I know that many of us think about more traditional spiritual practices like Bible study, Bible reading, prayer, and service.

But what I’d like propose to you is that almost anything can be a spiritual practice—if you invite God into it.

Washing the dishes.

Doing the laundry.

Caring for your kids.

Today, I want to introduce you to a spiritual practice I have been trying to incorporate into my daily rhythm. It is something that helps me both start and end my day with God. And I call it, “Good Morning, God.”

Kari

>> Writing with God (A 3-Hour Online Retreat)

http://lovedoesthat.org/writingwithGod

>> 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal (Free 30-Minute Workshop)

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognizing God’s presence in the midst of our pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection  

Have you ever made a decision that you knew was the right one for you, that you felt was aligned with God’s will and calling for you, and then found yourself worrying about it or second guessing yourself in the days and weeks—maybe even months—following it?

I think we all face times when we wonder, Did I make the right decision? Or maybe, Did I hear God correctly? Is this what He wanted me to do?

Whether we made a decision to care for someone else or to move our family to another town or to pursue a particular degree in school… there are so many choices we make. And we get unsure of ourselves. We wonder if we’re doing it right. We question our decisions and start to doubt if we even heard God at all.

Today, I want to offer you some questions to ask when you find yourself in this place of doubt and insecurity.

Kari

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• Episode 2: Discerning Who to Encourage
• Episode 5: Discerning How to Help a Grieving Friend
• Episode 24: An Example in Spiritual Discernment and Decision Making: Going "All In" With Love Does That
• Episode 48: The Power of Pre-Deciding in Difficult Seasons
• Episode 60: When Seasons Change and You Have to Make Adjustments

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>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care and spiritual formation practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

If I had to pick one author who has most deeply impacted me and taught me about life with God, I daresay it is Sharon Garlough Brown.

The way she is able to weave spiritual insight into a story format resonates with me, and I am able to connect not only with her characters but also connect more deeply with God.

And that is just one of many reasons why I am excited to share this conversation with you today. Sharon and I were able to talk about her books, but also about her own experience in spiritual direction and how God has led her to become a spiritual director, retreat leader, and author.

Her first series is called Sensible Shoes and her latest one is called Shades of Light. In fact, the newest book in that series is releasing now, and I have already received my copy and have been reading it and sitting with it. You guys, it is so incredibly good.

Sharon’s spirit is so gentle and wise, and she, too, like so many of my guests, shares parts of her story that are sacred and personal. I know you won’t take it lightly, but will honor it as holy and sacred.

Kari

MEET SHARON:

Sharon Garlough Brown is an author, spiritual director, and retreat speaker who travels internationally to lead events. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently in West Michigan, where she co-pastored with her husband, Jack. She and Jack now oversee Abiding Way Ministries (www.abidingway.life) which offers spiritual formation retreats and resources, including daily lectio divina recordings.

Sharon’s spiritual formation novels in the bestselling Sensible Shoes series follow the journey of characters who are learning to rest in the love of God. Her Shades of Light series explores mental health, grief, and God’s presence with us in affliction. Her latest novel, Feathers of Hope, releases in April 2022.

For more information about Sharon’s work, visit www.sharongarloughbrown.com

CONNECT WITH SHARON:

• Abiding Way Ministries: daily lectio divina, weekly Scripture reflections, and more
• Sharon’s Author Website: latest news on her books
• Promo code: Save 30% and get free shipping by using promo code SHARON22, April 12-26, 2022 at ivpress.com.

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>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care and spiritual formation practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

It seems like the moment I finally settle into a good rhythm or routine, there is a changing of the seasons. Something comes up that requires me, that invites me, to make adjustments.

We are contemplating a pretty big change in our family and that has left me praying about these very things. I’m thinking about priorities and schedules and what God has called us to and weighing it all before the Lord to see where He leads.

Perhaps you, too, are facing a season of change. Not just changing from winter to spring—which I know so many of us have looked forward to—but changing from one season of life to another.

Maybe you have to start caring for an aging parent.

Maybe your child will be starting school next year.

Maybe you are about to change jobs or even start a new position in your current workplace.

Maybe you’re about to move to a new house or build one of your own.

Maybe you’re actually downsizing, getting rid of things you no longer need.

Maybe you are starting a training program to learn more skills that will help you at home, work, or church.

Maybe your job schedule has changed and you now have to work more nights or weekends.

The possibilities are endless. And while many of us face seasons of change at similar times, say the beginning of a school year or at the start of summer, we can be faced with these changes at any point during the year.

Here are some questions I invite you to consider when you are entering a season of change.

Kari

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• Episode 2: Discerning Who to Encourage
• Episode 24: An Example in Spiritual Discernment and Decision Making: Going "All In" With Love Does That
• Episode 48: The Power of Pre-Deciding in Difficult Seasons

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>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care and spiritual formation practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

Most of us, throughout our lives, will have someone who is struggling with something really heavy. And we want to be there for them. We really do. But when we think about being able to help them or care for them, we feel completely lost and overwhelmed.

And I think a lot of that boils down to the fact that we try to do too much on our own.

Think back to episode 49, about finding your stretcher bearers. Sometimes, it is enough for us to have one or two close friends supporting us as we limp through a difficult season. But when we are laying flat out on a stretcher, unable to move or walk on our own, we need more support. We need a team of people who can help carry us to Jesus, carry us to healing.

It’s incredibly important to know when you need to call in additional stretcher bearers to help you carry a friend. And that’s why today, we are talking about being able to call in reinforcements. People who might be trained in different ways or who have more energy or time to support our friend.

Kari

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• Episode 49: Finding Your Stretcher Bearers: The People Who Can Help Carry You Through a Difficult Season
• Episode 53: Seeing the Unseen in the Caregiving Journey with Certified Coach Rayna Neises
• Episode 58: When Life Feels Purposeless with Life Purpose Coach Arris Charles
• Courageous Care Masterclass, audio training from Kari Bartkus
• The Care Ministry Podcast, with host Laura Howe: 7 Signs That It’s Time to Refer Someone You Are Supporting
• The Caregiver Toolbox, course from Laura Howe (affiliate link)
• Finding Hope in Helping, course from Laura Howe (affiliate link)

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>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

In this episode, we are going to go through a liturgical prayer together that was written for those who have experienced a loss and are about to leave that time of marked grieving and return to daily living. To go back to school, back to work. To start paying the bills again or resuming whatever schedule we had prior to the loss.

It is a difficult season to be in—still grieving, yet required to step back into life.

I know that so many of you have experienced loss recently—whether that was the loss of a loved one, job loss, loss of friendship, or loss of dreams you once held close. This liturgy is for you.

Don’t get lost in the word “liturgy.” It’s just a term for a form of public worship. A ritual. In this case, a prayer.

So I will pause for a moment here as we begin, and I invite you to quiet the space around you, and quiet the space inside of you. If you need more time, just pause the podcast until you are ready to continue. I’ll leave a moment of silence at the end, as well. Just stay there with the Lord until you feel freedom to go back about your day.

Kari

*The liturgical prayer is pulled from “Every Moment Holy” Volume II by Douglas Kaine McKelvey. It is not cited in its entirety, so please see the book for the full prayer.

>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognizing God’s presence in the midst of our pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

What do you do when you feel like you don’t have a purpose? Or maybe let me ask it this way, Do you feel like you are living life on purpose? Do you struggle to find meaning with the work you do—whether that’s a traditional job, a ministry you lead, or even caring for your own family and loved ones?

I have seen, time and again, that when people feel purposeless, they struggle to have hope. They struggle to find meaning.

Have you ever felt that way? And if so, what do you do in those moments?

To help me answer those questions, I’ve invited Arris Charles to join me on the podcast. Arris is a Life Purpose Coach, helping women not only identify their God-given purpose but also how to live that out on a daily basis. She has so much wisdom to share here, and I’ve got to tell you, I learned that we have a lot in common as it relates to being encouragers and writers!

During our conversation, we cover questions like,

• How does knowing our purpose impact our daily life?
• Do we have one big purpose or lots of little ones, or what does that look like?
• How do we discover our purpose in the first place?
• What happens when you don’t like what you feel God is calling you to do?
• What do we do when we’re jealous of someone else’s purpose, or they are jealous of ours?

Plus, she offers us some very practical examples that helps us flesh out this whole idea of purpose. Especially at the end, so be sure to listen for that.

If this episode resonates with you, be sure to grab her Purposeful Life Assessment and Reflection Guide. The link is in the show notes.

Kari

MEET ARRIS:

The founder of Live Inspired by Purpose, Arris Charles, is devoted to equipping women to step into a new extraordinary vision for their lives. As a Life Purpose Coach, natural encourager, and writer, she has “walked the talk” of pursuing purpose as she walked away from a multifaceted corporate career as a successful engineer, project manager, and corporate trainer to explore her true passions.

Even as a stay-at-home mom, she followed the dreams in her heart to serve in a non-profit ministry while also building her business as an entrepreneur. Arris specializes in helping Christian women in midlife to pursue their God-given purpose in their daily life and as their unique calling so they can live with more passion, confidence and impact.

Coaching for over 16 years, Arris walks alongside her clients with unwavering belief and constant support to help them stop settling for just going through the motions of life and live true to who they are and make the difference in the world they were born to make.

CONNECT WITH ARRIS:

• Free Resource: Purposeful Living Assessment and Reflection Guide
• Facebook
• YouTube

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CONNECT WITH KARI:

>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

Today, I am going to be sharing with you a session I led at the Women’s Ministries Conference offered by Small Church Summits. I spoke specifically to women’s ministries leaders about ministering to the gals in their church who were going through a difficult season, such as grief, depression, anxiety, or caring for an aging parent.

This is a true heart-to-heart conversation. I want so desperately to help leaders understand what it might be like for someone they know to be going through a trying time.

My friend, we as leaders struggle when we see you hurting and we want to help you, we want to come alongside of you, but we don’t know how because we don’t see you at church. Many times, you can’t come for a good reason. And so this is my encouragement for leaders to find ways to reach out to you and support you.

If you are listening and you’re not a women’s ministries leader or small group leader, I still invite you into this conversation because I try my best to offer some perspective about what it might be like for someone you care about who is hurting. And I give some specific questions to ask at the end about how you can support her in this season of loss or hurt.

Kari

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Shop Now: Save 50% on all digital resources, including the Courageous Care Masterclass, now through March 31, 2022, with coupon code “oneyear”
• Episode 12: Caring for Hurting Kids at Your Church: 3 Powerful But Simple Things You Can Do
• Free Resource: Breaking Through the Fear of Reaching Out
• The Creative Little Church (Small Church Summits) with Laurie Acker

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>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

Today I want to conclude a sort of mini-series about journaling and reflection with a reflection of my own, and it’s going to center around a personal retreat I took a couple of weeks ago.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 27:8 (NLT), which says, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’” And to me, that speaks of an invitation from God and spend time with Him, to talk with Him about what’s weighing on my heart, and to hear what He might have to say back to me.

So I want to share about my retreat with you, and then I’m going to take a few moments to reflect on it with you.

But I want to do more than share about my own experience. I want to help you create a retreat experience of your own.

As someone who is going through a difficult season, or as someone who is helping someone else through their difficult season, it is so incredibly important that we take extended time with God when we can. We need to be able to press pause, sort to speak, and linger with Him. To seek Him. To share our heart with Him. And to allow Him to share His heart with us.

So let me start by walking you through my personal retreat day and offering some reflections on it, and then I’ll provide you with some tips for creating a spiritual retreat of your own.

Kari

>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Episode 54: 4 Simple Ways to Start (or Keep) Journaling
• Episode 55: Reflection and Journaling as a Lifelong Practice with Business Strategist Elizabeth McCravy
• Caroline Williams Yoga: “Day 1: 30 Days of Yoga video”
• Kelly Minter’s Bible Study on 2 Corinthians: “All Things New”
• Book: “The Well-Watered Woman” by Gretchen Saffles
• Shop: Tear Bottle
• Devotional from Celia Miller: “You Are Beloved”
• Shop: Retreat Guide: “When God Says No”

QUOTES AND BIBLE VERSES:

• “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’” (Psalm 27:8 NLT)
• “Retreat in the context of the spiritual life is an extended time apart for the purpose of being with God and giving God our full and undivided attention; it is, as Emilie Griffin puts it, ‘a generous commitment to our friendship with God.’” (Ruth Haley Barton)

This week, we are going to dive deeper into our conversation about journaling and reflection as I talk with business strategist and podcast host Elizabeth McCravy.

As I have listened to Elizabeth’s podcast episodes, I have seen how she so naturally incorporates reflection and journaling into her everyday life, both personally and for her business. It is just something that she does so well. And so I asked her if she would be willing to talk more with us about that.

We got to talk about the big picture of why we journal, plus dig into the nitty gritty of what it actually looks like on a daily or weekly basis. I love how Elizabeth dispels some of the myths we have about journaling.

Plus, Elizabeth was gracious enough to share about her experience reflecting and journaling when it came to two major events in her life: the birth of her son and the loss of her dad.

I’ve said this before, but you guys know how incredibly difficult it can be to talk about those hard places in our lives. And so many of my guests have been so open and vulnerable about their experiences, and Elizabeth is no different. This is a sacred conversation and I know you won’t take it lightly. Please be sure to take the time to thank her for her willingness to share.

There are so many incredible truths packed into our conversation. Be sure to grab some paper and a pen so you can write them down. Are you ready? Here is my conversation with Elizabeth…

Kari

MEET ELIZABETH:

Elizabeth McCravy believes that smart strategy combined with plenty of personality leads to a thriving business. As a web designer, podcast host, and business coach, she spends her days designing gorgeous, strategic website templates from her home in Nashville and shares all her business strategy tips and tricks on her show – the Breakthrough Brand Podcast. She’s helped over 700 business owners highlight their value and show off their skills through her library of beautifully designed and easily customizable website templates, and she’s on a mission to help every entrepreneur create a strategic, personality-filled website. Elizabeth is a Showit Top Designer and a go-to resource for the online business community. When she’s not teaching or designing, you can find her bingeing Law and Order: SVU, putting her certified yoga-teacher skills to work, or nose-deep in the latest mystery novel. 

CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH:

• Website
• Instagram
• Podcast: Breakthrough Brand Podcast
• Podcast Episode 23: Morning Journal Prompts to Start Your Day with Intention
• Shop Website Templates

CONNECT WITH KARI:

>> Written Spiritual Direction: Recognize God’s presence in your pain

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

>> Soul Care Group: Monthly email with soul care practices

http://lovedoesthat.org/soulcaregroup