Ignatian Contemplation: Instructions and Demonstration

 Invite Cathy to share her original modern bicycle-built-for-two twist of Matthew 11:28-30 with your group. In this lively talk, the parts of the double bike: seat, chains, pedals, handlebars, and the rules for riding, are applied to our spiritual lives? Cathy will demonstrate these principals with examples from her own life. Come join her in reflecting upon who or what we let drive our lives: is it fear, wanting to be liked by others, or Jesus? For some of us who like to be in control, we have shoved Jesus off the front seat and are white knuckling the ride ourselves. Learn how to apply the rules of double bike riding to your life and allow Jesus to take his proper place on the front seat of your bicycle built for two. (Topic can be modified for women, teens, or small children.)  

We all love a good story and when a good story is a God story it’s a home run. Just as God stopped the flow of the Jordan River so the Israelites could enter the Promise Land, God has brought you through trials which can inspire others. God commands us to remember and pass on our faith stories. In this workshop you will learn how to mark the events in your life where God stepped in and transformed you. This workshop contains exercises designed to make writing easy for any reluctant journal writer. Think of this workshop as a couple of hours of faith scrapbooking. Just as scrapbooking preserves family memories, faith scrapbooking preserves your memories of God moving in your life. Faith scrapbooking will not only shore up your own faith, but it can also inspire others and drawn them to the Great Physician.  

Anxiety gets our attention and sometimes paralyzes our lives. Cathy will talk about her struggle with severe anxiety attacks for three years. Through this experience God taught her a lot about letting him replace her tightly held lies with His truth. What do you believe that is destroying your peace? Cathy will share personal examples of how God continues to open her eyes daily and will share her steps for moving toward God’s path to peace daily. 

Protecting Yourself During the Storms of Life Storms of insecurity, tornadoes of criticism, and hurricanes of abandonment. In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul outlines our formula for overcoming: the armor of God. Taken from her co-authored book If I Only Had . . . Wrapping Yourself in God’s Truth during Storms of Insecurity Cathy gives Paul’s armor a distinctive female flare with the appropriate bad weather attire: scarves of truth, gloves of prayer, umbrella of faith, raincoat of righteousness, God’s galoshes, holy hat, and handbag of the Spirit. In this talk Cathy will demonstrate, with examples from her own life, how to protect yourself during the storms of insecurity with God’s rainy day gear.