Practical Spirituality Finding the Holy in Your Everyday Read Time: 2 Mintues When I left church, I understood how much of my spiritual identity was bound to what I did for the church. All of a sudden, my phone was silent, and my projects dwindled, leaving me with big life questions that seemed to have ... Read More

Living on the Edge of Life The Silent Sacrifices of the Selfless Read Time: 3:30 minutes Trigger warning: Grief and Loss As I sat and watched the images scroll by, this phrase came to mind. The stream of pictures was compiled by siblings to honor a mother who had lived a full life and a ... Read More

Authentic Gratitude 10 Ways for Gratitude to Meet Us Right Where We Are Read time: 9 min | November 21st, 2023 "In all things, give thanks…" Those words are found in the apostle Paul's closing to the people of Thessalonica. The commercialization of this phrase has prompted its placement on everything from coffee mugs to ... Read More

Diverse Spiritual Paths and Navigating Post-Deconstruction Challenges Read Time: 2 Mintues In this week's blog, Rev Karla answers your questions regarding Jesus' return, navigating your deconstruction journey and her thoughts on the afterlife. This is part #9 Q&A podcast/blog series addressing thought-provoking questions, offering her insight and perspective to encourage self-reflection and a deeper understanding ... Read More

Whose Land Do You Stand Upon? 8 Ways to Blend Your Sacred Activism with Your Spirituality and Help Deconstruct Toxic Ideologies As a child, I loved the fall. It's still my favorite time of the year. Perhaps it is because it holds my birthday month, but I also love the holidays and the changing of ... Read More

Unraveling Fear-Based Theology, Navigating Spiritual Identity, and Finding Community Amidst Deconstructing from Religion Read Time: 6 minutes In today's blog, Rev Karla explores several questions related to the themes of religious indoctrination, deconstruction, and the struggle to find personal spiritual identity amidst societal and cultural expectations. This part #8 Q&A podcast/blog series continues as Rev ... Read More

You Disgust Me Seven Ways Women Disparage Other Women and Seven Ways to Respond to Their Internalized Misogyny Facebook can be a hostile place. You probably are already aware of that. No doubt you've experienced the wrath of your neighbor down the street who you thought was "nice." That is until you posted something innocuous ... Read More

Understanding Atheism, the Essence of Forgiveness, and Secular Recovery In this special part #7 Q&A podcast series, I answer three thought-provoking questions you've sent my way. Feelings About Atheism Question #1: "How do you feel about atheism?"  Let's start by deconstructing the construct of this question. The notion of asking how one "feels" about atheism ... Read More

Reclaiming Your Spirituality | A Journey of Healing and Connection Who am I if I am not a Christian? Where do I go if I don't go to church? Why do I feel spiritually void and disconnected without my religious identity? These questions may resonate deeply with you if you have recently deconstructed from your ... Read More

When Time Is All That Is Left | 5 Ways to Live in Gratitude She was sitting in her wheelchair when I came through the door of the nursing home.   Strategically placed a few feet from the front door with just enough room to ensure the swinging door missed her as visitors came and ... Read More

Exploring Spiritual Beliefs, LGBTQIA+ Inclusion, and Challenging Toxic Beliefs In this Part #6 special Q&A blog series, Rev Karla answers compelling questions from her audience. Read below to learn more about each topic Rev Karla will be discussing this week:  Beliefs About God and Jesus Question #1: "I have a question for you. Tell me ... Read More

Lead With Love Ten Ways to Lead and Live a Life Guided by Love "I just want to lead with love." When he made that comment, I knew that someday his words would become a blog. I had the honor of recently being interviewed by Jalon Johnson for his podcast "Not Your Ordinary Parts."    ... Read More

Spirituality Light? How About Spirituality Done Right?! 5 Reasons Spiritual but Not Religious is a Sacred Path Church shoppers. Cherry pickers. Never had faith. Never were "real" Christians. Never loved Jesus. The church is better off without them. Their hearts have turned away from God.   Anyone else have anything to add to this list? ... Read More

Authentic Gratitude vs. Toxic Positivity | The Spiritual Perspective Dear Spiritual Seekers,   In today's journey of exploration, we are diving into the often-misunderstood concept of gratitude-specifically, the stark difference between authentic gratitude and toxic positivity. The intention behind this teaching is to illuminate the true essence of gratitude and to challenge the false narratives ... Read More

Challenging Norms and Embracing Mystery In Part #5 of this special podcast episode of Spirituality Matters, Rev Karla explores a range of topics including temptation, gender fluidity, and whether she is still a believer. Read below to find out more about each question she will be answering:  Hell, Satan, and Temptation: Rev Karla addresses the ... Read More

Cultivating Personal Spirituality A Comprehensive Guide to Grounded Living Greetings, Beautiful Souls,   In our whirlwind lives, we often overlook an innate desire within us: the quest for spiritual connection. Our spiritual journey is a deeply personal voyage, one that requires consistent nurturing and self-discovery. Today, I invite you to join me as we explore ... Read More

You are a Life Force to Be Reckoned With Embracing Exile and Finding Sacredness in Everyday Moments As I write this, I'm living in exile. A bit overly dramatic for sure, given that exile is the cutest, tiniest apartment in a quiet part of downtown where I enjoy walks on sidewalks lined with neighborhood grocery ... Read More

The Labyrinth of Self-Reflection | Unraveling the Threads of Traditional Religion Beloved, Have you ever found yourself entranced by the intricate designs of a labyrinth? Its winding pathways, looping back and forth, seem to hold a world of mysteries, a realm of possibilities. Just like this labyrinth, the journey of self-reflection and spirituality unfolds, moving ... Read More

Exploring Challenging Questions: Mission Trips, Personal Values, and Beyond In Part #4 of this blog episode of Spirituality Matters, Rev Karla will explore topics ranging from mission trips to personal values, and even the concept of hell. In this special episode Rev Karla discusses: Questioning the Effectiveness of Mission Trips: One of the questions posed ... Read More

The Small Moments Matter Uncovering the Sacredness of Small Moments. Spirituality, Humanity, and the Alabama Beach Mouse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say with confidence that you have no idea who Dr. David Davis is. At least, not the Dr. David Davis who can be credited for ensuring that the ... Read More

Challenging Toxic Theology and Navigating Spirituality Each month we receive hundreds of lovely messages and questions from our community. During this special Q&A blog and episode of Spirituality Matters, Rev Karla will take the opportunity to answer some of these heartfelt questions and comments a couple times each month. We hope you enjoy this new ... Read More

The Road to Hell | Finding Freedom Beyond Religion: The Journey From Fear to Liberation I'm to create a bridge from the phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" to the practice of being spiritual but not religious.   No one told me I had to do that. It's just one of ... Read More

The World Needs the Miraculous, Fragile, Scarred, Resilient You Gold Is Malleable, Stronger with Iron 24K gold-so pure that it is often used in high-end jewelry, in religious objects, in decorative art and luxury watches. To the person with the trained eye, they can easily tell by the deep, rich yellow tones if the object ... Read More

Exploring rituals and integrating spirituality into our daily life. Each month we receive hundreds of lovely messages and questions from our community. During this special Q&A blog and episode of Spirituality Matters, Rev Karla will take the opportunity to answer some of these heartfelt questions and comments a couple times each month. We hope you ... Read More

Christians - Stop Calling Yourself Pro-Life Unveiling the Truth: The Real Debate Between Pro-Birth and Pro-Life People pretend the debate is about pro-life versus pro-choice, but it isn't. The debate is pro-birth versus pro-life, with being pro-life being more aligned with the values of those who are pro-choice.   Why?   Christians who call themselves ... Read More

Understanding the Difference and Impacts of Deconstructing Christianity During this Q&A episode of Spirituality Matters with Rev Karla, she dives into important topics on the intersection of spirituality and humanity. She answers questions that many individuals face during their spiritual journeys, such as the distinction between deconstructing Christianity and completely rejecting it, the impact of ... Read More

If God Is One of Us, Then God Is Gay I'm just going to come right out and say it.   There is nothing more fragile than a former believer who never extracted themselves from the ideologies of their religious heritage.   That extraction process is now known as deconstruction. It's a relatively new term. ... Read More

Dear Me... | A Journey of Spiritual Transformation through Music and Reflection I drove hours to see her.    She didn't perform traditional concerts like the other contemporary Christian rock stars did, preferring the small, intimate venues where she could control the atmosphere.    And what an atmosphere she created. There was no pre-concert warm ... Read More

It Didn't Have to Be This Way Understanding the Pain of the World and the Urgency to Take Action Against Patriarchy "Feeling the pain of the world all of the time is so heavy." I wrote that years ago in a journal. It was a futile attempt to describe how images of children starving, animals ... Read More

A Gentle Day and a Loving Memory | When Sorrow Comes It's been a while since I've written about sorrow, but it arrived today in the form of a reminder on my calendar.   A member of my team whose mother died several years ago. This week was her mother's birthday. Knowing how hollow those ... Read More