How Spiritual Direction is Different than Counseling
I often get asked how spiritual direction is different from counseling—especially Christian counseling. It’s a great question, and one that deserves a thoughtful answer, because while both can be deeply supportive, they serve different purposes.
Here are five ways spiritual direction stands apart:
1. There’s no advice.
It might feel surprising at first, especially if you're used to counseling or mentoring, but spiritual direction isn’t about receiving guidance on what to do. You might hear familiar questions, like “How does that make you feel?”, but they serve a different purpose. My role isn’t to help you solve a problem; it’s to help you notice God’s presence in your life and listen more deeply.
2. Everything comes back to your relationship with God.
You can bring anything to spiritual direction: work, relationships, loss, joy, doubt. But no matter what we talk about, the lens is always your relationship with God. The real question is: Where is God in this? or What might God be inviting you into?
3. There’s a lot of silence.
In counseling, silence might feel awkward, something to be filled. In spiritual direction, silence is sacred. It’s in the stillness that we often hear God’s whisper. We make room for the Holy Spirit to speak, not just to talk about God, but to actually listen to God together.
4. It is restful.
Spiritual direction isn’t another task or therapy appointment. It’s an invitation to rest. After a busy or emotionally charged day, it can feel like stepping into a quiet sanctuary. There’s nothing you have to perform or fix. You can just breathe.
5. You leave lighter.
You might come in carrying burdens (confusion, grief, longing) but most people leave feeling lighter. Not because everything is “fixed,” but because they’ve remembered what’s true: that they are seen, loved, and accompanied by God. That reassurance is powerful.
6. The director is not the expert—you are.
In counseling, the therapist often brings clinical expertise. In spiritual direction, we trust that you already know God and are learning to recognize God's voice. The director is simply a companion, helping you notice and name what is already true in your experience.
7. It’s about presence, not performance.
You don’t need to come with a goal, a question, or a tidy narrative. There’s no expectation to “make progress.” Just bring your honest self, tired, joyful, angry, numb, hopeful, and we’ll sit with whatever is there.
8. It’s slow on purpose.
Spiritual direction doesn’t rush. In a world that prizes productivity and answers, direction invites you to slow down and linger. Some sessions might feel like “nothing happened” but in time, those slow moments often turn out to be sacred ground.
9. It’s rooted in trust in the Spirit’s work.
There’s a shared belief that the Holy Spirit is the real director in the room. We’re both listening together, not just to what’s said, but to what’s stirred. The emphasis isn’t on technique or outcome, but on discernment and presence.
10. It's often seasonal or cyclical.
While counseling may be ongoing or tied to specific goals, spiritual direction often ebbs and flows. People sometimes enter direction during a time of discernment, grief, transition, or spiritual dryness—and continue because it becomes a place of grounding through all seasons.
In short, spiritual direction isn’t about fixing or figuring things out. It’s about noticing. Noticing where God is moving. Noticing how you’re responding. Noticing how deeply you are loved.
If you’ve never experienced spiritual direction and are curious, I’d love to talk more. It’s one of the most gentle, life-giving practices I know, and it’s always a gift to hold that sacred space with someone.
Practicing the Presence | Prompt 1: Sunlight Through Leaves
“Photograph sunlight filtering through leaves.”
There is something quietly holy about the way light moves through the world.
Not just the sunrise or sunset kind of light—but the soft, ordinary light that dapples through trees on your morning walk, glints off the kitchen counter, or spills across the carpet when no one is watching.
This light doesn’t demand attention.
It just arrives.
And when we notice it—when we stop for a moment, breathe, and look up, we’re reminded:
God is here, too.
What is “Practicing the Presence”?
It’s an old phrase, most often associated with Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk who found God not only in prayer but in washing dishes.
It means learning to be with God in the everyday: in the chopping of vegetables, the tying of shoes, the folding of laundry. In birdsong. In traffic. In sunlight through leaves.
It’s not about doing more, but about noticing more.
About looking again.
Try This
At some point today, pause and look for the light, not just where it is obvious, but where it’s slipping in quietly.
Take a photo if you like. Not to perform or impress, but to practice presence. To hold the moment. To remember.
Ask yourself:
What does this light reveal?
What is God like in this moment?
What happens in me when I pause to notice?
If you’d like to share what you find, tag your photo with #PracticingPresence or leave a comment below. I’d love to see through your eyes.
holy snacking
For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a video that highlights the children’s ministry at my church. As part of it, I asked each child three simple questions:
What’s your favorite thing about Sunday school?
What’s your favorite Bible story?
Do you like going to church?
The answers were hilarious, heart-melting, and holy.
Without exception, every single child mentioned “snack time” or “snacks” as their favorite part of Sunday school. I’ll admit, about 5% of me wished they had said something about the teachers, the Bible stories, or at least offered up the classic Sunday school answer: “Jesus.” But nope. It’s the snacks.
The other 95% of me? Completely delighted.
Because honestly, this is exactly what Jesus meant when he said to come to him like a child: joyfully, wholeheartedly, and maybe even just a little hungry. What if we approached life—snacks included—with that same kind of delight? What if even something as ordinary as snacking could become an act of worship?
And then there was the third question: Do you like going to church?
Every child answered yes. Every single one. In this day and age, that feels like a small miracle.
Is it just because of the snacks? Maybe. But I think there’s more to it, even if the kids don’t have the words for it yet. They feel loved. They feel seen. They feel safe. They get to play with their friends, be silly, be honest, and just be kids. And yes, they get to say—without shame or pretense—that their favorite part is snack time.
And that, I think, is holy too.
Creative Prompt: Mark-making
creative prompts designed to help you slow down, listen inwardly, and connect with God through play, color, and curiosity
This week’s prompt is simple—but surprisingly powerful.
Make marks. That’s it.
Scribble. Doodle. Dot. Swipe. Smudge.
Use a pencil, a crayon, a paintbrush, a finger dipped in dirt. Let your body lead before your mind catches up. Try to fill a whole page.
Mark-making is a sacred yes. A quiet way of saying: “I’m here.” It’s not about skill—it’s about presence. Each line, swirl, or smudge becomes a prayer without words. It reminds us: the Kingdom of God is near, even in this tiny, messy mark.
You can fill a whole page with little scratches.
You can trace circles again and again.
You can make a mess—on purpose.
Questions for reflection:
What did you think about when you were making marks?
How did you feel while you were making different kinds of marks?
Looking at the marks now, how do you feel about them?
You might light a candle, play quiet music, or go outside and make marks in sand, snow, or sidewalk chalk. You can use the attached sheet to give you a place to start. Or just sit with a piece of paper and give your body permission to move.
You don’t need to understand it. Just begin.
Kid-friendly option: Invite children to explore how different movements make different marks. Encourage storytelling through the marks: “This is a dragon’s breath!” or “These are sleepy stars.”
What happens when you move fast?
What if you press really gently?
What if your crayon is a magic wand? Or your finger is a butterfly?
If you feel comfortable, I’d love to see what you create! When I share these prompts, I will always try to share what I create as well. You can tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below.
Book Recommendation: Grief is an Elephant
Grief can be hard to describe—especially for children—but Tamara Ellis Smith gives us a powerful metaphor in Grief is an Elephant. This beautifully illustrated picture book compares grief to an elephant: enormous, ever-present, sometimes gentle and sometimes wild. The text is poetic, with a rhythm that invites quiet reflection, and the illustrations by Nancy Whitesides offer both emotional weight and moments of lightness.
What I love most is how the book doesn’t try to rush through grief or explain it away. Instead, it honors it. The elephant becomes a companion, one that changes over time. This makes the book not only a comforting resource for children experiencing loss, but also a conversation starter—a way for families or classrooms to talk about emotions that often feel too big for words.
Contemplative Play Prompt:
Invite your child (or yourself) to draw what their grief feels like. If it were an animal, what would it be? What does it do? Where does it live? Let the image unfold slowly. No need to explain—just notice.
Creative Prompt: Draw your soul as a garden.
Welcome to the first in a new series of creative prompts designed to help you slow down, listen inwardly, and connect with God through play, color, and curiosity.
This week’s prompt is: Draw your soul as a garden.
What would be growing there?
Is it wild or cultivated?
Are there weeds or secret paths?
What’s blooming—or waiting to bloom?
You can use crayons, markers, paint, or even collage. It might be messy. It might be abstract. That’s okay—this isn’t about making something perfect. It’s about making time to play and rest and listen to what’s stirring in you. (If it’s easier, I’ve attached a coloring page to do instead! Add your own flowers and garden features, or simply write a few words.)
When you are done, take a few minutes to reflect and respond to God. Ask Him for help noticing, and lift up in prayer what might need tending. This could also just be a time of rest and play! If that’s how it felt to you, thank God for the time.
Kid-friendly option: Let them draw their own gardens and tell the stories out loud.
If you feel comfortable, I’d love to see what you create! When I share these prompts, I will always try to share what I create as well. You can tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below.
What I’m About and Where This Blog Is Headed
It’s been a while since I’ve written here. That’s partly because the last couple of years have been filled with deep reflection as I’ve moved through my training in spiritual direction. In the past, this blog served as a kind of examen—a space to name and notice how God has been shaping me. But with regular written examens required throughout my training, my need to process publicly here has naturally quieted down.
Now, as that season begins to draw to a close, I find myself asking the big questions again (questions we all ask, and if we don’t, maybe we should be?):
What’s next?
What am I passionate about?
How do I most want to spend my time?
A recent retreat gave me the space to listen. I journaled. I made lists—of what I love, what I want to do more of, and what I want to release. And through all of that emerged something simple, honest, and energizing.
Here’s what I’m about:
Teaching kids and adults contemplative spiritual practices through:
coloring books and journals
picture books (mine and others)
Godly Play and other contemplative curricula
arts-and-crafts-based play
When I step back and look at it, the phrase that best captures all of this is “contemplative play.” Or, put another way, finding God in play—encountering the sacred through color, imagination, story, and creative rest.
So, I’ve been doing some refreshing behind the scenes—updating my website and narrowing my focus. I want this blog (and the monthly newsletters to come) to be a space where I share ideas, prompts, and resources to help you bring contemplative play into your own life and the lives of those you love.
Whether you’re a parent, educator, spiritual director, or creative soul just looking for something deeper—I hope you’ll journey with me.
Let’s make space. Let’s create and play. Let’s go deeper. Let’s rest and remember.
Making Cards
Here is a tutorial on how to make my collage cards! I have been so delighted at the interest people have shown in them, so I made this tutorial about a year ago to share. Please send me pictures if you decide to make some! Also, feel free to browse my Etsy store for more ideas!
What you’ll need:
-Pre-scored cards or cardstock (any size is fine!)
-Collage elements (book pages, tissue paper, etc.)
-Glue (I like using glue sticks. I have used mod podge and it eliminates some of the texture of the collage elements and I don’t like it as much.)
-Washi tape or stickers (This is optional! If you had enough collage elements, you don’t even need this! It’s just what I use.)
-Scissors
-Pens or markers
Book Recommendation: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Another discovery as I continue reading through the Newbery Award winners, and I just loved this one. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill was a delightful and original fantasy. It was sad and sweet and basically everything I’m looking for in a book: magic, love, heartbreak, sacrifice, and dragons. (It may have been especially poignant to read as a mother, but I won’t say more than that!) Highly recommend for anyone who loves those things.
From Amazon:
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge—with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .
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Book Recommendation: The Perfect Place
One of my all-time favorite picture books is Last Stop on Market Place by Matt de la Peña, which I have recommended before. This author knows how to find beauty where most people might not see it. So I was excited to read his newest book, The Perfect Place, and it did not disappoint. It is really hard not to think other people have it better than we do, especially for a child, but Lucas learns that “perfectly imperfect” might be the best thing of all. Once again, highly recommended for children and adults alike.
From Amazon:
Lucas goes to the perfect school in the perfect neighborhood. And when he gets perfect grades, he feels like he fits right in.
But life at home is not so perfect. His dad’s old work truck keeps breaking down. His mom works long hours at her job at the diner. And Lucas has to share his small room with his baby sister.
One night, Lucas is awakened by a strange light, which he follows all the way to the place where the perfect people live. Everything there is more beautiful than he could have imagined. But the longer Lucas stays, the more he wonders what it really means to be perfect. Does it mean never making mistakes? Does it mean rejecting his bustling neighborhood and his loving family? And what’s so great about being perfect, anyway?
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Book Recommendation: Alcatraz series
This is one of my favorite middle grade series of books. As I was working my way through the Newbery award winners, I came across the first book Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko and loved it. It is a fictional story of a real place: the town around Alcatraz island where the people (including children!) actually lived in order to work at the famous prison. It was fascinating! The story was interesting and exciting; the characters were likable and relatable, and I especially appreciated the character with autism in a time when not much was known about the disorder (in fact, I’m not even sure the word “autism” was used at all). It helped me understand a little more about what it might be like to live with autism, or to know and love someone who has it. Additionally, each book has a factual chapter at the back, talking about the history of Alcatraz island and some of the real people who lived there. Highly recommend this series for anyone, including adults!
From Amazon (a quote from the book):
Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here. There are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. And then there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to.
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Book Recommendation: Known and Loved
If you love The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones, you will love this sweet series of hers as well. These are a must for any Christian children’s library, and I keep a copy of all of them in our Sunday school rooms at church. (Even as I write this, I’m noticing there are a couple new ones that I need to buy for our collection!)
The series includes:
They are written for younger children, based on Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, etc., but like The Jesus Storybook Bible, adults will find them profound and beautiful as well.
Pre-cut Fruit Just Tastes Better
I have a long-standing joke with a friend about how much I love when she brings me cut up fruit. She laughs because she says she doesn’t do anything special to it, but when I bite into that fruit, I know it’s something special. I’ve noticed this with other people, too. Fruit just tastes better to me when someone else has cut it into small, bite-sized pieces. (My mouth is even watering thinking about it!)
I also buy pre-cut strawberries at the supermarket almost every week. This feels like a huge indulgence. I know I could cut up my own strawberries! It would be cheaper, too. But somehow buying them pre-cut makes them taste better and sweeter.
Today I was reading a text exchange with a few friends, each one offering to bring food to a luncheon we were planning. I silently begged my one friend to offer to bring fruit because I knew she’d cut it up just right! I stopped myself then and wondered about this for the first time. Why do I delight in this so much? As I said, I could prepare it myself! What is the significance of someone else preparing it for me?
That’s when a memory flashed, of being a small child visiting my grandparents in Florida, of waking up to small bowls of cut up Florida oranges, prepared lovingly by my grandfather, “Bumpa”, of the small forks that stabbed only one piece at a time, making the small bowl last longer, of the perfect, bite-sized chunks of oranges - no peel, no strings (which is especially important to a child!) - that practically melted in my mouth. I remember begging Bumpa to cut up oranges for me, even as I grew up and he grew old. No one could cut up oranges like my grandfather. And each bowl he handed me felt a lot like love.
Bumpa had a lot of wonderful qualities that are worth an essay or two of their own, but today I am missing those days of him offering me not only a small bowl of perfectly cut up oranges, but a sign of his love for me.
So now I’m wondering if my love of pre-cut fruit could really tie back to those days of perfectly cut up Florida oranges. Is that why I love fruit that is especially prepared just for me? Because maybe the fruit really is sweeter when it comes from someone else, maybe other people know how to choose fruit better than I do! Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a little taste of what we are all longing for: the feeling of being loved.
Book Recommendation: Dust
I didn’t know anything about Dust when I picked it up, other than the fact that I loved Dusti Bowling’s other books so much that I purchased them after reading them from the library. It took me a while to get into Dust, but once I did, I could not put it down. To my surprise (and delight!), it had some fantasy elements which entertained me immensely. But even more than that, they really helped drive home the point of the story. And it turned out the story is a very important one. I would highly recommend this to not only older pre-teens and young teens, but to parents of young children as well.
From Amazon:
After Avalyn nearly died from an asthma attack, her parents moved her to the clear, dry air of Clear Canyon City, Arizona. And for the last ten years, she’s been able to breathe. That is, until Adam showed up.
Quiet and disheveled, Adam is an instant target for the bullies who have plagued Avalyn and her friends. As Avalyn gets to know him, she begins to suspect that the sudden, strange increase in dust storms around town is somehow connected to his emotions. She thinks his problems may be even worse at home, especially when massive black walls of dust start rolling in after the school day. Will she find a way to stand up for her new friend? Her life may just depend on it.
I recently became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️
Book Recommendation: It's Magic!
I picked this book mostly out of curiosity. The Book the can Read your Mind really caught my eye! How was that even possible? Once I read through it, I knew I had to own it for the kids in my life. It’s more of an activity or experience than it is a book to read! And even better, you can do it over and over again. I first read it with my 10-year-old son and he was captivated and had to try it again. Then we got to talk about how it works and how it’s not actually magic (sad), but math (yay)! He found this intriguing and immediately tried to make his own magical book.
Because of his interest, I brought it to his 4th grade class to read it to the kids, and after they saw how it worked, they crowded around me to have a turn! I may even bring it to church with me to read to my Sunday School kids! Highly recommend this book by Marianna Coppo.
From Amazon:
This is not an ordinary book—it’s a magical one! Lady Rabbit goes beyond pulling a rabbit out of a hat or making herself disappear. For her next act, she will READ YOUR MIND! That's right: You pick a member from the magician's adorable audience—don’t tell which one you’ve chosen—and this book will guess who it is!
Inspired by 17th‑century magic books, this interactive game in a book will enchant readers of all ages, compelling them to pick among many intriguing, illustrated characters and play over and over (and over) again. Now, without further ado . . . let the magic show begin!
I recently became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️
Book Recommendation: This I Know
This I Know: Seeing God in the World He Made by Clay Anderson is another lovely picture book that I keep in the children’s library at our church. It uses the refrain from “Jesus Loves Me” to show how all of creation points to our good Creator on every beautifully illustrated page. For example, on a page full of sand and sea and dolphins it says “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the ocean tells me so.” The writing is sweet and written in verse, but it’s really the large full-color pictures that make this book so appealing!
From Amazon:
Have you noticed the fingerprints of God in the world around us? The creation tells us about its Creator. His beauty in the trees. His power in the thunder. His eternity in the night sky.
Join a young girl and her family on an unforgettable road trip. Witness the wonder of God's world. And see how all of creation confirms what the Bible tells us: Jesus loves me, this I know.
I recently became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️
Book Recommendation: When You Reach Me
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is one of the best middle grade books I’ve read in a long time! I was immediately hooked to this slightly creepy page-turner. It is part mystery and part science fiction with a twist at the end. As usual, I read this from the library but upon finishing, decided it was worth having in my home library for both my kids to read and me to read again (and to lend out to friends)!
From Amazon:
Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn’t know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter—a true story, and that she can’t share her mission with anyone.
It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem—because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.
I recently became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️
Book Recommendation: Tiny Cedric
If you haven’t figured it out by now, we are big fans of Sally Lloyd Jones around here, and her book Tiny Cedric is no exception. Though this book is not religious, I keep a copy in our children’s library at church and it is a favorite read aloud of all the kids (including some of the older tweens)! It is funny and sweet and always has the kids laughing out loud.
From Amazon:
A hilarious, heartwarming picture book from a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning illustrator about a tiny king who grows into a big-hearted monarch after he banishes almost his entire court from the palace.
Tiny Cedric, King ME the First does not like being small. AT ALL. So he decides to banish anyone taller than him from his palace. Which is everyone, basically. The only ones left are the babies. And now they’re in charge of the Royal Duties!
How will Cedric cope—especially now that he must kiss boo-boos and read bedtime stories? Will he become a kinder, gentler, BIGGER king?
I recently became an Amazon Associate, because I link to books so often on my blog! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so if you want the book and to support me, use my links in this blog post. Thank you!! ❤️