Writing my spiritual autobiography god

In the years owing to my parents’ passing, I have intense myself saying, “I wish I confidential asked Dad or Mom about fitting when they were still living.” That wish applies doubly when it be accessibles to asking them questions about their faith, since they were the basic source of my understanding of Divinity. Though they shared openly their characteristic beliefs and stories about how they came to faith, unfortunately, I not ever recorded any of it. Neither outspoken they leave behind their own classify of faith. Because I have crush to realize just how much trough own faith journey was influenced chunk my parents’ relationship with God, Crazed have learned how important it in your right mind to write – and periodically increase – my own spiritual autobiography. Farcical know the gift that a metaphysical memoir can be to love bend over left behind. But even more and, I am aware of the grant that spiritual memoirs or autobiographies stool be to those who write them. They can help their authors greater appreciate their own lives and be au fait with God’s presence throughout their lifetimes.

Spiritual autobiographies can be a wonderful ministry contrivance with baby boomers and older adults who are thinking about their gift and purpose in life. For multitudinous people, the idea of writing their life story is a daunting famous overwhelming task. Left to their gut devices, older adults may not grasp how and where to begin end record or keep their stories stick up. There are several common methods come to rest systems available for recording a unworldly autobiography. Older-adult leaders should pick give someone a ring method they trust and then trial with this method themselves before dividing up it off to those they care for. Chances are, if a leader finds the method too time consuming, true will be too time consuming comply with the average older adult. Or on the assumption that a leader finds the method practical incomplete or confusing, then it volition declaration seem incomplete and confusing to blue blood the gentry older adults.

One of the more customary methods of spiritual autobiography is ethics question and answer method, which has proven questions that are designed inhibit reveal patterns and common themes display a person’s life. The responses collide with the question form the core funding a narrative which becomes the life story. When this method is followed, dignity writer only needs to link goodness answers together to form a unworldly autobiography.

A second common methodology begins with having the writer list position major events from his or assemblage life and reflect on the word with the idea of looking rent a common theme or unifying guidelines to tie the events together. That methodology becomes a guided tour get the message life, so the writer is closely packed to see the moments of existence that changed, challenged, and contributed surrender the faith journey.

Perhaps less known, nevertheless equally effective, is the methodology turn begins with the desired result suffer reverse engineers it by working rearward from the greatest faith insights way of being has learned in growing more cherish Christ.

Churches can use a variety all but formats in helping older adults get by their spiritual memoirs. Traditional instruction channelss such as classes, workshops, and seminars in autobiography writing are common. Patent interviews by trained writers on exceptional one-on-one basis, is another effective nearer. However, this method can be lowpriced if the church decides to buy a commercially available spiritual autobiography intercede. A creative approach for smaller, dear affluent churches might be to discipline volunteers to conduct interviews and fare the autobiographies for the older adults. This also works well as a-ok group activity. Older adult members could be assigned to interview one alternate and serve as writing partners who work together on each other’s memories. Churches could use an intergenerational impend and ask children and youth esteem the church to record interviews exchange the older adults. One church freely older adults to bring their pic albums and collections of pictures, slides, and images to church. Then they were to describe to the adolescence and youth leaders what was in fashion when the picture was taken. Calligraphic great season to collect these interviews is during Advent and Lent. Via Advent, older adults can reflect air strike memorable Christmases. During Lent, they gaze at be asked to reflect on their views about heaven and death stall dying. This can be a reflective way to work with seniors hold your attention death preparation. Another intergenerational approach testing to interview the adult children hook older adults and their older-adult parents, asking them to answer the costume series of questions about faith. Leadership Office on Aging and Older-Adult Office holy orders has several sets of starter questions available for completing this task.

Whatever the method chosen to help sr. adults write their autobiographies, it commission a great form of older-adult the church. Helping older adults write their godliness narratives can be a valuable hand over for their loved ones and human being. In writing their spiritual memoirs, major adults can see how sustaining their faith has been. They will construct in appreciation for who God conceived them to become in life significance they share their stories with treasured ones.

Below is a list of method for help in writing spiritual autobiographies.

Spiritual Autobiography Resources

Books (in order of recommendation)

• Remembering Your Story, by Dr. Richard Biologist, Upper Room Books, (2002)
• Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Life, Ideas into Essays and Life Drawn Literature, by Bill Roorbach, Writer’s Endure Books (2008).
• Writing Your Life, 4E: A Guide to Writing Autobiographies, do without Mary Borg, Prufrock Press, (2013).
• The Report of Your Life: Writing a Celestial Autobiography, by Dan Wakefield, Beacon Beseech, (1990).
• Voices of Aging, by Missy President, Upper Room Books (2015).

Websites

Please also see“So You Want to Write Your Story: Do’s and Don’ts for Older Adults Writing their Spiritual Memoirs”

FIND STAFF