I recently went to a silent retreat for a weekend. Once there, I noticed it was taking quite some time for my body and soul to unwind and slow down. Both finally matched the restful, tranquil and sacred place where I was. Why did it take so long for my body and soul to wind down? Like a car at 160 miles an hour, it took time to literally slow down my thoughts, the pace of my walking and my …
Category: Healthy Soul
It’s impossible to fully put into words God’s love. It’s so wide and deep and unnatural from a human perspective. Yet, in a way, God’s love is quite simple and tangible. You can see it a neighbor’s kindness….in a heart-felt thank you….in someone going out of their way to help another who is hurting. Of course we know: God is love….and when He is present in others hearts, we see His love shine through in astounding ways. I was led …
We went to Hilton Head recently and I got to do something quite special. I sat alone in a beach chair in the water as the tide went out. For 30 minutes my mind and soul were transfixed on the wonder, scale and epic nature of the ocean. For me, the vastness of the ocean is a powerful metaphor of the immense nature of God and the expanse of His everlasting love toward us. Even the waves lapping on the …
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… Ephesians 4:15 Truth and love truly go hand in hand. It seems love was made for truth and truth for love. This is especially true in relationships and in these politically charged times. I can have the most powerful truth in the world, but if I don’t express it in love, it will likely land with a thud…and …
Remember trying to crack open the piñata at a friend’s birthday party? There it was, a thing of great value, swinging from a rope tied to a tree limb. As a kid your only desire is to break it open. But you’re blind-folded, so you can’t ever hit the darn thing! So a helpful parent comes along and does what all parents do at piñata parties. First, they tell you to stop swinging (so they don’t get killed)! Then …
“Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” Mark 6:31-32 …
And we know that for those who love God all things (no matter what the season) work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (emphasis added) …
I was at a local County Fire & Rescue Department recently conducting training when everyone’s radios began to squawk with alarms. Two fire captains launched into action and left what I thought was quite valuable training! 😉 A call had gone out for a house fire. Not too soon later they returned to the training and shared that the call was a “false alarm”. Someone mistook the smoke and flames from a controlled burn for a house fire. …
I love the near-instant satisfaction of working in the yard. When it’s tended to regularly the results can be fabulous. Just like our soul. Tending to and caring for the health of our soul can result in its blossoming into the wonderful entity God intended. The opposite is also true, right? My work in the yard involves a lot of weeding. Identifying and removing the stuff that doesn’t belong. Looking back on this past summer’s weeding, I …
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. – Psalm 103:19 (NASB) When the King of England died in 1952, his daughter Elizabeth was thrust onto the world stage as Queen of the United Kingdom. In the Netflix series “The Crown” the Queen’s grandmother writes Elizabeth a powerful letter as she prepares to become Queen. In the letter she says: I have seen three great monarchies brought down through their failure to separate …