Category Archives: Spiritual Direction

May 15 2023
Insights and Inspiration, Spiritual Direction

Psalm 123: God’s Mercy Upon Us

To you I lift up my eyes,

    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

As the eyes of servants

    look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid

    to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

    until he has mercy upon us.

~Psalm 123:1-2

Spring is coming to the Bridger Tetons in Wyoming. And I am fascinated by how the shadows seem to have a say in how the sun melts the snow. But in my fascination, I notice my eyes are fixated on the patches of snow on the ground.

My neighbor helped me turn my eyes upward. “Look at the tops of the aspen trees, the leaves are just starting to show.” Yes…indeed…the aspens appear to have light green halos. And with the evergreen trees in the background, the new aspen leaves are even more striking. 

I think of Psalm 123 and the metaphor of God’s goodness that is before me. Like the evergreens, God’s grace and mercy are a forever reality. But there are seasons when one’s soul longs to be seen and known with all its stirrings.  Being fully known and seen takes time and can ebb and flow in our relationships. In the ebbs, we wait, pay attention and look upward for reminders that God’s mercy is not far. 

In time, we step out of the shadows, of our making, and let the mind of Christ renew us heart, soul, mind and strength. We step into the familiar flow of God’s grace, evermore aware that God’s mercy is once again upon us! 

How are you experiencing God’s mercy upon you in nature? In what ways are you longing to expereince God’s mercy?

If you are a spiritual director, how can you help others experience God’s mercy?

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Mar 25 2023
Insights and Inspiration, Prayer Practice, Spiritual Direction

The Blessing of Strength and Peace

Psalm 29: The Voice of God in a Great Storm

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
    worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over mighty waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
    worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
    worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
    worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl
    and strips the forest bare,
    and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

This is the picture of “peace” the Lord provided after yet another Northern California storm this March. Looking at the bright greens of the landscape and vibrant blues in the sky, I could no longer hear the wind or the rain. It’s ironic, but the absence of sound made me think of Psalm 29.

I went to my Bible and prayerfully read the verses of Psalm 29 as I wrote them above. As I lingered at the window ascribing to the Lord glory and strength, I chose to believe that the voice of the Lord had been in the storm, but this “peace” was his final word.

Whatever “storms” you and I encounter, the voice of God is there and blesses us with strength and peace!

If you are a spiritual director, how can you help those who come for direction experience the blessing of God’s strength and peace?

If you have a monthly spiritual direction practice, how can your spiritual director help you hear the voice of the Lord in your life and receive the blessing of God’s strength and peace?

May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

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Dec 20 2022
Advent Reflection, Spiritual Direction, Supervision

Advent: Encountering the Holy Spirit

The early protagonists had a directness in their encounters with God that was, perhaps, simpler in their simpler world than it is for us in our far more complex universe. *

Advent is the time I remember that Mary had an extremely direct encounter with the Holy Spirit. Each year pondering the angel’s words even as Mary did, offers fresh insight into the Holy Spirit’s work in my own life. 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  ~Luke 1:35

As Advent comes to a close, I invite you to read the article below I wrote for Faithward about the direct encounters with God that Moses, Elijah and Mary experienced. And I challenge you to pray for your own direct encounter with the Holy Spirit this Christmas and beyond.

How to Tune Into the Work of the Holy Spirit

If you are a spiritual director how might you pray for new experiences of the Holy Spirit during direction sessions. And then how might share them with your supervisor. If you are in spiritual direction, share moments when the Holy Spirit comes over you with your director.

*L’Engle, Madeleine and Chase, Carole F. (ed.). Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.

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Sep 14 2022
Insights and Inspiration, Practice, Spiritual Direction, Supervision

Today, if your hear his voice…

Today, if you hear his voice…~Psalm 95

Has one line of Scripture ever stopped you from reading any further? 

Is “today” truly this day or the day the psalm was written?

What are the implications for “if you hear his voice”?

As a spiritual director, I am forever encouraging others to pay attention to what God is saying and doing in their lives. Listening to the Lord is not easy. And new each day you and I face the challenge of both hearing and responding well to God’s voice.

Our prayers often echo the psalmist’s pleas for help in recognizing God’s leading. In John’s gospel, Jesus tells the disciples what to expect when listening for the Lord’s voice.

Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice.  ~John 10:1-5a (MSG)

First there is an awareness of Jesus walking along the spiritual landscape of our lives with us. With patience and perseverance, a distant hope becomes a gateway for God’s goodness and mercy. As Jesus walks us right up to that hope, we will know its a place of beginning again because the opening is named “_your name’s__ way out.” 

I have no idea if today will be the day Jesus, our Shepherd, calls your name or mine. However, I do know today is a good day to begin again paying more attention to our Shepherd’s leading than the rustling of doubts and dilemmas. 

They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it. ~John 10:5b (MSG)

Slowly and evermore surely, I recognize God’s voice as a benediction of familiar words of hope!
I pray you do as well.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~Romans 15:13


If you are a spiritual director, how can recognizing Jesus voice in your own life equip you to listen well to others?

If you have a monthly spiritual direction practice, how can your spiritual director help you face the challenge of listening to and responding well to God’s voice? 

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May 05 2020
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Spiritual Direction

From where will our help come?

Whenever I come across questions in Scripture, I at least pause to notice if an answer is forthcoming. The first verse of Psalm 121 has both a statement and a question that I have been trying to answer over the past few days.

I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come?

When I lift my eyes toward the hills to the east, I really do see hills, the Sierra Nevada Mountain range to be exact. And when I assess the view of both my physical and spiritual landscape, by faith I trust in help’s arrival because God who made the heavens and the earth also made me. In all honesty, with the Lord’s help, I am equipped and empowered to face life’s challenges.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord keeps me from stumbling because at any given moment the Lord is aware of what I need in order to live freely in God’s kingdom. The Lord is the stabilizing force of my life, my Guardian, my Protector. The Lord steers me away from of becoming entrapped in the evils of blaming others and shaming myself.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

I am trying to be more intentional about paying attention to how God is helping me throughout the day. Then at the end of the day I am setting aside time to notice how the Lord has been present in my comings and goings.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

Reflecting on all the little ways God has helped me, led me to the following conclusions:

• When I have been worried and bewildered, the Lord has brought clarification.

• When I have felt isolated, I have been compelled by the Holy Spirit to seek comfort in the Lord’s sufficient grace and mercy.

• When I have been overwhelmed with regret, I have felt flooded by the Lord’s forgiveness and reassurances that all things are being worked for good.

• When I have yearned for normalcy, I have discovered calm in the rhythm of surrendering my anxiety to the Lord.

• And when I have been grieved to the point of hopelessness, the Holy Spirit has lifted my eyes to beyond what I can ask or imagine.

How has the Lord kept watch over your comings and goings? How are you being invited to ask for God’s help? If you were to reflect on the ways God has helped you in the last hour, yesterday, in the past year, to what conclusions would you come?

If I were the psalmist, I would have concluded Psalm 121 with the last verse of Psalm 124. I am not, but as the writer, I can let verse 8 be my final words.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

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