soul talks

We all face difficult circumstances at some point in our lives. Even though they may not be what we would choose, they provide us the opportunity for deeper formation in Christlikeness.

Tune in for this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi discuss enduring discipline. While we may struggle in hard times, we can learn to see God loving us in them and willing good for us. Reflecting on Jesus’ example of suffering helps us practice submission and trust and recognize the hidden blessings in our own sufferings.

Resources for this Episode:

• Attend a Soul Shepherding Institute Retreat
• Earn a Spiritual Direction Training Certificate
• Donate to Support Soul Shepherding and Soul Talks

Suffering is hard. When we face an unexpected stretch of illness or other difficult circumstances, we may feel disoriented and lost. Yet in the pause from our normal rhythm of life, God is doing a deep work. 

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi discuss a recent experience of suffering. Even in the trial, there is intimacy and sweet companionship to be found in a greater understanding of Christ’s sufferings for you and his presence with you.

Resources for this Episode:

• Earn a Certificate in Spiritual Direction
• Earn a Certificate in Coaching
• Attend a Soul Shepherding Institute Retreat
• Donate to Support Soul Shepherding

Being successful and winning appeals to all of us, but when this becomes a measure of our worth we are imprisoned by our false self. Living up to conditions of worth can suffocate your soul and lead to burnout.

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi discuss the importance of emotional honesty. If you are an Enneagram Three or have a wing, line, or relationship with a Three, you’ll learn the emotional alarm and spiritual disciplines to help you grow in grace and emotional honesty to bring your authentic self to Jesus.

Resources for this Episode:

• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith: Growing Emotionally and Spiritually Through the Enneagram

As Jesus’ apprentices, we have an invitation to live a life that is immersed in God’s presence. But sometimes we default to serving him out of our own strength or trying to earn his love without realizing it. When we focus on our enthrallment with Jesus, we return to live with him as our ultimate mentor!

Tune in to this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi explore this immersive life expressed in the great commission. By reminding yourself of past times in God’s presence and discovering new ways to awaken to his presence all around you, you’ll cultivate habits of thinking and feeling that deepen your apprenticeship to Jesus.

Resources for this Episode:

• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Soul Shepherding Sr. Spiritual Directors
• Soul Shepherding Sr. Coaches

Shame has many colors, variations, and related emotions. We see in Jesus' cross journey that he is unforsaken by God and we are unforsaken by God in our sin and shame. He invites us to bring all of our needs to him because he is our shame-taker. 

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi walk us through the journey of the cross. As you look at the fifteen stations of Jesus' cross from the gospel stories, you’ll see Jesus drawing close to show you his empathy for your sin and shame and mediating God’s grace to you.

Resources for this Episode:

• Unforsaken: Journey with Jesus on the Stations of the Cross

Many of us have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse ourselves, or care for people who have these wounds. The cycle of abuse can be emotionally and relationally trapping, but the good news is that it can be reversed.

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks where Bill and Kristi unpack the dynamics of the cycle of abuse. You’ll learn the necessary steps to break this cycle, increase your own awareness of the needs of those around you, put words to experiences of abuse, and help bring healing and freedom to those who are hurting.

Resources for this Episode:

• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Soul Shepherding Network
• Sr. Spiritual Directors
• Soul Shepherding Coaching

If you are a survivor of abuse, our Shepherd Jesus sees you. He feels your pain and fear and wants to comfort you and help you experience healing, freedom from shame, and new courage. We want to help you heal and be restored in the care of Jesus.

In this episode of Soul Talks, Sr. Spiritual Director and Coach Jessica Stong shares her powerful and personal account of trauma and redemption with Kristi. Her story of healing is an inspiration to bring our painful memories and trauma to a wounded healer who is a conduit of Jesus’ healing grace. As we allow the Lord to minister to our sacred wounds, we can experience his beauty, grace, and goodness.

Resources for this Episode:

• Sr. Spiritual Director and Coach, Jessica Stong
• Sr. Spiritual Directors
• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Spiritual Direction Training

Sometimes we seek to avoid vulnerability and distract ourselves from areas where we may feel dependent. Yet in vulnerability there is a wonderful invitation into a different kind of life! Jesus has a tender way of meeting us in our places of deepest need and bringing us his joy.

Listen in to this episode of Soul Talks as Bill and Kristi interview Trevor Hudson, South African pastor, teacher of spiritual formation and spiritual direction, and author of Seeking God: Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard. You will be equipped to meet Jesus in a deeper way and experience his joy through the life of discipleship taught by Ignatius and Willard.

Resources for this Episode:

• Seeking God: Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard
• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Ignatian Meditation Guide
• Soul Shepherding Spiritual Directors
• Soul Shepherding Network

You can find the transcript here. 

Sometimes considered weakness or coddling, empathy is often misunderstood. We may not think we need empathy, and we may underestimate its value in our relationships. Yet empathy is a major key to our growth, our intimacy with Christ,  and our ministry with others. 

In this episode of Soul Talks, Bill and Kristi unpack empathy and the role it plays in relationships. Tune in to see how, as you receive the empathy the Lord has for you, there is healing and grace. Then, you can do the same for others as you respond to them with this same empathy and grace!

Resources for this Episode:

• Soul Shepherding Institute
• Spiritual Direction Certificate

You can read the transcript here. 

Many of us have either personally experienced mental health issues like addiction, or we know and love people who have. These struggles are a normal part of our humanity, and there is no shame in these experiences. We have access to God’s healing power in the Kingdom of the Heavens right now!

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks, where Bill and Kristi unpack valuable tools and techniques for addressing and overcoming addictive behavior. Be encouraged with practical strategies that you can learn and integrate with your discipleship to Jesus. 

Resources for this Episode:

• The V.I.M. Plan Strategy
• The Soul Shepherding Network
• The Soul Shepherding Institute
• Soul Shepherding Coaches
• Soul Shepherding Spiritual Directors

You can read the transcript here. 

Empathy and Intimacy with Jesus can be difficult experiences for those of us who are not bent toward emotion or are not naturally “feelers”. The Stations of the Cross is an enriching journey that the Lord has used for centuries in the lives of Christ followers to deepen our empathy and intimacy with him, and to remind us of magnitude of Jesus’ profound sacrifice.

Join us for this episode of Soul Talks where, as an Enneagram One, Bill tells of his own experience with the Stations of the Cross and Biblical suffering. You’ll be encouraged and enlightened by Bill’s account of the Apostle Paul’s faith both in Jesus and of Jesus during trials, and how we can learn from and model this in our own lives.

Resources for this episode: 

• Journey of the Soul 
• Soul Shepherding Spiritual Directors
• Unforsaken

You can read the transcript, here.