Anne Dobbs
Christian Counseling & Spiritual Direction
Spiritual
Direction
Spiritual Direction is one seeker helping another become aware of and responsive to the voice of God.
When I began seeking spiritual direction, I felt like I had come home...although I hadn't known I wasn't home. Once I realized how much I had been longing to know God in deeper and more personal ways, I whole-heartedly began the amazing journey of knowing, loving, and following Jesus more; and what a delightful and exciting journey it has been.
There are many wonderful ways to grow in your relationship with God. I was trained in Ignatian spirituality; and St. Ignatius (the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits) said that we "can find God in all things". When I work with people in direction, we find your personal and loving God's voice in books, on retreats, in the practice of silence and contemplation, in imaginative prayer, group spiritual direction, and though art, nature, writing and on and on.
In your session, the focus is placed on listening to a Creator who desires a personal and intimate relationship with you. A monthly spiritual direction session offers a confidential, safe, and prayerful space to discuss life and relationship with God. We focus on how God is moving in your life, His personal invitations, and together we discern how and where He is leading you.
Through the ministry of spiritual direction we enter into the spaciousness that is needed for spiritual exploration, and we practice how to hear God's voice more clearly.
Individual Spiritual Direction:
At the very heart of God is the passionate disposition to be in loving fellowship with you…with me. ~ Richard Foster, Sanctuary of the Soul
Regular individual direction meetings every 4 - 6 weeks offer you a space to seek more of God's guidance and direction in your life and to deepen your relationship with your Creator. All aspects of life are welcomed in the time but the focus remains on finding "where God is in all of this".
Group Spiritual Direction:
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” ~ Matthew 18:20
Find strength and encouragement in community. Listen for God though scripture, prayer and discernment as we:
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Share stories of faith and relationship with God
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Enter and experience Scripture through our senses and imagination
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Discern where and how God is moving in our life
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Encourage and support one another through prayer and fellowship
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Share and discern God’s Word through prayer and experience
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Practice silence and contemplation
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Journal
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Create with art materials
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Pray with poetry, Christian readings, and art
Retreats:
"Sometimes, all that we yearn for -- beauty, courage, love, hope, faith -- lives hidden. God seems to be absent from our lives. We are unable to truly see the people with whom we live. The goodness and the worth of our own lives elude us. At times like this we may feel called to take a step back and look at the mystery of life anew. That's what the word retreat means -- to go back. A retreat is a time to take a new look at our lives. It is not so much a time to learn new things as to remember and feel again some of the things we have forgotten. It is a time to be lovingly attentive to the needs of our soul."
~ Macrina Wiederkehr, Song of the Seed: A Monastic Way of Tending the Soul
Day and Weekend Retreats:
An amazing way of growing in intimacy with Jesus is by attending a retreat. Some retreats are overnight weekend retreats; others are day retreats. Both of these retreat options offer you the opportunity to leave your regular routine and daily life at home; and to experience God's love and nearness in fresh ways.
The Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (The 19th Annotation Retreat):
Ignatius of Loyola wrote the Spiritual Exercises in the 1500's and still today they are current and offer a way to grow stronger in faith and in relationship with God. The Exercises were written to be given on a 30 day silent directed retreat. But because most lay people cannot get away for this length of time, Ignatius added the 19th Annotation which allows the Exercises to be given over a 9 month period.
It has been a joy and delight to direct many people in the 19th Annotation Retreat over the years; and it is always a great encouragement to see again and again how God gives to people in such unique and personal ways.
The next 9 month retreat begins in September of 2022 and ends in May of 2023. Please email me if you are interested in learning more about this retreat.