift to the body of Christ — they encourage others to grow when we become all we can be Your gift to humanity — show others the difference God can make in a life and encourages them to seek relationship
In other words, God languages help you find “your authentic place with God”. The authentic place is “that home in my soul where I can truly be myself with God—with nothing feigned—and let what is in my heart flow to Him naturally.” (p. 15) As I outline the list of God languages, think about your own authentic language. Some guiding questions to help you identify your own God language include: •
•
Where is a place I go where I ‘experience’ God most? (As Dianne Divett often says, “go where God is for you, not where he isn’t”) When do I hear most often and clearly from God? (what activity am I engaged in?)
I believe, therefore, that being authentic in relationship with others is not just about transparency and vulnerability, but also about being true to who and how God made so we can then truly embrace both self and others.
God Languages
In order for this to happen we need to be able to hear from God about who God has made us to be. While many suggest this takes prayer and praise, in her book What’s Your God Language?, (2) Dr Myra Perrine suggests that hearing from God is much broader than this. She suggests that in our uniquely created identity, we also have a unique way we communicate with God. In other words, we have a unique God-language; a particular way of hearing from and relating to God that forms our spiritual temperament.
The Ascetic – loving God though solitude and simplicity • An internal journey, seeks to develop their inner life • Appreciates low level sensory input • Stresses actions and conduct above words • No distinction between sacred and secular, everything is a work unto the Lord
Perrine (p. 17–18) talks about God languages as: • •
God’s gift to you — how he designed you to best connect with Him. Your gift to God — how you best express love to Him and where your passion for Him is stirred
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The Activist – loving God through confrontation with evil • Involvement at personal cost • Confronts evil and rallies for good • Works for God’s heart of justice and righteousness
The Caregiver – loving God through serving others • Sees practical needs and moves towards them • Enjoys serving, volunteering and helping others accomplish their tasks • Often serves in the background • Doers of the Word – hands-on types • Spiritual pace is quickened when helping in concrete ways 2020
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The Contemplative – loving God through adoration • Enjoys long hours of quiet reflection • Life is primarily about growing in intimacy with God - not purpose driven • Sees life as an opportunity to develop friendship with Jesus • Expresses love through intimate words rather than open displays of affection The Enthusiast – loving God through mystery and celebration • Loves God with gusto • Has a playful and childlike spirit • Open displays of affection towards God • Often a charismatic personality The Intellectual – loving God through the mind • Enjoys pondering Jesus and his truths • Sees faith as something to understand as much as to be experienced • Gets bored when mind is not stimulated • Can appear skeptical The Naturalist – loving God through experiencing Him outdoors • Comes alive when surrounded by God’s splendor • Creation is classroom of God nature, His rhythms, His timing • Likes to take time to pray outdoors and stop to smell the flowers The Sensate – loving God through the senses • Uses their senses to focus on Jesus • Easily lost in splendour of God • Drawn to God in the presence of beauty through art, music, incense, icons • Likes visual imagery
(Online quizzes are available if you would like to explore this further). My own God language is Intellectual. I hear from God predominantly though words: e.g., reading books, hearing audio messages, considering concepts — I love exploring and analysing the why’s and how’s of faith. My husband, who used to be a Creative Ministry Pastor, used to hear and experience God most as an Enthusiast and Naturalist. He loved the buzz and experience of corporate worship and celebration. He would go to a local lake to ‘hear’ from God. Since experiencing burnout in ministry, his language changed. He is still a Naturalist, but now, like me, his primary God language is Intellectual. Thinking about your own life and experience, what is your preference? What is your unique gift to self and others? You may have only one God space and God language. Alternatively, like my husband, you may have a few. The important thing is to recognize who you are — who God has made you, and how God has wired you—and then begin to nurture that language. So, what’s your God language? Once you know, do that more often…find “your authentic place with God”. Go where God is for you…and be the person you are created to be.
The Traditionalist – loving God through ritual and symbol • Enjoys faith practices done in a familiar way • Enjoys special celebrations and traditions that help remember and enhance aspects of God • Appreciates symbolic events that carry symbolic meaning and theological depth, e.g., communion, worship, liturgical practices, etc. 1
Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2015), 29
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2
Myra Perrine, What’s Your God Language?: Connecting with God through Your Unique Spiritual Temperament (Colorado Springs, CO: SaltRiver).
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