Are you a math person or a language person? Perhaps, like me, you might rate yourself somewhere in between, similar to what is described in a previous post about being a Lark, Owl or Third Bird. Providing information in a numerical format seems easier for me to remember, but words also matter. Ask me to recite license plate numbers from over the years, I’ll be able to recall most of them. The Johnson’s house phone number from high school, I’ll nail it. A basketball player’s jersey number from Southern Nazarene in the 1990s, you betcha! (THill, you will always be 33 to me). However, after two years in high school and a semester in college of Spanish, my ability to communicate in another language diminishes after “Hola!”

Although I may consider myself more math-minded, over the past few years I’ve increasingly become intrigued with Etymology, the study of the origin of words. And the fact that there is a potential blog post with this title in my files is evidence that it’s been ruminating for a while. But for me to explain what I mean by Appreciative Examen, I needed to explore the root of the word Examen. So, I turned to capital AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help me explain lower case Ai (Appreciative Inquiry).

From the Latin exigere, which means to weigh accurately, we evolve to the English word examen, which has both religious and academic uses for considering or studying. In a timely text, my friend Matt Lunsford, shared Christian Wade’s Saturday Examen, and as I read through this prayer, I marveled how closely the language of the questions aligned so well with Appreciative Inquiry. Conducting another search, this time with the terms Appreciative Examen, Firefox’s AI Overview returned this explanation, “An ‘Appreciative Examen’ is a spiritual reflection process, rooted in the Ingnatian Examen, that encourages you to review your day with gratitude, focusing on God’s presence and actions in your life. By giving thanks, reflecting on thoughts and feelings, asking for forgiveness, and praying about the future, you cultivate a deeper connection with the divine and grow in friendship with God through daily, intimate dialogue.”

The irony here (beyond hearing the Atlantis Morissette song in Big Lots yesterday) is that this week I’ve been seeking God’s direction for next steps, or no steps, when it comes to pursuing what it might mean to truly witness an appreciative campus before I retire. Not only does Appreciative Examen prompt me not to get Derailed by Doing in this particular situation, but it adds another framework students can follow in finding a decision-making process that works for them. Whether they use the Stages of Change model, a Flourishing Filter, or an Appreciative Examen, students have steps they can implement to answer the question, “What’s the wise thing to do?” Thank you, Andy Stanley.

Perhaps I’m stretching the idea a little too far, but I do see connections between the Appreciative Examen to the Five Habits of a Flourishing Life. If the benefits of the Appreciative Examen include cultivating gratitude, promoting self-awareness, deepening a relationship with God, and encouraging growth, then the Five Habits are mirrored in the Examen. And if I approach the Five Habits with the same prayerful consideration as I do the Examen, then I can stand on Tiptoes of Expectation, awaiting His Presence and guidance in whatever decisions I need to make. He is faithful to answer.

Would you consider sharing in the comments below times when you’ve needed to make important decisions, and how you sought out the best direction to take?

References:

Stanley, A. (2020). Better decisions, fewer regrets: 5 questions to help you determine your next move. Zondervan .

Wade, C. (2025, September 13). Astray. Pray As You Go. https://prayasyougo.org/prayer/most-fully-alive-2844