Journal Gently: Spiritual Formation for Christian Women

Imagine this... You've settled in your favorite chair, blanket wrapped over your lap, as you pull out your notebook and pen. You've been looking forward to journaling about some things that have been stirring in your heart lately. Taking a deep breath, you open the cover and find the right page. Your pen is posed to start writing. And then your husband walks in. He hasn't seen you all day and wants to hear about what you've been doing. Or your littles climb over the arm of the chair to sit with you. "Mom, look what I drew!" they exclaim. You love your family--so very much--but you also like to journal. It's something that helps you find peace and live more intentionally. Plus, it helps you notice how God is showing up. But right now, it's hard to focus. It's hard to feel like you have the privacy you need to write from your heart. Part of you wants to grab some paper folders, like in grade school, and set them upright on your desk to provide at least a little privacy while you write. Know what I mean? Journaling is an amazing spiritual practice—but we can't always wait until we have the entire house to ourselves for an hour. Sometimes we need to write when conditions aren't ideal. I've been there. And that's why I'm passing on some tips that have helped me continue to write, even when others are around. Here they are...

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 54: 4 Simple Ways to Start (or Keep) Journaling

· Episode 55: Reflection and Journaling as a Lifelong Practice with Business Strategist Elizabeth McCravy

· Episode 45: Grief Journal Prompts

· Bonus Episode 18: [Journal Prompts] For Seasons of Change and Transition

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

One of the best practices we can have through the summer to care for our own soul is to read God's Word. This is especially true if we are caring for others around us who might be hurting or going through difficult seasons.

If want to know God, if we want to experience Him, if we want to know His heart and desires for us, if we want wisdom as we make decisions for ourselves and our families and our churches, then reading the Bible is really the best way for us to do that. Because it so plainly teaches us about God and the world that He created.

Now, does that mean that it's always easy? No. It's not always easy to sit down and read your Bible, and it's not always easy to understand everything that you read. But much of the Bible is written in plain language, and it's full of stories about men and women who have followed God throughout several centuries.

Even though this might be a familiar story we are going to read together today, I want you to come to it with an open heart for what God might share with you. We're going to read Jonah chapter 1 together, and I'm going to share a few thoughts that come to mind as I read so you can get a taste of reading God's Word and talking to God about what you're reading.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 47: 10 Ways to Encounter God Through His Word

· Episode 37: Those Moments When You Just Need to Get to Jesus: The Story of Zacchaeus

· Episode 63: Using Christian Spiritual Practices to Draw Closer to God with Blogger and Writer Celia Miller

· Bonus Episode 7: Getting Ready to Meet with God

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

Imagine that one of your best friends is going through an incredibly difficult time. Maybe she even ends up in the hospital, and her children are all at home missing her like crazy, and she is struggling to be away from them, and her husband is trying to hold it all together. There are a lot of tests your friend has to go through. Some painful. She's scared. Her family is scared. You're scared. How do you respond?

If you're on the more introverted side of the scale, chances are, you might recoil to the safety of your own home, wanting to help but unsure of how to do so. Or maybe you can't even imagine how you'd be able to walk into your friend's hospital room without losing it. And how is that going to make anything better?

I was reading Holley Gerth's book, The Powerful Purpose of Introverts, and I came upon a passage that explains what happens when introverts find themselves in this situation. She shares that though introverts are often seen as distant, aloof, and apathetic, the opposite is usually true.

She writes, "Many introverts actually care so much it overwhelms them."

Is that you? Introvert or not, do you care so much that the pain of others is overwhelming? Do you cry when you see others crying? Does your heart break when you see the wounds in someone else's heart?

Today, we are talking about how to recognize overwhelm and what we can do when we experience it.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES + RESOURCES:

· Episode 115: Standing Between: The Ministry of Intercession

· Episode 114: [Book Recommendation] The Powerful Purpose of Introverts by Holley Gerth

· Episode 103: 6 Strategies to Manage Overwhelm, Stress, and Change

· Courageous Care Masterclass: Learn to C.A.R.E. Because you already care. Learn how to do it in a healthy, God-honoring way.

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

This week, I want to share with you about something that is dear to my heart, and that is the ministry of intercession. In essence, praying for others, especially when they are hurting.

I call these prayers "standing between" prayers, because essentially, you are standing in the space between that person and the enemy or the hurt, and you are lifting them up before God, asking Him to act on their behalf.

Let's explore why intercession is such a vital ministry for us today.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 27: The Cost of Caring for Others

· Bonus Episode 1: [Guided Prayer + Meditation] Sitting with Your Friend in Her Pain

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

"Think… of the last time you were with people. In whatever situation you pictured, half or more of the people around you were likely introverts—even if it didn't seem like it. Now imagine with me a world in which 100 percent of people, introverts and extroverts, dare to be who they are. What if we all understood how we're wired, intentionally used our strengths to serve the greater good, and thrived for a lifetime? Imagine what it would be like for you to live more like that every day." (Holley Gerth)

How did those words resonate with you?

I know there has been a lot said about introverts. Yet rather than treating it like a fad that is here one day and gone the next, I believe there is a lot of value into learning more about how God has designed each one of us.

My book recommendation for this month is The Powerful Purpose of Introverts, by Holley Gerth. Listen in to find out why.

Kari

RESOURCES:

· Holley Gerth's Resource Page for Introverts (includes both books and her mini-course)

· Episode 81: Encouraging and Caring Others as an Introvert

· Episode 106: Leading As An Introvert

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

I don't know about you, but I look around me and I see changes everywhere.

Either changes that have been happening over the past several months, or changes about to happen in the coming weeks. I see loved ones walking through loss or hardship, or desperately seeking an answer to something that feels incredibly overwhelming and out of their control.

And it reminded me of a story from the life of the prophet Elisha. It's told in the early chapters of 2 Kings.

I think it really speaks to these moments when maybe we know there's something big happening or getting ready to happen, but we just don't have it within us to have a conversation about it.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 28: How Elisha Inspires Me to Look After Others

· Episode 54: 4 Simple Ways to Start (or Keep) Journaling

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

I'm wondering if you have a family member in your life—a parent, a son or daughter, a brother or sister—who doesn't know Christ.

If so, then you probably know the heaviness and grief that can bring to your spirit.

You wonder how you can witness to them.

You pray for their salvation.

You try to find ways to love them and show them you care.

But ultimately, you cannot make them accept Christ.

And that's hard.

This week, I want to let you listen in to a conversation I had with a friend of mine. Her name is Janell Wood and she is passionate about bringing others to know the Lord. And she has such a beautiful podcast dedicated to having honest and real conversations with those who are doubting the Christian faith or rejecting it all together.

It's called Finding Something Real, and I really encourage you to go follow her show, so that you can continue to let her not just speak truth into your life, but also listen to her model how to have some of these conversations well.

This is a holy and tender conversation. Thanks for joining us.

Kari

MEET JANELL:

Janell has been a Christian for most of her life but has a deep passion for those who are struggling with faith. She's been through her own seasons of wondering, wandering, hurting, and doubting. With a Masters-level education in Counseling Psychology, a background in advocacy for women in crisis, and communication skills gained from 17 years of "'til death do us part," Janell has found just one who has the answers. His name is Jesus. True Restoration, Eternity, Authenticity, and Love belongs to Him. And she loves to share and talk about what's REAL with others, whether it's one-on-one with young women on her podcast, or when speaking for an audience.

CONNECT WITH JANELL:

· Website

· Say Hello

· Free Resource: 7 Deep Questions

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 6: The Message That Ignited Love Does That

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

Today is the day! I am going to share with you what happened during the break in the podcast and how God encouraged me during that time.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, just go back a couple of episodes to episode 109 and you'll hear more about how God invited me to pause the podcast for the last month of Lent so that I could spend that time with Him in silence. I share how it all came about and some of the obstacles and objections that kind of stood in my way.

But today, I wanted to share with you a couple of specific things: first, the intentions and boundaries I set for myself during this time, and second, how I actually spent my time and the ways God met with me through that.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· Episode 109: It's Getting Real: God's Invitation to Me for the Rest of Lent

· Episode 92: Practicing the Holy Hush Instead of the Holiday Hustle: Intentionally Inviting Moments of Deep Silence

· Episode 94: Entering the Silence and Stillness with God: A Conversation with Blogger and Writer Celia Miller

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

Stop with me for a moment and consider how many decisions you make every single day.

What clothes to wear.What to eat for breakfast. For lunch. For supper.How to spend your time at work.What gets cleaned that day at home.What time to go to the grocery store, how to get there, and which items to buy and which ones to pass on.Whether to answer that phone call, or that text message, or that email.And if to answer, what to say in response.Whether to let the kids work out their argument on their own or whether you need to step in—and if so, how to do so in a good way.

And those are just some of the little, everyday, ordinary sort of decisions we make.

What about the big ones, like where to work, or how to school our children, or who to marry, or what to drive?

It can get overwhelming really fast. And that's why discernment and having support as you make these kinds of decisions can be so crucial.

That's why I recommend Emily P. Freeman's book, The Next Right Thing.

Kari

RELATED EPISODES:

· 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 77: Three Prayers for Discernment: Making Difficult Choices in Difficult Seasons

· Episode 79: Burdens vs. Loads: Discerning When to Help Someone

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection

So today, I'm supposed to be sharing with you my book recommendation for the month of March.

But apparently God has some other plans.

Listen in to find out what's going on.

Kari

BIBLE VERSES + RESOURCES:

· Episode 92: Practicing the Holy Hush Instead of the Holiday Hustle: Intentionally Inviting Moments of Deep Silence

· Episode 94: Entering the Silence and Stillness with God: A Conversation with Blogger and Writer Celia Miller

· Episode 103: 6 Strategies to Manage Overwhelm, Stress, and Change

· "But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him." (1 John 2:5a NLT)

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>> Free Journaling Workshop: 3 Ways to Encounter God on the Pages of Your Journal

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalingworkshop

>> Journal Gently: An 8-week program designed to help you process grief and trauma with God

http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently

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

http://lovedoesthat.org/spiritualdirection