Summit Personal Growth Notes

Three weeks ago I left my home to Summit Ministries and I had no idea what was in store for me. I plan to write another blog post talking about my time at Summit, what I learned, and how it changed me. For now I want to share with you just a few of the many notes I took during my time in Manitou Springs, CO. The lectures I sat in contained many different topics such as abortion, same sex marriage, different religions, creative, design, etc. For this post I would like to focus on personal discipleship and growth as well as resources at the end. I hope this is as beneficial to you as it is to me.

Personal Growth

• Set low goals and build on them
• What can you learn in 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 1 hour in a day?
• Read the opposition so you can be educated and prepared to defend
• Ponder your day at night

Set Goals: example          

• Establish/join a support group in ____ (hometown)
• Got involved with a ministry: _____
• Eat at least once a week with someone/talk about life/God/direction in life
• Less phone/TV/music                                      
• No tech zone: table, car, bedroom
• Practice virtue and sustain good habits: read biographies

Establish a morning/night routine                                                  

Prayer                          Day reflections

Bible reading/study    Prayer                                                                         

Non-fiction reading    Quiet time

Example         

Our worldview form our values

Our values form our actions

Our actions form who we are                                             

YOU CAN RULE OVER YOUR FANTASIES                             

5 ways to evaluate

1. What are your loves? What are you habitually intimate with? (What do you share yourself with?)
2. What are your longings? (Imagination aims you, Sets your trajectory) what do you habitually aim for?
3. Where are my loyalties? (Commitments, what takes your time?) Our loyalties are rarely for people, they are for things.
4. Where are my labors? (What do you work hard at in life?) 
5. What are my liturgies (rhythms created in life) culture litergizes us: shopping, internet, etc. watch your habits.
6. Ask parents to evaluate your answers.

You need a friend that will be brutally honest with you (faithful are the wounds of friends) Virtues train 1. Emotions 2. Habits 3. Chest (truth)

Cultivate our chests

• Know what is true and good (read good books)
• Practice what is good and true (if you want to be a good lifter, lift weights)
• Practice repentance 1. It’s a moral workout 2. Get right with God
• Create space for accountability – there’s no limit to human justification

Christian Calling

1. What good around me can be celebrated, protected and preserved?
2. What is missing around me that I can offer?
3. What evil around me must stop?
4. What is broken around me that I can restore?

What explains high performance: improvement, repetition, feedback, thoughtfulness, rigor

Mentoring Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seek Wise Counsel

• What made the difference for you?
• I’d like to hear the story of how you got into this vocational field
• What are the most important lessons you’ve learned along the way?
• If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?
• Who are the key leaders in that field that I should be paying attention to?
• Who are some of the people who personally influenced you toward success?
• What are 5 books you have found helpful in this field?
• Are there any magazines or publications I need to be reading on a regular basis?
• What would you say are the essential principles for success in this field?
• Time and money aside, what would you rather be doing?
• What are your goals at the present time?
• How do you manage your time successfully?
• Have you ever coached anyone else to be successful in this field?
• What are some ways I could learn more about this field?
• What are some obstacles along the way that I need to be aware of?
• What questions have I not asked that I should be asking?

Web resources:

http://www.summit.org/

Jeff Myers blog: http://Www.summit.org/the-presidents-desk/

John stonestreet blog: http://Www.summit.org/blogs/the-point

College approval level: Thefire.org

Current events:

World magazine: www.worldmag.com

Human events: www.humanevents.org

Worldview/apologetics:

Stand to reason: http://www.str.org

Www.confidentchristianity.com

Christianthought.hbu.edu  

Www.korministries.com

Jamesryandobson.com  

Www.coldcasschristianity.com

Crossexamine.org

Defendingfreedom.org/university  

Www.breakpoint.orf

Abortion/traditional marriage:

Traditional marriage: Familyfacts.org

Www.prolifetraining.com

Www.cAsefotlife.com

Ministries/Christianity:

American vision: Www.americanvision.com

Biblical worldview: Www.christianworldview.net

Christian answers: Www.christiananswers.net

Christian apologetics & research ministry: Www.carm.org

Christian research institute: www.equip.org (888)700-0274

Prove ministries: www.probe.org (800)899-7762

Teton apologetics ministries: www.tektonics.org

Logic/fallacies:

Fallacy files: www.fallacyfiles.org

Logical fallacies: www.logicalfallacies.info

Www.yourlogicfallacyis.com

Movie review:

Movieguide.org  

Kids-in-mind.com

Dove.org

Web browsing:

Xxxchurch.com

Covenanteyes.com

Of course, I recommend those that went to Summit to continue to look at their notebooks, especially the end notes for key points, quotes, and resources.

What are you thinking?

This is one of the hardest questions I have ever been asked. Hard to believe, I know. Once you understand how a brain with ADD works maybe you will start to understand better.

Imagine you are looking through a foggy window at subway station. Subs race by with blinding speed. The subs have beautiful artwork painted on the sides. You strain to see the artwork but it is gone in a blur. Maybe a sub stops occasionally and you are a able to view the artwork a short time before it speeds away again. But even then the painting is so complex it is hard to understand. By the time you are beginning to understand and grasp the art it is gone again and you struggle to hold on to the essence of it. Then another sub whisks by with paintings on the side. Someone sees the struggle on your face. They ask you what is the matter? You tell them about the sub and artwork. They ask you to describe the art. It is nearly impossible and they don't understand. Perhaps it is so difficult to explain that you tell them that you just imagined the artwork and you really saw nothing at all.







That is what an ADD brain is like. Thoughts constantly flow through ADD people's brains but they are very hazy and hard to understand. Even when we try to focus on one (before we forget it and the next thought enters our mind) it is difficult to describe to others. The thought is like another language that only our brain understands. We struggle with the right translation to make sense of it to someone else. So when someone asks,

"What are you thinking?"

I think to myself:
Everything
Something
Nothing

Sometimes I go through the effort of trying to explain and sometimes I just use the cop-out of saying nothing. But that is actually rarely the truth. People with ADD rarely are thinking nothing. Even if nothing is in the forefront of their mind their sub-conscious is racing with thoughts. It just takes monumental effort to focus and explain these thoughts.

So what is the point of this post you may ask? Well there are a couple of reasons.

1. I want to get better at writing and translating my thoughts onto paper.
2. I want to continue to explain and sort out what ADD is for others understanding and my own so I may improve and better myself.
3. I believe I have something valuable to offer and I do not want to let the paintings of my mind race off before I forget them as I am apt to do.
4. I want to know your thoughts, experiences, opinion on the matter

Have you ever struggled to answer this question?
How does your brain work? How do you translate what's in your mind to paper or spoken word?
Does anyone think the way I do?

Any other comment related to this topic would be appreciated.

Ps: I have recently started taking a new ADD medicine that has so far been effective and lifted the fog off of my brain. I hope to continue posting more regularly God willing. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something. I know it was therapeutic for myself.


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