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Luann Budd, president of NEWIM, blogs about the spiritual life of a leader, shares insight from what she is reading, and reflects on the call to Christian leadership.
I remember being mocked the first time I went on a personal spiritual retreat. Everyone thought it was hilarious that I brought what looked like my entire library. I was “the bag lady” from then on. I had a wonderfully glorious day despite all of the teasing! Thirty years later, I’m still the bag lady. I never know what I’m going to feel like doing during my retreat, so I bring it all.
Read MoreWe mistakenly think he is the Grand Designer of the universe. But he is not just a Designer. He is the Creator. I learned a few years ago that recognizing this subtle error in my thinking made a significant difference in how I perceived the world.
Read MoreI knew Kevin was called to be a pastor. And I fully embraced my role as the pastor’s wife. But I didn’t think I had received a call. I didn’t think volunteering was a “calling” because it was not a paid, full-time job. I guess I equated calling with a vocation—a job. I had a more general call: all people are called to love the Lord, love others, and do their part to share the gospel, disciple people, and seek to advance God’s mission in the world. But I didn’t have a special, specific call.
But what if discerning our calling is a spiritual formation conversation God invites us to have with him during the various seasons of our lives?
Read MoreGod has created us to perceive his glory and goodness in the beauty we find all around us.
Read MoreHow can we work with the Holy Spirit to cultivate patience? Certainly, we can count to ten, we can take deep breaths, we can write all about it in our journal, we can rehearse in our minds a favorite verse of Scripture, we can go for a jog, or we can take some advice from Frozen and just “let it go.”
Read MoreRecently, life overwhelmed me and I lost my sense of joy. I felt strangely dead. Even my connection to the Lord seemed to disappear. I could make a list of God’s amazing attributes, all good reasons to praise him, but I wasn't moved.
When we aren't joyful, is there anything we can do to draw near to the Lord with sincere devotion? I can hear my mentors saying, “Press on. Feelings aren’t important. They're fickle. They come and go.” That's true. But throughout Scripture, we're exhorted to pay close attention to our hearts.
Is there anything we can do to help our hearts engage with the Lord again? I think so.
Read MoreAlmost everyone talks about how hard the isolation is on their children and they struggle trying to manage work and home and keeping their kids on track with school. Of course, we feel out of sorts and grieve the obvious, and also the intangible, losses. This is a sad time and it’s hard. At the outset it seemed so clear: we are in this together. But now, I’m not so sure.
Read MorePaul says that our spiritual formation is as radical as dying and being recreated. I’ve spent some time recently reflecting on what this means.
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