Your past shapes you and your experiences shape you. Some of these are beautiful and helpful, some of them aren't. God wants to use those beautiful gifts of yours and your experiences but he also wants to free you from the chains of your past negative experiences. This session is about understanding who you are in Christ. As a follower of Jesus.

Please take some time to download and fill out the graph titled, "Your Journey of Faith." Please watch the video for instructions on how to fill out the graph.

Your Journey of Faith Graph

Journal

If you're unable to download the graph and charted it on the graph itself, follow these instructions to journal your life of faith. Remember, both the positive and the negative things in your past have shaped you. It's important for you to see them on the graph or in a journal so that you can reflect on what God might be doing in the midst of your life.

Given how old you are today, divide your life into 4 categories based upon your age. For example, I'm 55 and I would divide my life into 4 age categories from 0 to 13, 14 to 27, 28 to 42, 43 to 55. There's no reason other than to break your life up into manageable portions to write about.

Next, write down in each section where you felt that God was trying to draw you closer to him or where you were being drawn farther away from him. Things like; a praying aunt or uncle, vacation Bible school, the death of a parent or grandparent, a tragedy, a really great friendship, going to church, a funeral, or things like that. For me it was growing up in a Christian home, having godly parents, attending Sunday school and catechism classes, getting involved with the wrong friends, pretending to be a Christian while getting involved in some of the negative things that teenagers do. It was also about getting married, and going to a conference.

Alright… It's time to get out a journal or a notebook and write your story. When you're done ask yourself the question, "how has God been at work in my life?" "Has it just been recently or has he been at work in the past?" "What were the things that drew me away from God?"