Ever have one of those moments where you wonder if you could be taking better care of yourself—physically?

I looked at a photo of myself recently and thought, “Wow… I got old,” (ha!).
And almost immediately, the next thought followed:
“Am I where I need to be?”
“Am I spending my time the way I’m supposed to?”
Because—let’s be honest—life is short.

This was my inner monologue during Sabbath this week.
Welcome to dealing with yourself in Solitude.

That’s the thing about Solitude. It’s not just peace and quiet—It’s where the real conversations with your own heart begin.
Where God gently invites you to ask honest questions, Not to shame yourself,
But to become more whole.

Sometimes it starts with a photo…
And ends with a deeper surrender.

It’s in Solitude—in that sacred, quiet space—where God meets you exactly where you are.
Not just with your thoughts, but with your feelings, your questions, your burdens.

I truly believe this.

This week, I listened to an interview between John Ortberg and Pastor John Burke, who has studied near-death experiences from a faith-based perspective.
As I listened, I felt as though God was answering all my questions at once:

“Do not be anxious about anything. Do not fear your mortality.”

It was as if God was saying:

“Eternity with Me is so much greater than the shadow you experience in this life.”

In response, I wrote these words in my journal:

“Continue to repent. Give Me your honesty. Surrender daily. And I will lead you to a life of purpose and meaning, where your treasure is stored in Heaven.”

As we continue to live into our Spiritual Formation model, one area I’m especially seeking God’s wisdom in is the Spirit realm—how He moves, how He speaks, how He shapes us beyond what is visible.

Would you pray with me for wisdom and revelation as we discern what God is inviting us into in this area?

Whether through near-death experiences that align with biblical truth, or powerful testimonies like Jack Deere’s Surprised by the Spirit, I believe God is awakening something deeper in us.

Let’s keep seeking Him—
In the quiet.
In surrender.
In the mystery.
Together.

I was really looking forward to continuing my “green lettering” journey with the final Gospel—the Book of John—highlighting what Jesus did.

But during prayer, I felt a clear prompting from the Spirit to go deeper in exploring how the Holy Spirit moved through the apostles in the early Church.

So, I began “orange lettering” the Book of Acts—highlighting all the things the apostles did as a way to discern how Jesus’ disciples lived after His resurrection and the coming of the Spirit.

One verse in particular set the tone:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts1:8)

It’s striking how closely that mirrors our own working definition of Spiritual Formation:

“The process by which we be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did—for the sake of others.”

What I’m seeing in Acts is this:
The apostles lived out their faith empowered by the Spirit, not just for themselves, but for the world around them.

And these Practices we’re learning—Sabbath, Solitude, Prayer, Fasting, and more—are not just personal spiritual habits. They’re how we make space for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, so that we can carry His power, His presence, and His witness—for the sake of others.

The early Church didn’t move in their own strength. They moved in Spirit-empowered obedience.

That’s what I’m hungry to learn from.
That’s what I want more of.
And that’s where I believe the Spirit is leading us next.