Author’s note: the following experience took place several years ago as I was going through The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. As I wrestled in the First Week with my theology around sin, God used a unique image to transform my thinking. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and […]
About Lisa Skopil
A Promise in the Desert
The photo awes me. It is stunningly beautiful, the shadows, the softness of the angles, the vastness of the sand dunes. I am pulled in by the lone figure walking, his footsteps behind him with a long journey ahead of him. I feel a touch of sadness because he is alone, and overwhelmed because there […]
Disorientation to Reorientation
A month ago I wrote a blog post on the power of lament. I described my personal process of lament as I struggled to come to terms with the radical changes our world is going through. I discovered how important it was for me to allow myself to feel and be with, the roller coaster […]
The Power of Lament
How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I bear this pain in my soul, and live with sorrow all the day? How long will fear rule my life? Notice my heart and answer me, O my God; enlighten me, lest I […]
THE SOIL OF THE HEART
“Consider this: A farmer went out to sow seeds. As he cast his seeds some of it fell along the beaten path and soon the birds came and ate it. Other seeds fell onto gravel with no topsoil and the seeds quickly sprouted since the soil had no depth. But when the days grew hot, […]
A Pattern of Suffering
Matthew 26:36-40 (TPT) 36 Then Jesus led His disciples to an orchard called “The Oil Press.” He told them, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 He took Peter, James, and John with Him. However, an intense feeling of great sorrow plunged His soul into deep sorrow and agony. 38 And He […]
How Do You Come Today?
I often start my time in the Soul Room with the question my spiritual director asks me when we meet: “So, how do you come today?” Or, as author Ruth Haley Barton says, “What is the condition of your soul right now?” When I was first asked this simple question, I didn’t know how to […]
