An Explanation & Invitation

I have been absent for a while. I really want to say, "absent from the Internet, present with the Lord." I know it’s kind of obnoxious, but it’s true.

There is definitely the social component to social media, but I've been longing for silence, solitude...something deeper and more real. That longing originates with a God who wants to fulfill it. The longing gets more urgent when we come to the end of our ourselves, one way or another.

A lifetime of experiences has proven to me that while it is costly to follow God, it is costlier not to.

Plus, when God tells me to do something, I’m inclined to do it.

Plus, I have to make a living, so I’ve been working a Guideposts deadline, another book, and some interesting work while working on this project I’m about to share. Then there’s being a mom and sleeping.

I just can’t do it all and be meaningfully engaged on Facebook. Cannot.

As always, this last spiritual sabbatical was longer and harder than anticipated. Yet.

A No-Waste God

Nothing in God‘s economy is wasted. Romans 8:28 all day long. This is very good news.

Apart from my own battles, false starts, and detours, I’ve been embattled and broken over the mess the world is in, agonized by the insanity (truly), even though Jesus predicted it with uncanny accuracy. Can anyone really discern the difference between the “good guys and bad guys anymore?” It’s getting harder, but God knows.

I’m convinced that much of the massive mess we see in the world right now is precisely because we’re out of alignment with God. Our best thinking got us here.

That’s precisely what Jesus said, too.

Does it really seem as implausible, lofty, or remote as it did even a year ago?

Aren’t things unraveling enough for us to consider we may need Divine intervention?

How do we get it? What does it look like?

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know that it’s been a tumultuous and challenging 3+ (5, 20, 59) years. I’m not going to lament it because God does His best work on detours in the wilderness—even most especially in the messes of our own making that demonstrate how powerless we really are. You can read my blogs and revisit all that. I don’t need to. Those chapters are done.

The fruit of this long time away and more than a few detours is The Daily Way, a new initiative I refuse to call a ministry. And it’s really nothing new either. God allows us to go through things not only so we can comfort others with the comfort we received, but to share what we've learned firsthand—perhaps sparing others some of the same hard lessons or helping light the way through a dark night.

Thomas Aquinas said,

“To contemplate and to hand on to others the fruits of contemplation.”

A practical path to ongoing transformation and renewal in Christ.

An Ancient Problem…and Solution

The Daily Way isn't new. It’s a time-honored, proven practice modeled first by the early church and then revived many times over the centuries since—usually when people hit some kind of bottom.

Back around AD 530, Benedict of Nursia developed his famous Twelve Steps of Humility to help people remain anchored in Christ and in community during a time much like our own. Amazingly, Benedict’s Rule not only helped individuals stay spiritually ordered, it also helped preserve stability throughout Western Europe during the Dark Ages as the Roman Empire fell apart.

It’s true. Keeping the focus on our own spiritual integrity can change the world, one person at a time.

Benedict was almost militant about maintaining the Rule because he knew that peace, purpose, power, and order depended on it. Humility—expressed through submission to Christ and Scripture as an objective, shared reality—was the cornerstone for keeping ego in check.

Jesus, Paul, Benedict, and many of the great reforming movements throughout history recognized that both sin and suffering are unavoidable realities of life in a fallen world. Rather than denying or minimizing them, they taught us to see them as crucibles through which God forms humility, perseverance, and deeper dependence on Him. In God's paradoxical spiritual physics:

surrender and defeat = freedom and power

For Benedict, submission wasn't a feeling. It was an ongoing, daily practice of confession, humility, and life together under Christ, reflecting the pattern of the early church we see in Acts and the New Testament letters. He believed these practices were God's means of continually realigning hearts before pride and self-deception could quietly take root.

He understood that the slippery slope eventually leads to delusion and corruption, which in turn poisons entire communities. I don’t think Benedict was driven by vain ambition. I think he was shocked and shattered by the state of the world—and by the state of his own heart—and wanted to guard against the same slippery slope that had helped bring down an empire.

Wherever we go, there we are.

Self is really the problem.

Left to ourselves, we drift.

It doesn't always look glamorous, grand, or criminal. It might even look holy or good, with big followings of ardent fans, but it's merely whitewash and lemmings. Jesus warned about that, too.

Eventually, something shakes us out of our complacency and spiritual blindness—or perhaps we're simply hardwired with an urgent longing for more—and we fall to our knees again in authentic surrender.

Grace and peace rush in. Refreshing rescue comes.

Throughout history, many people have sought to recover, revive, restore, or protect something precious that had been lost because we are broken people living in a broken world.

Martin Luther wrestled with his own soul and with drift in the Church. John Wesley experienced a profound spiritual crisis and developed a practical method for remaining anchored in Christ that eventually became Methodism. Centuries later, Frank Buchman reached his own bottom, encountered the living God, and launched a movement that transformed hundreds of thousands of lives during one of history's darkest seasons between the world wars. That same movement profoundly influenced Bill Wilson and ultimately gave birth to the Twelve Steps, which have become a catalyst for miraculous life change for millions struggling with addiction. And so on. There have been many different expressions through the centuries, and many have proven remarkably effective. All individual and collective revivals repeat the pattern.

Until something happened. Again.

Drift.

What happened to many of these movements—denominations included—was spiritual drift, amplified by our tendency to make gods of ourselves, other people, or other things.

God calls it idolatry.

Money, power, influence, comfort, success—even religious zeal, good deeds and good intentions—can quietly become fuel for pride. Admittedly, though those are real risk factors, we don't need any of those accessories to struggle with self-rule.

But aren't we all addicted to something? Some sin. Some idol. Something we put in God's place, whether human or material. Looking down our nose at the junky may find a mirror and avert our gaze. Sin is as intoxicating as a cocktail or syringe.

We humans have a well-documented tendency to anchor our hope and peace outside ourselves.

Then one morning we wake up and think, "Good God...what's happening?" As though the laws of gravity don't apply to us.

The deeper the delusion becomes, the harder it is to humble ourselves and become honest enough to be set free. Benedict observed it. Paul described it in Romans 1. James warned about it too.

The problem is ancient. The solution is too.

"The unexamined life is not worth living."

— Socrates

Why The Daily Way?

So what I'm trying to do isn't create something new. I'm trying to recover something very old—with a few intentional guardrails designed to slow our almost universal tendency to drift.

Benedict called it daily conversion. Recovery programs speak of a daily reprieve and stay aligned in community daily. Jesus simply told us to take up our cross daily. The Lord's Prayer assumes daily dependence. The early church gathered daily. Hebrews urges believers to encourage one another every day so that none of us will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. You see a pattern?

Apparently, "daily" wasn't accidental. It's essential.

Frankly, none of this would matter if God didn't exist or if His ways didn't matter. But if He does—and they do—then realignment with Him changes everything.

The Daily Way is simply an invitation to practice that daily realignment together—with a few intentional guardrails to help keep pride, personality, and position from quietly taking over.

Not because you need guardrails.

Because I do.

That's probably the biggest lesson these past few years have taught me. That's the heart behind The Daily Way.

Not another ministry or monastery. Not a self-help regimen, Not another denomination. Not another personality to follow. Just a simple, practical invitation to seek Christ together, honestly, one day at a time. Our part is to come honestly into the light. Jesus does the transforming.

Because nothing in God's economy is wasted.

And because He still delights in transforming ordinary people who are finally willing to admit they need Him.

The Invitation

I am looking for seven brave souls to join me on the The Daily Way Pilot Journey. This initial cohort is seven people plus me; cozy and a little disarming by design.

Gentlemen are welcome, assuming at least two of you sign up.

As recovery says, all that’s needed is honesty, openness, and willingness. If you can’t check those three boxes, we’d all be wasting our time.

Before we go any further, I should probably tell you who I think I am. Actually...who I don't think I am.

It’s important that you know that I am not an authority. Whatever qualification I have is primarily brokenness and years in tears, in the fetal position, on the floor, crying out to God. Not exaggerating either. Plus a lot of time in the Bible and recovery, often driven by such tears and need.

But mostly, I am doing this as a fellow pilgrim, not as a guru or formal leader.

Moreover, this is not intended as a substitute for Church or your recovery program.

Though it’s a gentle addition, alternative, or on-ramp for those who want it.

Our only authority is Christ as He reveals Himself through scripture and through one another by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Who is it for?

Based on my experience, readiness looks different for different people, but it might feel like desperation, hunger, hope, fear, or longing.

You can be a plumber, pastor, president, or grocery clerk. None of us is authorities. Here, the ground is level.

Possible reasons to join are:

• You’re stressed, depressed, and distressed about all that that’s happening in the world and no amount of prayer and meditation is quelling your fear.

• You can’t stop doing that thing, whether that thing is gossip or grand theft.

• You can’t let go of that person place or thing that's killing you.

• You’re plagued with problems, and you can’t discern if the root is an evil army formed against you or plain old consequences. (Discipline and discipling are not mutually exclusive).

• You need a miracle.

• You're plagued with nameless and ceaseless anxiety.

• You're disillusioned with leaders of all kinds.

• Something’s wrong and you don’t know what and you think God might help.

• You can’t stand Christians or you can’t stand yourself.

• You can’t stand humanity including your own.

• You’re sincerely seeking spiritual truth.

• You're exhausted by efforts to be good.

• You’ve been burned or burned out by church.

• You’re in recovery, but it’s just not enough.

• You’re lonely and longing in a way you cannot say—even in a crowded room.

• You’re asking yourself, "why am I still struggling so much after all this time?"

• You’re a lifelong Christian, but haven’t experienced that transformation and closeness people talk about.

• You’ve wondered if this Jesus is the real deal but don’t want to go to church.

• Your life feels like a house of cards or actually is.

• You feel spiritually superior, but know deep down, you absolutely are not.

• You’ve been fighting an unseen force from the cradle onward and wonder why.

• You’ve made a mess of things and are positive you can’t fix it.

  
  

I have checked all these boxes at one point or another. Even now.

We are in this together.

Who this is not for

The Daily Way is probably not for you if:

• You have it all together and are living a blissfully peaceful life.

• You already have all the answers.

• You are not willing to be honest with yourself and others. That’s just a fact. In fact, it could do you more harm than good because picking a scab without healing what makes you… and others… bleed.

The Commitment

The commitment is simple (not easy) 21 days of;

1. Honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.

2. Working through the Daily Way Guide to Spiritual Transformation together.

3. Daily (or nearly daily) one-hour Christ-centered Zoom meetings where we’ll pray, read a gospel, listen, meditate, and share our hearts, as equals… anonymously (first name only). No credentials, last names, or even locations, but I ask that we all be on camera.

4. Offering honest feedback on the format, the meetings, the guide, and the process. You will help shape this.

5. Open mindedness means that we leave our denominations or other religions at the door. Christ is Alpha.

Benefits

Of course, the primary thing we’re after is a life-changing encounter with the living God. But there are other perks.

• Lifetime free access to a growing library of 300+ blogs, ecumenical Christian and recovery-focused inserts, 10-minute teachings distilled from some of history’s wisest spiritual and therapeutic voices, and one-minute daily practices to help keep you anchored in Christ.

• A safe, low-pressure small group where you can explore Jesus and wrestle honestly with life’s hardest questions while maintaining a high degree of privacy.

• Meaningful community with like-minded people committed to healing, growth, and encouraging one another.

• The opportunity to help shape what could become something far bigger than any one of us.

Of course, my greatest hope and prayer is that we will encounter Jesus in a fresh new way and receive miraculous spiritual, physical, and emotional healings. The kind of healing some of us have been chasing for years—even if the healing comes simply in the form of truly accepting where we are and trusting God with it all.

I believe we can because I have experienced and witnessed this miraculous transformation many times over a lifetime, I know it’s possible. Centuries of firsthand testimonies prove it to be true people completely delivered from broken hearts, broken relationships, misguided attachments, addictions, and disease.

Just. Like. That.

Jesus says just just when things seem at their worst, He'll pour out His spirit and work wonders we cannot imagine. Not years of therapy. Not strenuous self-improvement. Not the right pharmaceutical regimen. Not a better job boyfriend, home, or president for that matter. Just realignment with the Creator of the Universe.

Next steps:

If you’re interested, please write me at isabella@thedailyway,org and tell me why. I'll then share the draft guide and group guidelines and commitment so you can make a truly informed decision.

Inquire by:  July 17

Prayerful selections sent by: July 22–24

Pilot Journey begins:    July 27

I am really, really looking forward to walking this journey with you.

Either way: in the short term, you can explore the website and follow The Daily Way on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or X.

Over the coming weeks, we'll post regularly, but the level of interaction may be limited due to our 21-day trip to transformation. God willing, we'll have stories to share and make meetings and the guide more broadly available thereafter.

By the Way

Today I celebrate 25 years walking the Way. A Christian recovery jubilee.

What better way to celebrate?

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood, may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

— Hebrews 13:20–21 (NLT)

Love,

.