Category: Spiritual Formation

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Transition Towards Balance

For a number of reasons (excuses),  in the past four years I have not followed a strong diet and exercise program.  One can only surmise the results, but, let us just say that the weight gain has not been helpful, and, the physical results are not ones that have helped me maintain the kind of life […]

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Setting up a Personal Retreat

A personal retreat is a time to get away to catch your breath and relax in the presence of God. A personal retreat offers a chance for praying the Scripture, listening to the voice of God in the silence, journaling and reflection. A personal retreat is a time of renewal. You can establish a personal […]

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Overwhelmed? Overloaded?

She came into the room and sat down and said, “I just can’t think. I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.” She was experiencing a time of overload in her life and was unable to slow down or stop in order to figure out what was next. What do you do […]

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Take a Breather

The word Sabbath can literally mean to “catch one’s breath. God gives the breath of life and then it becomes Satan’s goal to make a person breath-less. Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, wrote that if “the devil can’t make you bad he’ll make you busy.” God created us to take a rest. God has been very […]

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Called to be Wholly

Spiritual direction is a process of discernment in the Holy Spirit. Gordon Smith (Listening to God In Times of Choice, 1997, InterVarsity Press) says “Discernment relates to the whole of our Christian experience, not just to an isolated segment—a time of decision. Our life in its entirety must be lived in response to the Word […]

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Recent Items

  • The Loneliness Factor

    I was at a luncheon that was serving as a listening post for seniors to describe their sense of loneliness and isolation. I knew that the population invited to this luncheon was one that would probably have a higher sense of isolation, but, what I heard was much more intense than I expected. A man […]

  • Social Networks and Aging

    It is interesting that research is showing two demographics experiencing social isolation in such as way as to impact health: Young Adults (18-22) and Senior Adults (65+). I have worked with both populations over the past 50 years and I continue to be amazed at the similarity of the questions raised by both groups and […]

  • An Eye-Opening Awareness: One More Transition for this Guy

    I sat at a luncheon two weeks ago that opened my eyes to a reality that I knew was there, but as the discussion unfolded I began to realize how the discussion, about to take place, was going to expand my thinking. As I listened to the needs of the people with whom I shared […]

  • TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: LETTING GOD SET THE AGENDA

    When it comes to the human condition and a desire to change, we can become easily frustrated: we think that we want to change … but we really don’t. Paul expresses this contradiction well in Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do […]

  • The Crisis of Loneliness

    THE NATIONAL CRISIS CALLED LONELINESS From “LINKED IN” “America is becoming Isolation Nation. Nearly half of respondents to a nationwide survey by health insurer Cigna say they always or sometimes feel alone, and 54% say they feel no one knows them well. Such loneliness is connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death. The […]