Your Rule of Life

Randy shares practical ways to engage with Scripture, including praying through passages, journaling, memorization, studying in-depth, reflecting on the meaning, and using the practice of Lectio Divina. He emphasizes personalizing Scripture and applying its teachings as essential for growth, highlighting the profound impact of ongoing engagement with God's Word on his own spiritual journey.

This video session explores the value of silence and solitude in our lives, drawing inspiration from Jesus' practice of these disciplines. It highlights the potential pitfalls of overdoing silence and solitude. In addition, Randy discusses how intentional practice of silence and solitude can deepen our relationship with Christ, position us to receive more of God's resources, give us space to apply what we are learning, and help re-create our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Randy shares a personal experience of being miraculously healed through prayer after suffering from excruciating pain in the Philippines. He highlights the importance of prayer in the lives of early Christians and emphasizes its power to move the hand of God. Randy offers four suggestions to enhance one's prayer life, including trying different prayer approaches, keeping track of answered prayers, understanding personal worship languages, and living by faith.

In this video session, Randy emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning for personal growth and effective service to God. He explores practical ways to expose oneself to new thinking include reading widely, engaging in training, learning from others, interacting with question-askers, and debriefing and learning from life experiences. The session concludes with an example of a dedicated lifelong learner and a reminder of the transformative power of embracing new ways of thinking.

In this session, we explore how Sabbath provides a time of rest and peace amidst the challenges of life, allowing us to replenish ourselves and refocus on God and His priorities. It is an acknowledgment that God is in control and allows us to break from our compulsion to engage in excessive work. By practicing Sabbath, we align ourselves with God's design, experience His rest, and position ourselves to rest in Him throughout the rest of the week.

In this video session, Randy discusses the importance of living simply in an age of distractions. He highlights three key ways to practice simplicity: blessing others with possessions, decluttering living and work spaces, and adding margin to one's life. He shares personal experiences and practical strategies, such as scheduling downtime, setting boundaries, unplugging from technology, and planning for discretionary time and energy. Ultimately, the goal is to focus on what is truly important in light of eternity and find sustainable ways to serve God and others.

This video session by Randy emphasizes how play and recreation can re-create our bodies, minds, and spirits, enabling us to worship and serve God more effectively. He poses reflective questions about giving ourselves permission to play, rediscovering childhood joys, prioritizing playfulness, and finding what re-creates us. Additionally, he shares ideas from Margarita Tartakovsky's article, highlighting the benefits of changing our mindset about play, surrounding ourselves with playful people, and engaging with children to bring out our own playfulness.

In this video session, Randy recounts the surprising moment when Jesus, a respected teacher and leader, humbly washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus set an example of humbly serving others, stating that they should also serve one another in the same way. Randy reflects on how Jesus was able to serve in such a humble way, emphasizing the importance of understanding our identity in Christ. He encourages us to find ways to humbly serve others, just as Jesus did.

In this video session, Randy shares his personal journey of adopting a healthier lifestyle and how exercise and eating well can affect all aspects of our lives. He also explores the connection between physical and spiritual health, emphasizing that taking care of our bodies is an act of worship and enables us to serve God more effectively.

How important is emotional intelligence (EI) as we seek to love God and serve Him more effectively? In this video, Randy discusses the concept of emotional intelligence and its significance in personal and professional success. He highlights the four major domains of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Randy goes on to explain that EI involves recognizing and regulating emotions in ourselves and others, leading to improved self-awareness, better relationship management, and increased organizational effectiveness. Ultimately, tending to our emotional health is an essential spiritual discipline that impacts our ability to love God and others.

In this video session, Randy shares his experience of reading the book Man of Vision about Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision. The book, written by Pierce’s daughter, chronicles Pierce's extreme dedication to evangelizing the world and his compassionate work for the poor. Randy reflects on how the story influenced him, highlighting the importance of including family as an integral part of our calling. It serves as a reminder that ministry begins with those closest to us.

Randy discusses the importance of loving, Christ-centered communities in our journey of faith. These communities provide a place for deep discipleship and growth, where members practice the "one anothers" of Scripture. He highlights the characteristics of these communities, including worshiping together, showing love and acceptance, building each other up, and fostering unity. Randy also reviews the 12 spiritual disciplines that form a Rule of Life, encouraging individuals to prayerfully consider strengthening these areas to cultivate a growing relationship with God and serve Him more effectively.