Journal

Category: Contemplative Life

Resisting Our Limits

Resisting Our Limits

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.  Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom.  Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.  For...
Self-Care for Leaders During COVID-19

Self-Care for Leaders During COVID-19

On April 16th, 2020, I had the opportunity to share 4 pillars of self-care for Christian leaders in a crisis with members of the Accord Network, an organization dedicated to unifying God’s people to serve the world’s poor with excellence. Please feel free...
“Gifts” – A Poem by Ann Bodling

“Gifts” – A Poem by Ann Bodling

by Ann Bodling, Coracle Spiritual Director In this strange, disorienting, sometimes-hopeful sometimes-fearful, sometimes-sad time, I can forget. The gifts are here, as always. The Presence of God is here, as always. To recognize them I need to notice, as always. And...
Why We Return to Beloved Stories

Why We Return to Beloved Stories

In this “Simple Soundings” reflection, Drew Masterson shares why we return to familiar stories even when we already know what will happen.  He ends with a poem from Richard Wilbur, “The Reader.”Explore Other “Simple Soundings”...
A Visible Presence

A Visible Presence

How might we, as Christians, be a visible presence to the communities where we live?  Aside from checking on our neighbors, family, and friends, what might we do to share the love of Jesus with others?  As followers of Jesus, we are people of HOPE!  We have good news...
Redeeming “Shelter in Place”

Redeeming “Shelter in Place”

In this, our first “Simple Soundings” devotional of the 2020 pandemic, Bill Haley offers a stirring call to embrace God’s invitation to us in the midst of the difficulties of adjusting to pandemic life, specifically, living “sheltered in...
Pilgrimage in Place

Pilgrimage in Place

Many of you have probably seen this widely-circulated Coronavirus meme:  It’s funny because it’s true, almost painfully so.  Over the past few weeks, every single pilgrimage that Coracle had planned for this year has been canceled, postponed or called seriously into...
Christian Love In a Time of Coronavirus

Christian Love In a Time of Coronavirus

Over the last two weeks, my wife, Ginny, and I heeded the directives of medical professionals to “self-isolate” after returning from a trip to Northern Italy at the end of February.  Thankfully, we have not exhibited any symptoms of COVID-19 and we will be re-entering...
New Year, New View

New Year, New View

2020 is now well under way.  Whether you made resolutions or not, the language of starting over and afresh surrounds us immediately following Christmas and well into the first months of the new year.  Come January 1, we are bombarded with messages about becoming new...
Why Coracle Takes Stories Seriously

Why Coracle Takes Stories Seriously

At Coracle, we aim “to inspire and enable people to be the presence of God in the brokenness of the world through Spiritual Formation for Kingdom Action.” With that mission clearly stated, it is fair to wonder why we would choose to gather once a month to discuss a...