Reflecting on the last year while starting off the new year in a new role.

A video devotion about time.

A morning prayer routine to consider.

Eventually I realized that I was tired of constantly getting into trouble and crying out for help only to be rescued. Bruised and humbled by each experience, I realized that I was stuck in a loop and destined to continue repeating the pattern indefinitely.

Returning down the mountain to our lives below is a challenge for everyone simply because the bottom of the mountain is so different from the top.

Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp - Main Lodge

When I finally was able to tune out the distractions of my mind and notice where I was, I realized there was a lot going on. …

Lament is necessary. It is part of a healthy emotional life cycle. Just as forests must burn to remove old dead trees and make way for new growth, sometimes we must allow our pain to rise up and overwhelm us in what feels like a fire so that we too can be cleansed of the dead wood in our hearts.

Try out the “Peek a boo” prayer

Sometimes I’m very much aware of God’s presence in my life and the world. Other times, God seems distant, and I struggle to remember what God’s presence feels like. This morning was one of those times.

The ladder is called a ladder of light because it goes from the nurturing dark of a womb toward the light in the world. This ladder of light exists within each of us. We must decide to climb the ladder and do so with intention.

All of us have the same vision, but most of us have never had the opportunity to develop and attend to the more instinctual part of our vision.

I used to think that the spiritual journey was like a one-way trip up a mountain to some kind of nirvana. Life has shown me something different.

Many authors describe a spiritual journey or path. Teresa of Avila described an interior castle that we explore finding God in the center. St. John of the Cross describes a journey up a mountain. Catherine of Siena described an interactive journey with God’s Spirit where God leaves and returns periodically to draw us forward over a bridge.