An Invitation to An Inner Dialogue
Fran Love found this sculpture on Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich CT, and immediately asked her daughter to take a photo. The sculptor, Jim Rennert, titled it Inner Dialogue.
A new 2HC cohort has just started. We thought it would be good to choose a few blogs written over the last two years to give you an idea of some of our 2HC values, and to invite you to anticipate what you will receive and give in these next ten months. Enjoy the reading. Most of all, listen to your inner dialogue. We invite you to pay attention to what strikes you and stirs you as you read them. For our readers not yet a part of 2HC, we invite you to enjoy these with us. Do they resonate with your experiences and longings?
Sabbatical Surprise, by Ed McManness
Usually at the beginning of a new endeavor people are filled with desires for what they want to see happen. They have goals they want to accomplish. Perhaps this is true of you as you start your 2HC experience. Ed McManness reminds us that God might have a surprise in store for you. God surprised Ed one morning, and this is what God said to him: “I am this big. I am this big to sneak up on you, and surprise you. I am this big to meet you, I delight in doing these things.” Do you feel God’s delight being with you in this year’s 2HC? What do you think about a God who wants to surprise you this year?
Read Ed’s post here: https://2hc.life/blog/sabbatical-surprise
Ancient Monastic Advice for Modern Cross Cultural Workers, by Andrew Richey
What is some of the best advice you have been getting about your second half of life experiences and what you can expect as you get older? In this blog, Andrew Richey searches back hundreds of years to draw out advice from the monastics. After you read it, reflect on where your focus has been. Does Andrew’s blog stir something inside you? If you were to speak with God about it, what is the conversation you think you and God would be having?
Read Andrew’s post here: https://2hc.life/blog/ancient-monastic-advice-for-modern-cross-cultural-workers
Spiritual Direction and Coaching, by Jamey Lewis and Fran Love
Those who join 2HC receive both monthly coaching and monthly spiritual direction. What is the difference between the two? How can they complement one another? In this blog, Jamey (a 2HC coach) and Fran (a 2HC spiritual director) write about their experiences. We encourage you to talk with your director and coach about what to expect in your monthly sessions. Be open and be at ease. God is for you. And so are we.
Read Jamey and Fran’s post here: https://2hc.life/blog/spiritual-direction-and-coaching
What is Mutuality and Why is It So Important in the Second Half of Life, by Dano
Many of you attending this year’s 2HC are leaders or retired leaders, perhaps finding yourself now just tired leaders. In this blog, Dano asks us to consider the benefits of mutual relationships as an antidote to the heavy demands leaders have to carry. He says, “Mutuality in relationships is characterized by curiosity and growing together on a shared trajectory.” We want 2HC to offer that space for you. Your small groups can be such a place. Your one-on-one with newly made friends in 2HC can be that for you. Consider bringing God into your need for mutual friendships and pay attention to who God brings to you and you to them.
Read Dano’s post here: https://2hc.life/blog/mutuality
