Many people want to feel emotionally and spiritually well, but aren’t always sure how to get there. The Plumline blog offers practical guidance that will help you get unstuck, find rest, and experience peace.
Codependency is NOT caring
From an outside view, codependency can look like loving, caring behavior. But in this video, Dr. Jake explains how it’s anything but. Watch to learn:
How strong are you?
Before you start to sweat, don’t worry. I’m not asking you to flex your biceps or show me how much you can bench press. I want to talk with you about your strength system. Spiritually speaking, your strength system is your ability to embody and express the beliefs that you hold dear. These beliefs could be theological beliefs and philosophies. They could also be reflected in your mindset and self-discipline. People who live primarily out
Engage your mind without losing your heart
Last week, I wrote about your mind system—the part of your spiritual anatomy that engages your intellect. This week we’ll talk about how to engage your mind system without forgoing your heat. You and I are called—along with all Christ followers—to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This verse is critical to understanding what true mind system nourishment and integration looks like. The key here is the word “transformation,” which is
Your mind and your spiritual health
If you’re like many North Americans, the “mind system” probably feels comfortable and familiar. From the perspective of your spiritual anatomy, the mind system is your ability to think and learn. This system is shaped and molded by many influences as we grow up. Some of these influences are institutional—the schools we attend, the churches in which we worship, the extracurricular activities that we pursue. Other influences are cultural, such as peer pressures and societal
Soul prayer – How does one do soul work?
A couple weeks back, I talked about your “soul system” in the blog post: “Why Are We Drawn to Personality Tests?” To remind you the “soul system” is the part of the spiritual anatomy that represents one’s true identity. As I said then, sometimes, talking about your “soul” can feel very abstract and removed from reality. And there’s a good reason for that. Your soul is a vast ocean. It’s where you commune deeply with
Would you pray with and for us?
This week marks the launch of our fall weekly groups, which is always an exciting time for us. Some folks are stepping into our HEART program this season and Jake will be guiding them through the material we’ve recently made available in our online course. We’re proud of that course, but the in-person experiences take participants to a whole other level. Something profound happens when others walk with you as you confront your lies and embrace
Your heart is a Loving Companion
Last week, I introduced the characters that describe the 4 parts of our spiritual anatomy. If you need a refresher: In my years of doing this work, I’ve noticed a common tendency: people often tell me, “I don’t have this one or that one.” But that is a false assumption. You have them all, though some may be drowsy or buried deep. The first of these characters is the Loving Companion, a.k.a. your heart. It
Do you know the characters within you?
We spend a lot of time looking for things that will make us feel complete. This search drives us to read widely, to follow gurus on Instagram, to collect experience after experience. Along the way we learn things. Good things, even! And yet, that hunger for meaning doesn’t go away. Just like that U2 song, we still haven’t found what we’re looking for. If any of that resonates, you might believe that you’ll never find
The soil of a divided heart
For the last few weeks, we’ve been exploring the Parable of the Sower, sitting with the question, “What kind of soil is in my heart right now?” As I’ve said before, this parable is not primarily describing the reasons unbelievers refuse to hear the Gospel. Rather, in this little story Jesus is inviting us to a life of constantly paying attention to our own hearts. The truth is that sometimes our hearts are hard and
The soil of a shallow heart
What kind of soil is in your heart right now? That’s the question driving my current series on the Parable of the Sower. Many Christians — myself included — were taught that this parable is all about unbelievers. In this understanding the different types of soils describe the different reasons unbelievers cannot truly hear or receive the Gospel. But as I’ve explained, that’s actually not what Jesus is trying to teach us here. Rather, he’s
The soil of a hard heart
If you (like me) grew up in the church, you’re probably familiar with the Parable of the Sower: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were
What type of soil is in your heart right now?
Sometimes when I ask people how they are doing, they respond by saying, “I’m crushing it.” They are not wrong. Driven forward by The Smothering Grind, they are crushing the life out of their lives. I’ve written about how The Grind pushes us into burnout, flame out, and tapping out. Now it’s time to talk about how to silence his villainous lies so we can become who we truly are and live the lives God
