Meditations—points to ponder

The situations in which we find ourselves are rarely as important 

as our response to them. And this response comes from our spirit. 

A carefully cultivated heart can, assisted by the Grace of God, 

transform the most painful of situations. 

It can make us less incline to stand like helpless children saying why me? 

Thoughtful people throughout the ages have found that what matters most in life 

is not external but what we are on the inside. 

Things good and bad will happen to us, but what our life amounts to is largely, 

if not entirely, a matter of what we become within. 

This is the domain of spiritual formation and transformation.

The fact is that spiritual formation of one kind or another happens to everyone.

 It is the process by which the human spirit or will is given form or character … … 

whether admirable or despicable. 

We all become who we are in the depths of our being, 

gain a specific type of character by a process of spiritual formation. 

The shaping and reshaping of the inner life is an issue that has been around 

as long as humanity itself. Within are our thoughts, feelings, motivations 

and their deeper sources. The life we live out in our moments, hours, days and years 

wells up from hidden depths. What is in our heart matters more than anything else 

for who we become and what becomes of us.

Dallas Willard Renovation of the Heart—putting on the character of Christ pp2-3

Romans 12:2 (NRSV) — 2a Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, …