New home, new year, new motto goal
After sojourning in Germany, Finland, and the US for over 10 years, we have finally found a place to feel at home in. Last year God granted us the opportunity to buy our own house, and we moved to Duvall in March. Our family is very grateful to be able to put roots into this little Washingtonian town that is urban and rural at the same time.
Last year was the 5th year of me volunteering in our church for various leadership and administrational roles. I decided it is time to give space to others and also for me to take a break from all the official service roles in the church boards. I'm continuing with the projects and ministries that I'm the most passionate about but will not be obliged to attend monthly meetings or do the admin work associated to them.
In addition to that, another big change in my schedule is the fact that I don't go to the gym anymore. For the time we've lived in the US, my schedule was more or less defined by my gym visits - first with Kaisa being babysat in their childcare facilities, and later just to do my exercise. I love Pilates and dancing, and I learned to appreciate weight training through personal training. Now in Duvall, our long-term gym is quite a drive away, and I've been using it less and less. In the end of last year we finally ended our membership.
These three things result in me having a very different everyday life than ever before. This is a major opportunity for me to actually consider how I may and desire to use my time, talent, and treasure. What is God's will in my life, for my life?
Enter in learning about God's energy.
Finding out about God's energy
Our church did its third Natural Church Development (NCD) survey last year, and this time I was in charge of the administrational work for it. While I was doing this, I came across an ad on the NCD webpage about a book called 'God's Energy'. First I thought that Christian A. Schwarz, the creator and leader of NCD, has turned away from Christian faith into some esoteric nonsense. But out of curiosity, I started reading an excerpt from the book.
I quickly learned that the book is based on extensive research on the Bible and many scientifically appropriate resources. It was as far from nonsense as it can be. The most captivating fact that I found out is that in the original Greek that the New Testament is written in, the word 'energy' is mentioned in different forms for over 30 times. And even in verses very central to Christian faith. When the Bible was translated into Latin, there was no word for energy (since it is a Greek word coined by Aristotle) and so the whole concept was lost in translation for over 2000 years. That is, lost in the Western world, and in the context of Christian faith.
Digging deeper
Learning more about God's energy through reading the Energy Trilogy, I became even more interested in the concept and what it means in real life. I signed up for Christian A. Schwarz's training on God's energy - "Energy Synchronization Process' - that would be delivered in one-on-one coaching style. I had the preliminary meeting with him in June, and the training started in October. Since the concept is new to me, I wasn't sure what I was signing up for. But I trusted Mr. Schwarz's merits as an international church leader, and God's Word.
Now I have gone through the Energy Synchronization Process (ESP) coaching with Christian. But as he says, it is just the beginning. Now I have the understanding and the tools to live my life in alignment with God's creation, the Marjaana I was created to be.
My biggest dawnings during the training were that God actually expresses himself and communicates through beauty, pleasure, and sensory experiences. This is something that I have intuitively known but never cognitively understood or even morally approved of as something sufficient for my faith. The pitfall is that sometimes admiring beauty and appreciating pleasure or any sensory experiences can grow into gods of their own. In Christian faith, we worship the Triune God - Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost - and Him only. I've been so focused in not creating false idols for me that I haven't allowed space to see God working in and through the world - things we can enjoy, hear, feel, smell, touch, or see.
Intentions for this blog
This is the first blog post for the 'Charm of Duvall' blog, and my intent is to explore God and my experiences through the learnings in the Energy Synchronization process. I actually secured this web address, Charm of Duvall, last summer before I had a clue of what I want to write. I just dreamed about starting blogging again since I had enjoyed doing that in the past.
One of the ways God let's me experience Him is through learning more about Him. After all, my primary spiritual style is rational. So I figured that 'making sense' of my experiences through writing about them in this blog will serve well since it is my 'native language'. It will also allow me to go back to the different phases of the ESP and remind myself of the things I learned and can put to use in everyday life. And perhaps, Lord willing, this blog also blesses its reader.
I tend to be quite theoretical in my thinking, so hopefully writing about my everyday experiences here in beautiful Duvall in relation to God's energy (in me), I'll hopefully stay grounded, and learn more about God connecting with me through the world.
Oh, and the brand new motto goal that I learned from my energy system - God's energy in me - is this:
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