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“Perspective and direction for the future happen through listening to where and how God shows up in your day and then interacting with God in prayer.”  (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun,  “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook:  Practices That Transform Us” p.54)  

As I prepare to take a few weeks to slow down and rest, I am anticipating a practice that has become part of my annual vacation since I began serving in ministry, the beloved Christian practice called ‘examen’. Examen is the process of sitting with God and reflecting on your day, or it could be your week or, as I do in my annual vacation examen, it could even be a reflection on the entire year.  As you reflect you are looking for the moments that were life-giving and realizing your gratitude for them, and also acknowledging the moments that were difficult and bringing them to God for His care. 

The people who bring us our weekly Pray-As-You-Go Wednesday prayers have a recorded guided examen that is a good way to try out this practice.  You might want to listen to it towards the end of your day. Here is the link:  

https://pray-as-you-go.org/player/prayer%20tools/examen-p-1  

I hope that you find this to be a life-giving time, as you go over your day with God today.  It is a simple practice that can easily become part of your evening routine if you find that it works for you.  

May God’s blessing be upon you today,

Dianne