by Sharon Swing Are you internally conflicted - with opposing forces tussling within you as you consider good options in your life?  These opposing forces exist within almost everyone. You are not alone. Can you name what is in conflict and write it down? If you can, you have made great progress toward healing and […]

by Joan Kelley A few weeks ago I was helping on a work day at a friend’s retreat center. Along with 4 others, I was put on the gardening team. The leader of the team was an incredible woman who had a certification as a “master gardener.” I watched as she led the team with […]

When I first encountered the Desires and Longings map, I was conflicted. A part of me wanted to enter into the process because the other maps in the ‘Listen to My Life’ process had been so helpful. But I also felt afraid. The past was laden with negative experiences around these two words. Unmet longings […]

Joan Kelley, our Director of Facilitator Development, taught at the Sunday night liturgical service at Willow Creek Community Church, known as The Practice. Our blog post this week is the podcast of her message. It was too good not to share! You’ll be blessed by her perspective on how to intentionally engage in practices of […]

As a child did you ever ask yourself, ”What do I want to be when I grow up?" Today, the more compelling question might be, "Who am I becoming?" So opened the invitation to a Spring women's retreat, whose theme was inspired by the Listen to My Life Desires & Longings map. Some ladies arrived […]

 “We can let the past become something more than history: something that tutors us as we move into the new year. The past is history but the past is alive, because the past is in us.” --Howard Thurman We have a lot of choices with how we handle the past.   We can simply let life […]

by Sharon Swing Becoming who you are made to be takes more courage than any of us could imagine. I have come to understand that 'growing up' has little to do with age. The process of maturing gracefully has more to do with how we understand our story and what we have chosen to take […]

Stories you tell yourself about yourself are a crucial factor in your ability to receive and give love. As I listen to people, it's not uncommon for a person to verbalize the things they tell themselves that are wildly shaming. "I AM an idiot." "I AM a weak person." "I AM a failure." "I AM […]

Whether you're unsure of your purpose, or you've already got an elegantly crafted life purpose statement, I'd like you to consider these words: God's intention is to increase your capacity to receive and give love.   God is actively inviting your participation in his plan to allow his love to flow to and through you.  […]

By Sharon Swing The old adage, ‘time will heal’ is not really true. One thing is for sure, grieving loss and hurt does take time – but how that time is spent makes a marked difference in people’s lives.  Time simply allows for experiences to be accumulated with evidence that either supply hope or evidence […]