“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?'' Mary Oliver
Patterns of Purpose
creating life patterns for good things to run wild
Do you . . .
have a hurried life with no time for the people, dreams, and work most important to you?
have questions about how to order your days so they add up to the wholehearted life you are called to?
wonder how to discern the direction and dreams of your life in this season?
crave a life that purposefully reflects your values and who you are becoming in Christ?
long to live in kinship with God as Jesus did no matter what life brings?
If you said yes . . .
It’s time to create your personal Patterns of Purpose.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections at a time.”
— Annie Dillard
Do you ever wonder if the daily things you’re doing are adding up to the deeper things you are designed for?
We all live by a rule of life - habits and relationships woven into our days, months, and years, that are shaping us inwardly and outwardly.
And these patterns may work quite well for awhile, until a season of change, upheaval, or growth.
Like you, I have had several seasons when I naturally took stock of the patterns of my life - moving to a new community, getting married, becoming a parent, changing jobs, my kids getting married and having their own babies. But I have also had surprise seasons when how I spent my days was deeply and sorely challenged: becoming a mama to a child on the autism spectrum and Mike’s urgent heart surgery, followed quickly by a sudden life-threatening bout of wicked pneumonia.
These tough seasons changed both the pace and patterns of my life, eventually for good. But just how do new patterns come to life? At first, the new patterns do not come without the death of old ways. This is a disorienting time when up feels down, and down feels up. I began searching for new anchor points to my days. I found them deeper in the contemplative lives of the mystics, in the seasons of Christ’s life.
After such an upheaval comes an opportunity for new life - new ways to live our days.
Like a thriving garden, our lives need good soil, space for our roots to spread out, a healthy mix of sunshine, rainfall, and shade, and the work of all the seasons. A fruitful vineyard is even more complex. A wise vine grower considers the terroir - an entire ecosystem of land including soil conditions, altitude and slope of the terrain, micro-climate, and prevailing winds.
Even with so much care and consideration, tender shoots still need a trellis to support and guide growth as they reach for the sun.
That trellis is our rule of life.
A Rule of Life is an ancient Christian way of intentional counter-cultural living dating as far back as the Desert Fathers of the third century A.D. In A.D. 540 St. Benedict of Nursia wrote the “Little Rule for Beginners” for his monastic community. It began brilliantly with, “Listen!”.
This is how we will begin, with our ear to God’s heart and our everyday life at the same time.
You don’t need more time.
You need patterns of purpose to live the life God has given you with the people you love and lead.
Patterns of Purpose is . . .
a meaningful process of listening to, learning from, and arranging your life around the God who loves and knows you best.
As you become more aware of how God created you and and the universe you inhabit, you can let those patterns shape you and your days. Your purposeful life will be reflected in your calendar.
what people are saying
words from Patterns of Purpose Workshop participants
“The resources are GREAT! The sessions were powerful and resonated with me. The cards are awesome. They are thoughtful and helped guide me to my POP.”
— Sue
“Patterns of Purpose is a game-changer. In a hurried season, Terri helped me slow down and see how to create healthy patterns that are helping me thrive.”
– Juleeta
“Terri is a gentle guide on this unfamiliar path. Her leadership and pacing helped me craft a pattern of purpose that will bend and grow over the years as Jesus and I tend my soul together.”
— Leslie
Before you buy another planner, add one more thing to your calendar, or say no to your dreams again, create your patterns of purpose to live by and start making more soulful decisions.
A rule of life is less a list of perfect to-do’s and more the patterns shaping who we are becoming in Christ as we live our one wild and precious life.
Creating a personal rule of life is a rich rooting and shaping process I call Patterns of Purpose, or POP for short. I have created several ways to help you listen to you life. Find the one that fits you.
The POP project was a collaboration with my artist friend, Lisa Procter. You can order her beautiful original art and prints on her website or at Society6.
Choose your Patterns of Purpose.
POP cards.
This deck of 20 cards is designed to lead you on a self-paced journey to create your personal rule of life. These 4”x4” cards are thoughtfully designed with Scripture readings, questions, activities, and original paintings to help you explore your God-shaped life in Christ.
Bonus: free template to gather your POP journey all together in one place.
2 options available (digital or hand-held cards)
2. POP cards + videos.
In this selection, you receive the 20 POP cards to take your self-paced journey to creating your rule of life. You also receive 4 teaching videos to strengthen your process of crafting your Patterns of Purpose. And you still get the bonus template to gather your POP journey together into one place.
3. POP cards + videos + workshop.
This is a 4-week interactive workshop with Terri.
In this bundle you receive: a set of 20 POP cards, 4 videos, and 4 virtual gatherings. The gatherings include group interaction, resources for going deeper, and Q & A.
Limit 4 participants per workshop.