Spiritual Growth – Peter Gowesky

How to Overcome Burnout and Find True Rest in Jesus

July 7, 2025 No Comments

There’s really nothing worse than a dried-out brisket. You can smother it in BBQ sauce all you want, but once it’s tough and overcooked, there’s no going back. Unfortunately, a lot of us live our lives the same way—overcooked, overextended, and bone dry.

I passed out saltine crackers during church this week—yes, really. They were a simple but sobering illustration. Saltines are dry, bland, and they soak up every bit of moisture in your mouth. Kind of like the way life can soak up your energy and joy. Between work deadlines, kids’ schedules, social media, financial pressure, and keeping up appearances… it adds up fast.

And even though your calendar is full, your soul can feel empty.

Maybe you’ve asked yourself, “Is this it? Is this the life God meant for me?”

You’re not alone. Many of us are weary, worn out, and desperately trying to do more, be better, keep up.

But what if life isn’t about trying harder?

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… you will find rest for your souls.”

That’s not just physical rest. It’s rest from striving. Rest from pretending. Rest from the pressure to prove your worth. Jesus doesn’t hand out more rules—He gives us Himself.

He gives us the Holy Spirit.

In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul unpacks what it means to walk by the Spirit instead of the flesh. When we rely on our own strength, we default to anger, jealousy, selfishness, and burnout. But when we stay connected to Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to produce something else entirely:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

That’s not behavior modification. That’s heart transformation.

Here’s the truth:

Real fruit doesn’t come from trying harder—it comes from staying connected to Jesus.

Anyone can fake behavior. But you can’t fake the fruit of the Spirit. It shows up in your responses, your relationships, and your daily rhythms.

I learned this the hard way. Years ago, I carried around a hidden anger that I tried to mask behind a smile and a “pastor voice.” But eventually I broke. And when I did, God didn’t scold me—He met me. The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but it started with surrender.

The invitation still stands today:

Jesus is calling you out of burnout and into rest.

Out of performance and into presence.

Out of dryness and into fullness.

So how do you begin?

Start here: each morning, before your feet hit the ground, simply pray:

“Holy Spirit, lead me today.”

Let your life sync up to heaven’s heartbeat. You’ll be amazed what starts to grow.

In Leadership & Calling

The Strength in the Same: Why Self-Leadership Is Built in the Mundane

May 15, 2025 No Comments

We want the results, but rarely the routine.

We admire the strength in others, but often avoid the path it took to get there.

But here’s the truth: you don’t build resilience in front of a crowd. You build it in the quiet, hidden spaces of discipline and repetition.

There’s a kind of glory in the grind—an unseen strength that forms not in sprints, but in the slow, daily rhythm of showing up again.

This is self-leadership: doing the hard, holy work when no one’s watching.

Greatness Starts in the Mundane

You won’t always feel like reading your Bible, taking care of your body, showing up early, or having that hard conversation. But the disciplined life is the developed life.

J. Oswald Sanders puts it this way in Spiritual Leadership:

“The emerging leader eats right, stands tall, and prepares himself to wage spiritual warfare. He will without reluctance undertake the unpleasant tasks that others avoid or the hidden duty that others evade because it wins no public applause.”

That’s the kind of leader the world is desperate for—someone who embraces the mundane because they know what it builds.

Proverbs Wisdom: Discipline Pays Off

The Bible is full of wisdom on this topic. It doesn’t glorify the hustle for applause—it lifts up diligence and daily faithfulness:

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

Proverbs 21:5 NIV

And again:

“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.”

Proverbs 20:13 NIV

These verses don’t just talk about work ethic—they describe an internal posture. A kind of spiritual readiness that’s formed when we say yes to the same faithful steps, over and over.

Don’t Despise the Daily

You won’t always get immediate results. Sometimes all you get is sore muscles, quiet mornings, and another day of “nothing big.” But what’s happening underneath is everything.

Muscle is forming.

Character is being shaped.

Trust is being built.

You are becoming the kind of person who can be trusted with more.

Self-leadership begins before anyone else calls you a leader. It starts with your alarm clock, your attitude, your private obedience. So today, don’t rush past the mundane. Lean into it. Get up. Do the thing again. And again. And again.

It won’t feel like success. But it will build the strength to carry it.

What’s one mundane routine you’ve been tempted to skip lately? Drop it in the comments or share this post with someone who needs to be reminded that the small things matter.

In Mental & Emotional Health

Sweet Like Honey: The Power of Gracious Words

May 14, 2025 No Comments

There’s not much in this world I enjoy more than a good spoonful of honey on some yogurt. It’s nature’s perfect food—rich, sweet, and somehow still pure. It doesn’t spoil. It doesn’t rot. It never goes bad. In fact, honey has been found in ancient tombs—still good. That’s wild!

The Bible actually uses honey as a metaphor more than once, but one of my favorite verses is Proverbs 16:24:

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (NIV)

Let that sit with you for a second. Sweet to the soul. Healing to the bones. That’s the power of a kind word.

Think back—has someone ever spoken something over your life that stuck with you? Maybe it was a parent who told you they were proud of you, a coach who believed in you, or a friend who reminded you that you’re not alone. Those words don’t disappear after they’re spoken. They settle deep into your soul. They fuel you on hard days. They come to mind when you need a reason to keep going.

That’s the gift of gracious words.

And let’s be honest—those words aren’t just nice. They’re healing. They’re good for your mental health. They restore your sense of worth. They breathe life when the world feels heavy. That’s what Scripture is getting at here.

But here’s the flip side. We can’t just sit around waiting to receive gracious words—we’ve got to give them too. If your words were a condiment, what would they be—honey or hot sauce? One soothes, the other stings. One brings comfort, the other can cause a firestorm.

Here’s the truth:

Our words are never neutral.

They either build someone up or break someone down. They either leave a sweet taste or a bitter aftershock.

And in a world that often rewards sarcasm, gossip, or the perfectly timed come-back, gracious speech is more than countercultural—it’s spiritual.

So here’s the challenge:

Speak life today.
Call out the gold in someone.
Be intentional with your tone and your text messages.
Encourage the coworker, the spouse, the child, the barista—whoever’s in front of you.

Don’t underestimate the impact your words can have on someone’s soul. What you say might just be the exact thing they needed to hear.

In Spiritual Growth

The Beauty of Growth: Why Twisted Paths Still Lead Somewhere Good

April 29, 2025 2 Comments

Every day I either drive or walk by an enormous oak tree outside my neighborhood. Its limbs don’t reach straight up to the sky. Years of growth have twisted them, and countless hurricanes have forced them to struggle just to stay connected. I imagine the journey for this tree was not what it expected when it first shot up out of the ground.

And yet, here it is.

Strong. Sturdy. Still standing.

Its twisted and stretched-out limbs now provide even greater shade—covering more ground than it ever would have if it grew straight and narrow.

That tree reminds me of the personal growth journey we all take. It’s rarely linear, and almost never easy. The winds of change, the storms of life, the moments that shake us to the core—those are the things that shape us.

Many years ago, I started writing down my thoughts on a blog originally called theSaltLick.tv. Instead of deleting those old posts, I’ve decided to leave them right where they are—as markers of my journey from where I started to where I am today.

Here’s what that means:

There may be posts I wrote that aren’t fully formed yet.

Thoughts that reflect the life experience and knowledge I had at the time.

There are probably even a few posts that I’d be embarrassed to write today. And yes, maybe some that overshare just a little… (and now you’ll go back and read them, won’t you?).

But those posts are part of my faith journey.

Just like the twisted limbs of that old oak tree.

They reflect my spiritual growth—not always pretty, but rooted deeply and reaching out further than I thought possible.

That’s how it is with growth through adversity. The lessons you learn along the way become the very things that expand your reach and deepen your roots.

So let me ask you a question:

What part of your life looks different today because of your yesterdays?

Pause for a second and think about it.

You may not be where you wanted to be, thought you’d be, or dreamed you’d be. But if you look honestly—you’re probably not where you used to be either.

That’s resilience.

That’s personal growth.

That’s grace.

So keep leaning in.

Keep growing.

Keep writing, showing up, trusting, and walking it out.

One day, you’ll look back—and just like the old oak—you’ll see that every twist, every bend, and every storm helped shape something stronger than you ever imagined.

In Spiritual Growth

Celebrating Moments=Celebrating Life

May 2, 2014 No Comments

I’m a big fan of celebrating. I think that we need to celebrate more things, more often! Time has a funny way of ticking without stopping. It goes on and on and on. It never asks if you are ready for it to continue. (Nor does it ever ask if you would like it to speed up either!) Celebration causes you to focus intently on the object, achievement, or person that you are rejoicing over. Celebration begs you to sit and revel in the goodness of the moment. Celebration draws you into a posture of thankfulness. I love that about celebration.

Jennie Allen, writes in her book Restless, about the significance of our lives. She presses in on this issue by exploring the fact that there is something deep to the way that we spend our minutes and our days. “Because eventually, our minutes and days equal our lives.”

So true right? Sometimes when we get nostalgic, or overly serious, we start to think about and wonder what people will say about us at our funeral. The funny thing is that we have tons of control over that. I bet you don’t think that you do, but your minutes, your days, add up and equal your life.

What are you doing with this day, TODAY, that is worth celebrating?

It is easy to neglect your passion and calling, thinking that one day…
I will follow my dreams.
I will become disciplined when I need to be
I will finish writing my book
I will share the God inspired thoughts and encouragement
one day I will …
the list could go on and on.

We neglect these things because we think that one day is always at least a day, a week, or a month away from today. What if we started saying that today is the day that we will follow that dream, goal, or desire that God has put inside of you? What would it look like if right now, you stopped thinking that one day you will_____ and started thinking that today you did.

God has given you unique abilities and desires. He has placed you exactly where you are right now for a reason. Don’t waste another day waiting for ‘one day’. Today’s the day. Live in the dream, revel in the excitement, and chase it with ferocity!

What dream do you need to celebrate and start living out today?

~Peter

In Spiritual Growth

In Times of Crisis What Do You Do?

June 2, 2012 3 Comments

I wrote the following post back in May of 2008. I thought maybe we could revisit the topic… Let’s hear your thoughts…

Time Crunch Creates Crisis

What do you think about when life is difficult? What is the first thing that your mind does when crisis decides to pay you a visit? Do you jump into a panic? Do you loose sleep? Or maybe you are the complete opposite, maybe you hibernate to get away from it all. Endless tears? Continual anger? What is your response to crisis?

I’ve been reading a book called “The Man God Uses” by Henry and Tom Blackaby. It has been a great book so far. I am not all that far into the book. But I had to stop and think about this line of thought that they’ve got going on here. Check this.

“Character is not shaped by crisis; it is revealed in crisis. When crises occur, you can discover more about yourself as you listen to the words that come out of your mouth, as you see what actions you take, and as you monitor your attitude and evaluate how Christlike it is.”

WHEW. Better tighten your belt a few notches.

How does that resonate with you? How have you dealt with crisis lately? Have the words that come from your mouth and the actions that you take, and the attitude that you display all been more like Christ, or more like man?

Please don’t make me answer. I’m sure we won’t be happy with the answer! At least, I’m not.

But here’s the great news. You and I are just works in progress. Romans 5:20 reminds us that “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” Right now you have the opportunity to turn this crisis that you are experiencing right now into a tool that molds you and makes you more like Christ.

Maybe crisis or difficult times will never be fun. That’s probably true. However, on the flip side, every crisis I have gone through, God has been there with me the whole time. He has been faithful as the day is long and even longer. So, I guess we need to think a little before we throw our hands up in anger, or go hibernate till the storm is over. I guess there is a lot to be learned.

What do you think? How do you respond in times of Crisis?

~Peter

In Spiritual Growth

Scraped Knees= Shepherding Opportunities

May 29, 2012 No Comments

My kids have fallen down- many times. In fact it happened recently. Noah fell and scraped up his elbow pretty badly. When we were trying to bandage it up he said, “IT BURNS LIKE LAVA!” Ah to have the mind of a six year old again…

My kids have made mistakes. They have written on walls, gotten pen on the couch, spilled milk, disobeyed, talked back, and been obstinate. They have found that there is a whole lot of life that they want to explore and boundaries that they want to push.

These are the times as parents that are incredibly hard, right? When your kid is in pain, pain so bad that it can only be likened to “burning like fire”, you want to take that away for them. You wish that you could bear the pain on their behalf so that they didn’t have to feel it. When I watch one of my kids fall, my whole body cringes, not because I am hurting, but because I know that they will be.

It is hard as a parent to watch and experience your children disobey, make poor decisions, and mistakes. If you don’t believe me ask any parent of a teenager, they will tell you it is hard!

These are the moments when parenting is tough.

It is in these moments that parents have to step in and show their children that their is a better way. There is a safer way to get from one side of the pool to the other than by running. There is a reason why we don’t color with markers on the couch. There is a reason why we eat over our plates. All of this is for a reason.

When our children disobey, as parents we have to have the difficult discussion about why obedience is important. We have to discuss why attitude is everything. We have to talk about forgiveness. We must teach our kids how to say sorry. All of these things are important to teach lovingly and graciously to our children.

In the book of Ezekiel, God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel and tells his people that they haven’t been shepherding, or taking care of His people. God reveals the condition of the shepherds heart as well as the condition of the flock. Neither one is doing very well.

You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the disease you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.

~Ezekiel 34:3-5

God speaks through Ezekiel and is trying to get the attention of those who are taking care of God’s flock, or God’s people. This passage is challenging to me both as a parent and as a pastor. It makes me ask the question, am I caring for the people that God has entrusted to me?

What about you? I don’t care if you are a pastor, or a parent. A father, or a friend. Are you lovingly guiding and caring for those that God has placed in your life? How do you help your kids, friends, etc… know that you care?

~Peter

In Spiritual Growth

Play the Background

May 23, 2012 5 Comments

Here’s a follow up to yesterday’s guest post. If you haven’t read that, go check it out and jump back here and get in on the conversation.

One of the albums that I enjoy listening to is “Rehab” by Lecrae. (You can purchase that here.) The whole album is great but, one of my favorite songs on the album is “Background”.

Check out his video for “Background”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsz6K4Wqv24]

It is lines like these that mess with my head…

It’s evident you run the show, so let me back down
You take the leading role, and I’ll play the background
I know I miss my cues, know I forget my lines
I’m sticking to your script, and I’m reading all your signs
I don’t need my name in lights, I don’t need a starring role
Why gain the whole wide world, If I’m just going lose my soul

I mean, for real… Why gain the world only to loose your soul along the way. This messes with my head because to many people think that kind of thinking is crazy! We know people who have sacrificed their family and their friends in order to step up another rung on the ladder. We know men who have lost their marriages because they believed the lie that other women were telling them. This may even be your story!

Lecrae throws it down in this song. I don’t care if you are a pastor, a youth pastor, a church secretary, a plumber, a CEO, or a line cook… God honors humility.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

~Proverbs 15:33

Can you say this with Lecrae: “Matter of fact, just take my pen, here, you create my rhymes”? That means setting aside your desires, your plans and your dreams in order to follow and live by God’s desires, plans, and dreams. That is setting down and surrendering the rights to your dreams. Wow! I wish that I could say that was true in my life all the time.

What is most challenging about being humble? Or maybe even a more difficult question is, Do you trust God enough to give him your dreams?

~Peter

In Spiritual Growth

Guest Post: Who’s Getting the Glory?

May 22, 2012 5 Comments

Recently, I read a quote that stopped me dead in my tracks. The quote said this:

Too often we ask God to glorify His name with ours.

After reading it, I went back and read it again, and again. I could not stop thinking about that quote. Then I read Psalm 115:1 which says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name goes ALL the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

Then I began thinking of all the times in my life where I was guilty of asking God to glorify His name with mine. I thought of the times when I have been teaching a group of teenagers about the truths of God’s word and I want them to tell me they liked my teaching. I thought of when I put together a worship service and I nearly expected people to compliment my creativity. I thought of when I’ve desired to go on mission trips to 3^rd world countries and make a difference, when deep down inside what I really wanted was for people back home to comment on my “boldness” and “willingness” to follow God. The list could go on and on. Sadly, I began to realize how often I’ve attempted to stick my name in the limelight. I realize that doing that casts a shadow on God’s glory.

Now, I have a feeling that I am not the only one that struggles with this. One of the reasons is because our culture is full of opportunities to capture some glory…

Sports companies like Nike, Reebok, and others are willing to pay professional athletes ridiculous amounts of money to promote their line of shoes, clothing, etc. In music/media we spend money on iTunes and other similar downloading programs which give a portion of the money to the writing artist and keep a portion for themselves. Our culture is obsessed with sharing dividends, or for lack of better terms-glory. Now, I want to clarify: I am not trying to criticize our culture’s way of promoting products for business. What I am saying is, that’s not the way that God works.

God clearly deserves ALL the glory in our lives. It is HE who has the power to save us not the other way around! But, instead of giving God all the glory, we have been mentally programmed to try and take some ourselves. The Church is not exempt, in fact, we must be very aware of this temptation because this mentality could easily rise up within the Church. When the people of God attempt to steal God’s glory it points others in the opposite direction of God.

Is this something you’ve struggled with? Unfortunately, I have. What areas of your life do you need to re-evaluate to make sure that God is getting ALL, not just some of the glory?

Crisman Koechig is the husband of his wife, Ashley. A student of Toccoa Falls College. And a Youth Pastor to his awesome students @ Family Worship Center in Indiantown, Florida.

In Spiritual Growth

The Grace and Truth Paradox

May 21, 2012 4 Comments

Here is an excerpt from the book, The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn.

Welsey Allan Dodd tortured, molested, and murdered three boys in Vancouver, Washington, fifteen miles from our home.

Dodd was scheduled to be hanged–the first U.S. hanging in three decades–shortly after midnight, January 4, 1993.

At dinner that evening, both our daughters, then eleven and thirteen, prayed earnestly that Dodd would repent and place his faith in Christ before he died. I agreed with their prayer…but only because I knew I should.

I stayed up and watched. Reporters from all over the country crowded around the prison. Twelve media representatives were firsthand witnesses to the execution. When they emerged thirty minutes after Dodd died, they recounted the experience.

One of them read Dodd’s last words: “I had thought there was no hope and no peace. I was wrong. I have found hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gasps and groans erupted from the gallery. The anger was palpable. ‘How dare someone who has done anything so terrible say he has found hope and peace in Jesus?’ Did he really think God would let him into heaven after what he’d done? ‘Shut up and go to hell, child killer–you won’t get off so easy!’

The idea of God’s offering grace to Dodd was utterly offensive.

And yet…didn’t Jesus die for Dodd’s sins just as He did for mine? No sin is bigger than the Savior. Grace is, literally, not of this world. I struggled with the idea of God saving Dodd only because I thought too much of myself and too little of my Lord.

I’d imagined the distance between Dodd and me as the difference between the South and North Poles. But when you consider God’s viewpoint from light-years away, that distance is negligible. In my standing before a holy God, apart from Christ… I am Dodd. I am Dahmer. I am Mao.

It is so easy to sit and judge other people. Someone recently said, it is easy for me to condemn the sins that I don’t struggle with. Too true right? It is easy to feel like I am better than everyone else because I don’t do what they do. Let’s take a step back. What does Jesus say? Check out Matthew 7:3-5

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

I am one of those people. I have become incredibly god at judging other people’s specks while wandering around with a nail in my own eye. This little book by Randy Alcorn, is well worth the read. Put this book on your amazon wish list.

For those of you who are recovering judge’s… It’s time to set the gavel down. Step down out of the bench and come alongside of those who suffer. Let’s stop throwing stones at one another and graciously help bring one another to the cross of Christ. It is at the cross where we can find forgiveness and grace.

Which is more difficult for you, telling truth or giving grace? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

~Peter