Expanding Spiritual Direction Ministry

On June 13, 2013June 13, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Spiritual Direction4 Comments

It is with gratefulness and joy that I make this announcement: The church I attend, Easter Lutheran Church in Eagan, Minnesota, is providing a space in which I can meet with people who desire spiritual direction.

I have been a spiritual director for a few years, but one of the challenges has always been finding a quiet, confidential space in which to meet people. Spiritual direction is an ancient Christian practice, so what better place to meet than a church building?

Over the course of my life, spiritual direction has been such a huge benefit for my soul. In difficult times, a spiritual director was there to offer support and remind me of God’s love. When facing challenging decisions, my spiritual director helped me to listen carefully to whatever God wanted for me (discernment). For me, a spiritual director has been one of the ways I take care of my deeper self and grow in my relationship with God.

Because of the many blessings I have received in spiritual direction, it is only natural that I would want to serve others in the same way. In fact, it was a spiritual director who invited me to become a spiritual director (also known as “spiritual companion,” “soul friend,” “spiritual midwife,” or “spiritual counselor”).

Although I’m meeting with spiritual seekers at Easter Lutheran, you do not have to be Lutheran to come visit me for spiritual direction. Although I am a follower of Christ and a member at Easter Lutheran, my spiritual direction training was very broad, even including learning about spiritual direction in other religious traditions. Some people who want spiritual direction are “spiritual but not religious;” others are diehard Lutherans, Catholics, or Baptists; still others blend traditions, such as the Christian who also practices Buddhist meditation.

Any of these people might benefit from spiritual direction, because spiritual direction is a highly individual, personal process. It focuses wherever you are at with God (or the divine as you perceive it). In spiritual direction, one person might want to learn a new way to pray; another might feel drawn into ministry but wants to explore this potential with a spiritual listener; yet another feels confused about where God is in the midst of suffering; or another may want to focus on their passion about social justice and finding God in the midst of serving others.

It is always important to recall that the real “director” is the Holy Spirit, the hidden God within and around us, who loves us deeply. As I see it, the spiritual director is an active listener, who listens both to what the seeker says and to what the Spirit within might be saying. The point is to GROW in your spiritual beliefs, your awareness of God, your ability to serve God and others with your gifts, and mostly to grow closer to that God who is already deep within your heart. Spiritual direction helps with this process. READ MORE

If you are interested in spiritual direction, I encourage you to learn more about it and seek a spiritual director who will best meet your needs. Ask God to show you who to work with. Research the options on sites like “Spiritual Directors International” and ask around at retreat centers or your local church.

If you want to visit with me for spiritual direction, you can reach me by phone or e-mail to set up an appointment:

(The first letter of e-mail address is a “j” for Julie. Phone is in Central time zone.)

In all things, pray for God’s desire for your life–
and know that God loves you, immensely.

Until next time, Amen!

P.S. THANK YOU to my faith community at Easter Lutheran!
You give me hope and keep me growing in my faith and love for Christ.

Finding Your Calling, Living Your Vocation

On May 23, 2013May 23, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Discernment, Making Decisions2 Comments

Someone very experienced in the spiritual life recently gave me this quotation:

Each man has his own vocation.
The talent is the call.

There is one direction in which all space is open to him.
He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion.

He is like a ship in a river;
he runs against obstructions on every side but one;
on that side all obstruction is taken away,
and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson, in Spiritual Laws

As a woman, I have found that changing the pronouns for my personal journal makes me more aware that the words are intended for me. After all, Emerson intended the words to be for all people. So in my journal, I also wrote this version:

Each woman has her own vocation.
The talent is the call.

There is one direction in which all space is open to her.
She has faculties silently inviting her thither to endless exertion.

She is like a ship in a river;
she runs against obstructions on every side but one;
on that side all obstruction is taken away,
and she sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson, in Spiritual Laws (adapted pronouns)

In our time and culture, one can experience multiple callings at once, or different callings over the course of a lifetime. One man may live out the callings of parent, spouse, construction worker, and part-time artist simultaneously. A woman might be head of a business, school board member, volunteer, and the caretaker of her aging parent.

I think Emerson is talking about those gifts within us that light a fire in our lives. They are callings that become a driving passion for our existence. Many things may seem to obstruct these callings, and we may feel impatient. However, Emerson believes that eventually, we find a way for what is most important. I think of it this way: God opens the door for us when the time and place are right.

What are your gifts calling you to do at this point in your life?
What step might you take this week to test the waters?

Think about it–and I will, too.

Until next time, Amen!

For daily spiritual nuggets,
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Heart Talks with Mother God

On May 9, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Images of God, PrayerLeave a comment

Mother’s Day is approaching–and this makes me think about how dedicated mothers mirror something profound about the Creator. Everything good thing about us comes from God above, including anything positive about our sexuality. Because of this, I believe mothers–and all women and men–have the potential to reflect something of the “maternal” side of God.

We often think of God as Father–hopefully, a loving, strong, yet merciful Father–but for many people it’s still new to think of God as Mother. Truly, God’s inner essence is beyond gender (as the old Baltimore Catechism taught). However, we can use many different comparisons to explain something about the nature of the indescribable Mystery we call God.

Many are afraid to talk about God using “new” images. They forget that when Jesus called God “Abba,“he was actually doing something new, something incredibly innovative and unusual for his own culture. (Abba is a word we translate as “Father” in English, but the word actually means something closer to the word “Daddy.”) Names were even more significant in Jesus’ culture, and to call God Abba, was to imply that Jesus, the Son, would one day be equal to the Father. It must have amazed some people he would dare to do that. Others may have thought him outright blasphemous.

During his earthly life, Jesus did not view the Scripture (the “Old Testament”) as a limiting force, something that would prevent him from calling God “Abba.” Jesus called God “Abba” because that is how he viewed God. No place does Jesus put limitations on the ways people talk about God. (Does He? Seriously, let me know if you find words of Jesus silencing new ways of describing God!)

If you are curious about images of God that relate to a motherly side of God, you might like the book Heart Talks with Mother God by Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver (Liturgical Press). This book is intended for parents and teachers to use with children, but I find it also expands my understanding as an adult. Why not view God, who is beyond all human imagination, as having motherly qualities?

(By the way, at the time of writing this post, Heart Talks with Mother God is on sale on the publisher’s website.)

[If you would like to know more about Christians who spoke of God using motherly images, check this post I wrote a while back: God as Mother? Famous Christians Who Compared the Two . ]

Will you pray with me?

Mother God, you give us life and nurture our souls. You fight for what is right like a mother bear defending her cubs. You work hard, like a woman on fire with spring housecleaning or running for public office. You open your hands to give to the poor and your arms to comfort the suffering. Help us to remember your great love for us–and help us to be instruments of your love to all others we meet. We ask this in the name of Jesus and in the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Until next time, Amen!

God Makes All Things New

On May 8, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Church, Faith Communities, Holy SpiritLeave a comment

And the one who was seated on the throne said,
“See, I am making all things new.”
— Revelation 21:5 (NRSV)

This is one of my favorite bible verses, although I often forget about it altogether.

In Chapter 21 of Revelation, the writer has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. God reveals a “new Jerusalem” and the one seated on the throne says “Behold, I make all things new” (RSV). It is easy to dismiss this bible verse from our lives, viewing it only as a vision applying to either the past (Jesus’ ministry on earth) or the future (some day, in heaven).

However, Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God is already within our midst, in our lives, our hearts, and our communities (Luke 17:21). Sure, it’s not perfectly complete or fully expressed the way it will be after death, in heavenly glory when we behold the face of God. Even so, the spiritual kingdom of Christ has already begun, both in the life of Jesus and in those who follow his way.

Jesus also said something else quite astonishing: that his followers would do even greater things than he did (John 14:12). Personally, I have trouble believing this is really so, but that’s what it says, right there in the bible. Christ did not come to earth just so we could maintain the status quo. God wants us to do great things–the kind of great things that Jesus did.

Is there some new work or service that God is inviting you to take up? Perhaps there is a fresh way to approach the work you already are doing, a way that would be more Christ-like?

Is there some new life the Holy Spirit wants to breathe into our faith communities? Our neighborhoods or schools? To improve how we serve others in need? To care for God’s creation around us in the environment? To spread the good news of God’s great compassion and mercy?

Will you pray with me?

Lord, sometimes it can be difficult to try new things. We may feel uncertain about what is the best choice for our future. We may be pushed to move beyond our “comfort zone.” Show us the path you desire for us, and give us the courage to follow you always, with humility, mercy, and love.

Until next time, Amen!

The Risen Lord Enters Our Hell

On April 17, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Art and spirituality, Forgiveness, Images of God, Jesus Christ, Overcoming Fear2 Comments

The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. –Matthew 27:52-53.

When you think of Christ’s resurrection, what do you imagine? Do you think of Jesus bursting out of the tomb, his cape flying behind him like Superman? Do you think of Jesus disguised as the gardener who surprises Mary Magdalene? Jesus magically appearing behind locked doors? Walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus?

If you were raised in an Eastern Christian church, you might have another image, an even more prominent image, strongly planted in your mind. You might immediately think of the “Anastasis” (Greek for “resurrection”), an icon or image of Christ breaking down the doors of hell (hades, the place of the dead), in order to free Adam and Eve and others from their spiritual prison.

Below is an ancient fresco of this image, painted in the Church of St. Chora in Constantinople. Christ is pulling Adam and Even out of their tombs. He is standing on the gates of hell, which he has broken open. Other saints and prophets of the Old Testament are also witnessing and participating in this remarkable event.

(Click on photo to enlarge. Photo: copyright Neil Harrison — Dreamstime.com)

It is JESUS who goes the extra mile, to pull up Adam and Eve out of the grave. Never mind that Adam and Eve had deliberately sinned. Never mind that they didn’t “deserve” salvation. Never mind that they weren’t baptised Christian. Never mind that they lived before him in time and place.

Jesus’ love overcomes every obstacle. Even the doors of hell cannot hold Christ back. And that applies to our current lives as well. Christ enters the places we feel are our own personal “hells” in order to bring us new life.

In Praying with Icons, Jim Forest reminds us that the Anastasis Icon serves as a reminder that Christ wants to free us from all that enslaves us, especially perhaps, our fears:

The icon of Christ’s Descent into Hell can be linked with an ongoing prayer not to live a fear-centered life. We live in what is often a terrifying world. Being fearful seems to be a reasonable state to be in — fear of violent crime, fear of job loss, fear of failure, fear of illness, fear for the well-being of people we love, fear of collapse of our pollution-burdened environment, fear of war, and finally fear of death. A great deal of what we see and hear seems to have no other function than to push us deeper into a state of dread. . . .

We can easily get ourselves into a paralyzing state of fear that is truly hellish. The icon reminds us that Christ can enter not just some other hell but the hell we happen to be in, grab us by the hands, and lift us out of our tombs.

There is much that can frighten us in our everyday experiences. Christ does not prevent us from ever suffering–but Christ does promise to be there with us, through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within and among us, come what may.

Until next time, Amen!

Winner of Les Miserables Giveaway

On April 10, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Misc.Leave a comment

…And the winner is… Ryan C. of Columbus, Ohio. Congratulations!

Ryan C. wins the Les Miserables DVD from the giveaway drawing we recently held here on the Spiritual Drawing Board blog. Thanks to my hubby Terry for drawing the name out of a hat.

Thanks to all of you who participated.
May your week be filled with sunshine!
(Here in Minnesota, we are shoveling snow. LOL.)

Until next time, Amen!

The Prayer of Agony

On March 27, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Lent, Prayer, Suffering1 Comment

If you are feeling a little blue, or overwhelmed, you might enjoy this post I just wrote for “Easter Prays,” the spirituality/prayer blog for Easter Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Eagan, Minnesota:

Jesus said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” (Mark 14:36)

In our culture, it can be tempting to think that Jesus’ life was always easy. After all, he was the Son of God. We tend to think because Jesus had miraculous powers, public popularity, and immense wisdom, that he must have been happy all the time.

However, the gospels paint a picture of a man who also experienced others’ rejection, family misunderstandings, ministry fatigue, and grief.

READ THE REST–>> http://www.easterprays.wordpress.com/

Giveaway: Les Misérables (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy + Ultraviolet)

On March 26, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Misc.4 Comments

Announcing the Spiritual Drawing Board Blog Giveaway of Les Misérables, four ways to watch, all in one box–you choose DVD, Blu-Ray, Digital, or Ultraviolet. Names will be put in a hat and one person will be drawn at random as the winner. (Details below.*)

Three ways to enter: To enter the drawing, send Julie your e-mail one of three ways:

1. Enter your e-mail address in the upper right box where it says “follow this blog.” (If you have already done that in the past, do #2 or #3 below.) –OR–

2. Write a comment somewhere on this blog. (If you write something really plain like “hi,” I may think it’s spam and you won’t be included in the contest. Simple is fine, but please be genuine, civil, and true to yourself. Others will not see your e-mail address.) –OR–

3. Send your real name and e-mail address to my e-mail: juliemccarty (at) usfamily (dot) net — Please put “Les Mis” in the subject line and indicate you want to enter this contest.

Deadline to enter is end of the day Easter, March 31, 2013 (11:59 PM Central Daylight Time). Winner will be announced in early April.

Best wishes to all, and Happy Easter!

*More details: Only one entry per person. You must be over 18 to win. You must be U.S. citizen to win (sorry to my other friends, I don’t know the laws in every other country). At the time of winning, the winner will need to provide his or her mailing address to receive the price. Thanks to Allied Faith & Family for their assistance with this giveaway.

Les Misérables: Who do you belong to?

On March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 By Julie McCartyIn Compassion, Forgiveness, Jesus Christ, SufferingLeave a comment

This past weekend I enjoyed Les Misérables, the 2012 movie fresh out on DVD. As most of you know, Victor Hugo’s story is swimming with meaningful themes. One could explore how Les Misérables focuses on the power of truth, redemptive suffering, compassion for the poor, devotion to God, forgiveness, letter of the law vs. spirit of the law, or a host of other spiritual themes.

One theme that caught my attention this weekend is this: Who do you belong to? That is to say, who are you, in your deepest, truest person? (Who am I?)

To understand what I mean, watch for how Jean Valjean struggles with these questions throughout the movie. At the beginning of the story, Jean Valjean has been in prison for 19 years, a sentence that began because of stealing a loaf of bread to feed starving family members. From the perspective of Javert, the ruthless prison overseer, Valjean is nothing but a stinking criminal, a “dangerous man,” whose only name is his prison number: 2-4-6-0-1.

And, unfortunately, the prison experience has indeed made Valjean’s heart embittered and filled with hatred. He has come to the conclusion that an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is the way to live. Upon his release, he is given identification papers which label him for life as a criminal.

Finding it impossible to find an honest living with the label “dangerous man,” Valjean likely would have remained forever in his angry 24601 identity, if not for a churchman’s simple, yet bold act of mercy. This freely given kindness pierces the bitter armor of Valjean, who comes face to face with the realization of who he has become, a man of hate and revenge.

Standing on the threshold of new possibilities, Valjean must decide if he will continue to live the life of “24601,” or become a person who values his soul, the way the kind bishop viewed him. Valjean sings “my life he claimed for God above” and “my soul belongs to God.”

Valjean vows to become a different person, and he truly does reform his life. However, that is not the end of wrestling with “who am I?” and how to live the moral, spiritual life. (Would that life were that easy!) He will have to ask these questions again and again, throughout the rest of the story.

( Taste test the movie at http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/ .)

This week, Holy Week 2013, is a good time for each of us to ask, “Who am I?” Do I see myself as ultimately belonging to God? If so, how does that belonging to God influence the choices I make, here and now?

Jesus stayed true to the person God intended him to be. He did a lot of good upon the earth, but in the end, the world made him pay the price for following his divine calling. We who call ourselves Christians will also, at times, find ourselves paying the price for following Jesus. It is the way of things. Jesus reminds us:

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! (John 16:33)

We journey this week with Jesus, to the cross, knowing that our lives will not be free from crosses. But we can trust in the promises of Christ, knowing that death does not have the final say. In Christ’s death there is also Christ’s resurrection–and the promise of new life for us as well.

Until next time, Amen!

P.S. Giveaway coming soon: Watch for upcoming giveaway of a brand new, free DVD of Les Misérables here on Spiritual Drawing Board blog or Facebook page “Spiritual Drawing Board by Julie McCarty.”