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As we waltz into December, it’s meaningful to me to look back on this year and ask my soul a few questions. How you doing in there?

David Benner, in The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery, writes,

Christian spirituality involves a transformation of the self that occurs only when God and self are both deeply known. Both, therefore, have an important place in Christian spirituality. There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self, and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God. John Calvin wrote, “Nearly the whole of sacred doctrine consists in these two parts: knowledge of God and of ourselves.”

Richard Foster concurs that part of the discipline of meditation involves living reflectively, watching what God is doing around and in us.

So as we teeter on the brink of 2019, how can we live deeply and on purpose? How can we observe God in his work in our lives?

For me, this can involve grabbing a journal, prayerfully thinking. These might be good for distributing in small groups, as well–or even to discuss with a close friend or accountability partner. PRINT THEM HERE.

It’s my hope that these questions will help all of us to live deeper in our hearts.

The Prompts: Journal Your Heart Out

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION.

Create a timeline of what events you can remember of this year.

What and for whom are you thankful this year?

Looking at the past year, consider

  • your event timeline above
  • what family members and close friends have been going through, and how this has impacted you
  • journal entries
  • devotional/Bible study topics
  • podcasts
  • music
  • books
  • sermon notes
  • verses you’ve memorized or internalized
  • conversations you’ve had with friends
  • ways you’ve served or interacted with others that have impacted you

If it helps, write these down as they come to mind (in classic “brain dump” fashion). Now, form a list of key concepts you’ve been mulling over this year in your walk with God. What themes emerge in the story you’ve lived this year?

What Scriptures or Bible characters took on new depth and meaning this year? (Next year, consider writing down verses like these on index cards, so you can reflect and remember.)

In what ways have you come to enjoy and love God more this year? (If it helps–what names of God have you come to know more this year?)

How has your concept of who God is changed, been broadened, etc.?

What questions is your soul asking about your circumstances? About who God is? About who you are?

Consider this list of End of Year Check-Up Questions by David Qaoud. Is there a specific area of growth you feel God cultivating in you, and/or prodding you toward in the next year? (It doesn’t need to come from Qaoud’s list, of course.)

Are any of your relationships broken? Think broadly: family, employers or coworkers, friends, churchgoers, community members, social media connections. What would it look like to “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18)? (You might find helpful this post and this one on ways we cannibalize our personal conflict.) Do you have any regrets or areas in which you need to pursue forgiveness or reconciliation with God or others this year?

Describe your level of connectedness with God. What stands in the way of a more intimate relationship?

Describe your level of connectedness with others in authentic relationships. What stands in the way of more authentic, vulnerable friendships? Are there any sins you’re hiding from others? (Who is one safe person who you could trust with this information to hold you accountable and help you toward healing?)

What has made you feel angry this year? Sad? Discontent? Disappointed? Elated? 

How do you feel your money and schedule currently reflect your relationship with God? Is there any way God might be prompting you to spend them differently?

What is one area in which you sense God is pulling you into deeper surrender?

What desires in your life right now occasionally become too precious, morphing into demands and idols, and ruling me? (If you’d like to explore this further, consider David Powlison’s X-ray Questions.)

On what do you wish you could hear from God right now? What do you wish he was saying to you?

What has captured a lot of your thought life this year? How has that shaped you?

What, if any, is one obtainable spiritual goal you believe God would like you to pursue out of love for Him this year? Is there a concept, like hope or contentment or listening, you would like to know and realize more this year?

What relationships might God be beckoning you to invest deeper this year?

What would those in your closest relationships say are your”blind spots”? How do you sense God asking you to respond to him in your weaknesses?

Do you have any untended “wounds” (shame, rejection, pain…) in your heart right now that you  need to keep clean (through honesty, counseling Christian lament, “unpraising” deeds others have done to you causing me shame [as author Ed Welch writes], prayer, etc.)?

How about you? What questions do you ask your soul?

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