Discussion Questions: Chapter Three

1 – During your meeting today, try to note any time you begin to lose focus and think about something unrelated to your time together. If you begin to think about what you need at the grocery store, etc. stop and share. You may be surprised how hard it is to concentrate on your time together.

2 – Share what you noticed about your thoughts when you tried to stop and be quiet. What did this show you about your self?

3 – When you tried to stop thinking about all of the external stuff, did any deep desires come to the surface?

4 – Think about what aspect of God’s character most attracts you to Him. Some need God to be a righteous judge, some a father. Discuss.

5 – List something that has changed about your spiritual beliefs.

6 – From page 90, discuss how you think that someone’s thoughts about God affect their thoughts about who they are.

7 – From page 92-94, the Ecclesiastes passage, have each person in the group share one of their entries describing a “time” in their life.

8 – Discuss the season of life you are in right now.

9 – Think of some ways you have been forgiven. How can this help you to forgive others?

10 – Share your poems from page 102. Have everyone share his or her new names.

waiting for the kettle to boil

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Yesterday, I spent some time pondering the Serenity Prayer. It is always a relevant prayer, but in this time in my life, in the lives of those I know and love, and in the current status of Unwritten Travels, it is a time of waiting. And it does feel similar to hovering over the stove waiting for a pot of water to boil.

So, I made a list in my lovely little journal. Three lists, actually.

List One: All of the things for which I am asking God to give me oodles of peace. These are the things I can do nothing about. You know I can not do anything about them. I know I can't do anything about them, but the act of confessing with my mouth and heart that they are not mine to control brings me much freedom.

List Two: The things I need courage, discipline or strength to face. I have been give the power to make choices, to stand up and speak truth, to love unconditionally. There are small things I can do today to move my life forward on it's path. As I begin to own these things, I am filled with a sense of purpose in my day.

List Three: the longest list. Dozens of concerns, questions, fears, and hopes that are tightly pulled between the certainty of either serenity or courage.

Grant me the wisdom.

Not only the wisdom to know the difference, but the wisdom to accept that I may never know.

Sometimes, I am simply called to wait.