Search Results for: self care

Entrusting All to God as Prayer

October 8, 2012 By Juanita Ryan

Therefore, I urge you…in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God— this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 Prayer is an act of entrusting … [Read more...] about Entrusting All to God as Prayer

Entrusting All to God as Prayer

July 31, 2017 By Juanita Ryan

Entrusting All to God as Prayer

July 31, 2017 By Juanita Ryan

Notes to Our Older Selves: Be Open To Love

October 7, 2019 By Juanita Ryan

Dear Older Self, Your 97 year old friend who said, “ I think I am learning to let go of pride, in order to get ready for heaven,” spoke with a clarity that startled you. For her, pride had been a form of defensiveness. It had been her attempt to stay in control by always being on the giving end of things and rarely on the receiving end. Her pride was her attempt to push away vulnerability by … [Read more...] about Notes to Our Older Selves: Be Open To Love

Acknowledging our Need of God’s Provision as Prayer

October 4, 2012 By Juanita Ryan

Give us this day our daily bread. Luke 11:3 Prayer is acknowledging our need of God’s help. We tend to dislike our needs. We tend to want to meet our needs by ourselves. We may even feel ashamed of our needs. As a result, we are often afraid to rely on anyone else to help us, even God. But as we move away from self-reliance and begin to rely more and more on God, we begin to see how great our … [Read more...] about Acknowledging our Need of God’s Provision as Prayer

Acknowledging our Need of God’s Provision as Prayer

July 24, 2017 By Juanita Ryan

Recovery from Spiritual Anorexia

by Dale Ryan I remember when I first heard about people who were anorexic with respect to food. I was confused by the whole idea. Why would people refuse to eat? Why would people refuse to eat even when they were hungry? Why would people refuse to eat even when they were dying of starvation? But it does happen. Some people reject physical nurture. Sometimes, ironically, they reject it as if … [Read more...] about Recovery from Spiritual Anorexia

Seeing Others More Clearly Part 2: Moving toward Intimacy

by Juanita Ryan As we saw in Part I of this article, defensive relating leaves us in the dark about ourselves and about those closest to us. Defensive relating can lead us to feelings of anger, bitterness and hatred—toward ourselves and toward the very ones we most want to love. But God calls us to see what is most deeply true about ourselves and about others. We were created by the God of love … [Read more...] about Seeing Others More Clearly Part 2: Moving toward Intimacy

Asking for Help

by Dale & Juanita Ryan The God of the Bible is a God who saves and heals. The Bible is clear about this: "He will deliver the needy who cry out, he will rescue them from oppression and violence." (Psalm 72: 12 &14) When we see our need, acknowledge our inability to save ourselves, and cry out, God delivers us. God rescues us from oppression and violence. Whether it is the oppression and … [Read more...] about Asking for Help

Holy Hunger

An Interview with Margaret Bullitt-Jonas Margaret Bullitt-Jonas is the author of Holy Hunger: A Memoir of Desire (New York: Knopf, 1999). She is an Episcopal priest who serves as Associate Rector of All Saints Parish, Brookline, Mass., and as a Lecturer at Episcopal Divinity School. … [Read more...] about Holy Hunger