Corella Roberts's Blog, page 3

HOW TO PLANT WELL IN A SPIRITUAL SPRING

I hadn’t even known I was in winter. I was producing a lot — Sunday School lessons, women’s ministry events, missionary newsletters, not to mention three meals a day for my family — so how could my soul possibly be frozen? Then, a shift. A wake-up call. A crack in the ice that told me my heart was nearing a change. In Alaska, they call this breakup. The thick river ice, once a highway for snowmobiles, literally breaks up and flips completely over to begin its journey to the ocean. It’s the offi...

Is Your Soul in a Spiritual Winter?

Ah, the irony to share with you a post on winter right at the summer solstice. Here we are, in the northern hemisphere at least, enjoying days longer than nights. My friends in Alaska are out fishing or playing under the midnight sun, and I–currently visiting family in Idaho–am bouncing upon the spontaneity of summer’s schedule, or lack thereof, and letting my children stay up until ten o’clock simply because I’ve lost track of time and how could it possibly be so late if it’s still light out?

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The Spiritual Season of Autumn

We start our journey through the spiritual seasons in autumn. If your soul is in autumn or winter it is a mercy not to begin with the freshness of spring or the fruitfulness of summer, both of which may feel impossibly far away. However, if you’ve ever lived in a climate where the flurry of summer’s activity slows into the crisp release of fall, you know that autumn carries a distinct and welcome beauty.

INDICATORS OF A SPIRITUAL AUTUMN OF THE SOUL

Autumn typically whispers its way into o...

Discover the Season of Your Soul

I rise from slumber. Eyes blinking, emerging into a new day, breathing in the cool dawn. A worship song, a text of scripture, sacrament and sustenance for the rush ahead. I stretch and receive this gift of life.

The children mill around, laughing, arguing, creating miniature books and clicking through school-at-home assignments. I feed them, the cats, the turtles. Wash the dishes and the laundry. Answer emails. Tasks are being accomplished in the work of the day.

Dinner is on the table, t...

WHEN YOUR HOPE NEEDS A RESURRECTION

Last week I outlined this post for you with excitement at the promises of God I planned to share. This week I’m burdened, and I remember how deeply I need those promises, too.

Hope.

What do you think of when you read that word?

What are you hoping for right now?

What do you still long for but have all but given up hoping for?

My version of hope is usually wound up in expecting something to happen or change. And I tend to hope for that outcome immediately. I don’t think, “Oh, I h...

Re-Story Your Soul

Are there pieces of your life you’d rather forget? Events that feel too frustrating to make sense? Too purposeless to belong? Whole seasons, perhaps, that you wish weren’t part of your story? I think we all have those, but, if the time is right, God can revisit those memories with you and shed healing light on them. He can, in fact, do something I like to think of as re-story your soul.

A couple of months ago, an acquaintance contacted me, saying, “I’m reaching out because I’m holding your b...

Spiritual Growth Through Journaling

The day I started consistent journaling was the day I began to make marked spiritual growth. No exaggeration. For being someone who loves words and writing, I’ve hated journaling for most of my life. I saw it as something I “should” do to record significant events, but I rarely wanted to do it or found it personally helpful. Until …

I let go of my contrived expectations of what a proper journal was supposed to be and simply viewed it as a safe place to freely express my heart, my prayers, an...

10 Creative Ways Lists Can Help You Grow Spiritually

Today’s post is dedicated to all of you who would prefer not to wax on poetically through long written prayers or reflections, but it’s also dedicated to those of you who, like me, thrive with just a bit of guided organization to your spiritual growth. We’re discovering the power of the list today.

Here is my list of 10 creative ways to use lists as an aide to personal and spiritual growth:

Habit trackersMonthly lists of books, verses, quotes, and projectsHelpful reflection questionsGrati...

Writing as a Restorative Practice

“Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago.”

C.S. Lewis

Now, I know not all of you love to write like I do. A lot of you don’t even like to write. But, I know that each of you reading this can write. Therefore, in light of this messy, tangled web that we call life, Lewis’ oh-so-wise advice, and my own experience with healing through writing, I’ve decided that it’s time to invite you all on a journey-of-words with m...

Rootedness and Solidifying Growth

“An oak tree has only a couple of months of actual growth . . . The rest of the year, the other ten months, are spent solidifying that growth.”

The Good and Beautiful God, p. 186

I jotted that quote in my journal on December 29, 2019. Following it were four major lessons I felt God was still solidifying in my life:

Be awake and grateful each momentRest humbles me, nourishes me, and honors GodI’m valuable and valued before I do a thingListen, really listen, to Jesus and keep in step wi...