My Spiritual Journey Research Paper

Social- With my focus mainly on academics and personal health I need to incorporate time for people in my lives and to really enjoy the relationships that surround me. This goal is visually represented around the title “Relationship’s,” and the text “enjoyment”. This could be visiting my brother in Florida, taking mini vacations with my dad and younger siblings, and to get friends and myself out of the library and to appreciate what is right in front of us. One thing that I personally planed is to do is take my friend Dana to Myrtle Beach as a surprise birthday present, I plan to go to Jordan this summer, and might see my mom right after who lives in Georgia.

For this paper I decided to sit down with my childhood friend from my St. Thomas More Catholic School days. Katarina and I have known each other since we were 5 years old. I remember attending church with her family on Sunday morning, spending the night at her house, occasionally attending her family's BBQ's on Easter Sunday, and inviting her to all my birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. Though we lost touch after high school we found each other again thanks to social media. We are both from Hispanic Catholic families so it was always assumed that we would grow up to be Catholic too. To my surprise I found that on Katie's social media page under religious views it did not say Catholic as I expected but rather Wicca. Turns out Katie decided that the Catholic faith wasn't for her and opted instead to convert to Wicca.

Choosing a college, a religious presence wasn’t on my list of priorities. Coming to the University of Maryland, I was introduced to Judaism at its best. Looking back at my town, I have an estimated ten Jewish men, women and children. Now, I have that same number in my room and across the hall in my apartment building. As this paper presented itself, I immediately chose to finally explore into Judaism, to understand and engage myself. I chose to interview my roommate’s mother, Beth Cornfield. She is a mother of two at age 51. She is an attendance secretary at a Montgomery County high school. She was born and raised in Maryland most of her life, but has traveled and experienced the world. She is Caucasian woman of Ashkenazi Jewish decent.

When discussing how to guard your heart and stay spiritually fit we must first examine the definition of self-care and a youth ministry setting. Self care means to maintain your health and self being whether through actions or attitudes. Self care in a ministry setting means to keep your faith strong and live righteous to maintain spiritually fit. Doing this will help lessen stress and keep them spiritually fit when put through life's trials.

When I first think of the word spiritual I think of my Christian roots, but as I have grown older the word spirituality has been something I think about quite often. The ways the world connects, whether between people, nature or both and how a person feels connected to the world or a higher being. I believe that spiritually can come in many shapes and forms. One of the ways I feel most spiritually connect is through dance.

I think back to about six months ago when I was sitting at home in Evansville, Indiana. I knew that I was going to be coming to Liberty University for seminary in the spring and it was time to choose the classes that I would be taking. I was working to try to fit everything into my schedule and figure out which classes were offered when. As it turns out, there were only about 4 that I could feasibly and logically fit into my schedule. I had an idea of all of them except one. Discipleship Ministries 520: Spiritual Formation. To be completely honest, the topic was foreign to me. I could deduct off the two words that it was about being formed spiritually but that was about it. I know that I will get into this later

Prior to relocating it was so easy making my daily agenda without consulting God and presuming that it was acceptable. While in the transition of relocating though, the necessity of prioritizing and seeking God on a higher level became imminent. Once that transition period was completed I could see how my past behaviors warranted change. Through the hand of God, more in-filling of the Holy Spirit, understanding of his perspective, wisdom, increased knowledge, and peace facilitated the changes.

My personal general theology is based on the scripture John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” This has always impacted the way that I have talked about God to others. I’ve spoken about God in a manner of love because He loves us enough to give His only begotten son for our salvation. God loves us enough to make our process toward salvation easier by allowing our requirement to merely believe in Him. God loves us enough to allow our souls not to perish, if we believe in Him. God’s love is the foundation of my personal theology. In this project I will cover areas that relate to God’s love for us. The topics

Obviously, a spiritual assistant must be knowledgeable about Franciscan spirituality and have a thorough understanding of the secular Franciscan way of life.

The Bible commands Christians to go out and make disciples; however, this is impossible without first becoming a disciple of Christ. It is important to understand that discipleship should start with the individual and then go out. Christians need to become examples to live by before they can begin the important task of finding, helping, and making disciples. The Bible contains guidance, standards, and examples of being a disciple who makes disciples. A Christian disciple is someone who follows Christ and makes disciples. The goal of discipleship is to become more Christ like, being drawn closer to Him, and going out and making new disciples. Discipleship is a life long journey that refers not only to your own personal relationship with Christ, but also the act of going out and making disciples.

The term ‘religious experience’ can come up with a wide range and diverse series of images. We might assume that it can include anything from a prayer, to attending a service at a place of worship, to even ‘hearing the voice of God’. The argument for the existence of God based on religious experience is in fact a posteriori as it is based on people’s encounters with God. Unlike other arguments, the argument is based on a direct link to God - if we are able to show that God is experienced then we therefore cannot deny his existence. Many people are more likely to believe something if it has been experienced. Our experience of God is the best evidence we have that God exists.

In order to formulate an appropriate definition and understanding of Christian Spirituality, one must first understand the concept of Spirituality. The term Spirituality is not one that is conventional and unanimously accepted. David B. Perrin, in his book, Studying Christian Spirituality (2007) he describes what “authentic spirituality” is not: the “spiritual life” and “body life” are not detached, and it encompasses all of life’s aspects, for example, the psychological, social and intellectual dimensions, he goes on to say that these dimensions are crucial in understanding spirituality. Perrin also states that some would say that they are “spiritual, but not religious”, therefore it can be said that spirituality is not always associated with

The church stands as a dominate agency, which signifies a unity among believers established through the Spirit of Christ. A harmonious unity and diversity comes within the body when those in the church attain a personal relationship with Christ. Paul states, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Cor 12:12, New Revised Standard Version) . Through a solid foundation and a fitly join union individuals are held together by faith, love, and a willingness to grow the universal church.

I can only use minty chapstick. I drink A LOT of water, but I have a small bladder. I am left handed. I have moved six times in my life. I collect mugs, and I break out into dance often.

God has revealed himself in many different ways throughout Christian faith. He gives Christians insights in ways they know are understanding and can be used with logical reasoning. He lets us see him through his divine creations. We see God at church weekly when he comes to us through the priest. We see God daily when we pray and ask for his forgiveness, strength and love. When we trust in God we believe in God. No one can see God, but we can see God in his works. Our faith is about trusting God, and God being with us through the good days and the bad days. His revelation can relate to which theological sources humanity can rely upon to know the truth.