The Dream of God and My Place in that Dream

Read the Dream of God by Verna Dozier. Reflect and write on the following:

Week 1: How readily do I assert that "In the Beginning, God..."? (see pages 18-19 and page 27)

Week 2: What particular possibilities for life - for being a new thing in the world - is God offering us today? (see page 44)

Week 3: Verna Dozier writes on page 68, "Over and over the people of God succumb to the temptation to be just like the people around them." What temptations to be just like the people around me do I experience?

What difference does it make that I believe? (see page 105).

Week 4: On page 132, Verna Dozier invites us to consider our motives for doing good deeds. What motives are on my list?

Prayer Assignments

Week 1

GRACE: Awareness of God's plan for all creation and my place in that plan. Deep confidence and trust that I am destined "in love".

Begin every time of prayer with a conscious focus on myhhself as deeply loved by God.

SCRIPTURES: Psalm 104; Ephesians 1: 3-6

Read this psalm daily. Each day, select a different verse, commit it to memory or a piece of paper you can carry with you. Use this verse as a prayer throughout the day.

QUESTION FOR MEDITATION: Do I really feel like a part of God's plan, or do I feel like an extra, a mistake, or inconsequential?

Affirm daily that I am destined in love.

Week 2

GRACE: Continued awareness of God's plan for all of life. Deep confidence in God's love for me and my special place in God's plan.

Begin every time of prayer with a conscious awareness of myself as deeply loved by God and essential to the fulfillment of the Dream.

SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1: 3-14 Verse 10 "as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

QUESTION FOR MEDITATION: What are the places of division within myself? What are the places of division within my community? Do I have a place in the uniting of all things?

Week 3

GRACE: Growing awareness of God's plan for all of life. Deep confidence in God's love for me and emerging recognition of my unique importance to the fulfillment of God's Dream.

Continue to begin each time of prayer with picturing myself:

Chosen
Blessed
Destined
A colleague with God in the Dream

SCRIPTURE: Romans 8: 28-39

QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION: How is God's dream of unity and "in everything working for good" real in your life? how are you called to help make that dream a reality?

Week 4

GRACE: Deepening awareness of god's plan for all of life, even in adversity. Deep confidence in God's love for me and desire for me to participate in the Dream, even in the face of adversity or mystery.

SCRIPTURE: Romans 8: 28-39

QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION: Can I believe this description of the Dream in the face of the troubles in the world and within my own life? Identify the areas of disunity. Pray with verse 37 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Closing Assignment

Write three paragraphs:

How do I (in my own words) understand the Dream of God?
Where do I see myself as part of the Dream?
How do I actually feel about the Dream and about myself in relationship to the Dream? Is it good news? Do I like my role? do I believe in the Dream of God or not? (REALLY???)