Yesterday I received this email from Pastor June who has been working through The Gift of Wonder with a special group. I love the creativity that the book has inspired and am grateful for the ways that June and others are using it. Her email reminded me that I have not yet shared the Gift of Wonder Bonus Packet we have just made available.
This note is so long overdue but it is imperative that I write and let you know a snippet of how my Gift of Wonder group is doing. It has been an interesting for sure. It has caught some of them maybe a little off guard when I challenge them with assignments – but then to see the wonder and creativity that they get into – it is such a blessing. The last time we met, two weeks ago today, (we meet every other week) we did the chapter with the seed bomb assignment. Since it is indeed a challenge as to where we would be able to throw them we discussed other options. I thought – how about putting little notes/words in a balloon and giving them to people randomly. One lady, who will miss tonight because of illness, did just that. She put ten notes in a balloon and gave them to a lady who lives in the same complex as she does whose best friend recently died. She told the lady to pop the balloon for a surprise – after the lady followed the instructions she had hugs and thanks for the lady who gave it to her. (They both live in a senior housing project).
Painting of rocks has also been something that has intrigued several of them. Two of them have found painted rocks when they have been out – one outside a restaurant and one in the parking lot at a grocery store. A couple of them have hid rocks. An interesting share by one of the ladies who lost her husband quickly at the age of 63 (she is 56) after she has been in the group was that she had hid a painted rock in plain site on a park bench where many people were walking by and no one even noticed or paid any attention as she watched for a while. She observed, “How can people be so unobservant?” We discussed how many of us are the same or were the same before I started challenging them to do the book activities – ‘take a walk, and what do you see?’
This book has given me the opportunity to also challenge people gently to think about God being a part of their lives. Some of them have been extremely hurt by the church/church leaders and really struggle with a relationship with God for themselves. One lady who I did not know at all, brought by her friend is opening to the fact that the reality of God is possible.
Because of the creativity that is emerging from the book we have put together a special bonus packet which describes some of the exercises in more detail and makes suggestions from some of the creative ideas that it has inspired in others. Enjoy and please send your own feedback. I would love to hear what the reading of my book has stirred in your life.
Gift of Wonder Bonus Download
Also don’t forget that if you have not yet purchased your copy of The Gift of Wonder it is available from these outlets:
or you can also order The Gift of Wonder with our beautiful prayer cards only available through the Godspace store.