e90 Echoing Silence: Listening

e90 Echoing Silence: Listening

SOULWORK NOTES e90 Echoing Silence: Listening As you move through this week, pay attention to what you almost missed. The thought that surfaced and slipped away. The emotion that rose and was quickly buried. The quiet nudge you talked yourself out of. God is not always loud. And we have grown so accustomed to noise that we sometimes mistake God’s silence for absence — when it may simply be an invitation to listen more carefully. Holy listening is not about receiving a word on demand. It is about becoming the kind of person who notices. Who slows down long enough to let what is already present rise to the surface. This week, don’t chase an answer. Just remain available. What God wants you to hear will find you. A PRAYER TO CARRY God who speaks in whispers, Open my ears — not just to sound, but to the quiet languages of Your presence. Teach me to listen with my whole self. In Jesus’ name, amen. Go Deeper: Notes from the Sanctuary If you desire to go deeper this week, I invite you to join my newsletter, Notes from the Sanctuary. Subscribers receive additional SoulWork resources—guided reflections, Scripture, and practices that are not shared on the podcast or in these notes. It’s a quiet space to continue this work with God, slowly and prayerfully, throughout the week. [Join here] [https://www.patricegerideau.com/join] If you’d like to help sustain this work, you’re welcome to support it here [https://www.patricegerideau.com/sanctuary]. > Until next time, may God bless and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you, and may God grant you peace as you continue your SoulWork. Disclaimer: The content shared on the SoulWork Sanctuary podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. While I am an ordained minister and trained spiritual director, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This podcast does not provide medical or mental health advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Please seek support from a qualified provider if needed.

e89 Echoing Silence: Dwelling

SOULWORK NOTES e89 Echoing Silence: Dwelling As you move through this week, notice how quickly you leave. Not just in silence — but in prayer, in conversation, in rest. How often do you arrive somewhere only to begin planning your exit? Most of us have never been taught to dwell. We have been taught to produce, to move, to accomplish. Stillness feels like a luxury we haven’t earned. But dwelling in God is not laziness. It is not wasted time. It is the slow, sacred work of letting yourself be known — not by what you bring, but by simply being present. This week, stay a little longer than is comfortable. With God. With yourself. With the silence. Let presence be enough. A PRAYER TO CARRY God who remains, Forgive me for the ways I rush even You. Teach me to stay — past the point of having something to offer, past the point of knowing what I’m waiting for. Let me find You in the staying. In Jesus’ name, amen. Go Deeper: Notes from the Sanctuary If you desire to go deeper this week, I invite you to join my newsletter, Notes from the Sanctuary. Subscribers receive additional SoulWork resources—guided reflections, Scripture, and practices that are not shared on the podcast or in these notes. It’s a quiet space to continue this work with God, slowly and prayerfully, throughout the week. [Join here] [https://www.patricegerideau.com/join] If you’d like to help sustain this work, you’re welcome to support it here [https://www.patricegerideau.com/sanctuary]. > Until next time, may God bless and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you, and may God grant you peace as you continue your SoulWork. Disclaimer: The content shared on the SoulWork Sanctuary podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. While I am an ordained minister and trained spiritual director, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This podcast does not provide medical or mental health advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Please seek support from a qualified provider if needed.

e88 Echoing Silence: Entering

SOULWORK NOTES e88 Echoing Silence: Entering As you move through this week, notice what it costs you to get quiet. Not to judge it. Not to fix it. But to simply be honest about what stands between you and stillness. Entering silence is rarely as simple as it sounds. There is always something pulling us back — a task unfinished, a worry unresolved, the noise we have learned to live inside of. And yet, the invitation remains. Come. Not when everything is settled. Not when you finally have the time. But now — as you are, with what you’re carrying. This is what it means to enter: to choose presence over productivity, to believe that God is already waiting on the other side of the threshold. You don’t have to arrive empty. You just have to arrive. A PRAYER TO CARRY Lord, Thank You for the gift of stillness —even when I have to fight my way to it. Meet me at the threshold. Receive whatever I bring. And teach me, slowly, that entering is its own act of faith. In Jesus’ name, amen. Go Deeper: Notes from the Sanctuary If you desire to go deeper this week, I invite you to join my newsletter, Notes from the Sanctuary. Subscribers receive additional SoulWork resources—guided reflections, Scripture, and practices that are not shared on the podcast or in these notes. It’s a quiet space to continue this work with God, slowly and prayerfully, throughout the week. [Join here] [https://www.patricegerideau.com/join] If you’d like to help sustain this work, you’re welcome to support it here [https://www.patricegerideau.com/sanctuary]. > Until next time, may God bless and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you, and may God grant you peace as you continue your SoulWork. Disclaimer: The content shared on the SoulWork Sanctuary podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. While I am an ordained minister and trained spiritual director, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This podcast does not provide medical or mental health advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Please seek support from a qualified provider if needed.

e87 Search Me: in Disappointment

SOULWORK NOTES Search Me — in Disappointment A Reflection on Luke 24:13-35 As you move through this week, notice where disappointment is still lingering within you. Not to rush past it. Not to force resolution. But to bring it honestly into the presence of God. Disappointment often emerges when life unfolds differently than we hoped it would. The disciples on the road to Emmaus knew this feeling well. “We had hoped…” And yet, even in their confusion and grief, Jesus was still walking beside them. As you move through this week, allow yourself to remain present long enough to notice this truth: Disappointment does not mean abandonment. Christ is still near. Still speaking. Still walking beside us even when hope feels fragile. A Prayer to Carry Gracious and faithful God, Thank You for remaining near even in seasons of disappointment. When life does not unfold the way I hoped, help me remember that Your presence has not left me. Meet me in my grief. Meet me in my confusion. Meet me in the places where hope feels fragile again. Lead me in Your way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, amen. Go Deeper: Notes from the Sanctuary If you desire to go deeper this week, I invite you to join my newsletter, Notes from the Sanctuary. Subscribers receive additional SoulWork resources—guided reflections, Scripture, and practices that are not shared on the podcast or in these notes. It’s a quiet space to continue this work with God, slowly and prayerfully, throughout the week. [Join here] [https://www.patricegerideau.com/join] If you’d like to help sustain this work, you’re welcome to support it here [https://www.patricegerideau.com/sanctuary]. > Until next time, may God bless and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you, and may God grant you peace as you continue your SoulWork. Disclaimer: The content shared on the SoulWork Sanctuary podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. While I am an ordained minister and trained spiritual director, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This podcast does not provide medical or mental health advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Please seek support from a qualified provider if needed.

e86 Search Me: in Shame

SOULWORK NOTES e86 Search Me: in Shame A Reflection on Genesis 3:7-13, 21 As you move through this week, notice where shame causes hiding. Not to judge yourself. Not to push your feelings away. But to bring them honestly into the presence of God. Shame often convinces us that because we have failed, we are failures. It whispers that we are too exposed, too broken, too far gone to remain fully seen and fully loved. But Genesis 3 reminds us of something deeper. Even after Adam and Eve hid, God came looking for them. “Where are you?” Not with condemnation. But with relationship still open. And in the middle of their shame, God responded with care. As you move through this week, allow yourself to remain present long enough to notice this truth: Shame may cause hiding. But God continues moving toward us with love. A Prayer to Carry Gracious and faithful God: Thank You for seeking me even when shame causes hiding. When I feel exposed, unworthy, or afraid to be seen, remind me that Your love has not moved away from me. Where shame has created distance, bring nearness. Where shame has distorted identity, speak truth gently again. Lead me in Your way everlasting. In Jesus’name, amen. Go Deeper: Notes from the Sanctuary If you desire to go deeper this week, I invite you to join my newsletter, Notes from the Sanctuary. Subscribers receive additional SoulWork resources—guided reflections, Scripture, and practices that are not shared on the podcast or in these notes. It’s a quiet space to continue this work with God, slowly and prayerfully, throughout the week. [Join here] [https://www.patricegerideau.com/join] If you’d like to help sustain this work, you’re welcome to support it here [https://www.patricegerideau.com/sanctuary]. > Until next time, may God bless and keep you, may God’s face shine upon you, and may God grant you peace as you continue your SoulWork. Disclaimer: The content shared on the SoulWork Sanctuary podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. While I am an ordained minister and trained spiritual director, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This podcast does not provide medical or mental health advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Please seek support from a qualified provider if needed.