I have a deep passion and commitment to the ongoing development of spiritually strong and emotionally healthy individuals, marriages, families, leaders and cultures, helping you achieve your God-designed and appointed destiny.
All tagged spiritul development
My soul is my most precious possession. It belongs to me and only me…unless I decide to give it away. It is then that my soul belongs to whomever or whatever I choose. Only I can make this eternal decision. It is said that your soul is made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. It is priceless, and along with my heart, it is the greatest commodity that I possess.
Tuesday night I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things – teach a workshop Biblical Journaling. I can't even describe how my heart dances when I witness others comprehend that they can actually hear from God as they journal and spend time in His Word. I came home excited, fulfilled and encouraged, as 34 men and women gained a greater understanding of how to develop a more intimate relationship with Him, experience true transformation, and learn how to hear His voice. And it all started with our getting honest about the barriers or struggles in this area - things like fear, confusion, apathy, schedules, distractions, TV, social media, discipline, perfectionism, etc. It was awesome to say the least!
Do you ever feel like you have a million things coming at you from a million different directions? You’re that gerbil on a wheel going round and round, faster and faster, and for the life of you, you can’t figure out how to get off. I woke up that way this morning – a bit panicked; a bit tired, and a small piece of me wondering how in the world I was going to straighten all of this out. Between work, church, home, friends, family, aging parents and a 15 year old dog named Lucy who needs our assistance to stand up, there’s just a bit too much to do. And don’t even tell me how many weeks until Thanksgiving or Christmas! Seriously – I automatically translate that into the number of paydays, which causes my insides to flip out, my mind to race, and yes, my toes to tingle. Ugh!
Whenever my breath is taken away by something other than Jesus (definitely not as good of a feeling), it usually involves something that is traumatic, shocking, or out of my control. It can feel much like shock-waves going from the top of my head to my toes, causing my brain to scramble in an effort to figure out what is happing. My toes have even been known to get tingly. I hate that feeling.
Have you ever felt like you’re literally going around in circles, not making any progress? In fact, it seems you keep re-visiting (over and over and over) the same things or issues, without ever arriving at a destination. It can seem like it's "same ol', same ol." It’s frustrating, aggravating and can cause us to abandon hope and loose heart, wondering if God remembers, hears, or sees us at all.
Recently, after praying with a dear friend regarding difficulties in her marriage, I had no sooner said the word, “Amen,” then she replied, “I wish I could pray like that.” Really? I was surprised to hear that, as I felt I had fumbled through the entire prayer, never finding the right words, ultimately limiting my ability to take the proper requests to our Father. On the contrary, I would have guessed that she would have thought my poor attempt at partnering with her in prayer was pretty pathetic, even embarrassing - especially for a pastor.
