Getting to know Deborah Jackson.

My name is Deborah. I’m so glad you’re here.

Christian spirituality begins with God, depends on God, and ends in God. It is my privilege to share the discovery of His presence and activity in your life through spiritual direction.

I am an ordained minister, serving as the Operations Pastor at CIL church in Hendersonville, TN. I hold a Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My training in Spiritual Direction is through the 2-year certification program offered by The Institute of Christian Spirituality at Lipscomb University.

I do love books.

There are hundreds on my Kindle, the shelves of my office at work are full, and I usually have a different one in each room that I’m reading. A lot of my reading is studying, but my go-to genre for fun is a good murder mystery - Kinsey Milhone (anyone else a Sue Grafton fan?) has been my best friend for years - or a spy novel (I secretly dream of being in the CIA).
Oh, the photograph is about 20 years old and is me, my grandmother, and my daughter. This is one of the things I’d grab if the house was on fire.

“ All your love, your stretching out, your hope, your thirst, God is creating in you so that [God] may fill you…God is on the inside of the longing.”

— Maria Boulding

I keep my passport close by.

I love to travel and that little blue book represents all the possibilities in the world: fascinating people to meet, new foods to taste, the sound of languages that are new to my ears, music and dances that show a new way to move, another way to celebrate. There are moments, brief glimpses into life in that new-to-me place that’s just home to someone else.

This was one of those moments. On a little side street in Venice, Italy, away from the areas where tourists gather, I came across this little guy standing in front of a shop window display of toy metal cars. He was captivated, moving so close to the window his nose almost touched it then backing away for a different perspective.

With the rise of a memory I’m there again. That’s what I love about travel - the experience is always there to relive, it’s become part of who I am and I can always go back, even as I sit in my little corner of the world.