REFLECTIVE EXERCISES ON THE RULE OF LIFE: Introduction

Although the call of monasticism in my life started long before I became aware of The Order of Sustainable Faith, the step of joining The Order last fall brought that call into the realm of reality in my life. My long-term dream of a monastic expression in the Vineyard movement was finally fulfilled and my heart cried out, “Let’s do this!” Yet one does not join a religious order on a whim. Instead, one ponders, reflects, examines, and prays to ensure that the Rule of Life proposed by The Order in which they are considering membership resonates with God’s work in one’s own heart.

I will be posting a series of reflection exercises on this blog site based on the Rule of Life proposed in the book Invitations & Commitments: A Rule of Life by Jared Patrick Boyd. These reflective exercises are not offered as an end-all to the exploratory process. On the contrary, they are humbly shared by one who has traveled the journey of postulancy and the novitiate experience as the stepping stones which God used in my life to bring me into a fuller understanding of what it means to live and walk The Rule. 

Each module will contain seven movements:

Ponder – In this movement, you will read an excerpt from Invitation & Commitments and gain an understanding of what each commitment area entails

Respond – In this movement, you will reflect on the implications of each commitment to your life by engaging in the questions provided in the book Invitations & Commitments.

Recognize – In this movement, you will recognize God’s work in your life in each specific commitment area by remembering what He’s already done, listening to what He is saying now, and allowing yourself to dream about what you would like Him to do in your life.

Pray – In this movement, you will take all of what you discovered in the Respond and Recognize movements and write out a reflective prayer for each commitment area; opening your heart to God and inviting His work into your life.

Reflect – In this movement, you will meditate on scripture passages where persons in the Bible demonstrated each commitment area in real life scenarios.

Consider – In this movement, you will open your heart to consider one person’s humble opinion about the scripture passages and write out your own meditative notes.

Apply – In this movement, you will examine yourself in light of the principles demonstrated in the lives of the Biblical heroes and apply them to your own life history and situations.

You as a participant in these reflective exercises have various options in terms of timing for these exercises. You can do one movement per day for a week or one per week for 7 weeks. You can also do all 7 movements as a weekend retreat, taking one movement per session (Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning, afternoon, evening).

The first post will be shared on this site the first week of November and then subsequent exercises will be posted one per month for the next 12 months.

Please feel free to share your Comments on these exercises on this blog. Your experiences and insights will benefit other followers and encourage them to continue to reach out to God as we all journey through this together.

Warm Blessings,

Beloved Servant