I’m sitting in Cozumel, Mexico, sipping a cappuccino and reflecting on what I have learned from the past month of giving spiritual direction sessions and teaching daily group classes at Sanctuary Clinics. Here’s a few of the top lessons learned:

Sleep is crucial!

Ask yourself:

• When was the last time I got 8 hours of sleep every night for a week?

Now ask yourself,

• When was the last time I humble bragged (to yourself or someone else) about being tired or busy?

You probably can't answer the first one. But the second? Instantly. We treat exhaustion like a credential.

Turns out,  exhaustion is a common symptom of most of our mental and spiritual diseases.

Addiction, fear, anger, perfectionism, grief, all rob us of sleep. And the devil revels in denying our needs. If he can keep you from sleeping, he can keep you confused, unmotivated, and irritable. He doesn’t need to do anything especially spiritual. He just needs to keep you awake.

Lesson learned: in the pursuit of health, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, we can’t forgo sleep.

Slow is fast

Slow down for a minute. STOP SKIMMING THIS EMAIL. (Sorry to yell, just making sure I get your attention.)

Breathe deeply — draw the air deep down into your stomach and slowly exhale. Do it again and let your mind ponder the paradox. How can “slow” be “fast”?

Obviously I don’t mean it literally, so what connections does your mind make? Where in your life has moving slower actually been more efficient than moving fast?

• Working with a band saw?
• Figuring out a difficult puzzle?
• Comprehending a difficult passage of Scripture?
• Enjoying a sunset?

Ain’t nobody got time for that, right? I’ve got to get to work, finish that report, get the kids to practice…

But here’s the blunt truth: human beings don’t learn things quickly. At least not the really important things like, “How do I stop being so frustrated with my kids?” or “How do I forgive my husband?” or “How do I actually believe that God loves me?”  

And that’s a feature, not a bug.

Just like a good meal or a glass of wine, part of the joy is the experience itself. Rush the meal and we feel icky. Rush the wine and we just get drunk. Then we miss the joy, and probably regret the whole thing.

Going slow, savoring the journey, is the only way to learn deep truths about ourselves and God.

Lesson learned: be patient with yourself (and your loved ones!) as you grow. Enjoy the process and don’t hurry!

There’s nothing for it but to do it!

More often than not, my job as a spiritual director is inviting people to take a leap of faith.

Even though the journey towards health is deliciously slow, we all encounter decisive moments. Cliff edges where God invites us to “Jump!”

Consider the person plagued by a condemning inner dialogue learned from an emotionally stunted father: “You always screw things up, don’t you! Stop whining! You never do anything right!” After 40 years of recitation, those internal voices are practically indistinguishable from God’s voice.

Healing change takes time. And it requires deep restorative connections: a therapist, a spiritual director, friends. Maybe all three! This person needs to slowly learn where the inner dialogue came from, the why behind it, so he can separate himself from his thoughts and start forgiving. He also needs relationships where acceptance and approval are given freely, without the requirement to perform.

But eventually, there comes a moment when God will gently but firmly say, “So, will you trust that I love you? Will you accept that I delight in you?”

At that moment there’s nothing for it but to do it. It’s not willpower. It’s not a heroic conquering of oneself. It’s a trust fall.

It feels like unclenching my jaw. Relaxing my shoulders. Taking a deep breath. And allowing myself to feel delightful. From the tip of my nose to the tips of my toes. Because I am the object of God’s loving delight!

This is deceptively hard to do, because it’s one of the most vulnerable things you can do.

Which is why God provides friends, spiritual directors, pastors, therapists, and others to help us do it. You don’t have to jump (or fall) off that cliff alone.

Lesson learned: find trusted friends and advisors to be vulnerable with and who can help me take the leap of faith to be vulnerable with God.

Comparison kills joy (or Signpost Inn’s Ministry is Critical)

The truth is, I often suffer from crippling doubt about the worth of the work we do. (Can you relate?) I think: other ministries are already doing this work, and they’re bigger, prettier, better connected, etc. What good am I? What good is Signpost Inn?

But my time in Cozumel taught me one final lesson: people desperately need to know who Jesus really is! They need to experience his love, his forgiveness, his delight in them! And they need to hear it in the way that Signpost Inn has been called to say it.

We incarnate what we teach. We show people how to experience God’s love and to love others. We don’t just tell them that they should.  

Here’s what people said:

• One client said, “Why have I never heard God explained this way! If someone had taught me about Jesus like this when I was younger I wouldn’t have left the church!”
• Another client wept tears of joy in my office as she gave up burdens to God in prayer that she’d never been able to let go before. Afterwards she said, “God the Father said, ‘Thank you!’ and then Jesus scruffed up my hair and said, ‘Come on, you got this!’”
• Another client let a few tears of relief flow as he accepted God’s forgiving approval of him. (Something he had never received from his earthly father.) “Thanks” he said afterwards, “That’s such a burden off my chest. Thank you!”

Each of these people trust-fell into God's arms and found that he is good.

A Cozumel Photo Journal

Some of my favorite things from my time in Mexico.

An excursion to the beach provides the above back drop. It was fun, but the people were what made the time fantasic. I worked closely Chris and Jim Needham. She's a fantastic therapist and Jim's pastor and spiritual director. Hopefully you'll be seeing the fruit of our collaborations in the near future!

Karime is a brilliant therapist with a heart of gold! She always had a smile for me and was kind enough to make make sure I always had oatmilk for my coffee (totally NOT in her job description!)

And of course, there was espresso. ☕️ 😁 You know, the important things!

And here's a snapshot of a few memories. Left to right:

I love finding the local fauna, and the iguanas were easy to find. They pretty much patrolled the streets and owned the town.

The sunsets from the beach were beautiful!

I'm very awkward in water. In fact, I don't care much for it. You can hear me talk about that more in the audio version of Liv's and my book. 😀

Provisions for the Road

"Cozumel" by Gustavo Cerati & Daniel Melero

Here's a great Spanish song from the '90's called "Cozumel." We invite you to put this song on, close your eyes if you're comfortable to do so, and take a few minutes just to rest.

Here are the lyrics in Spanish and English:

Cozumel
Cozumel

That light takes you/Esa luz te lleva
And everything you saw/Y todo lo que viste
It disintegrates/Se desintegra
You never went so far/Jamás fuiste tan lejos
Finding/Encontrando

The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs/El aire ríe

The sun and the sea/El sol y el mar
They float and mix/Flotan y se mezclan
Infinite distances/Distancias infinitas
Separate the stars/Separan las estrellas

The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs/El aire ríe

You waited a long time/Esperaste mucho tiempo
And you are tired/Y estás cansada
You almost fell asleep/Te quedás casi dormida
You are tired/Estás cansada

The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs without answer/El aire ríe sin respuesta
The air laughs/El aire ríe

Listen on Youtube

Food for Thought

Things the team found interesting this week, no endorsement implied.

An Ounce of Clarity vs a Pound of Cleverness

By Samuel D. James at Digital Liturgies

Samuel has been reading two books simultaneously. One is written by a pastor and is simple and direct. The other is written by a career author and literary editor. I’ll give you one guess as to which one he thinks is better. 😁

Read more..

Is Reading Obscure Old Books a Bold Act of Rebellion?

By S. Rufus at Psychology Today

“By reading old books, we rekindle long-suppressed sparks of passion and imagination, days and years their creators spent crafting universes, as if they had never died. Reading old books, we reassure those authors and past readers, with whom we now form a tribe: Your work was not for nothing and you’re not alone. You’re not yet gone.”

Read more..

Can Christians Smoke Weed?

By Daniel Darling at Christianity Today

I (Brandon) am neither endorsing or condemning this article. But I find the whole question fascinating! I would love to hear your thoughts! Read the article then come back and hit reply and let me know what you think!

Read more..

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