Connecting with God Week1

What helps you get into a heart-position of prayer? Where are your places?

I like loud music, lots of people packed in a room, dim lights, dancing, wild and crazy worship… this works for me. Sitting on the rocks at the beach and watching the waves also works very well.

Sat eve I went to a church that we like to sneak off to… it was an amazing worship time… always simple… but so powerful… packed out with people… they even had young teens on the worship team… they had sound problems but the Holy Spirit came through… the pastor played an irish whistle but his mic died so he played into the mic on the body of the violin while the violinist guy played away… funny stuff… lots of spontaneous song and music… shofars don’t need mics so they sounded great… the worship segment went for a couple hours at least… there were times when I could hear some remarkable harmonies that sounded to me like a choir of angels… the sound went on for a while… I saw a two year old standing in the crowd of worshsippers… all dancing and swaying… it choked me up at it reminded me of how our kids used to hang by us during times of worship like that back in the 80’s. I heard the that angelic sound back then too… funny… I was just thinking of that sound a couple weeks ago… how it missed it.

Something rich about it being quiet, cool air coming in from outside… coffee in hand, and a few verse from the Bible…writing out a prayer and then just sitting and being still.

The posts above are two perfect examples that different people connect with God in different ways. I would love to see some sort of stations…some people may want to go into a prayer tent and meditate, some people may want to write, some people may want to sing, some may want to engage in conversations, etc. Let’s practice experiencing the connection, not just talk about it. Even when we aren’t sure who or what God is, we can feel the presence of God.

I love getting away by myself….solitude….best if away from home and work. Quiet…reading, journaling, praying…being out in nature…anything that has water…streams or crashing waves.

However, in a more corporate setting I need low lights, quiet music if I’m meditating or praying. But else any kind of music can be effective.

When I pray WITH/FOR people I connect with God (maybe that’s when I most selfless). That’s why I love the experiences when we incorporate time when others can be prayed over. I would love to see this more often. I think I am moved more and affected more than the people I am praying over.

Jen,

I like your idea - there are so many different ways to connect with God, and it’d be great to offer different ways to experience that connection.

Tanya Reynolds
http://www.tanyamreynolds.com
http://tanyareynolds.blogspot.com

I have to remember to just shut up once in a while. I can connect with God by reading the Bible but sometimes it takes my head a while before it stops babbling long enough to HEAR what I’m reading. If I am preoccupied with my daily routine I can read for a half hour or more and feel good that I did my reading, but did I really hear His voice? Did I get what He was saying? No, probably not. So sometimes I just need to sit in that uncomfortable silence for a while, you know the kind where you sit with someone you just met and neither of you has anything to say so you fidget and play with your coffee cup until inspiration comes or someone else walks up to your table. I need to just sit and shut up and wait for the babbling to stop and listen to what God is saying to ME. He hears me talking plenty, sometimes it’s His turn.

I find I connect with God the most when he reveals himself in unexpected places reminding me that he’s not confined to a building or “Christian” places. A couple of weeks ago I connected with him in the aquarium and out on a whale watching trip. Often times I am drawn to him in a movie, or book or music. And one of the best times I connect with God is dialouging with others in an authentic way whether its a debate or just a heart-to-heart discussion. I love sitting and contemplating who God is and these things spur me on.

Really absorbing myself in worship music - singing out loud to God.
It’s my way of communicating my heart to God . I am also trying to
allow silence in lately. To give God a chance to speak to me by
just listening to the rustle of trees, look at the clouds floating in
the sky, just taking in everything and knowing it’s existence could
not be without God.
Shauna S.

I like to connect while prayer walking around noon wherever I happen to be working at the time. I have been walking around the SJ Airport and vicinity lately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5dXorUmV4Q

Jon, Love to hear your thoughts about prayer - the phone alarm thing is excellent.

How do you connect with God when you feel like he is not there or has turned away from you?

There’s no easy answer for this and no one thing that is going to be the way for everyone…it’s really individual. When I feel this way I actually journal more than usual and I ask the questions of “Where are you?” “What do you want?” And voice my disagreements/anger/emotions to God. And ask the really hard question, which is…”God, did you turn away from me or did I turn away from you?” I don’t always like the answer because when I really dig deep down….it’s ME that has turned away…NOT God. He is faithful and steadfast…I am not. But I am stubborn :) …and will continue to seek. And through the years I’ve come to realize that I continally go though seasons in life when I feel like God is so close that I can touch him and other times when he is off in the distance.

The Worship Experience was wonderful this morning. I really liked the set-up; kind of a coffee shop experience.

Our table discussed two other components that are needed when seeking a connection with God.

*Come to God with honesty/confession and be real about who you are and where you are coming from.

*Come with thanks and praise during the good seasons of our lives, not just with the difficult or tragic times. Don’t all parents love to hear thanks ‘just because’ from their kids? I bet God loves it too!!!!!!

i posted some pictures i took this sunday up on Flickr.
Check out some of our artists connecting through art.

I also setup a Group called talkinchurch if you have some pictures that you would like to share post them to the pool.

I didn’t like the set up this morning. When I went in it took me 5 minutes to find my wife. If I wanted a coffee shop experience I could just go to a coffee shop. I wanted church, but didn’t feel I got that. If it wasn’t for my wife I would have left 10 minutes after it started.

I just copied my response from your post in “Church as a Dialog” here also.

There were many different feelings from people about this past Sunday morning. Everything from what you stated above to loved the lighting, loved the coffee house feel, hate the nightclub feel, the music was moving, the music was a show, love the round, hate the round, too loud, not enough content, liked the discussions, etc. If there were 200 different people there, there were 200 different opinions. My encouragement is to give this “new” type of Journey a little longer to work out some of the kinks that comes when you are doing something new and are in a completely new facility. I also encourage you to dialog with people who really liked it and find out why….especially a non-Christian or new Christian’s perspective.

What I have liked about the last two weeks….I have meet new people….have had conversations with people I would normally just say hi too or not talk to at all. This is out of my comfort zone. But it’s good. A few moving songs yesterday (I was able to close my eyes and just listen and get lost in the words), but the music wasn’t for everyone—especially if you wanted “regular” worship type music. Loved the tables and chairs, but I, personally, get distracted by the people across from me in the round. I’m not an artist and won’t draw but seeing the amazing artwork of others was great.

Will next week be the exact same way—same set up—same type of music, same everything? I highly doubt it…That’s part of the what makes the Journey unique. Encourage you to give it more time.

“sparky” - I love to hear your honest feedback. Being in the “round” and sitting at the coffee shop tables felt very different on Sunday - some loved it and others like you didn’t. As I looked around.. .I saw a high percentage of tables and groups having good spiritual discussions and the feedback of questions people had will be very helpful in shaping our focus this week. Thanks for being patient as we all try new things in a new place.

so you dont have to leave TiC :D

I am so envious of people who can do this. A-MA-ZING! Keep sharing your talents with us.

And to comment on the first picture….I would be intrigued about a church that had a “set up” like that if I was just “checkin’ things out”.

I really liked the lighting, definitely more welcoming than the prior week!! The seating arrangement however felt to “un-churchy” for me. I felt like I couldn’t stand up to sing because nobody else was really standing and I think that might have been because of the table set up. I’m not going anywhere! Journey is my home. :) Just wanted to give some input.

This may seem odd, but I feel the most connected with God when I serve people in need. When speaking about the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the prisoner, and sick, Jesus said “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25). I believe that we can connect with Jesus by following in his footsteps and reaching out to the poor and the outcasts of society. When we do this, we are in some mysterious way serving our savior. How cool is that? Sunday morning worship is great, a nature hike is OK, but for me, the best way to connect with God is to serve those in need. Can anyone relate, or am I a freak?

No, Jason, you are not a freak! I feel the same way. I think I originally got thrown off by this question because of the first responses. Yes I feel God through music, and nature. But there is this indescribable feeling when you are serving others. I believe I’m doing what I was created to do, therefore, there is this communion with God, that is amazing. It’s like you can see into His heart.

—brandi

I love reading about different people’s ways they connect with God. I think one of the ones I resonate most with is Shauna’s idea…. I love music. It doesn’t always have to be explicitly “worship” music, but sometimes it is. Anyway, at times, that can be a way for me to connect with God.

But honestly, right now, I struggle with connecting with God in an intimate way. I’m having to take the “connect with God” principle a little bit on faith right now, because most of the time these days, I don’t feel it. Maybe I’m missing out on opps to reach out to the poor and outcast, like Jason and Brandi suggested. Food for thought.

However, in addition to my honesty about how I’m doing, I thought I’d contribute to the mix of discussion by offering a peek over the shoulder of Jesus a few times when he seemed to connect with God:

• When he had a couple of intense times of prayer by himself (in a garden before his trial & execution, after going without food for a LONG time, before he picked his team, praying for the welfare of his friends)
• When he got baptized
• When one of his best friends had died and he cried with everyone else

That’s my two cents.
-Carl

Maybe the reason lawyer jokes don’t work is because lawyers don’t think they’re funny, and nobody else think they’re jokes. :-D

I hear a lot of people saying it didn’t feel like church, like that is a bad thing….I thought that was our goal, if we wanted it to feel “churchy”, that’s easy.

Did it for me quite nicely. He turned the Fillmore in SF into the Holy of Holies. It was remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAjHkphZews