My name is Heather Holba and as a Certified Spiritual Director, my ministry is all about helping others find God in their everyday moments, every day. I’m passionate about working with people who seek a deeper spiritual connection with their Creator. I love spending time in prayer and personally appreciate the benefits of a strong, varied and consistent prayer life. I am dedicated to exploring new ways to pray, and love helping people find their own personal prayer style that feels authentic and resonates with them. I experience a great joy and satisfaction from encouraging and enabling seekers to be in conversation with God.
My faith journey started at the very beginning of my life. I was blessed with a very close-knit family and am the oldest of 6 kids, the youngest of which is 18 years my junior. My parents created a strong foundation of faith and family on which I could grow, learn, and explore. I was fortunate to see the world as I grew up overseas and formed friendships with classmates from a beautifully diverse range of ethnicity, belief systems, and religions. From an early age my upbringing prepared me to listen to and embrace those with differing beliefs and traditions. My lifelong appreciation of symbolism and deeper meanings in music and literature is continually revealed in my spirituality through my love of hymns, Scripture, and prayers.
In 2008 I heard my calling as I silently walked a prayer labyrinth for the first time, but spent the next 2 years patiently searching for my direction. Life was never dull as I volunteered for as many church activities as I could realistically handle while working a part-time job, being a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband, and mother to two amazing young children who keep everything in perspective. I completed all levels of Disciple Bible Study then started facilitating them in addition to leading other faith based classes. In 2010 I began a journey through the Spiritual Direction program at the SMU Perkins School of Theology, and was certified as a Spiritual Director in 2012. Through my upbringing, my education, and parenthood I have discovered many things about myself.
In 2013 I was welcomed into the Be A Disciple community, where I was able to merge my passion for prayer with my commitment to helping people establish a deeper connection with God, and lead an on-line workshop At the Well: Meeting Jesus in Prayer. I designed this workshop for participants who were looking for a way to connect to God, but felt they just didn’t have the time. I focused on three ancient prayer methods, all of which have been adapted to a more modern lifestyle, allowing them to remain a regular part of anyone’s faith practice and prayer life long after the course’s completion. The online format was a perfect fit for the fast pace of modern day life, as it gave participants the option of working on it at the time of day that best fit their schedule. This further emphasized my belief that you don’t have to have hours of spare time to have a rich and powerful prayer life. While participants had the opportunity to go to God in prayer in solitude, they also were asked to share those experiences as a community. As a group we were all blessed by everyone’s participation and willingness to share some incredible and extremely personal moments. I know I grew spiritually as a result, and cannot wait to lead this workshop again in the spring.
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To learn more, or register for Heather’s workshop, go here.
Heather Holba is a Certified Spiritual Director, and an active member within the United Methodist Church. In addition to leading small group Bible studies on a regular basis, she has led classes on prayer and its many forms. She is passionate about working with individuals to create a strong spiritual life, while maintaining the responsibilities required of modern life. The importance of this (and the reality that it can be achieved) is something she has learned first-hand as a wife and a mother to two young children. She also recognizes the importance of working with other denominations and religions, and is always excited to learn about new or old traditions that others hold sacred.
Image: Otto Greiner Betende, Hände
Hello – could someone PLEASE PLEASE tell me who the John the Baptist & Jesus image is by? It is the post on Jan 13, 2014. I cannot find it anywhere!
Julie, we found the image in Wikimedia Commons – the author is not listed, but there is more information here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Michael_and_All_Angels,_Lansdowne_Drive,_London_Fields,_London_E8_-_Mural_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1133941.jpg