Blog
The Way of Discernment (Discernment Series: Part 2)
With my autoimmune disease in remission for more than five years, it shook me to the core when it reemerged in full force this January. After two courses of high-dose prednisone therapy and a new medication with severe and potentially lethal side effects, I found...
Thresholds by John O’Donohue
As I shared in my last post, I feel I am standing at the threshold of a new season with all its complex feelings and emotions as I venture into the unknown. During yesterday's virtual post-graduate spiritual direction class retreat, one of the leaders shared this...
Discernment—Reading the Signposts (Discernment Series: Part 1)
Welcome to the first of a series of posts on the discernment process. I hope you’ll join me for the rest of the series. In future posts, I will dive more deeply into the discernment process. Drop me a line and let me know what questions you might have or issues you’d...
A Prayer on Thanksgiving
Inspired by Habakkuk 3:17-19 by Brenna Nail As families gather to fellowship, I feel a wound in my heart. I may be surrounded by people, but my soul seeks a perfect love and peace. Even if this year has brought new pains, Even if the holidays are a reminder of a...
For Church Leaders: How to Support Emotionally Wounded People (Everyone)
Throughout our lives, we all experience emotional wounding and trauma. We live in a fallen world, and no one escapes life without suffering, pain and, in many cases, some form of trauma. Unfortunately, many church leaders I've worked with over the years struggle to...
The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community
For those unfamiliar with the writings of Curt Thompson, M.D, he is a Christian psychiatrist that writes at the intersection of faith, neuroscience, and interpersonal neurobiology. What follows are what I consider some of the key points made in the book and a few...
A Prayer For Rest
by Brenna Nail Lord, my mind is tired as it wanders through every task the day calls for, yet I am unable to slow my stream of restless thoughts. Lord, my body aches as it performs its duty to take me from one place to another, working endlessly to carry out each...
A Story of Divorce, Grief, and Gratitude
“The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That’s how much gratitude I can give. If I carry only grief, I’ll bend toward cynicism and despair. If I have only...
Lectio Divina–A Form of Scriptural Reading, Meditation, and Prayer
Friends, I'm pleased to introduce you to an emerging writer (who also happens to be my niece) Brenna Nail. Here, she shares her first experience with Lectio Divina, a form of Sacred Reading. Discover how God met her during her prayerful reading of Scripture. by Brenna...
Why Reading-the-Bible-through-in-a-Year Plans Never Worked for me
At the start of each new year, many Christians throughout the globe set an intention to read the Bible through in a year. Several Christian organizations and ministries even offer “read-the-bible-through-in-a-year plans” to guide believers through the process. Indeed,...
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