As you start putting your New Year's resolutions into practice you might consider adding spiritual growth to your list. So many adults will tell you that they regret not committing enough time to their spiritual growth in college, and many will go so far as to say they experienced a total loss of faith in college. The root of this problem is time. There aren’t enough minutes in the day and it is difficult to carve out time to dedicate to spiritual growth when you have so many other things on your to-do list. But this can change in 2015, if you schedule out some time, daily, or even just a couple times a week. Here are some approaches.
Journal. There are so many different ways to journal. You can start a gratitude journal. Commit to writing out five things you are thankful for every day; this could take only minutes. If a gratitude journal interests, I suggest you read "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. Another option is a prayer journal. Recording your prayers is a good way to make sure that you don’t leave out anything important, and it's fun to be able to flip back and appreciate how your prayers have been answered. And journals can be used to write down favorite verses, jot down notes, etc.
Pray. Prayer is a crucial part of living a Christian life. God commands prayer. Prayer brings us closer to God. God answers prayer. That being said, there are many ways you can revamp your prayer life, this semester. Wow, I sound like an infomercial. Anyway, recently, I learned two really cool ways to pray:
A.C.T.S. Adoration/Confession/Thanksgiving/Supplication.
RIPPLE prayer. God/Myself/Family/Friends/Campus/Nation/World.
The cool thing about these formats is that you can put your own spin on them, and use them any way you want. Take the Ripple prayer for example, there happen to be seven categories and there are seven days in a week. So you could dedicate a category to every day of the week.
When it comes to the actual act of prayer there are many ways one can pray. This might not be something you’ve ever considered, because when we think of praying we think of sitting, closing your eyes, and talking to God. I don’t know about you, but remembering every day to sit down and pray is hard. Some fun innovative ways to mix up traditional prayer include: journaling, prayer walks, praying in solitude, praying on your knees, praying in a small group, or using prayer cards.
Get into the Word. Where do I start? For most college student this is the hardest part of reading the Bible. Well, I’ve got a couple suggestions for you.
B90X. This is a 90-day devotional that gives you passages to read from the Bible and provides you with questions pertaining to what you just read, so you can be sure you are spending the proper amount of time reflecting and understanding what you’ve just read. It always follows up with an application question so you can be sure that you have some good takeaways you can apply to your life. The best part of this is you can get all this information free of charge. Go to stumo.org» RESOURCES» Establishing» B90X. Get yourself to the library and print it all out, or download it to your computer.
Taste and See (31-Day challenge). Similar to B90X, this devotional gives you a Bible reading and you simple write down your key thoughts about the passage, a key verse, a key application, and then you pray over it, and bata, bing, bata, boom -- you're done. This will literally take you 10 minutes. This is also free of charge. Go to stumo.org» RESOURCES» Follow Thru: Quiet Time Taste and See (31 Day Challenge). Print or Download. There are also many other free resources at stumo.org.
Pick up a copy of "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. This is is a daily devotional that is written as if God is talking directly to you. It’s pretty dang cool. This little blurb is followed by relevant verses, and can be a really interesting way to read and discover new passages in the Bible.
Get involved in a Christian organization on campus. There are so many different organizations that you can get involved in on campus! This is a great way to meet peers who share the same faith and desire for growth. Having Christian friends and community to support you in your spiritual growth can be great, and can keep you accountable for taking the time you have allotted to journaling, praying, reading your Bible, and attending church. And it is always fun to share what you are learning in your individual studies and hear what your friends are learning. OSU has so many different organizations you can get involved with.
STUMO is a great Christian organization that brings in speakers, provides study materials, holds worship services, and staffs some really great people dedicated to helping college students in their spiritual growth. STUMO meets Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. in the Stillwater Community Center. (more info at www.stumo.org)
Overflow is a Christian worship service. It is a great way to break up the week, listen to some great worship music, and socialize with your fellow OSU students. Overflow is Tuesdays at 9 p.m. at Life Church.
Young Life is a club on campus dedicated to helping college students in their spiritual growth and is a great way to get involved in a faith community. Young Life meets Wednesdays at 9:03 in the OSU Student Union. (more info at www.younglife.org)
Find a church. The great thing about Stillwater is that there are so many great churches near campus, and many offer programs geared toward college age students. Two churches that attract a large number of college students in Stillwater are Sunnybrook Christian Church and Life Church. But these are not your only options; a quick Google search shows there are 109 churches in Stillwater. So there is bound to be one you’ll like; you just have to be proactive in finding one. Attending Christian organizations during the week is great, but nothing compares to having a multi-generational faith community supporting you in your walk with God, so go find yourself a church!
Consider dedicating your summer to your spiritual growth. Kaleo is a summer program in Panama City, Fla. that provides spiritual leadership training and helps individuals grow in their faith and prepare to share it with others. Kaleo is a nine-week commitment in the summer (May 17 to July 18). For more details, check out kaleo2015.com.
Consider working at a Christian summer camp. There are so many great Christian summer camps out there looking to employ college students for a summer, and what could be more rewarding than helping kids grow spiritually? In the OSU Student Union Ballroom (2nd floor) on Jan. 21, there is a Summer Camp Job Fair, check it out. These Christian summer camps will be there:
- Camp War Eagle (www.campwareagle.com)
- Deer Creek Camp (www.deercreekcamp.org)
But don’t limit your search to just these. Check out other options. Google has the answers.
In conclusion, New Year's resolutions are simply words on a page unless put them into practice, so be dedicated to your spiritual growth this semester and this year.
