The Michigan Conference is sponsoring a brand-new course in July focused on addressing your inner critic and naming and living out your core values so that you have no regrets investing in safe and life-giving relationships.
We were created as God’s beloved, like no other, and filled with divine spark. But life as a human being on this planet adds layers of expectations and rules that weren’t ours to begin with. And our brain’s primary role of protecting us from danger can get stuck, no longer helping us sort things out. We get encumbered by relationships that drain life, not affirm it.
Six months ago, the web search “finding safe friends” yielded 883 million hits. Three months ago, 1 billion, 442 million people searched the same phrase. Today, it identified 2 billion, 140 million searches. That’s a stark escalation of needless pain and rampant life-demeaning behavior.
So, how do you find safe loved ones and life-giving friendships? Why is it difficult to find them? How do you handle the parade of self-doubts, the inner critics attempting to sabotage your intent to be your true self, what God has intended you to be?
If you’ve felt this way, sign up for a brand-new course sponsored by the Michigan Conference. It’s free for participants, but a suggested donation or act of service to a ministry or organization of your choice is recommended.
During the month of July, on four Monday and three Wednesday evenings, take time for yourself. Begin to peel back the layers of societal and cultural expectations to discover your core values. Embracing what matters to you will equip you to confidently say yes or no to the many social pressures to fit in. Name, befriend, and live your values, and have no more regrets investing in safe friendships that give you life.
Click the button below to learn more about this new course, Beyond the Mirror: Finding Clarity in Your Reflections, and register today.
This course, taught by Naomi García, Michigan Conference Lead Coach, will be held from 5 to 7 pm Central / 6 to 8 pm Eastern, beginning on July 7 for four weeks. Click here to review the full schedule. Please email Naomi at ngarcia@michiganumc.org with any questions you may have.
People of all ages, gender identities, faiths, and no faiths who desire a deeper understanding of how to live their authentic selves are encouraged to sign up. If you long to be the expert of yourself and what’s personally meaningful to you, this course is for you. You will learn practical ways to lay claim to your self-worth and discover the freedom to embrace positive and caring relationships.
Prior to the first session, participants are encouraged to read Blessing My Demons: How to Name, Tame, and Transform Your Inner Critic by Chelsea Forbrook (2023). It’s available in paperback and digital formats. The book is a light-hearted and truthful exposé on something dominant cultures refuse to acknowledge: the inner critic.
The Enneagram (a personality typing tool that helps one understand their motivation and unconscious patterns that drive behavior), Murray Bowen’s family systems theory, and psychology mutually inform this course in profound, simple, and practical ways. Principles of Emotional Intelligence will also be drawn upon.
During the online sessions, Naomi will invite conversation between short periods of instruction, inviting solo reflection in addition to small group conversation.
“I’m good at creating spaces safe enough for us to be brave in the company of others. I encourage you to practice claiming your self-worth. You matter. You are valued. I want to be part of communities filled with people who give and receive generous assumptions about themselves and others. Join me in July to learn how to find these for yourself.”
Registration is required and free. The suggested public minimum value of this course is $497. Please decide how much this course is worth and pay your gratitude forward by donating your time, money, or supporting service to the people-focused service agency of your choice. Click here to register today.
Last Updated on May 21, 2025