Thoughts and feelings can whirl you away from being centered. The practice of stillness can calm the mind and bring back clarity. The Bible has verses to help us on the way. Sometimes I feel like I am on a long bungee cord. I run off to do this and that. […]
spiritual formation
122 posts
Thinking patterns can autopilot us into a jungle of destruction. With the loving care of a gardener, pruning takes place. We need to trust in a loving God that desires to prune and shape our lives for the fruit of love, joy, and peace. ‘I’m sorry but I am going to […]
Life will blunt your edge. The knocks, the scuffs, the micro-abrasions and who you are gets dulled. Having a daily sharpening practice keeps your mental health having a fine edge. I was getting frustrated. I was cutting down a tree with my chainsaw, and it was taking forever. The teeth of […]
When we record an event, a time, a place it grounds us in the story going on. As we make a mark, we speak into the wispy winds of today’s experience a permanence and faithfulness. The struggles in the mind today can become the weather forecast for tomorrow unless we remember the records we […]
We can listen to the obvious – noise, distractions, voices, but it takes a focus to notice the whispers. Mental health comes from a spirituality that is listening for the quiet and unspoken. It was the busyness of their life that concerned me the most. Jumping from one thing to the […]
David Strengthened Himself in the Lord. How did he do this and what can we learn? I love old saints. People who have been there, done that and have got the story to tell. It was a couple of retired missionaries that strengthened me and got me through a tough […]
Are you struggling to forgive yourself or others? The bookkeeper keeps score and builds a case against yourself and others. Let’s banish the bookkeeper. Underneath the kitchen bench in my childhood home was a drawer where we kept scissors, pens, paper, and the red Collins ledger book. My mother would […]
If we are going to navigate life well, we must nurture the gift of stillness. Distractions will vie for our attention, but only one that is true will be heard if we quiet ourselves and be still. Looking up at the stars through a crisp, clear winters night I wondered […]
If you want to hear the heart of another, then you need to still your own. Fixing, advising, saving, or straightening out will only stifle the emergence of true wisdom. We need to listen with questions. Sometimes I want to tell some people to shut up and just listen. They […]
Three hundred thousand pilgrims walked the Camino de Santiago in 2017. These ancient pathways in Northern Spain have allured people from all over the world. But why? What is the reason that these trails have drawn so many pilgrims for such a long period? Camino means ‘Path.’ Just a little […]