Timothy Circle Trail Guide
List of Trail Markers
Getting Started
- Trailhead (you are here)
- Marker 1 – Where are you starting?
Who is God?
- Marker 2 – Who is God?
- Marker 3 – Distinguishing God’s voice
- Marker 4 – Why does God call?
What is Call?
- Marker 5 –Â What is Call?
- Marker 6 – What does Call look like?
Tools for the Trail
- Marker 7 – Staying connected to God
- Marker 8 – Building your support team
- Marker 9 – Taking care of yourself on the trail
Understanding Yourself
- Marker 10 – Starting out
- Marker 11 – Past successes
- Marker 12 – Interests & Dreams
- Marker 13 – Skills, Talents, & Gifts
- Marker 14 – Values and what you care about
- Marker 15 – Personality Quizzes
- Marker 16 – Putting it all together
Upper Base Camp
- Marker 17 – Upper Base Camp
The Exploration Cycle
- Marker 18 – Discern
- Marker 19 – Explore
- Marker 20 – Process
Treeline
- Marker 21 – Pursuing your Call
Ready to Begin?
The last thing you completed:
Trail Marker 2
You’ve completed 5% of the Trail!
Feeling Stuck?
Notice Board
Welcome, Explorers!
About this Trail Guide:
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re wondering what you’re supposed to be doing with your time here on earth. Maybe you’re wondering what career you should choose, or what skills you might have that could help yourself or others in your lifetime. Maybe you’re trying to decide if college is right for you, or you’ve felt a nudge to be a pastor. All of these thoughts and questions can be stressful – and we’re here to help!
Think of this Trail Guide as a map and a guidebook for your journey – a journey to learn more about yourself and about who God is calling you to be. This valuable tool will also connect you with others who can support you along the way. You don’t have to go it alone!
What does blazing a trail up a mountain have to do with figuring out where God is calling you in life?
Like climbing an actual mountain, call discernment is an exploration. Wait, you say…what is a call? And what is discernment? We’ll get to that, I promise.
To prepare for a hike, you need to do some preparation. Some things you’ll want to consider are
- What do you know about the mountain you’ll be climbing?
- What do other people say about it?
- Do you have all the gear and support you need?
- Where do you want to end up?
Climbing a mountain can be tough work – and it takes practice! Building your muscles, endurance, and knowledge beforehand makes the actual event much easier.
Of course, every adventure may have some pitfalls.
- The trail might be hard to find sometimes.
- There might be rough spots along the way.
- You might get lost or take a wrong turn,
- You might not be able to see the summit, even when you’re almost there!
That’s okay.  Not everything on your journey (or in your life) will go smoothly. But when you have a God-given purpose guiding your life, even the rough spots can have meaning and value. This guide will help you navigate all parts of that journey.
How is this guide structured?
This trail guide is both self-paced and self-guided. Each chapter of the guide is called a Trail Marker, and each Trail Marker contains one or more steps for you to read and complete. You are in control of where you go, how much you do at any one trail marker, and how fast you work through the guide. You can go back to trail markers you’ve already completed if you’d like. You’ll be able to cross things off of the list to help you see what you’ve already done. We do recommend that you complete the Markers more or less in order, though, since they do build on each other.
The first part of the guide covers topics like who God is and what calling looks like. In the middle part of the trail, you’ll explore your values, dreams, and gifts. Toward the end of the trail, you’ll set up a ‘base camp’ of truths for yourself and prepare for the true exploration process of trying new experiences to further clarify your call.
Supplies you’ll need
- A place to take notes and write down your thoughts during the journey. This could be a journal or notebook, a note on your phone, or a Google doc. You’ll refer to this often as you travel, so keep it handy!
- Patience
- Perseverance
- Vulnerability – be ready to be real an honest with yourself and others. God created you as you are – being in touch with who you are honors who God created you to be!