By Jo Newell, TDC
God walked so faithfully and kindly with me in the year following our only son Nathaniel’s death. He met me often through people, almost daily in nature, and usually through His Word. As I was approaching the first anniversary, I sensed from Him that He wanted me to seek a companion to accompany me as I continued this heartbreaking journey.
By Lyndi Lee Markus, TDC –
“Dangit, Jo!” I exclaimed to my spiritual director. Except I did not use the word dangit. I had come to our session discouraged to the point of tears, stuck in anxious thinking that left me hopeless and powerless. Her question had both lovingly and uncomfortably dislodged me from my rut. How was she so wise?
By Amanda Torres, Collegiate – As she struck a match to light the candle for our spiritual direction session, I heard my director say the familiar words she opens with time and time again, “The Light of Christ—who is with us, for us, and in us.” I needed this simple yet profound reminder to sink in deeply on this particular day. I was 21 weeks pregnant, and it was the day after the anatomy scan where my husband and I had found out there was something wrong with our daughter’s heart.
By Luke Kleveland, TDC – Before COVID, I would not have imagined doing spiritual direction with anyone. In fact, if you had asked me about this five years ago, I probably would have looked at you in confusion because I didn’t really know what it was, and then with skepticism because I thought it was purely mystical stuff. Little did I know how my journey with Jesus would change my perspective.
When surveying the landscape and mining the data around what is happening to people in positions of mission and ministry leadership, several trends become apparent. Among them are: While social science research gives us a laundry list of heed-worthy reasons why there is such a crisis in leadership happening today,
“I just wish you could connect with me better, and relate to me at a deeper level,” my wife said. It didn’t sound mad this time—but it was with heartbreaking sadness. After decades of marriage, we were once again having this weighty conversation. My dismissive attachment style wanted to run
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with your head held high” (Leviticus 26:13). As a young child, my Sunday school teacher
We see evidence all throughout Scripture that Jesus was deeply concerned with the matters of the heart. When we take a look at the life and ministry of Christ, we discover a man who saw people in their circumstances—stepping not only into their physical realities, but also their spiritual ones.
Transitions can be hard, especially those that aren’t expected. But even for the ones we long for, there are still lessons to learn, emotions to sort out and most of all, places where we can meet with the Lord. I had always wanted to be married. In my mid 20s,
I had been crying loudly for 15 minutes. My wife was laying peacefully and mostly non-responsive in bed next to me. Cancer had been taking her life for over a year and she was days away from breathing her last breath at age 38. I was at the end of