1. The Gathering 22nd September, Alexandra
Extraordinary things with love and faith

2. Being extraordinarily ourselves
Who we are is extraordinary
Beloved Children of God
Holy women and men
Uniquely ourselves
Hard to believe, but true. It’s not about false humility or tall poppies. It’s about being Beloved child of God
But don’t take my word from it, I’m going by this verse in Genesis

3. Genesis 1:27
So God created humankind in God’s image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female God created them.
Each unique in own way and called to be someone special in this world
Who are we to argue with the Word of God?

4. what culture tell us about who we are
Cultural context we are up against
Our body is a temple (defined by what we look like)
Eternal youth (hide our age instead of being proud of our wisdom and experience)
Career pressures (defined by what we do)
Consumerism (defined by how much we make)
Perfection (Rejecting our humanity)
Secular culture (Do it all on our own)
=A very lonely place
This is what we are up against. We are told these are the things that are important. So how we we reconcile the two? Because we are children of God living in a secular culture.
If this is all we listened to we come to a very lonely place

5. What God tells us who we are
Our true selves
Who is that?
What does this person look like?
How do we get to know him/her?

6. PRAYER HOW WE LISTEN WHAT IS PRAYER TO YOU? NOT AS HARD AS WE THINK
MAYBE NOT WHAT WE THINK
Maybe not about how often and long we pray but about living prayerfully amongst the messiness of life.
Does the word make you groan?

7. awareness What makes life/an experience prayerful
Knowing God is with us
Turn your mind from busyness of day to presence of God
Easier than you think
Practice and discipline
Not just for “holy people”
What’s the difference between walking down the street and walking down the street prayerfully?

8. William A. Barry SJ PRAYING THE TRUTH
“Prayer can be as simple as watching a child trying to speak words, looking at sunlight glancing off snow-covered trees, playing with your dog, feeling the wind on your face, hearing birds sing, smelling bacon sizzling in a frying pan, looking at someone you love; all can be prayer if you’re aware of God’s presence as you take in these experiences.”

9. Anne Lamott HELP, THANKS, WOW: The Three Essential Prayers
“Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds…Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.”
HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
THANKS WHEN YOU FEEL IT
WOW WHEN THERE ARE NO WORDS

10. Interference (EXTERNAL)
Be aware of the noise of the world’s culture
Surround yourself with Love and Truth
If you want to be holy, hang out with holy people
Choose gratitude constantly
It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life Elisabeth Elliot

11. RESISTANCE (INTERNAL)
God interfering with our Life Plans
Listen to what God is saying instead of our own ideas and noticing which is which
I used to complain about all the interruptions to my work until I realized that these interruptions were my work. - Henri Nouwen
Serenity occurs when we exchange expectations for acceptance – Buddhist saying
Once we recognise when resistance is happening we can stop and listen and react with love

12. TRANSFORMATION AWARENESS OF EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE +
ACQUIESNCE TO INTERNAL RESISTANCE =
CLOSER TO TRUE SELF

13. REFLECTION
1. Think about a time recently when you noticed perhaps in hindsight where resistance occurred in your life.
2. How did you respond? How would you like to have responded?
3. What was the invitation from God in this situation?

14. Living prayerfully = Living differently
Letting go
Being open
Courage to say no or yes when you otherwise might not
Trusting in the bigger plan
Freedom

15. Listening prayer In listening we hear God talking to us
Voice of love and positivity
Gives courage to be who we are
live in the ‘heart’
More confident because we are not alone and don’t give into pressures of culture/others so easily

16. Courage to be who you are
“The word ‘courage,’ one of my favorite words, the root or the etymology of the word is ‘cour,’ which means heart. I think true courage is actually following your heart and not getting or succumbing to what other people’s definition of what your life should be. Live your life.”
Hill Harper, black American actor who studied law and economics

17. SILENCE SITTING WITH THE QUIET VOICE OF LOVE
LISTENING INSTEAD OF TALKING
SCARY TO HEAR WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY
BUT IT’S THE QUIET VOICE OF LOVE IN YOUR HEAD

18. Sitting on the fence Michael leunig

19. You are extraordinary
Serenity occurs when we exchange expectations for acceptance
Be yourself, everybody else is already taken
OSCAR WILDE
Don’t have expectations of yourself that God wouldn’t