“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower… Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” —John 15:1, 4

“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

Week 1:

Being loved by Jesus is a gift; following Jesus is a

.

The goal is to become ready for God to use us to

resistance and despair into hope.

Week 2:

It takes a clear

to ground us and a strong resistance to

Reveal Answer

us.

The good news of Jesus is that we are loved

we have accomplished anything.

Week 3:

We want God to make us

and strong.

Self-reflection that leads to self-awareness makes us

.

Week 4:

Hardship + Relationship = Resilience.

Front stage, backstage, and offstage supporters form a

of resilience.

This Week:

If we want to be resilient in moments of stress, we have to

ahead of time.

The Moment of Truth

Have you ever imagined how you would respond in a

situation?

“People like to imagine that they will ‘rise to the occasion’…What happens, in fact, is that when things get really hard and people are really afraid, they sink to the level of their training.” —Eric Greitens

We do not rise above our level of training and

.

Our habits can either strengthen or

our resilience.

If we respond to stress by doom-scrolling, drinking, or withdrawing, our habits are

us.

Creating a Training Plan

For centuries, God’s people have used a “

” to keep their life and habits aligned with God’s will.

“A rule of life is simply a rhythm of practices that empower us to live well and grow more like Jesus by helping us experience God in everything.” —Ken Shigematsu

In order to stay faithful in Babylon, Daniel created a

of prayer that kept him grounded. (Daniel 6:10)

St.

created a rule to guide the monks in his monastery.

We are

living by a rule of life, whether we realize it or not.

The word “rule” comes from the word for “

.” (John 15:1, 4)

An intentional rule of life helps us

in Christ and train in his way of life. (John 15:10-12)

“What is often overlooked is that practice is something we do, not something we think about or even pray about.” —Tod Bolsinger

Habits of Resilience

We can grow in resilience by attending to habits in three spheres:

1. Reveal Answer
   : We
   Reveal Answer
   ourselves in God’s love and spend time in self-reflection.

2. Reveal Answer
   : We intentionally nurture relationships with the people as we
   Reveal Answer
   and encourage one another.

3. Reveal Answer
   : We care for our bodies with appropriate exercise, food, and sleep. Don’t forget to
   Reveal Answer
   .

Practical tips for creating a rule of life:

1. Start

   Reveal Answer
   : one habit done well is worth ten habits not done at all.

2. Be “ruthlessly

   Reveal Answer
   ”: Emphasize what you can actually do, not what you feel like you
   Reveal Answer
   do.

3. Include

   Reveal Answer
   : Habits are much more sustainable with a supportive community.

“One of the great temptations of the spiritual life is to believe that if I were in another season of life, I could be more spiritual.” —Ruth Haley Barton

Action Steps

Review your week. Ask yourself, what is my

rule of life?

Create a rule of life that helps you

to follow Jesus resiliently.

Give yourself a

.