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Friday, April 29, 2011

A personal growth plan
This exercise hopefully grows out of the previous review of your 'Spiritual program' but it requires more specific thought and analysis than 'Just participating in the program.' Allow forty to sixty minutes. Again, you may return to it several times as promptings of the Spirit encourage you to reach for a new and still-unfolding vision of Christian life.

You may already have a personal 'dream' or 'vision' for your place in life, your vocation, or your family or community. or you may be moving towards much more personal changes in your own priorities, values or life-style. While others may be involved with you, in what follows, give major attention only to yourself, your own individual hopes, aspirations and definite intentions for change in your own life.

A 'personal Growth Plan' is a way of defining your forward thinking and hopes for the program on which you have already embarked. It is an opportunity to review the directions you might take, the tasks, opportunities and experiences you might pursue, the guides and companions you might seek out. Most important of all, it involves a radical openness to your Lord's companionship on the journey, and a resolve to seek and receive the Spirit's counsel, comfort, and direction. It is to be sought in prayerful humility, and celebrated with joy and confidence.

The chart below contains a minimal framework for you to start on; it may be expanded as much as you need to cover other areas or more specific aspects of your life which you are bringing under review. You may start on any area of life, but be both as realistic and as comprehensive as you can. Completing part or all of the chart is a useless exercise unless you approach it prayerfully, honestly, and intentionally - that is, you intend to pursue it to the best of your ability.

The underlying questions are:

•'Lord, what do you want of me, to what are you calling me as a result of this time of reflection and re-evaluation?'

•'Where do you want me to be in these different areas of my life, in three months, six months or a year's time?'

•Where would you have me look for insight, resources, companions, for this next stage of my training program from you?

•You may like to reflect prayerfully on Ephesians 4:7, 11-13, as a lead-in to completing the chart. Note down here your preliminary thoughts:
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