Hello friends! I am super excited to share these simple course materials with you. I have been teaching what I call "Best Life Practices" for as long as I have led workshoppes and I am super passion about people becoming all they are created to be.
You can call them exercises, habits, disciplines, or daily intentions. In short, these are the little things we do daily to live our best lives. In the past I have always taught them from a cognitive
stand point. However, I recently decided to marry my love of daily habits and spiritual disciples to create a "Small Group Class" to teach along side my husband, and best bud, Kyle. He's a pastor, I'm a sinner. I though we'd make a good teaching team. Haha.
We overviewed the following 15 "Best Life Practices/ Spiritual Disciplines", and created a simple note sheet for each, that you can download below. The sheets, contain a simple definition, scripture references, a few things to remember, and some very easy action steps to help you implement the practice.
They are:
Silence
Solitude
Study
Meditation
Prayer
Journaling
Fasting
Obedience
Simplifying
Self-Examination
Communion
Sabbath
Gratitude
Fellowship
Celebration
Out of the dozens of Spritual Disciplines, why did I choose these? Because these are the ones I have been actively pursuing for many years, and I didn't want to teach on things I am not doing myself. Basically, I am just a regular joe trying to follow Christ. If you want something more in depth, look to the likes of Dallas Willard and C.S. Lewis. They both have extensive literature on the subject.
*Also, one of my go to resources has been the "Art of Manliness" study on the disciplines. I reference them often.
Why should we create spiritual disciplines?
It's how we can live our best lives.
Jesus did it.
God commanded it.
1 Timothy 4:7
“But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;”
2 Timothy 1:7
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
Romans 5:3-5
“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 12:2
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
A few things to note. First, spiritual disciplines are activities. They are not attitudes. They are not character qualities or personality traits.They are not graces. They are not the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual disciplines are things we do to become more like Jesus. They are us, creating oprtunities so that we can hear from God. They are habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been practiced by God’s people since biblical times. And quite frankly, some are a heck of a lot easier than others.
Next, they do not make us more godly just because we practice these spiritual disciplines. The Pharisees tried that. Didn't work to well for them. They thought that by doing these things they were more godly than others. Nope. That just made them arrogant jerks. However, when our heart is in the right place, thay can help us look more like Jesus.
Another thing, they are not a way to get into heaven. Only Salvation through blood of Jesus Christ can achieve that. Disciplines don’t set aside our need for grace, our need for Jesus himself. And they do not earn us anything. They are simply a practice to help us be with Jesus, so we can become like him. And that is how we live our best lives!
Whether you start this journey on your own or with a group, I hope these easy to follow worksheets make your travels a bit less complicated and hopefully more fun. Be sure to go slow, and please don't attempt to accomplish them all at once. Try them, see what resonates with you. Remember we all were created to worship differently! My prayer for you is that you find a few ways to grow closer to Christ and even make a difference for others.
Godspeed Friends,
-Brandy Bell
Dowloadable PDF Guide Sheets: