“God Doesn’t Answer Prayer.” That’s what my friend Pastor Jeff McCrory heard himself say to his small group Bible Study. “My hurt was talking,” he recalls. We know that the Bible says things like, “Call to me and I will answer…” (Jeremiah 33:3) But sometimes it feels like God is not responding to our prayers. “Why…
“I’m afraid of failing,” Kristi said to me at the kitchen table. “You mean about our new Soul Talks Podcast,” I verified. She nodded. “It’s been a dream of mine. What if it doesn’t connect with people? What if I look foolish?” We volleyed our emotions and compassion back and forth. “This feels like a big…
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…
The people around you need a spiritual leader who helps them connect with Christ. In our TLC retreat program we teach this to pastors and ministry leaders.
As a girl I dreamed of being in ministry for Jesus with my husband one day. I had really admired the pastor and his wife at the church I grew up in. Also I saw my parents teach Sunday school together and I met other ministry couples that inspired me by the way that they…
We all want to experience more peace and we all go about it the wrong way: we withdraw from difficult things. But this weakens us. If you or someone you love struggles with anxiety then you know exactly how this works. When you keep avoiding a situation you’re afraid or stressed by it provides momentary relief,…
“There are people who would want to help you if you’d let them.” That’s what I sensed God say to me in 2009 when Kristi and I were praying about starting Soul Shepherding as a 501c3 nonprofit ministry to pastors, leaders, caregivers, and other servants of the Lord. How are you at letting people help…
In making decisions we want to know what God’s will for us is. Which job is the best one for you to take? Is that a good deal on that car or house you’re looking at? What do you say to your loved one that you’re not getting along with? Hearing God’s voice (discerning his…
I had a conversation a number of years ago with my good friend Bucky Dennis. We were taking a prayer walk together and I was wrestling with a decision; I was anxious about choosing the “right” path. Bucky listened with great compassion and when I ran out of words he told me a story he’d…
God’s great universe is not an ethereal, fog-like realm way off in the clouds as a place we access in heaven or, if we’re among the fortunate few, in rare mystical experiences. Nor is it just ideas and principles that are true. It’s the ground of reality. It’s a place to live, the most wonderful…