How were you cared for as a child? How well were your needs met? What were your early experiences in your relationships with your parents and your family? And how did this affect your personality, identity, and life going forward? Relational wounds are more damaging when we’re younger, they come from a beloved and trusted…
We have loved ones that die. We suffer losses that hurt. Do we grieve or repress our emotions? Here are the stages and process of good grief with insights from the Bible and psychotherapy.
Recently I was trail running in the hills during a private retreat at the Prince of Peace monastery. It was a beautiful day and I felt so alive and free as I was running with Jesus. Little did I know that I had brushed up against poison oak! A few days later the urushiol oil…
Have you ever seen something that brought you distress or even traumatized you? Do you have any harmful images you’ve internalized that periodically come back to upset you?
Ignatian meditation is the most used method for Scripture meditation around the world. It was developed in the 16th Century by Ignatius of Loyola and used in his famous Spiritual Exercises, which Kristi and I completed on a thirty-day Sabbatical in 2015 under the spiritual direction of Tom Ashbrook, founder of Imago Christi. At the heart of The…
What is Biblical meditation? Here are some key Bible verses on imagination and examples of Biblical meditation techniques for counseling, spiritual direction, small groups, soul care, prayer, and Christian discipleship.
In Henri Nouwen’s Dark Night he received pastoral counseling and kept a secret journal. Shortly before he died this was published as “The Inner Voice of Love.” Here are some quotes and insights for pastors and ministry leaders.
Praying the lament psalms with Jesus teaches us to reorient ourselves in God’s kingdom where we’re blessed, even if our circumstances remain bad.
Holy Week is a special opportunity to draw on Jesus’ empathy in new ways. You know that the last seven days of Christ’s life changed the world, but you may not have thought of them as filled with empathy for your pain and brokenness. Empathy is tuning into what someone else feels, validating the bigness of it,…
Most people I talk to don’t know how to interpret the dreams they have during the night. With a smile or laugh they tell me their crazy dream, not thinking it has any significance. I’ll laugh with them at the funny surface meaning, but then I’ll often reply, “Would you like help to understand your…