Welcome

Sometimes words just aren’t enough… There are times when my words fail me, where my words fall short of the worship I long to express to my God. The same holds true as I seek to communicate God’s message of grace, hope and love to others. Words alone do not suffice to explain the glory of God and his abundant, transforming love for his children. Psalm 103:1 in the Voice says: “O my soul, come, praise the Eternal
with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!”
Let all that I am ~ every part of who I am ~ praise the Lord!
—Jody Thomae, in God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You

When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment in Luke 10, he says to “Love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.” That is a love that is fully-embodied and whole-hearted! And I personally long to live a life like that!

Unfortunately, many of us scurry or slug our way through life, completely unaware of the state of our being and entirely disconnected from these temples we call bodies and these hearts that long for connection to God and others. Yet…

What would it look like to live a fully-embodied, whole-hearted life? 

In the Ancient Greek, καρδία (kardia) is translated “heart,” and in scripture, it is almost always used figuratively. It means the seat and center of all physical and spiritual life, and according to the Thayer Greek Lexicon, it is “the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors.” Note it is physical and spiritual… together… as one. Its meaning holds a sense of the whole person—mind, body, heart, soul, spirit.

Welcome to Rooted & Reaching where together we seek to live fully-embodied, whole-hearted lives that are:

ROOTED in Christ’s love
           & REACHING out to others in loveSimplified Logo_Horizontal_no tag_web

About Jody…

With over 25 years of experience in in both ministry and body-oriented work, Jody Thomae began combining faith and fitness together in 2013. She is an embodied spiritual director; yoga therapist; worship leader; teacher of embodied prayer, creative worship and spirituality; and the author of:

Her passion is to portray the message of Christ’s desperate and unfailing love for His people to help sustain the hearts of the broken and weary. She is particularly interested in the reclamation of the body in the healing of trauma and other wounding events. As a Certified Spiritual Director she is a part of the teaching faculty with Healing Care Ministries, teaching about embodiment and creativity in the spiritual life. She is a graduate of Ashland Theological Seminary and is currently doing doctoral work in spiritual formation & relational neuroscience at Western Theological Seminary. Her life verse is Isaiah 50:4.

Jody is a trauma-informed, certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and is a Relax and Renew® Certified Restorative Yoga Teacher. STUDENTS of ALL shapes, sizes and abilities are welcomed and encouraged to reach their BEaUtiful potential through the journey of creativity, worship and embodiment.

You can discover more about her writing and creative ministry at www.jodythomae.com. You can read more about her journey as a CHRISTian yogi here. She’d love to connect on Facebook, and please feel free to reach out to her at jodythomae@gmail.com.

Discover More…

Life Water

“Jody you are a very special young woman. You are doing very important work for our Father. You are an encouragement to my ministry.”

Becky

“Are you looking for ways to connect to God? Are you disconnected? Are there things you know God has asked you to let go of? Jody’s books walk you through connection, healing and worship. Don’t miss these gems.”

Shannon