We’re so close to Christmas, but I’m only making my first batch of Christmas cookies today! That’s just been the state of our Advent. In searching through my online filing system, I came across this article that appeared in the 2014 Woman Alive December issue, with a few recipes of our favorites at Christmas. Complete with photos of the CutiePyeKids.
For more recipes, and to hear about my sad first Christmas in England, check out the 10th anniversary edition of my first book, Still Finding Myself in Britain.
The worries, cares, and uncertainties we face in life can crowd out our peace. But what if we’ve misunderstood what God means by peace? Join me in encountering God and receiving his peace and comfort in this mini-retreat, filmed at sunset by the shores of Lake Josephine in Roseville, Minnesota. In doing so we’ll prayerfully engage with Isaiah 61:1–3. As you focus on the God of peace, he will fill you with his peace.
Do feel free to stop the video and pause in prayer to receive from God.
Receive my monthly newsletter, including giveaways and prayer exercises.
Join me for a mini-retreat, with time to pause, reflect on Scriputre, and experience God? Here’s my latest prayer practice (of 7 minutes) that I sent out with my monthly newsletter, perfect for this season of Advent.
We’ll be engaging with some lectio divina (prayerful reading) of the first part of John’s gospel (John 1:1–5, 9, 14, NIV). During the Advent season, it’s beneficial and meaningful to ponder Jesus, the true light who has come into the world.
Feel free to pause the video at any point as you ponder and reflect with God.
Receive my monthly newsletter, including giveaways and prayer exercises.
So what is spiritual direction? We’ve inherited this term, and unfortunately, it may conjure up images of a somewhat scary authority figure telling another what to do. That’s not my desire or my way of working! A better name is spiritual accompaniment, which captures the role of one who seeks to notice God’s working in the life of another.
In SD sessions, we examine the person’s relationship with God, how this relationship can flourish, and the directions God is inviting them into. I find it such a joy to hear how people notice God working in their lives and how they are responding to God’s invitations. Often they will have one main topic they’d like to explore in a session.
With my desire to facilitate people encountering God, I offer an opening prayer exercise (such as one from my book 7 Ways to Pray). I give a choice between two or three different ones, as it can be interesting for the directee to notice how they react (including resistance). Of course, they don’t need to start off the session in this way; it’s completely up to them. I’ve found it joyful and encouraging to lead one person in a prayer exercise (in contrast to a group), learning and modifying over the years – such as inviting people to turn off their cameras for privacy, asking them to choose how long to be in silence instead of me moving them along after a set amount of time, and inviting them afterward if they want to share about the prayer time or to address another topic.
Spiritual direction is about the slow but sure work of God. Hearing people notice how they are changing under the Spirit’s loving care brings me such joy. I count it a gift and privilege to walk with some of God’s beloved in this way.
Want more?
You might appreciate reading this short article on why spiritual direction matters to spiritual formation published by Coracle, with whom I’m associated as a SD. Wondering what the difference is between SD and other helping professions such as mentors, coaches, and counsellors? I recommend this article by Margot Eyring, who heads up the SDs at Coracle. I also recommend these 11 questions to consider asking a prospective spiritual director.
Find out more about Amy from visiting her YouTube channel with prayer practices or on social media sites too. She also writes a monthly newsletter and has written seven books and numerous devotional articles.
On this launch day for Still Finding Myself in Britain, I find myself unsettled and lonely for local friends. We moved a couple of months ago, and the house isn’t sorted yet and I don’t have a new gym or local connections.
As I consider my needs, I remember how God has met me in the past, namely when I moved country! As I found myself in Britain, I found myself in God. Yes I made blunders and gaffes, but my new countrypeople accepted me, even while poking fun at me in a lovingly British way! And I learned more about who I am in God, how God has created me, and who I am becoming in him.
God didn’t fail me before, and I believe he won’t now!
How do you need God to meet your needs today? How can you find yourself in God?
Find out more in the wonderful new tenth-anniversary edition of Still Finding Myself in Britain, with a fabulous new foreword by Paul Kerensa and published by Authentic Media.
Over the past four years, I’ve added a moniker to my biography – “spiritual director,” an old-fashioned term for someone who accompanies another on their journey with God. I’ve noticed recently that I don’t share about this work much. As I’ve pondered why, I’ve realized that the main reason is that my role feels hidden and precious. When people share deep and tender offerings during our sessions, I promise to hold their thoughts and feelings in confidence.* I also don’t name those with whom I meet to my family or friends, nor state on social media that I might know someone in this context. My guarding of their stories has seemed to seep into me not talking about being a spiritual director at all.
Perhaps I’m extra careful about confidentiality because as a writer, I could be tempted to mine the stories I hear. In my introduction letter that I send to people enquiring about working together (although I’m currently fully booked), I state something that should go without saying but I feel needs to be spelled out:
I promise never to write up anything that you talk about during our sessions. God is a God of abundance and for my writing I can find plenty of already-published stories to share.
We don’t have to hold an official role as a spiritual director to prize confidentiality, of course. When a friend or family member shares vulnerably with us, we can treat that confidence as a wrapped gift, one meant to be opened only between them and us. And God can help us to keep our mouths closed, nudging us through the Holy Spirit when we’re tempted to share someone else’s problems or concerns under the banner of intercession or “keeping the body informed.” God is a God of respect and honor, and, being made in his image, we too can exude these qualities.
How important is confidentiality to you?
* I only would share in certain safeguarding situations. Also, when I meet for peer-group supervision or with my own spiritual director, I might give generalized details as I reflect upon the work and how it’s affecting me and my life with God.
What does it mean to be God’s beloved? How do we view God, and how does God see us? We will spend time in the loving presence of God as we explore some spiritual practices that help us live as a new creation in Christ. These transformative encounters help us to live out our callings with joy and freedom.
Join me on Saturday, October 4, for a time of communion with God and others.
About this Retreat Series
From the comfort of your home, join Coracle and me as we encounter God’s loving presence together in an online retreat. Each retreat will include a mixture of gentle teaching with generous spaces to encounter God and unpack your experiences with others. I’ll lead four retreats throughout 2025-26, and you can join one or all four, or any other combination. The timings all fall on a Saturday: 10am to 1pm for the East Coast, 7 to 10am on the West Coast, and 3 to 6pm for the UK.
Jesus with us is God in human form, Emmanuel. This mind-blowing reality has transformed all time, and those who believe in him. As we explore this mystical and down-to-earth truth of the God who became a baby and lived among us, we embrace his presence with us as we also prepare for his second coming.
February 21, 2026 – Friendship with God
Jesus loved his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and their home in Bethany was his second home. As we unpack the three gospel stories we explore action and contemplation, faith and doubt, despair and longing, resurrection and hope, sacrificial love and the meaning of home. Deepening our friendship with Jesus through these stories is fitting during Lent as their events pave the way for Jesus’ death and resurrection.
June 6, 2026 – 3 ways to pray
Our prayer lives can be rich and multifaceted. We’ll engage with three ways to pray, each rooted in ancient practices, that can give us fresh pathways to God. They are acknowledging the indwelling God through practicing God’s presence, prayerfully placing ourselves into a gospel story through our imaginations, and the prayer of examen. God loves to meet with us as we come to him.
Coracle is a U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, supported by donor funding. We offer the majority of our programs as “By Donation” as we believe that finances should never be a barrier to anyone who wants to pursue God through the programs and resources we offer. There will be an option to select either “paid” or “free” tickets. Donor support makes offerings like these possible. If you feel led to invest in Coracle’s ministry above the cost of this offering, there will be an option to do so when you register. Thank you!.
Did you know that Jane Austen was a devoted Christian? We have access to three of her prayers – those when she led the family prayers at night. Join me at Jane’s home in Chawton, Hampshire, England, with an adaptation of one of her inspiring and uplifting prayers. The images are all from the grounds at her final beloved home, where she was able to be most fruitful in her writing.
You can find the three prayers in their original form here.
On this International Friendship Day, Icelebrate friendship by sharing a poem that was a gift for my birthday by a dear friend, Amy Scott Robinson. Amy and I and Tanya Marlow have met weekly for years, loving and supporting each other, and I frankly don’t know how I would do life without them! I loved receiving this gorgeous creation for my birthday, and I trust and pray that you will enjoy it as much as I do. (Sorry about the background noise – we were in a busy London restaurant!)
Friendship is a gift from God, and our friendship with God is a gift that I wrote about in Transforming Love: How Friendship with Jesus Changes Us. Our friendship with Jesus strengthens our friendships with others. Something to celebrate, to be sure!
Join me in watching the video:
Explore friendship with Jesus in Transforming Love. Find it – including a free copy of the introduction and first chapter – here.
It’s the Easter season! We’re in the time in the church calendar marked off for celebration – after all, Jesus is risen and lives!
Mind, I’ve not felt very celebratory. Both Nicholas and I came down with covid on Easter Sunday, and I’ve only left the house a few times since. The virus left with me fatigue, although I’m gaining in strength each day and managed a gentle pilates workout yesterday. So although I’ve not celebrated much, I’ve been aware of this season set aside to give thanks, to wonder, to delight. Sometimes that’s how we have to celebrate – while acknowledging the pain we’re also in.
And how do we do so? With the presence of the risen Christ, of Jesus with us. I love this photo that Janet Nielson took, which I share with her permission. She was one of the pilgrims to Iona on the wonderful McCabe Pilgrimages trip at the beginning of April I got to lead. To me this photo reeks of the glory of God in our midst… it’s almost like I can see Jesus’ outline in the light.
How might you celebrate today? Through gritted teeth or not…
