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.
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
Why are we drawn to personality tests?
How many personality tests have you taken in the last three years? For many North Americans, the honest answer would take two (or more) hands to count. We’re hungry to know more about ourselves. And we feel like we’re prepared to dig under the surface and unearth what lies beneath. That’s why we jump at the chance to discover our Myers-Briggs Type, or our DiSC profile, or our Enneagram number. Is there anything wrong with
You have no bad feelings
If you walk into my office right after I’ve led a PLUMLINE group, you’ll likely stumble across a laminated sheet. I often get distracted and leave it lying in the middle of the floor. Peer closely, and you’ll discover that it’s a vertical list of feelings. Eight, to be exact. When people first see this sheet, they look up at me with caution in their eyes. And for good reason. There are some heavy words
What’s with all this “heart” talk?
When you hear me talk about your “heart system,” you might wonder just what exactly I’m referring to. Your heart system is where your feelings live—the place where your true wants and needs reside. Many people find that their heart is the most neglected system in their spiritual anatomy. Sadly, this is not surprising. So many of us have been told, whether directly or indirectly, that our feelings and desires are the enemies of true
When You Feel Guilty
What exactly is the feeling of guilt? Guilt is the feeling that arises when you have crossed a moral boundary, or done harm to yourself or another. Guilt can be a heavy feeling to feel. It is often difficult to admit when we have harmed or hurt. It is for this reason that many are so defended against their guilt and will do ANYTHING not to feel it. Unfortunately, if you suppress your guilt, it
Learning From Your Loneliness
How do you know when you’re lonely? And, if you do find that loneliness is what you feel—what can you do about it? Loneliness is what you feel when you feel dismissed, unseen, and unknown by those in your life. This lack of meaningful connection with others may fill you with shame, remind you of hurt, or paralyze you with fear. Whatever the case may be, it is critical that you feel and face your
Your soul is a Visionary Guide
How well do you know your soul? If you’re like many modern Christians, the word “soul” feels abstract and ethereal. You know you have one, but you’re not quite sure what—let alone where!—it is. But what if I told you that your soul, when healthy, is perhaps the most grounded part of your spiritual makeup? Would you believe me? As a refresher, we’re in the middle of a series about the four parts of our
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
