Lately, soul care has not been part of my life. I am embarrassed to say how easily I slipped out of the daily habits that had been cornerstones in my spiritual walk.
Through incredible highs and lows — including the celebration of our daughter’s graduation and the loss of a beloved member of our family (my father-in-law Bob) — of the past few months, our family has gone through transitions that have been all consuming. The presence of friends & family along with the stability of our church continue to ground me in faith and encouragement.
But an emptiness echoed through my soul.
The 5-minute devotional on my cell phone app along with a brief “good morning” prayer were not quenching the spiritual thirst inside me. I needed to re-establish my discipline of Bible reading and meditation. I needed to return to my prayer closet and commune with the Lord.
Shortly after this realization I found a new resource, Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal. It has been the perfect book to help me step back into my daily morning time with the Lord.
“Perhaps we sometimes ignore the soul because it is so mysterious. We can’t see it or touch it. We can’t take its pulse or check its blood pressure. How can we know when the soul is bruised or injured or malnourished?”
Soul Spa responds: “(When like a beautiful piano), we look good on the outside, but the inner workings of our life are out of tune. We paste a smile on our face at work, but we don’t feel any joy. We go through the motions of singing hymns and following along with the Sunday sermon, but our hearts are far from worship.”
It was definitely time for me to go to the Soul Spa!
I’m delighted to share more about this book and it’s author Sharla Fritz. This post is part of the Soul Spa blog tour of which I am part of.
Sharla Fritz’ book, Soul Spa, emphasizes soul rest — something most of us desperately need — and an intimate relationship with the Savior. The book goes through spiritual disciplines, including prayer, biblical meditation, silence, service, and more. Daily readings complement the weekly topic and allow time to ponder each section further.
Sharla responds to a couple questions about her book…
Question: You talk about spiritual rest. Why is that necessary?
Sharla’s response: Spiritual rest is something that Jesus offers us and commands us to seek. Jesus promised, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He knows the burdens of this life, but He offers rest. Hebrews 4:11 tells us, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Striving to enter rest sounds like an oxymoron. To better understand, we need to find out the rest that God is talking about.
The Greek word for rest in both of these passages is katapuasis which means the heavenly place where God dwells and where believers will go at life’s end. This kind of rest is a gift to those who trust in Christ. But Satan will subtly suggest that God couldn’t possibly love us if we don’t serve more people or do something important. The striving comes into play when we are making every effort to shut out Satan’s lies and live in God’s love and acceptance. Without this kind of spiritual rest, we will constantly be trying to do more to earn God’s love, which, of course, is impossible. When we rest in His love, we can love Him more, trust Him more, and joyfully serve others.
Question: Would you describe the resources in the book?
Sharla’s response: The book can be used for personal study or as a group resource. Some of the features include:
* Eight week Bible study for personal or group use
* Devotional readings
* In-depth Bible study
* Exploration of Spiritual disciplines
* Memory verses
* Discussion/reflection questions
* Creative ideas for spending time with God
The book also includes Ideas for creating a spa-like environment for group meetings. The concluding directions for developing a personal soul care plan wraps everything up into manageable practices to help rearrange our lives to meet God.
I highly recommend this book to nurture your soul. Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal is available at CPH.org and Amazon.
More details about author Sharla Fritz…
Sharla Fritz is a Christian author and speaker who weaves honest and humorous stories into life-changing Bible study. Author of four books including Soul Spa, Divine Design, Bless These Lips, and Divine Makeover, Sharla writes about God’s transforming grace. She is passionate about helping women take their next step of faith. Find out more about Sharla on her website and Facebook. You can also connect with her on Twitter @SharlaFritz.
