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Please note: free subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month. Paid subscribers will get additional posts on the second, third, and fourth Tuesdays. Once a quarter, I will do a Zoom workshop instead of the weekly posts. Each month will explore a single theme. This month’s theme: Thought Patterns That Exhaust the Soul.

The server set the teapot on the table with a smile and the instruction, “Let the tea steep for three minutes before you enjoy it.”

I was at my favorite tea shop in my hometown. My friend and I chose a lovely tea named Caramelized Pear to complement our salads. But if we poured the tea out too soon, it would not taste like caramelized pear—only hot water. The tea leaves needed time in the water to infuse their rich flavor into the brew.

Just like tea leaves need time to permeate the water, Scripture needs time to saturate the soul. I don’t know about you, but often, my approach to time with God’s Word is a rush job—just like everything in my hurried life. And, yes, God promises that His Word "will not return void” (Isaiah 55:11). He promises that time in His Word will always accomplish its purpose. However, when my spiritual life consists of reading a few verses in the morning and shooting some hurried prayers toward heaven, I know I am not experiencing the soul rest God offers, simply because I don’t stay still long enough to receive it.

I like to think of our spiritual life like a spa, a place where we go to receive soul rest—tender care from the Holy Spirit. When we make the time and space to meet with God, He gently works out the kinks in our spiritual muscles, renews our tired souls, and gives us the rest we so desperately need.

I picture each room in this soul spa as a different spiritual discipline. Just like a luxury spa offers different services for different needs, God can use each spiritual practice to heal our souls in different ways.

Today, we’ll explore how the spiritual practice of Scripture meditation can soothe our tired souls.

What Scripture Meditation Really Is

Meditation might sound like a scary word because we associate it with Eastern meditation which urges participants to empty the mind and disengage from the world. But Jesus warned an empty mind may be an invitation for evil to take up residence (Luke 11:24-26).

So what do I mean by Scripture meditation?

Scripture meditation is simply lingering over a passage—mulling it over and over in your mind. It is asking the Spirit to reveal what you need to know from those verses. It’s slowing down enough to notice new truths, new perspectives.

Scripture meditation is slowly pondering God’s Word until it moves from the mind into the heart.

Why Our Souls Need Slow Scripture

Modern life often happens at the speed of a tornado. We race through our days with a flurry of appointments and tasks. At the end of the day, we may barely remember all that happened.

Our spiritual life might also take on the speed of a whirlwind. We rush through our Bible reading and prayers in order to get on with our day. A few minutes later, we can’t even recall what we read. Like the tea at the tea shop, perhaps we haven’t let it steep long enough to infuse its richness into our lives.

Psalm 1:1-3 says,

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

When we meditate on God’s Word, it starts to take root in our lives. The Holy Spirit quenches our tired souls. Our lives begin to bear fruit automatically.

Isaiah 26:3 tells us,

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

As our minds rest on God, He tames our thoughts and holds us in His perfect peace.

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What Happens When We Meditate on Scripture

When I slow down and meditate on Scripture, a few things happen:

I notice truths and perspectives that I’ve missed before. For instance, I recently let this verse roll around in my mind for a while:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10 NIV 84)

When I read this verse in the past, I always focused on God’s “unfailing love.” That gift of relentless love means so much to me. But in meditating on it again, the “covenant of peace” took on new significance. God promises that even when my world is shaken, even when all stability is removed, His covenant of peace remains. He will calm me with His serenity, still me with His compassion, and hush my troubled heart.

Scripture reshapes my inner dialogue. My mind can easily spiral with thoughts like, “I can’t do this” or “How will I ever get everything done?” But as I meditate on Scriptures like, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV) and “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV) the Holy Spirit replaces those spiraling thoughts with “I can’t do it, but God can” and “God will give give me what I need to get His work done—even time.”

I learn to rest instead of strive. One year, I decided to use a daily Bible reading plan and invited my husband to join me. But he said something like, “No, that’s too constricting for me.” Interesting. I still believe that Bible-reading plans can be very helpful, but, yes, at times they could obstruct what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us. Especially for someone like me who likes to stick to a plan. The Holy Spirit may invite me to linger over a few verses, but my achieving self thinks: But then I won’t finish the chapters I need to read for today. That’s why I try to set aside time apart from daily Bible reading for meditation. As I rest in God’s Word, mulling over a few verses without the “pressure” of finishing my Bible reading, the Holy Spirit teaches me and gives me rest.

Let’s all personally schedule time to act like a teapot and soak in the truths of God’s Word so God’s peace and rest can seep into our souls.

Read on for a simple way to practice Scriptrue meditation.

Photo by Vee O on StockSnap

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A Simple Way to Practice Scripture Meditation

So how do we meditate on Scripture?

Choose a short passage of no more than 10 verses. Examples: Ephesians 3:14-21, Psalm 23. Psalm 1, John 15:1-5.

Read slowly. Read out loud, if possible. Reading out loud uses more of our senses. Pause whenever the Holy Spirit uses His '“holy highlighter” to draw your attention to a word or phrase.

Ask questions: When you pause, ask yourself questions like, “Why is this important?” “What does this have to say to my life today?” “What does it teach me about God?” “What does it teach me about myself?”

Rest in the Scripture for a while. Take an additional minute or two to simply rest in the Scripture, reading it one more time and remembering God’s immense love for you.

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Bible Meditation: This excellent article by the C.S. Lewis Institute gives helpful information about Scripture meditation.

SACRED Reading: I wrote this article which describes a helpful form of Bible meditation outlined by the letters of the word SACRED.

Soul Spa: I wrote this book to help women meet with God in various spiritual practices—including Scripture meditation.

Order Soul Spa

On May 11, I had a wonderful time at the Beloved Gathering at Bethel Church in Lansing, IL. I talked about “Waiting with Hannah” and how God teaches us and holds us in our painful periods of waiting. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of that lovely evening!

Here’s where I’ll be in the future!

June 12-14, 2026: LWML Eastern District Convention, Lancaster, PA

September 19, 2026: Women’s Retreat, New Beginnings Lutheran Church, Pacific, MO

September 25-26, 2026: LWML South Wisconsin District Retreat

October 23-24, 2026: Women’s Retreat, Concordia Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN

November 6-7, 2026: LWML-NED Eastern Zone Retreat, Hartford, Connecticut

If your church or organization is looking for a speaker for an event, check out the speaking page on my website.

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Blessings,

Thoughts regularly run rampant in my head. In the span of two minutes, my brain might consider: What will I make for dinner? I wonder if the laundry in the dryer is done? Why was I so harsh with my sweet husband? How in the world will I be able to finish my new book on time?!?

But often these thoughts run through without me paying much attention—until I…

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Thoughts spiral.

Worries pile up.

Problems inhabit our brains.

This month, we have explored the concept of breaking harmful thought patterns that exhaust the soul. We looked at Romans 12:2:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable a…

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“Be transformed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23)

Often the mind is where:

fear whispers

shame accuses

anger creates a strangle-hold on our thoughts

We may try to fight these mind battles by working harder or trying to do better.

But Scripture tells us we don’t need to do it on our own.

The Quiet Conformity of the Soul

Whether we realize it or not, …

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Please note: free subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month. Paid s…

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Please note: free subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month. Paid su…

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Hello friends,

The world pushes us to think that BIGGER is always better. But I have found that constant striving for bigger leaves my soul empty and exhausted. In this workshop, we explored ways to have a big life, but in small, simple, and slow ways that lead us closer to Christ where we receive soul rest.

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Please join me in one hour for our Soul Care Saturday Workshop on “Living a BIG Life in Small, Simple, and Slow Ways.”

I hope you can join us live because I would love to hear your viewpoints on the topic. But if you can’t join the live workshop, I will send the recording later today.

Click this button to join the worksh…

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I invite you to join me tomorrow for a Soul Care Saturday Workshop on “Living a BIG Life in Small, Simple, and Slow Ways.” The world pushes us to think that BIGGER is always better. But I have found that constant striving for bigger leaves my soul empty and exhausted. In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to have a big l…

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I’m so happy to announce the three winners of a paid newsletter subscription at no cost to them—and the “winners” of the short survey I sent.

Top Five Topics Chosen By You

First, the top five topics—in order of their popularity:

1. Praying Through Anxiety: finding soul rest in the middle of overwhelm

2. Praying for Our Children and Grandchildren: fi…

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Over the past months, this newsletter has grown into something more than words on a screen. It has become a quiet space where many of us come to slow down, breathe deeply, and remember the rest that Jesus offers to weary souls.

Every time I sit down to write, my prayer is simple: that these reflections would help you encounter …

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Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her. (Hosea 2:14)

Imagine: Your husband or boyfriend asks you out for a romantic date. You put on your cutest outfit and fanciest shoes. You spend a little extra time on your hair and makeup. You can hardly wait for a candlelit dinner at a lovely restaurant.

But…

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