ABIDE

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual Direction means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God.

Henri Nouwen

Spiritual Direction provides Christian prayer, and companionship to nurture the Directee's soul and spirit through life's various seasons. Whether navigating grief, seeking discernment, or reflecting on their Christian journey, Spiritual Direction offers a contemplative and quiet space for one-on-one prayer, silence and listening. We prayerfully embody Matthew 18:20, that where 2 or 3 are gathered, He will be with them. Together we seek to hear and discern the work of the Lord in the Directee's life.

Spiritual Direction fosters fellowship on the faith journey, helping us grow in our understanding of God's love in both the world and in our lives.

Why Spiritual Direction?

Meet Liz

After many years dedicated to church ministry, I encountered a challenging season that led me to seek Spiritual Direction. During this time, my heart and soul felt burdened, but through the compassionate care and prayer of Spiritual Direction, I found healing, growth, and joy. This profound Christian friendship, rooted in vulnerability and prayer, allowed me to experience God's life-giving love even in loss and burn out. My Director walked alongside me through my struggles, reflecting God's love back to me.
Abide Direction emerged from my hope to share the ministry I received. Recently, I became certified as a Spiritual Director through the Christian Course Selah, offered by Transformation Inc., a non-denominational organization affiliated with the ESDA. I have also walked through the Ignition Exercises and received training as a listening leader with Isaiah 40 Foundation for their Transformation Intensive, an eight-month journey through the Ignition Exercises.
The Spiritual Direction ministry I now offer is a non-denominational Christian ministry that embraces the Holy Spirit as we journey together to discern the Lord's guidance in your life and faith season. I provide online sessions for individuals seeking Spiritual Direction, and in Missoula, Montana, in-person sessions.
In my free time, I enjoy running, sharing meals with my family and practicing photography on hikes in beauty of God's creation in our area!

What now :
is Spiritual Direction
for you?

Welcome to this website.

You may be feeling a call to Spiritual Direction.

The key questions now are when to start and whether I am the right person for you to journey with in this season? Please take a moment to prayerfully consider if this is what you need at this time. If you sense a prompt to pursue Spiritual Direction, I invite you to reach out and share a brief spiritual autobiography, including what you believe God is leading you toward. Once I receive and read your story, I would be delighted to connect and discuss what this journey could look like together, whether online or in person.

In the meantime, I pray:

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

may His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

may He turn His face toward you and grant you peace.

Amen.

How long is a Spiritual Direction session?

Most of our one-on-ones will be roughtly an hour session.

How often do we meet for Spiritual Direction?

The hope with direction is to meet roughly every 4 weeks. Occasionally there is need to meet more often as we begin our time together, but the rythm will ideally move to once a month.

Is there a fee for Spiritual Direction?

Yes, I do ask for a payment for a Spiritual Direction session. There are many expenses in being trained and developing this ministry. And it is a gift to honor my time with you financially.

How is Direction different to pastoral care or counselling?

Christian care frequently involves guidance from a pastoral leader, which emphasizes personal connection to one another. Spiritual Direction aims consistently to redirect attention to the identity of God and the individual. The director focuses on the directee and their relationship with the Lord. No readings or action steps are assigned after meetings; instead, directees leave encouraged in their walk with God and the ways He is revealing Himself to them.

How long do individuals have a Spiritual Directer?

This can vary greatly. There are those who meet for a few sessions and know that the work has been completed, and those who meet for decades. The hope would be the Lord leads in how long this ministry is a gift for those pursueing it. I do often recommend that you start with at least 4 sessions. Direction, like counseling, is inclined to move gently, and this gives space and time to pause in what is being brought to light.

Do you offer pastoral care?

Yes. Spiritual direction is very different to pastoral care. But I also know first hand it can be hard in ministry to get pastoral care or spaces that you feel is a safe confidential place to process faith, family and ministry. Ideally this is done in your own church community or ministry leadership. However, I do make myself available for those who feel it is a need. I am not currently on a church leadership, but have had years of ministry experience in a church community, one-on-ones and in pastoral care of couples and families.

Spiritual Direction means to listen to the other without fear and to discover the intimate, divine connections within your own stormy life history. It means to help others discover that their questions are human questions, their search is a human search, and their restlessness is part of the restlessness of the human heart–your own included.
Henry Nouwen, Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith

Other resources

RECOMMENED READING

Henry Nouwen's works including

-The Inner Voice of Love

-The Prodigal Son

Ruth Haley Burton The Invitation to -Silence and Solitude

David G. Benner

-The Gift of Being Yourself

LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES

Selah Training: https://www.leadershiptransformations.org/selah/

Isaiah 40 Foundation

https://www.isaiahforty.org/services

Prayer App Lectio 365

https://lectio365.com/

DONATIONS

If you feel led to give to this ministry, you can give hear. Life many ministry families, we also fund raise to help meet the costs of the ministry and for our families needs.

Testimonials

Spiritual Direction has been an invaluable support as I continue to grow in my relationship with God, helping me navigate doubts and uncertainties with a deeper sense of purpose. Liz's help and guidance encourages me to listen more attentively to God's presence in my life, even as I'm still learning to trust and root myself more firmly in the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Through kindness, empathy, sincerity, and respect, Liz helped guide me through a journey of spiritual and mental healing and transformation that I would not have been able to navigate on my own. My life is better for having done Spiritual Direction with Liz, and I am forever grateful that she took my hand and helped me take the leap into what felt scary and unknown, but what became my own path of discovering redemption and peace.

A friend journeying with me towards deeper intimacy with Jesus. Listening to me listening to the Spirit- drawing out my heart, reminding me of His heart so that I don't get too lost, side tracked or bogged down along the way.