Welcome to a place of rest for your soul.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WITH ADULTS
Spiritual Direction is a home to hospitality for your soul.
It is a slowing down to make space.
To listen.
To wonder.
To rest.
In Spiritual Direction, you join in the companionship of another in contemplative listening and prayer as you pay attention to the gentle, unfolding work of God. In you. Through you. Around you. That slowing down allows you to come closer to the God who knows and loves you best.
What is Spiritual Direction?
We meet for about an hour in person or online, yet our time together is not hurried.
We listen to whatever is bubbling up and out of you. And then we pray — sometimes with words and sometimes in silence. We pay attention to what God is helping us hear. With our ears. With our eyes. With our heart.
We wonder about what God is doing. Within you. Around you. Through you.
We rest, trusting in the gentle, unfolding work of God. To know Him. To know ourselves. To know we are His beloved.
What is a Spiritual Direction session like?
HOLY LISTENING WITH CHILDREN
Holy Listening is where children are heard and supported as they seek to make meaning of God's presence in the experiences of their lives.
Children’s Spirituality
Spirituality has been defined as God’s ways of being with us and our ways of being with God. Children have a deep sense of God’s presence. The adults around them have an opportunity to listen and help learn the language of God's presence with the child in their midst where that language brings deeper understanding to both the child and the adult with whom that child shares.
The Adult Holy Listener
The Lord is the one most truly attuned to our souls. But a Holy Listener is an adult "soul friend" who is present with a child offering undivided attention as the child expresses themselves about the experiences of their lives. The Holy Listener serves as a witness to the child’s thoughts and feelings and then helps the child recognize and respond to the movement of God in their lives. This is done through open-ended questions and interaction with materials that encourage storytelling on the part of a child. In response, the Holy Listener attends carefully to what the child is expressing, validates the child’s experiences, and helps the child to see God’s fingerprints in their stories. The process moves at the pace of the child.
A Holy Listening Session
Sessions are one-on-one with another adult nearby and within eyesight. Sessions generally last from 20-40 minutes, depending on the age of the child and their desire that day. Sessions take place in person and can include playing, talking, art, storytelling, and prayer. We always end with a blessing over the child. The child, the parent/guardian and the Holy Listener will determine how often to meet.
Safety and confidentiality are of the utmost importance. I will not reveal what your child says to anyone unless it is for his or her own protection. Holy Listening is contemplative and not counseling, psychotherapy, or a problem-solving methodology. If abuse is suspected or the child is a danger to himself or others, the Holy Listener will notify the authorities as required by law.
Louise Brooks
I am a child of God who has experienced grace, forgiveness, and the faithful love of the Father. As a spiritual director trained by Leadership Transformations’ Selah Certificate Program, I long to create space through prayer and contemplative listening with others so that they, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)
I work with adults in spiritual direction and am in the process of being trained by The Companioning Center in spiritual accompaniment with children.
As one who also receives spiritual direction, it brings me great joy to freely offer you a place of rest for your soul, too.
Curious?
Let’s connect.
I’d love to join you in witnessing the transformational work of the Holy Spirit as we create space to listen and pray together.
Please complete the form below to begin a conversation about spiritual direction. Or, if you’re ready to meet for a time of listening and prayer, we can schedule time together here.
