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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.
Filtering by Category: President's Blog
Do you find your mind wanders when you are trying to listen to the Lord during prayer? The church fathers thought wandering thoughts were dangerous because they dissipate the warmth of the soul and our heart grows cool. As I read this, I was convicted. What should I do about my wandering thoughts?
The church fathers gave practical advice: Spend time focused on heightening your sense of the fear of the Lord.
It started out as my husband’s idea. Just an early morning adventure to view Los Angeles from the top of Mt. Wilson. We received much more than we had hoped for.
Read MoreA story is told of a mother who pleaded with Abraham Lincoln on behalf of her son who had committed an act of treason. A war court found him guilty and sentenced him to hanging. His mother sought a pardon. Lincoln granted her request but said, "I wish we could give him a little bit of hanging." Sometimes, we, too, need half a hanging because nothing drives home the blessings of a pardon like standing on the block with the noose around your neck and hearing your sentence read. Thinking about God’s justice is like a little bit of hanging.
Read MoreGlorifying and enjoying our eternal God—what might that look like today?
What if we thought of our time of morning devotion as an activity designed to help us achieve what we have been designed for? What if we used our devotional time to find joy in the faithfulness of God, to experience joyous pleasure in his beauty as reflected in creation, and to find perfect love in Jesus? How might this approach to our time with God change us?
Read MoreFrom Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as the Creator of the heavens and earth. I spent a year contemplating what difference it should make in our lives to know that our God is the Creator God. What I learned transformed my life.
Read MoreOn one level, we know a woman in America is expected to live about 80.2 years on average, but we really don’t know it; it feels like we’ll have tomorrow.
Read MoreI 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 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.
Read MoreI was flying to Chicago and although I had my own books to read, I started flipping through the Southwest Airlines magazine. I never read the airline magazine. Tucked inside was a nugget of wisdom, hidden treasure from the Lord.
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