| The Center for Faith and Leadership’s Monthly Newsletter – February 2022 Monthly at The Center, we host the Living Room, a night for worship and time in community. When I was a first-year student at the University of Mary Washington, The Living Room was a place that I could fully surrender in the ways that I knew how to what the Lord had for me amidst the craziness that was freshman year. Each month, I would find myself looking towards this time as a chance to be with God in a deep way that I that I couldn’t experience anywhere else. Flash forward a few years; a lot has changed since then, but the comfortable space that is created to commune with God during each Living Room has continued to be a peaceful space for me and for others as well. As I’ve grown in my faith, it is not so much a reacquainting and reconnecting time between me and God as it is a time of reflection, gratitude, and joyfulness of my day-to-day life walking with the Lord. I’m a Senior now, and this past Living Room, instead of spending my time in the back of the room quietly journaling and singing, I was helping to lead worship in the front of the space. I led my friends and peers through a listening exercise (see below). What an opportunity and honor it was to help usher people closer to God! Heaven and earth were brought a little bit closer that night, and I am thankful to have been a witness to it. So… Come have a seat in our Living Room next time on March 17 at 8pm. You won’t want to miss it! Listening Exercise: – Remember to relax! – Take a few deep breaths and get comfortable; in through your nose and out through your mouth. – Do a body scan if that feels comfortable. Where are you holding tension or stress? Feel your body connecting with where you’re resting. – Remember your breath and ask yourself: Remember a time that you felt close to God? – Next, ask yourself: What do I appreciate about God? – Then, ask God what he appreciates about you. – Hold those feelings close as you keep your eyes closed and reflect. – Close in prayer. Carson Berrier UMW’22 Social Media and Marketing Intern |
