Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

What if love was the truest measure of who we are—not our achievements or titles, but the way we love and are loved? In today’s episode, we’re diving into this profound question through the lens of Thomas Merton, a contemplative writer whose reflections on love invite us into a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be “real.” Merton wrote that love is what breathes life into us, a force that, when shared, grows and fills the world. As we uncover his insights, we’ll explore how this love transforms us, forging a connection not only to each other but also to the heart of God.

Drawing from Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation, we explore his belief that God’s love flows uniquely through each of us, creating a beautiful mosaic of divine presence. “Because God’s love is in me, it can come to you from a different and special direction… And because it is in both of us, God has greater glory.” In this vision, love becomes a profound and personal exchange, as the divine presence moves through us, offering something precious to one another that no one else can replicate.

Join us as we reflect on this life-giving love that makes us real, opening us to both a unique connection with each other and to a fuller experience of God’s glory.

Links

• New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
• From Head Knowledge to Heart Knowledge (UL Podcast episode)

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In this episode, we’re tackling the problem of restless dissatisfaction and how the pursuit of contentment can offer a way forward. For many of us, there’s an underlying sense that something in life—who we are, what we have, or where we’re headed—should be different. The constant pull of “what if” and “if only” can leave us feeling ungrounded and yearning for a sense of fulfillment that always seems just out of reach. As I looked back on my journal entries this year, I noticed contentment as a recurring theme in my conversations with God and with my spiritual director, reminding me of the peace and satisfaction that comes with learning to be present in the here and now.

Drawing from my own journey and insights from Brian Zahnd’s The Wood Between the Worlds, I’ll share practical reflections on how shifting our mindset toward contentment can bring new clarity and peace. This isn’t just about settling—it’s about recognizing how an inner posture of contentment can transform our experience, even when circumstances remain the same. Whether you’re a “Frustrated Idealist” in the Enneagram triad (Types One, Four, and Seven) or simply someone who finds themselves often seeking more, join me as we explore the ways contentment can anchor us in purpose, grace, and genuine satisfaction.

Links:

• The Wood Between the Worlds by Brian Zahnd
• The Journey Toward Wholeness by Suzanne Stabile
• The Benefits of Looking Back podcast episode

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The problem of burnout among Christian leaders has become an epidemic in recent years. I’ve seen Christian leaders taking emergency sabbaticals more often than at any other point in my 40 years of ministry. The souls of many Christian leaders are in trouble.

• How do you care for your soul?
• How would that help address the weariness and overwhelm many are experiencing?

I’ll be talking about soul care with our guest today, Mindy Caliguire, on the Unhurried Living podcast.

Mindy Caliguire is the co-founder and president of Soul Care. In the past, she has served in executive leadership at Gloo, and the Willow Creek Association (now the Global Leadership Network). She speaks into and advises organizations including Compassion International, ECFA, National Christian Foundation, and many churches and ministries across the US and beyond. Mindy’s books include:

• Discovering Soul Care
• Spiritual Friendship
• STIR
• The book we’re talking about today, Ignite Your Soul.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Adoption is often framed by happy narratives, but the reality is that many adoptees struggle with unaddressed trauma and issues of identity and belonging. Adoptees often spend the majority of their youth without the language to explore the grief related to adoption or the permission to legitimize their conflicting emotions.

Today, Gem is speaking with counselor and author Cameron Lee Small about his new book, The Adoptee’s Journey. 

You might be wondering what adoption has to do with spiritual leadership. Well, here at UL, we care very much about people and their stories. And this story is very personal to me in that I am an adoptee.

Gem is also sharing her own journey as an adoptee and giving you real time insight into my current personal process. She shares things that she's never spoken in a public setting. 

Learn more about adoption and Cameron's story:

• Adoptee Consciousness Model
• Harlow's Monkey // JaeRan Kim
• Grace Newton // Trauma and Healing of Consciousness
• Adoptive Parenting Consultation Group hosted by Cam
• Schedule Cam to speak and train at your next event
• TEDx Talk - Why Adoptee's Need a New Kind of Village
• Cam's main website

Connect with Cameron on Social media:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camleesmall/
  Instagram: @therapyredeemed
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therapyredeemed

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Thirty years ago, I was visiting one of my very favorite sorts of places—a bookstore. It was a Barnes & Noble in Pasadena, California, and I was browsing through the Faith section of books. There I saw a book by an author I’d heard of but never read. The author was Thomas Merton, and the title was New Seeds of Contemplation. 

It was Fall 1994 when I picked up a copy of Thomas Merton’s book New Seeds of Contemplation. I was a college pastor in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, and I’d been on a spiritual formation journey for a few years by then. 

Today, I’m sharing from my journal entries in that season as I read the book. The first chapter posed a question I was asking at the time: “What is contemplation?” There weren’t many of my colleagues who were using that sort of language about their spiritual lives, but I was finding it increasingly inviting in my own life with God. 

One of Merton’s insights that spoke me then was that, “In contemplation...we know by `unknowing." 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“Your identity is a gift to be received, not a paycheck to be earned.” I love this profound insight that echoes throughout Alan’s writings. They resonate with a truth we often overlook. They capture the essence of grace—a grace that defines our existence not by what we achieve, but by who we are as God’s beloved.

Our lives are gifts and yet how often do we find ourselves caught in the trap of earning mode? We measure our worth by what we do, by how much we accomplish, and by the approval we receive from others. This striving can become exhausting, leaving us empty and disconnected from the truth that our identity is not something to be earned but something to be received and embraced.

Gem offers a 3 ideas to help you embrace your belovedness as you learn that your productivity is NOT tied to your worth.

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The parables are perhaps the most potent expression of the message of Jesus. Parables were one of his key teaching strategies. But even his inner circle struggled to understand what he was saying. 

Today, I’ll be sharing a review of a new book from Dallas Willard on the parables titled The Scandal of the Kingdom.  

Through insightful analysis and practical wisdom, Willard empowers readers to transform their lives and communities by embodying the radical love, compassion, and justice exemplified in Jesus's parables. This book is a beacon of hope for Christians seeking to deepen their faith and live more authentically in accordance with the teachings of Christ. Willard empowers us to:

• Become more passionate about living the gospel in the full scope of Jesus's vision for us
• Better share the faith of Jesus with those disillusioned with Christianity
• Unlock the excitement of living in the upside-down kingdom of God
• Share the gospel of Jesus in the way he did

Content of additional interest:

• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Here’s a sobering idea: It is impossible to know and understand 100% of a situation. Now, I know that may sound a bit jarring for some of us. Personally, I like to believe I always have a handle on exactly what’s going on. I’m a master mind-reader, and an excellent future-predictor—or at least I’d like to think so! Of course, I’m speaking tongue-in-cheek here.

In truth, I don’t know the future and no one has complete knowledge of any situation. Once I settle into that reality, something beautiful begins to happen: curiosity emerges. And curiosity leads me to ask better questions, which broadens my perspective and deepens my understanding.

The small phrase "I Wonder..." is the core of what we're talking about today.

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Growing in grace is not about thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. If you’ve ever felt like you’re struggling to grow or that life’s challenges keep setting you back, you’re not alone. The journey toward spiritual maturity is rarely straightforward, and it’s easy to feel like we’re not progressing the way we should. We live in a culture that craves quick fixes and instant results, but real growth takes time, intention, and grace.  

Today, we’re diving into what it means to grow in grace, why it’s so difficult, and how embracing our weaknesses can draw us closer to God’s generosity and strength. That’s our focus today on the Unhurried Living podcast.

References in the podcast:

• Eugene Peterson - On Living Well
• Alan Fadling - An Unhurried Life
• Teresa of Avila - The Interior Castle
• Thomas H. Green - Darkness in the Marketplace

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Jodi Grubbs fell headlong into the endless rush and exhaustion of hustle culture. After leaving her childhood home on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, she had assumed the rapid pace and stress of city living in the States. Soon she realized God was bidding her to a return to the "island time" of her past.

In time Jodi found sanctuary and ways to care for her soul by making space for God, others, and herself. Evoking the contentment she once had in the gentle rhythms of Bonaire, she learned of another path: a path away from burnout and toward restoration. And she invites you, too, to grasp a sustainable approach to life anchored by the forced pauses of spiritual practices and an openhandedness before God. Begin to rest and let go of the need to keep up, as you learn to live slowly.

Jodi Grubbs is the podcast host of Our Island in the City and a slow-living advocate. She is the author of Live Slowly: A Gentle Invitation to Exhale, a children’s book, The Island Adventures of Lili and Oliver, and coauthor of a Bible study called The Friendship Café. Jodi her daughter, Lili, live outside Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, he invites into a narrow way—onto a narrow path. And narrow doesn’t immediate strike us as inviting. But Jesus also tells us that he’s come so that we could experience an abundant, rich life. That’s inviting. How does the narrow way of Jesus lead us to the sort of fullness he promises? 

In my first interview of the Fall season, I’m glad to be able to share a conversation I had with Rich Villodas a few months ago about his new book, The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls. I love that title. In it, he offers a vision of how following the way of Jesus is what we most deeply and truly want. 

Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading widely, preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related matters, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since 2006 and they have two beautiful children, Karis and Nathan.

Previous Unhurried Living Podcast interviews with Rich:

• The Deeply Formed Life

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Long gone are the days when I have the energy to put on any pretense when I talk with God. This has been a welcome and freeing change in my prayer life. 

At this point in my journey, it is much more life-giving to simply declare the way things are, rather than trying to tidy up my mess and present it in a nice, neat package.

If I’m mad, sad, joyous or frustrated, God already knows, and so I am free to express what is…and meet God right in the middle of it.

Unhurried Living Prayer Resoures:

• INVISO Prayer Reflection Cards
• Unhurried Time with God resource guide
• The Practice of Unhurried Prayer

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the summer, Gem and I are sharing some replays of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with two friends, Matt and Darrell, about the difference between “working for God” and “working with God.” It is among our most downloaded episodes. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the summer, we are offering some episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today I’m sharing my interview with Suzanne Stabile. When we aired it last time, it was only a snippet of our conversation. Well, today, you can listen to it in it’s entirety.

Most of us have no idea how others see or process their experiences. And that can make relationships difficult. Understanding the motivations and dynamics of our different personality types can be the key that unlocks sometimes mystifying behavior in others―and in ourselves. Suzanne Stabile’s book, The Path Between Us looks at the nine Enneagram types and how they behave and experience relationships. 

We all desire healthier relationships and Suzanne can help point the way.

Suzanne Stabile’s book, The Path Between Us looks at the nine Enneagram types and how they behave and experience relationships.  

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the summer, we are sharing some replays of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.”

Today I'm resharing an interview with Curt Thompson, MD about his book The Soul of Desire. I found so many intersections with what Gem and I have been learning in our journey towards wholeness and vitality in our life in God. In this book, Curt talks about the place of desire in our lives, how desire can sometimes get hijacked, but how desire can be a holy motive and energy that moves us toward the beautiful life of God he has always intended for us. 

Curt Thompson is a board-certified psychiatrist,  founder of Being Known, an organization that develops resources for hope and healing at the intersection of neuroscience and Christian spiritual formation, and host of Being Known Podcast. In addition to The Soul of Desire, he is also the author of The Soul of Shame and Anatomy of the Soul.

You can connect with Curt on social media on Instagram and Facebook.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the summer, we are sharing some replays of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today I’m talking about time, and whether we have enough of it.  It's a refreshed vision of time…one that doesn’t leave us feeling pressured.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In my book, An Unhurried Life, I wrote a chapter titled “Productivity: Unhurried Isn’t Lazy,” in part, to speak to our tendency to assume that productivity is always about doing more and more and more. But what if true productivity is, at least in part, about doing qualitatively better work, even if it seems less busy than before? 

There is a cultural bias for always staying busy. I’m sharing the last of three episodes about sources of hurry in our lives. In the first two, I talked about how anxiety and insecurity are significant contributors, motors, or even viruses for hurry in our lives. 

Today, I’ll talk about overwork as a third virus of hurry that is epidemic in our current context. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

If life were a house, then every room holds a story. What do we do when a room we’re in is no longer a room where we belong?

What do you do when you start to feel a shift and must decide if it’s time to make a change? When it comes to navigating big decisions about when to stay and go, how can we know for sure when the time is right? Though we enter and exit many rooms over the course of our life—jobs, relationships, communities, life stages—knowing how and when it’s time to leave is a decision that rarely has a clear answer.

My guest today, Emily P. Freeman, offers guidance to help us recognize when it’s time to move on from situations that no longer fit, allowing us to find new spaces where we can flourish and grow.

Emily P. Freeman is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of five books, including The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions. As a spiritual director, workshop leader, and host of The Next Right Thing podcast, her most important work is to help create soul space and offer spiritual companionship and discernment for anyone struggling with decision fatigue. Emily holds a master’s degree in spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

How do prayer and leadership relate to each other? Looking at the lives of some leaders, it seems like prayer is incidental to leadership at best. For others, it’s a personal priority that doesn’t seem to impact leadership in any obvious way. For still others, prayer is like an on-ramp, preparatory for the work of leadership but largely left behind when the leading begins. 

What does Christian leadership that is deeply rooted in a life of communion with God look like? I’ll be talking about this today with Peter Greer, one of the authors of Lead With Prayer. 

Peter Greer, is the president and CEO of HOPE International, a global Christ-centered economic development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Under Peter’s leadership, HOPE has expanded from working in two to over twenty countries and served over 2.5 million families. Prior to joining HOPE, Peter worked in Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda. He has co-authored 15 books, including Mission Drift, Rooting for Rivals, The Gift of Disillusionment, and The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I love watching travel and cooking shows, so if there’s a show that combines the two, I’m hooked. If you are familiar with the names Phil Rosenthal, Guy Fieri and Andrew Zimmern, then you know what I’m talking about. 

Traveling, eating tasty food, and meeting intriguing people is a combination my heart longs for. I’ve often mentioned to Alan that if I were to have an alternate universe job, I would be the host of Somebody Feed Phil (I guess Phil would have to find his own new job).

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In An Unhurried Leader, I shared that I’ve often been tempted to prove something about myself through the work I do. I behave as though my value is uncertain and needs to be earned or achieved. It isn’t and it doesn’t. To use a theological category, my worth is more a matter of grace rather than a matter of works.

That sort of insecurity has been a major driver of hurry in my life. I wonder if you identify. 

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Unhurried Living is now in its ninth year of serving Christian leaders around the world. We’ve come to some small inflection points in the past, but we are in the midst of another, important time in our ministry. We are adding to our team!

Today I am introducing you to Jodie Niznik and Matt Fogle. They are two stellar leaders who are going to link arms with Alan and me as we continue the work of training leaders to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. I can’t wait for you to meet them.

Jodie Niznik is a seminary-trained and ordained lover of God’s Word and people. She served in pastoral ministry at a large church for over twelve years, including as Women’s Pastor, Adult Ministries Pastor and Executive Pastor. She now helps people create space for God through her Scripture meditation podcast, So Much More, and  Real People, Real Faith Bible studies.

Matt Fogle is a trained Spiritual Director who also has two Master’s degrees in Organizational Leadership and in Spiritual Formation. He grew up in rural Illinois where mentors helped Matt to see that God is calling everyone to an abundant and adventurous life in Christ. For over ten years Matt has been a pastor in TX, IL and AZ, as well as a speaker and retreat facilitator in CA & CO. He has worked with multiple non-profits in the areas of leadership development and spiritual formation.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The cross is the heart of Scripture.

Everything about the gospel message leads to the cross, and proceeds from the cross. In fact, within the narrative of Scripture, the crucifixion of Jesus is literally the crux of the story―the axis upon which the biblical story turns. But it would be a mistake to think we could sum up the significance of the crucifixion in a tidy sentence or two. 

That kind of thinking only insulates us from the magnificence of what God has done. In our ongoing quest to make meaning of the cross, we need to recognize that this conversation will never conclude―that there is always something more to be said.

In his book, The Wood Between the Worlds, Brian Zahnd reminds us that the meaning of the cross is multifaceted and touches every aspect of our lives. It is an invitation to encounter the cross of Christ anew.

Just as gazing through the eyepiece of a kaleidoscope reveals a new geometric image with every turn, Zahnd helps us see that there are infinite ways to behold the cross of Christ as the beautiful form that saves the world. 

Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. He is also a pastor-theologian who has authored eleven books, including Sinners In the Hands of a Loving God, When Everything’s on Fire, and The Wood Between the Worlds. Brian is enthusiastic about music, literature, mountains, and long-distance pilgrimages.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In the retelling of the Mary and Martha story, many inadvertently pit these sisters against each another. We are forced to make a choice: “I’m a Mary” or, more regularly I hear, “I’m a Martha.” As though these women were tropes or types on a personality test. 

This is unfortunate, because then we are drawn to take sides and defend one or the other. Our own identity becomes wrapped up in one woman or another.

Before I  unpack this further, I’ll give you the spoiler: This story isn’t about busy people and lazy people. We are ALL invited to follow the example of Mary and focus on the one thing of Jesus.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

What do we mean when we talk about the importance of prayer? What is prayer? Is it mainly the words we say to God about our concerns, our needs, our hopes, our desires? What is the difference, if any, between saying prayers and being prayerful? 

Today, I’m sharing a conversation with a wise Franciscan priest who has been practicing prayerfulness for over 50 years. 

Albert Haase, OFM, is a preacher, teacher, and spiritual director. A former missionary to mainland China for over eleven years, he is the award-winning author of ten books on popular spirituality and the presenter on five bestselling DVDs. He holds a PhD in historical theology from Fordham University and an MDiv from Catholic Theological Union. He is currently serving as chaplain at Cedarbrake Retreat Center near Austin, Texas.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

God's face is always shining toward us. Our God is not asleep, nor indifferent. But we don't always experience this nearness or the depth of how beloved we truly are--especially if we have experienced neglect, betrayal, or indifference in our formative human relationships.

In her book, The Emmanuel Promise, Summer Joy Gross acts as a nurturing guide, as she helps us make our way to the transformative dynamics of presence, attachment and God’s love. Together, we’ll discover the Security of a Life Held by God.

Summer Joy Gross (MDiv, Virginia Theological Seminary) is an Anglican priest, retreat leader, and spiritual director whose work is guided by the belief that our stories can be transformed by God's invitation to make his love our home base. She is associate faculty of spiritual formation and the art of spiritual direction at the Healing Care Ministries' spiritual direction school. She is the host of The Presence Podcast and lives in North Georgia with her husband and their three teenagers.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’ve written and said plenty about the problem of hurry in our lives and in our world. There is a condition called hurry sickness, which is the feeling of always being rushed as though you were lagging behind in some race. This raises our stress levels. A sense that we don’t have enough time for everything we have to do is a sign of hurry sickness. We can end up feeling increasing frustration with anyone or anything that gets in the way of what you have to do. Multitasking is one of our strategies to somehow boost productivity, at least in the short-term. But the long-term costs can be pretty high for our present hurry. 

In this episode and a couple of future ones this season, I’m going to talk about core drivers of hurry that I’ve been addressing in my own life since I wrote An Unhurried Life. Today, in the spirit of my new book A Non-Anxious Life, I’ll unpack how anxiety drives hurry in our lives. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

For the last few years I have enjoyed meeting with women in coaching groups or soul care groups. It is such a beautiful and vulnerable way to share our lives. The women who attend are always leaning in toward God and desiring to connect at a deeper level with others.

A while back I decided I wanted to share with these women the scriptures that have helped form me. These verses helped me focus on the centrality of God’s love, Jesus and the process of being transformed. I’d like to share these passages with you today.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

For too many, work feels tedious, painful, even meaningless. And we don’t seem to know what to do about it. There is a familiar crisis of meaning and of sustainability. You’ve probably heard the alarming statistics: how so many who lost work during the pandemic just aren’t interested in returning to their jobs. 

We need to find a way out of disintegration so that we can discover how work can be an experience of loving God, serving our neighbors, and living out the good news of God’s kingdom in the world that surrounds us. 

Today, I’ll talk with author Jeff Haanen about his book, Working from the Inside Out. In it, he talks about the integration of our life with God and our work with God. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

As young children its easy to pick up beliefs and behaviors that seem to work for us, but as we move into adulthood, we find that is no longer the case. Today, I’m going to share with you a personal story of how one of my early unhelpful behaviors was transformed by God into something beautiful and useful for me today.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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In the summer of 2023, I finally got the opportunity to make a retreat at a place I’ve been wanting to visit for years. I drove up to the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California for an eight-day silent retreat. I’ve done week-long retreats before on the East Coast, but never here in California. 

I’ve been wanting to share the story of my experience of extended retreat here on the podcast. I’m glad to finally get that opportunity today. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

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One of my mentors often liked to ask a couple of simple questions when we were together: first, “What is the Christian life?” and second, “What is the church?” At first glance, those feel like beginner questions. Of course we know what a Christian is and what church is about. 

But how many of our assumptions about our life in Christ together look more like being a twenty-first century North American more than an apprentice of Jesus in the here and now of our lives? To what degree are we letting the way of Jesus transform our expectations, our values and our pursuits into a very different way from the culture that surrounds us? 

John Mark is a teacher and writer from Topanga Canyon in Southern California. For nearly two decades, he was the founding pastor at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon where he spent many years working out discipleship to Jesus in the post-Christian West, organized their community around a simple idea: practicing the Way of Jesus together.

In 2021, after leading a five-year initiative around spiritual formation called “Practicing the Way,” John Mark stepped away from his pastoral role to create simple, beautiful formation resources for church communities around the world.

Today, John Mark is developing new practices, courses, and podcasts for Practicing the Way and serves as a teacher in residence at Vintage Church LA with his wife and their three kids. 

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Women have been important leaders throughout church history. There are multiple stories in the Old and New Testaments about the powerful and unique ways women lead. Think Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Phoebe, Priscilla and more. There are the desert mothers, and women such as Julian of Norwich, Clare of Assisi and Teresa of Avila, who have given us wisdom for the ages. Sometimes out in front, sometimes behind the scenes, but always, women have contributed to the spiritual and relational life of the church.

Today my guest is Kimberly Deckel and we are going to dive into the important role of women and how she comes alongside women in ministry to encourage and empower.

Kimberly Deckel is the Executive Pastor at Church of the Cross in Austin, TX. Before transitioning into full time ministry, Kimberly worked in the field of social work for over a decade serving as therapist, hospice social worker, and working in foster care and adoptions. She completed her MA in Missional Theology through the Missional Training Center and served as a priest and church planter in Phoenix, as well as the director of operations for Surge Network. Kimberly’s husband is Steve and her daughter is Keenan.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Having written a book about anxiety, I’ve seen a lot of promises about how to solve it. A life hack here. Six easy steps there. But my own experience with anxiety has been anything but easy. Today, I want to share some of the more unexpected pathways to peace I’ve discovered in my journey.

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Hard. Crusty. Unyielding.

Rootless. Shallow. Burning out. Withering.

Thorny. Distracted. Choked. Pressed.

Good. Healthy. Vibrant. Thriving.

What is this list of (mostly disturbing) words I’ve just uttered? Especially when the title of this episode includes, “A Gracious Reflection.” Well, it’s a list that came to mind upon a recent encounter with the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4. I was struck by the inner dynamics described by Jesus. I’ve taken his four types of soil and created some reflection questions that you can use for a heart-check-in. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The greatest priority in the kingdom of God is simple and straightforward. Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).” That sentence will not surprise a single one of you listening.

But, in my own experience of the Christian life, it has often felt like we majored on loving God with our minds over loving God with our souls, or hearts, or physical strength. We’ve often valued the right ideas over the right sort of heart or fruitful practice. Today, we’ll talk about how we might experience a more creative way of living our lives in God. 

Our guest today is Amy Pierson  and we're chatting about her recent book Makers in a Thinkers’ World. She writes at the intersection of neuroscience, spiritual formation, creativity and lived experience. She speaks from a long journey with Jesus in these practices and disciplines. 

AMY PIERSON is the founder of Burning Heart Workshops (a soul care ministry) and former executive director of the Spiritual Formation Alliance. A writer, speaker, artist, mom, and Gamma of two, Amy lives in the Denver area with her hilarious husband, Bill, and their ridiculous golden retriever.

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In Anne Lamott's book, Traveling Mercies, she shares the story that led her to take the leap into her own faith journey. It was the story of Abraham and Isaac that caught her attention. The reality and authenticity of Abraham's belief and trust in God's provision compelled her. It led me to ponder and process that moment in Abraham's life. This is where we’re headed today on the Unhurried Living Podcast.

And these are some of the questions we will be addressing: 

If we place ourselves in Abraham’s place, what level of trust might emerge from our own deep place? How far would I go in sacrificing that which I hold most dear? 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Sometimes, anxiety rises in my thoughts, emotions, and body as an overwhelming wave. I’m tempted in moments like that to let myself be overcome, whether by allowing anxiety to immobilize me, to chase me away from what God has given me to do, or even to drive me to ways of working that seem to be only thinly aware that God is with me as I work. 

I’ve been learning that over time that anxiety became embedded in my mind, my emotions, even my body. But I’ve also been learning that the peace of Christ can displace anxiety in me. I can learn to let the peace of Christ protect me from anxious worry in the midst of my many concerns. And I wanted to share with you what I’ve been learning, and more about what I wrote in A Non-Anxious Life. 

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Spiritual growth is often sparked by great love or deep pain. But so much of our world conspires to keep us too busy to feel loved or to pay attention to our deep feelings. We want to grow, but we aren’t always aware of the points at which God is inviting us forward. We need mentors and tools that will help slow us down to notice God with us, and to see where we may be welcoming the grace of God in our lives and where we may be resisting God’s initiative and work. 

One tool that has helped me immensely over the years is the Enneagram. It’s become rather popular in the church in recent years. My guests today, Bill and Kristi Gaultiere, have written an important book that unpacks this tool titled Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith: Growing Emotionally and Spiritually through the Enneagram. I really appreciate how they make the Enneagram understandable as a tool for growth. 

Bill and Kristi have been counseling and ministering to people for thirty years. Bill is a psychologist who has served in private practice, co-led a New Life psychiatric day hospital, and pastored churches. Kristi is a marriage and family therapist who has also served in private practice and church ministry. Together they are the founders of Soul Shepherding, a nonprofit ministry to help believers discover their next steps for growing in emotional health and intimacy with Jesus.

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One-third of our waking lives is spent at work. Work is where we make culture and come into contact with our world. Work is central to God's mission to redeem souls, systems, and structures. And God works through our work to bring hope to the brokenness of our surrounding culture.

The way of Jesus Christ is good news for the world, and that includes the transformation of our ordinary work into a sacred calling. Ross Chapman and Ryan Tafilowski show how work is a way to love God, serve our neighbors, and live the ways of Jesus. With a broader understanding of God's work in the world, we are able to engage our daily work as part of how God makes all things new.

Ross, co-author of Faithful Work: In the Daily Grind with God and for Others, invites you to reflect on the meaning and purpose of your life's work and to transform your work into service to those around you.

Ross Chapman is the CEO of Denver Institute for Faith & Work. He previously founded and served as president and executive director of For Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. He holds a doctorate of ministry in faith, work, economics, and vocation from Fuller Theological Seminary. He lives in the Denver area with his wife, Candace, and their three sons.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We’re living in anxious times. I don’t hear anyone saying otherwise. And many feel utterly overwhelmed and powerless against the flood of anxiety that fills our hearts, our minds, our news feeds and our social media communities. 

Two weeks ago my latest book, A Non-Anxious Life, was released. The more I talk with leaders about soul hurry, the more I realize that a very common variety of it is anxiety. I know anxiety has driven a lot of my own work over the years. That kind of busyness may look impressive, but it hasn’t born good, lasting fruit. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

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1990 was a momentous & tragic year for me. Sadly, it was the year my dad passed away. His was a traumatic and life-altering death. I was just 26-years-old. 

Unfortunately, my dad’s death was just the beginning of a five-year season of loss. So much to experience by one so young. 

Today, I’ll be sharing with you my journey of loss and how God met me with great grace.

Abiding video referenced in episode.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

At the turn of the century, Billy Graham said, "I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through believers in the workplace.” In the last few years, I’ve witnessed a powerful work of God’s Spirit in and through men and women who are living their faith in their places of business. 

We are always leaning into the question, “How do I integrate my life of faith and the work of my life? How do I lead from deep-rootedness in God? How do I learn to receive from God all I need to do my work well?” Today, I’m speaking to Barry Rowan, author of The Spiritual Art of Business. It’s the fruit of a life lived in deep communion with God in the context of significant business leadership. 

Barry Rowan is a Harvard Business School graduate who spent his entire career serving in C-Suite roles. He has been instrumental in building and transforming eight businesses, primarily in the technology and communication space, with one selling for $10 billion. His leadership experience spans both private and public companies, including Gogo (the inflight connectivity company), Vonage, Nextel Partners, and Fluke Corporation.

Deeply immersed in Scripture and the classic spiritual writers, Barry is deeply committed to contemplation and prayer which led him to complete a month-long silent retreat immediately following his retirement from a full-time executive career. His friends have dubbed him a “corporate mystic.”

Barry is married to Linda, his wife of over forty-two years, and they have two adult sons. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership.

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I love every part of our church's opening prayer and today I share about the importance of this prayer as well as the multiple sermons that emerge from the truths tucked within. 

Eternal God, heavenly Father, with great joy we thank you for graciously accepting us as living members of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and for feeding us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace and mission, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you and others with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Specifically, I want to focus on the ending. Particularly this phrase: “…grant us strength and courage to love and serve you and others with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord.”

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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“Anything you could do in anxiety, you could do a lot better in peace.” That’s something Dallas Willard said. And it became one of the seeds that grew into my latest book with InterVarsity Press: A Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God’s Presence. It has been the most personal and most difficult book I’ve written so far. And it releases tomorrow!  

I wonder what your anxiety has been like over these last few years. I have to admit that this has been one of the most anxiety-provoking seasons of my life. So writing this book was not a theoretical research project. It was a personal quest for life lived with the Prince of Peace at the center of it. I’m grateful to be able to share with you what I’ve learned.  

This episode is a look at A Non-Anxious Life in a conversation with Michael John Cusick of Restoring the Soul.  Welcome to the Unhurried Living podcast.  

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There’s one more week until we’re back with the next season of Unhurried conversations at the intersection of spiritual leadership and soul care.

And I have great news! Gem is coming back to the Unhurried Living Podcast. We’re talking about this today and we look forward to sharing what’s up with the Unhurried Living Podcast

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I want what Jim has.

This is the phrase 17-year-old Alan, my husband, uttered as he made one of his first moves into the Christian life.

I have always loved hearing Alan share about the first time he went forward in a church to receive Christ. I’ve heard this story multiple times and I’m always struck by how simple and heartfelt Alan’s desire was. We’ll talk more about this today…

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

It’s near the beginning of the calendar year and, for some, it feels like a fresh start. Most of us are long past making resolutions. We’ve come to see that they don’t last and are followed up by shame and guilt. I haven’t made resolutions for years.

But I thought it might be good to share with you a few simple ways you could plan for some soul care in an ongoing way. These ideas are bottom shelf and that’s good. It’s always wise to begin small and build habits.

I mention a couple resources in this episode. Here are those links:

• An Unhurried Time with God guide
• Annual  Examen guide

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Breathing. It’s as natural as, well, breathing. We breathe all day long without giving it a thought. It’s just one of the many astounding aspects of our God-given bodies. I’m grateful for all the processes that continue to keep me healthy and alive, aren’t you? 

Today, using the word BREATHE, I’m going to guide you in a spiritual practice that you can use in the middle of any given day. We’ll make the unconscious, conscious and give our souls space to breathe.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Almost everyone I speak with these days is tired or stressed in troubling ways. Not only do we carry our regular burdens and concerns, but we also carry around our knowledge of what is going on in our country and around the globe.

While it is true that we cannot psychologically bear up under the weight of all that we see and hear in the information age—we do want to have a basic knowledge of world events.

But how do we hold all of this without becoming overwhelmed? How can we be a healthy member of our planet without crumbling beneath the weight?

My guest today is radio host, Carmen LaBerge, and she is going to help us make our way.

Carmen LaBerge is an author, speaker and host of the Christian talk radio show Mornings with Carmen LaBerge, across the Faith Radio Network. On air, live each weekday morning, Carmen demonstrates civil conversation as she and her guests bring the mind of Christ to bear on the headline news of the day. 

Carmen has conducted thousands of interviews with widely respected influencers, reporters, authors, and leaders. She is author of Speak the Truth: Bring God back into every Conversation and blogs at www.carmenlaberge.com

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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Many of you have likely heard of a way of engaging scripture called Lectio Divina. It is a kind of “Divine Reading.” What I love about Lectio Divina is that it is a slow and formational way of engaging the bible. It can help us move from our heads to our hearts. Lectio Divina is reflective, meditative, receptive and responsive. 

Let’s begin with a little Lectio 101, and then I will guide you in the practice as we experience Psalm 73:23-26 together.

The four movements of Lectio Divina are: 

• Read (Lectio)
• Reflect (Meditatio)
• Respond (Oratio)
• Rest (Contemplatio)

With Lectio Divina, rather than gathering information, we seek to allow God to meet us in our hearts and minds in a spirit of transformation. We allow ourselves to sink into the passage…to linger…to think, yes, but also to feel and to experience. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

One of our great concerns at Unhurried Living is caring for the souls of leaders. And one of the ways we focus on this is by helping leaders learn to care well for their own souls. It’s too easy to become so busy with work we believe God has given us, but not enjoying the life that God has given us. 

There are so many good spiritual practices that can help us care well for our souls. That’s why I’m pleased to have Barbara Peacock as our guest today. She is the author of Spiritual Practices for Soul Care. We had a very encouraging conversation about 40 practices she recommends in her book. 

Barbara Peacock is a spiritual director, author, teacher, and preacher. She is the founder of Barbara L. Peacock Ministries, committed to developing disciples through prayer, spiritual direction, soul care, mentoring, and teaching. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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Today I’m talking with Joanna Meyer, the author of the recently released book Women, Work and Calling. 

No matter what title you have or don’t have, we are all working women. People, tasks, and schedules fill our days and we all have influence in these spheres. 

How do you respond to God’s calling? How does God grow our soul through our work? How do we tap into our vocational power? 

Joanna Meyer is director of public engagement at the Denver Institute for Faith & Work, where she leads public events, hosts the Faith & Work Podcast, and founded Women, Work, & Calling, a national initiative that equips Christian women for godly influence in public life. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked in global telecom, nonprofit consulting, and campus ministry with Cru. Joanna served as associate faculty at Denver Seminary and completed a certificate in Women in Leadership through Cornell University. She contributed to Women &  Work and has written for Faith Driven Entrepreneur and various Denver Institute publications. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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Today, I’m sharing the last of four episodes on the theme of rest. If you haven’t listened to the first three, I encourage you to go back. These have been some of the most important episodes I’ve offered in our six-and-a-half years as a podcast. 

As we continue to navigate so many changes that have come to so many of us in these last few years, I wonder how tired you feel inside. I’m not talking about the sort of tired that a nap would resolve or a good night’s sleep might address. I’m talking about a deeper tired—a weariness of soul. 

I’ve found myself wrestling with weariness at levels that has often surprised me. My wife, Gem, and I have both had to be far more intentional about finding the deep rest our souls need from God. In this episode, I’ll share what we’ve been learning. I’m hopeful you’ll find it helpful. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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A few years ago I read Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion. He put into eloquent prose a dynamic that I had experienced, but had not yet found words to describe.

There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. . . . In a deeply religious culture people know that the deep level of prayer and of divine attendance is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined. . . . Between the two levels is fruitful interplay, but ever the accent must be upon the deeper level, where the soul ever dwells in the presence of the Holy One.

Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1941), 9. 

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I’ve been a reader of the New Testament for forty-five years now. I’m still grateful for the wisdom and life guidance I find in those pages. Checking my current favorite NIV Bible, I realize that the New Testament takes up 225 pages. That’s about the length of many of the books I talk with authors about on this podcast. What I mean to say is that it isn’t as big as I sometimes imagine.

And I realize is that I can easily get into habits, even ruts, when it comes to how I understand what I’m reading in these pages. 

That’s why I’m glad to share my recent conversation with Dr. Scot McKnight about his recent translation of the New Testament called The Second Testament. In reading through familiar passages in it, I found myself challenged and awakened to the New Testament in quite a helpful way. I think you’ll find what he shares about this translation to be very life-giving.

Right after my conversation with Scot, my wife, Gem, and I have a brief conversation about our experience of The Second Testament. Be sure to stay with the episode for those thoughts. 

Scot McKnight serves as Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is the author of many books, including Reading Romans Backwards, Pastor Paul, The King Jesus Gospel, and commentaries on James, Galatians, and 1 Peter. He is also the coeditor of the Story of God commentary series and general editor of the forthcoming second edition of the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Transition. How do you feel when you hear this word?

For some, transitions are welcome because it’s a movement from one place to another.

For others, transitions are unwelcome for the same reason. Change can be disconcerting.

But whatever you feel about transitions, that’s where we’re headed today in our conversation.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

They say that authors often write books that they themselves need. That has certainly been true when it comes to what I’ve written about Jesus’s rhythms of work and rest. I have a deep-seated efficiency and productivity engine inside me. 

While this has often served me well in my work, it has also gotten in the way when it comes to entering into God’s gift of rest for me. It still feels like a discipline to stop producing and to simply embrace rest. When I do, I experience the grace and kindness of God. But it’s still often a challenge.

Today I am talking about the counterfeits of true rest when it comes to our work and our relationship with God.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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Today we're talking about being a mentoring presence, or wise woman, in the lives of others. This really is an encouragement to any woman listening to think of herself as a wise woman in the life of another.

The actress, Julia Louis Dreyfus, has a new podcast called “Wiser Than Me.” She is 62 and she interviews women who are older than her. She asks questions so that she can glean life wisdom from other women’s life experiences. 

So our question today is this: how am I living my life so that, over time, I can become a wise woman. And how am I offering myself to others in this way…all along the way. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I have long been a great appreciator of the writings of Eugene Peterson. I realized recently that one of my first introductions to the idea of an unhurried life was from his book The Contemplative Pastor. I still have my 1989 hardcover edition of that book. It it, he has a chapter in which he invited pastors like me to become an “unbusy pastor.” I’m grateful for a full shelf of his books that have taught and mentored me over the decades. 

But recently, InterVarsity Press released an expanded edition of one of his early books titled Traveling Light: Galatians and the Free Life in Christ. I couldn’t believe there was a Peterson book I’d failed to find and read. It’s a beautiful exposition of Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia on the theme of Christian freedom. 

And today, I have the joy of interviewing Eugene Peterson’s son, Eric, who is also a pastor and was willing to talk about this re-released title.  Eric E. Peterson, a native of Maryland, is now a Northwest transplant, having lived in Washington State for the last thirty years. He is a village pastor of the Presbyterian church he founded in 1997. His first book, Wade in the Water, represents a pastoral perspective on the power of baptism to lead people more deeply into a sacred way of life. Peterson has a home in the woods just north of Spokane where he lives with his wife, Elizabeth and three children.

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My first book, An Unhurried Life, which was published over ten years ago, had this as it’s subtitle: “Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Knowing what I know now about our great cultural struggle to rest well, I might have changed that to: “Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Rest and Work. It’s not that rest is more important than work. It’s that real rest is so neglected these days. 

And many of us are feeling our need for real rest more today than perhaps we ever have. Getting better sleep, setting aside a day a week not measured by productivity or accomplishment, even guarding some weeks each year to really rest is something most of us still struggle to do. 

Today, I’ll share seven reasons we don’t rest well. They aren’t theoretical for me. They are reasons I’ve struggled with entering into the gift of rest that God has always been offering me. I hope some of these will ring true to you as well, and just might help you move through some of these resistances, misbeliefs and challenges to a place of deeper rest of body and soul with God. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

It’s been nearly 45 years ago that I attended a jazz concert sponsored by a Sacramento area church. I was invited to it by my boss, Jim. I had been working for him for a year or two at the Magic Tunnel Car Wash. It was at that concert that Jim’s life, shaped as it was by his love for Jesus, came to make sense to me. When someone asked me why I’d come forward at the end of the concert, my answer was simply, “I want what Jim has.” 

It was that simple focus on Jesus in Jim’s life and in that little community that drew me into a new way of living and, eventually, into the vocational focus of my life. And refocusing on Jesus along my journey has been what has renewed me, even revived me, when my life began to feel heavy, or wayward, or empty. 

All of this is why I’m so happy to be talking with Todd Hunter, my bishop and my friend, about his new book What Jesus Intended: Finding True Faith in the Rubble of Bad Religion. Doesn’t that title speak to where so many of us find ourselves these days? 

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter is the founder of The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace. He is past president of Alpha USA, former national director for the Association of Vineyard Churches, and retired founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA. He is the author of many books, including Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance,  Our Character at Work and Deep Peace. He writes a weekly newsletter, The Gospel of the Kingdom, that you can find on Substack. Todd also happens to be my bishop and my friend. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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Are you now, or have you recently been, in a difficult situation? Most of us have at least one circumstance in our lives, at any given point, that isn’t going the way we had hoped. Today I’m sharing a personal story of climbing a mountain at high elevation. Together, we’ll look at it literally and metaphorically.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The theme of today’s episode has been fermenting in my thinking and in my rhythm of life for a while now. In fact, I’ll be sharing four episodes this season about rest. Today, I’m going to share some ideas about how exactly might we cultivate a good rest ethic. It’s something with which we’re much less familiar as a culture than a good “work ethic,” but it’s just as important. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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I’ve often been captured by a little line in the gospels. The disciples ask a question that has been burning in their hearts and minds, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” We signs of competition among the disciples, each wanting to prove himself the most faithful or the most gifted. They want to know how they can best get to the top in the eyes of Jesus. 

I don’t think they’re expecting the answer Jesus gives. He says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18:3).” Become like little children. What does that look like? How does that work? Why would little children be the greatest in the kingdom of God. 

To help us with that question and others like, my guest today is Lacy Finn Borgo, and we’ll be talking about her latest book, Faith Like a Child: Embracing Our Lives as Children of God. I found our conversation personally helpful, and I’m hopeful you will, too. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In preparation for co-leading a pilgrimage for women to Italy last month, I spent some time getting to know St. Catherine of Siena and St. Clare of Assisi. These two female saints were quite formidable in their passion and love for God—and what that meant for their own souls and those around them.

In Ilia Delio’s book, Clare of Assisi, I found a snippet Clare wrote in a letter to her sister, Agnes. 

“O most noble Queen,

gaze upon [him].

consider [him].

contemplate [him].

as you desire to imitate [him].”

Four words leapt off the page:

• Gaze
• Consider
• Contemplate
• Imitate

These four dynamics are compelling invitations in my relationship with God. And, if followed, could lead to “much fruit that lasts” spoken of in John 15. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Journaling is not for everyone. But it is a proven way to process thoughts and emotions.

In this episode Alan shares about his long-standing practice of journaling as a leader. He knows not everyone keeps a spiritual journal. This episode is not meant to be a guilt trip if this hasn’t been a practice for you so far. He simply wants to share the benefits of the practice in his own experience to either encourage you in your own present practice, or to invite you to experiment with it.  

He's been keeping a personal journal since 1990. Presently, as he recorded this episode, it runs over 11,500 pages, contains more than 7.7 million words, and covers 34 years of his life. He doesn’t offer those statistics as an attempt to impress. There are many pages in his journal that you wouldn’t find interesting at all. He shares this to illustrate how important this practice has been in his own life and leadership.  

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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One of the outcomes of our experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to both highlight and to amplify our problem with loneliness and isolation as a culture. That’s why I’m glad to be talking with Justin Whitmel Earley about his new book, Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship. 

Justin describes our interactions with others as either a  "snack" or a "meal", and goes on to state "our fullest spirituality is only possible with others." This is a rich conversation you will enjoy.

Justin Whitmel Earley is a lawyer, author and speaker from Richmond, VA. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in English Literature before spending four years in Shanghai, China, as a missionary. Justin got his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and he now runs his own business law practice in Richmond, Virginia at Earley Legal Group.

In addition to Made for People, Justin is the author of The Common Rule and Habits of the Household. In episodes 72 and 222, I interviewed Justin about these two books. He frequently speaks at businesses and legal events on habits, technology and mental health; and at churches and conferences on habits, spiritual formation and parenting. He is married to Lauren and has four sons – Whit, Asher, Coulter and Shep.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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The day this episode releases, I will be in Italy with 15 wonderful women. We will be on a pilgrimage. 

People have been engaging pilgrimage for centuries. Yes, it is a physical journey but it's also an inward exploration of the soul. Pilgrimage is a chance to connect with your inner life, your deepest held beliefs, and your relationship with God in a focused and intentional way.

So how can you embrace the idea of pilgrimage as an element of your lifestyle?

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

During our July sabbatical this year, Gem and I made some significant space for personal retreat that we’ve felt bringing fresh energy, creativity, and vision to the work to which we’ve now returned. We enjoyed three days at a retreat house not far from Lassen Volcanic National Park in the northeast corner of California. We then spent three days at a Trappist monastery not far from the first retreat center. In those days, God met with us in that quiet stillness. 

I wonder what your own experience of retreat has been. When I think of my years as a young Christian, I remember participating in and then leading a whole lot of youth and young adult retreats in the church. They were exciting and fun. But I would have to say those retreats were more hurried than unhurried. 

I’ve simply come to believe that this approach to retreats often misses the gift of uncluttered space and unhurried time with God that could be included, maybe even made the heart of retreat time like this. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this today. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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You may have heard me announce here that we now take the month of July each year as a mini sabbatical. I engage no work, no work-related email, and no social media. It is a much-needed way of disengaging that allows body and soul to rest at a deeper level. 

One benefit of extended time like that is that I can get in touch with ideas, longings, dynamics and desires that typically stay buried underneath the flurry of activity in my day-to-day life. I’d like to share with you one such “get-in-touch” moment from my time away.

Let's dig in to the problem with discontent.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’m so pleased to share the conversation I had with Os Guinness about his book The Great Quest, where we discuss the relationship between living an examined life and a finding a sense of joyful or hopeful meaning in life. This book is a timely and important message as many are struggling to find meaning deep enough to sustain us. Oz has written a very helpful guide to taking this journey to deeper purpose.

Os Guinness has written or edited more than thirty books, including The Call, Time for Truth, Unspeakable, A Free People’s Suicide, The Global Public Square, Last Call for Liberty, Carpe Diem Redeemed, and The Magna Carta of Humanity.

Os has spoken at many of the world’s major universities, and spoken widely to political and business conferences across the world. He lives with his wife Jenny in the Washington DC area.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A while back I had a conversation with a group of leaders. We were talking about spiritual practices and the need for refreshment and refilling. (As you can imagine, I talk about this a lot). One of the people mentioned that this was all fine and good but what about REAL life.

I’ve heard this comment many times before, and I typically leave it alone. But more recently I’ve begun to pause the conversation (whether with an individual or a small group) to take a closer look at what “real” means. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Growing up on our small six-acre farm in Washington was wonderful. As a child, I enjoyed many hours and days of leisure. This was back in the day before the information age. One phone connected to a wall and five channels on the TV (and I was the remote control). I had a pogo stick, a skateboard, a bike and a horse. What else could you need?

One of my favorite memories was rolling down a small hill in our front yard. It was probably only a four-foot incline, but for a young one like me it was a delight. I spent hours lying in the grass, watching butterflies and bees, looking up at tall pine branches hanging overhead, or simply watching the sky. 

Today we’re going to think about enjoying the little, and sometimes unexpected, aspects of life.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m sharing a timely replay from the Unhurried Living Podcast. I interviewed K.J. Ramsey on her book This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers.

The entire episode will play, including an introduction of K.J., so for now, I’ll leave you with this. You are not alone in your suffering and K.J. is an expert on this, having suffered physically for years. Listen and take heart.

K.J. Ramsey is a trauma-informed licensed professional counselor and author whose work offers space to see every part of our souls and stories as sacred. She holds degrees from Covenant College and Denver Seminary and is the author of This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers and The Lord is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear Toward the Voice of Love.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend with my friend, teacher and leader, Jodie Niznik. We talked about fruitfulness inspired by God, as compared to productivity inspired by me…which can sometimes lead to over-giving.

We often think we need to accomplish things by direct action. But fruitfulness works a little differently. Jodie and I dig into that and I trust you’ll find some nuggets to tuck away as well as some new action steps.

Jodie Niznik, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, helps people create space for God in their lives through her Scripture meditation podcast entitled "So Much More", and equips them to take another step with Jesus through her Real People, Real Faith Bible studies and teaching. She served in pastoral ministry for over twelve years. Her calling and passion is to equip people to create space for God in their lives and take another step in their journey with Jesus. Jodie is married to Tim. They have two adult daughters and a very poorly trained Yorkie-poo. You can connect with her at jodieniznik.com and on Instagram.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’ve shared that one of the unexpected unhurriers of my life has been suffering. And much of that suffering has been more a suffering of soul than physical suffering. Anxiety and depression have too often been familiar companions throughout my life. 

For that reason, I’m glad to have a chance to speak with Alan Noble about his recently released book, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living. In it, he shares his own journey with inner suffering like anxiety and depression, and he offers us a vision of how we might discover the grace of God right in the middle of all that. I’m hopeful you’ll find grace for the hard places in your own soul’s journey. 

Alan Noble (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, cofounder and editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for the Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness and You Are Not Your Own.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A few months ago a semi-prominent newscaster made a flippant comment about women over 50 not being in their prime. He gave examples from a google search that said women in their twenties and thirties are in their prime. Of course, being a woman over 50, I had some very strong feelings about this dismissive statement.

I wanted to say something via social media or email in real time about his comment, but decided not to enter the fray of reactive dialogue.

But time passed, and I forgot about the newscaster’s comment, until recently when I saw a movie in which a man spoke endearingly to a woman over 50, “You look like you’re in your prime to me.” A sweet and heartfelt statement at just the right time in their story.

So I thought about the word “prime” again. What does that even mean? I looked it up. This is where we’re headed…

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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Jo Saxton wrote her book, Ready to Rise to encourage women to step into their God-given calling to influence and leadership. She states, “If there was ever a time to uncover our potential and voices—it’s now. Now is the time to boldly and authentically represent God’s goodness in the world, living as channels for His transformative change and power.” 

She is an author, speaker, podcast host, and leadership coach. She has dedicated her career to growing leadership teams around the world and empowering women to find their purpose in their personal lives and in leadership.

Born in London to parents who immigrated from Nigeria, Jo credits her family’s unrelenting work ethic to the bold, tenacious approach she takes to sharing her wisdom on identity, influence, and living an authentic life. She is characterized by her effervescent honesty and warm approachability, leaving audiences with practical next steps in areas that are usually a bit ambiguous.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, we’ll be addressing a critical issue for Christian leaders, especially over the last few years. We’re talking about burnout. In my own coaching work with leaders, individually and in groups, I’ve perhaps never seen the level of burnout that I’m witnessing these days. 

That’s why I’m glad to be talking with Sean Nemecek about his new book, The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout. You’re going to find this helpful, whether you find yourself at that level of depletion or not. 

Sean Nemecek is the West Michigan Regional Director for Pastor-in-Residence Ministries and a co-host of the Hope Renewed podcast. Sean is a third generation pastor. He served as a pastor for 18 years before joining PIR. Now, Sean coaches pastors through ministry issues, conflict, forced exit, transitions, and burnout. He also consults with churches and leadership on sabbatical planning, work culture, and pastoral support. His blog, The Pastor’s Soul (pastorsoul.com), teaches churches and pastors how to invest in the pastor’s joy for the good of the church. Sean has been married to Amy for over 25 years.

Connect with Sean on Instagram or LinkedIn

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

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We’re living in a time when Christian leaders have perhaps never been more in danger of fatigue, exhaustion, even burnout. Earlier this year, I hit my forty-year anniversary in vocational ministry in church or nonprofit settings. The problem of burnout seems at its greatest level in my memory.  

But there is a spiritual practice that has been both a preventative and a remedy for burnout in my own spiritual experience. It is the practice of spiritual retreat. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this practice. I’ve talked about this practice often, but I’d like to take a deeper dive into my experience of it.  

I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with spiritual retreat as a strategic leadership rhythm.  

You can follow Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about him and the Unhurried Living programs at the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

During the first few months of this year I was in a season that one of my pastor’s helped me to name as “reset.” Prior to that I was rumbling along at an accelerated pace and I came to realize it was too much for me. My body and soul spoke loudly at the same time and said, “Enough!”

A while back I was sharing with my spiritual director about this reset, a big shift I feel occurring in this, my 59th year of my life. The big 6-0 is looming ahead of me in early 2024 and it's giving me pause. 

I still feel young and vibrant inside, and I know that age is just a number, and yet there is no doubt about it--I will be entering the final third of my life.

So this week we are talking about the quality of our life. Have we lived how we want to live - both for ourselves and for God.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

It’s been almost thirty-four years ago that a mentor of mine reintroduced me to a passage that would become central to my understanding of the Christian life and ministry. I’m talking about John 15, where Jesus calls himself the true vine and invites us, as the branches, to make ourselves at home in him. There are so many words and phrases in that passage that God has used as spiritual guidance in a lot of different seasons of my life. 

That’s why I’m glad to talk to Kyle Idleman about his new book When Your Way Isn’t Working. The whole of the book is a creative, thoughtful and very practical reflection on the wisdom of this gospel passage. Apart from Jesus, we can live very busy lives, but we won’t live very fruitful ones. 

Our guest ,Kyle Idleman, is a senior pastor at Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest churches in America, and a bestselling author of several books including One at a Time, Gods at War, and End of Me. Not A Fan, his award-winning book, sold over 1.3 million copies and sparked a movement among believers.

Connect with Kyle on Instagram.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about the programs of Unhurried Living on their website.

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Ronald Rolheiser has said that spirituality has to do with what we do with our longings. How does that line strike you? What are some of your longings these days? Where do you take them? And how do you connect the deep longings of your heart with the real and gracious presence of God with you. 

This is what we’re going to talk about today as I discuss with my friend, Jeff Crosby, his new book The Language of the Soul. You’re going to find this episode especially timely, I think. 

Jeff Crosby is an organizational leader in the world of words, ideas, and book publishing. Currently president and CEO of a trade association of publishers, he has served in various executive roles, including as vice president at Ingram Book Company, and at IVP, a publisher in the Chicago area. He combines a background in journalism, leadership studies, and business with a love of language and insight from several fields in exploring faith and spirituality in light of applied practice. He and his wife of more than forty years, Cindy, have two grown children and six grandchildren.

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I talk with a lot of leaders, and one of the issues that a lot of them wrestle with is their life of prayer. It often feels a lot easier to do something for God rather than talking with God. But God, as the good Father that he is, wants us to enjoy his presence first, and then join him in his good work in the world. We were made for friendship, and staying relationally present is how that grows. 

So I’m especially glad to share my this conversation with Tyler Staton about his book Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools. 

Tyler Staton is the Lead Pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, OR, and the National Director of 24-7 Prayer USA. He is passionate about pursuing prayer in the honest realities of day-to-day life. Tyler is also the author of Searching for Enough: The High Wire Walk Between Doubt and Faith. He lives in Portland with his wife Kirsten and their three sons.

You can connect with Tyler on Instagram.

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Every once in a while, I like to reflect on all God has taught me over the previous few months or years. In many ways, that‘s what both my books, What Does Your Soul Love? and Hold That Thought are—a gathering of life lessons learned at the feet of Jesus.

Recently I journaled my current, central paradigms. I am grateful for the grace of God shining a light on these important areas. Each of these informs how I view God, myself and others. Over time, I long to grow in love in all three of these relationships.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week I share an insight about working with God that has been especially important to me over the years. It’s about the difference between process thinking and event thinking. This idea is one of the many gifts God has given me through mentors.  

The Christian life is a process, a pathway, a journey. Working with God is, too.

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It is easy to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders these days because we can see and hear what is going on in most corners of our planet. Psychologically, emotionally, relationally and even physically, this is too much to bear.

Postlethwaite’s poetic invitation is to create a clearing inside our own dense forest, and…wait. Wait as a song is given to us (I would add “by God”). Then we will know how to serve.

This is an unhurried invitation isn't it? The temptation is always to keep moving forward, mostly at breakneck pace. There is so much to do! There are so many needs! How will it ever get done?

But unhurried leadership takes on a different view. Unhurried leadership knows that we must fill up with what we would pour out. 

Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I get to share with you a conversation with a friend and fellow author, David Zailer. His latest book, Death of a Fisherman, is a very honest, personal story. I was honored to write an endorsement for the book, which went like this: “Honest stories well-told help us walk our own lives in truth. Real stories of embracing grace show us the way to grow in grace ourselves. David has told a story that is full of both grace and truth.

David Zailer is an author, speaker, and founder of Operation Integrity. He is also on the faculty of The Leadership Institute, championing faith-based recovery internationally. His current book is Death of a Fisherman: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Forgiveness. His previous books include Our Journey Home, When Lost Men Come Home, and Starting Point for Recovery. David lives in Laguna Niguel, California where he is active in his community and enjoys running and cycling.

Connect with David via Linked In.

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We talk a lot on this podcast about God’s gift of rest. But I wonder if you’ve ever thought about the gift of restlessness. Today, I’m talking with a long-time friend of the podcast, Casey Tygrett, about his new book, The Gift of Restlessness. In fact, Casey was among the first interviews we did when we launched the Unhurried Living podcast nearly six years ago. That was episode #16 and we talked about his first book, Becoming Curious. 

Casey speaks with the compassion and wisdom of a spiritual director. You’re going to appreciate what he has to share. 

Casey Tygrett earned a Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary (Lincoln, IL). 

He completed the Tending the Holy spiritual direction training program in 2015, and since then has been able to provide spiritual direction to individuals both privately and as the Director of Spiritual Direction at Soul Care. Soul Care provides spiritual direction to church, parachurch, and non-for-profit leaders so that they can lead from a place of soul health & soul flourishing.

He is the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions (2017) and The Practice of Remembering: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life. The book The Practice of Remembering was awarded the 2020 Award of Merit in Spiritual Formation by Christianity Today.

You can connect with Casey on Instagram @caseytygrett

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn @alanfadling

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There is a lot being said these days about toxic versions of masculinity. What I’ve sometimes wondered is at least some of this about men growing older without growing in grace and wisdom. It’s why I’m grateful to be talking with Chris Bruno about his book Sage: A Man’s Guide Into His Second Passage. And for the women in our listening community, I believe you’ll gain wisdom for your own journey, as well as for the men in your life. 

Chris Bruno is the Co-Founder and CEO of Restoration Project and Founder and CEO of ReStory® Counseling, devoting his life to helping people come alive. In addition to Sage, he is author of Man Maker Project: A Father's Guide to Initiating His Son to Manhood and Brotherhood Primer: A Journey Into Genuine Masculine Friendships. Chris is a licensed professional counselor with decades of experience helping men recover their hearts. Married for 27 years to his wife, Beth, they have three mostly adult children and enjoy adventures in the Colorado mountains or overseas whenever possible. 

Connect with Chris on social media at:
IG @storyrestored
IG @restorationprojectco

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Today we are pondering the idea of the heart. And, for this conversation, I’m defining the heart as the inner person, that deepest place within ourselves where we interact on the central aspects of life in connection to God. This is an important idea and I’m so glad you are engaging with me today.

I’m Gem Fadling and it’s time for ICDT.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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When we find ourselves in a hurry, one of the dynamics that grows thin is intentionality. We can find ourselves rushing from task to task, meeting to meeting in a kind of mindless autopilot. It’s not what we want, but it can be what happens. 

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Glenn Packiam about a book he wrote with his wife, Holly, titled The Intentional Year. In it, they share their regular practice of retreat as a couple to cultivate greater intentionality about five key spheres of their lives, their family and their vocation. Those five spheres are prayer, rest, renewal, relationships and work. For many years now, they set aside a week at the end of the year to reflect on how God has been gracious in the previous year, and how God’s grace might be inviting them forward in the new year. I know you’re going to appreciate the insights Glenn shares. 

Connect with Glenn on YouTube,  Facebook or Instagram.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or the Unhurried Living website.

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When it comes to difficult circumstances, we’ve all heard the platitudes: “No pain, no gain.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But if we spend our lives trying to be “the strong one,” we become exhausted, burned-out, and disconnected from our truest selves.

What if it were different? Could there be a different way to be strong? Could strength mean more than pushing on and pushing through pain, bearing every heavy burden on our own? What if, instead, true strength were more like the tide: soft and bold, fierce and gentle, moving together as one powerful force?

Today I am talking with Aundi Kolber on her latest book, Strong Like Water as we look at strength and pain and where our strength truly comes from.

Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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If we were to only believe the 24-hour news cycle, we would think there is very little peace in the world. Yes, there are dramatic and traumatic things going on around the planet. But right in the middle of all that, many people are simply living their lives--loving their families, working hard and serving others.

We can choose to be people of peace right in the middle of a contentious, distracted and overwhelmed culture. And I would argue this is absolutely necessary.

Today we’re looking at a scripture passage that gives us beautiful counsel for extending peace to everyone, no matter the circumstance. And there’s a surprising twist that generously benefits us as we do. 

I’m Gem Fadling and it’s time for ICDT.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

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We’re living at a time in which our capacity attention may be our most valuable asset. If this is true, than our great liability is distraction, and the ways in which we are training ourselves in distraction. Paying attention to the purpose of our lives, and to where God may be inviting us to give of our energy and time is a beautiful opportunity.

The world around us is happy to provide us with lots of attractive options for surrendering our attention to mostly meaningless amusements. But God’s purpose for you is gentler, quieter, less flashy and more substantial. God’s Spirit would love to train you how to pay attention to his presence in your every moment. 

My guest today, Paul Angone, has written a book to help us with all this, Listen to Your Day. He wants to help us stop drifting, stop worrying, and stop living distracted. I’m looking forward to sharing our recent conversation with you in a minute. 

Paul Angone is a trusted and sought-after voice to college students, young professionals, and those going through career change. The bestselling author  of 101 Secrets for Your Twenties, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties, and 25 Lies Twentysomethings Need to Stop Believing, Paul is a dynamic keynote speaker at universities, corporations, and churches nationwide. He is also the creator of AllGroanUp.com and the All Groan Up podcast. He lives just outside Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Naomi, and their four children.

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Here at Unhurried Living, we care about the souls of leaders. We are interested in spiritual leadership that attends to the souls of others. This is at the heart of the calling of Jesus in our lives to follow him, to let him shepherd us well, and to learn how to join him in the care of others around us. 

Cultivating the spiritual growth of others has been at the heart of our work for more than 30 years. And this Fall, we’ll be launching a new training in leadership and soul care called PACE.

PACE is for you if you want to engage your leadership with more intention & presence, but:

• You haven’t found a mentor to help guide the way, 
• You don’t have the skills to lead formationally,
• You feel distracted by all your current demands. 

Maybe you are well aware of your need to prioritize the care of your own soul, but:

• You're feeling unfocused  or overwhelmed
• You don't believe you have the time to devote to these practices
• You struggle to experience the connection between your soul and your leadership. 

You know you could be leading with more focus and heart…but you don’t know where to begin.

You know you could be leading from overflow...but you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and distracted by all the options.

Learn more about PACE here.

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We begin with a reading from 1 Thes 5:14:

“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thes. 5:14)

It would be easy to simply gloss over this, ignoring the relational nuances or to turn it into some rigid formula for the control freak within. Rather than either of those, I like to think of this as wise counsel for truly seeing others and responding in ways that might actually help them make their way.

We’ll simply take each phrase on its face as we move through the verse.

Connect with Gem on Instagram or visit her at the Unhurried Living website.

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In the first two chapters of An Unhurried Life, I share a bit about my first experience with solitude and silence in a group retreat setting. That was in January 1990. It’s hard to believe that was 33 years ago. I have often shared how transformative the regular rhythm of retreat has been in my life, my marriage, and my leadership over the years. 

Today, I’m so happy to be talking with Ruth Haley Barton about her book Invitation to Retreat. It’s such a wise, practical resource to help us cultivate the regular practice of spiritual retreat. I can highly recommend it!

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president and CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.

Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Pursuing God's Will Together. 

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn.

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There is one place in the gospels where Jesus specifically describes himself. Remember this passage from Matthew 11? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus describes himself as gentle and humble in heart. I wonder to what degree we imagine these as primary aspirations in our own discipleship to Jesus. Harshness and pride seem to be reigning nearly everywhere in our world today, and too often even among those who would call themselves followers of Christ. 

That’s why I’m so glad to be talking today with Brenda Quinn and Richard Foster about his latest book, “Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue.” Humility is more than a virtue that we should practice. It is actually the pathway to the abundant life Jesus has come to lead us into! 

Brenda Quinn is a pastor of spiritual formation in the Foursquare church and a writer of many years. She is also the author of the character profiles in the Life with God Bible.

Richard Foster is founder, past president and current team member of Renovaré. Having studied at George Fox and Fuller Theological Seminary, Foster has served as a pastor and taught worldwide on spiritual formation. Author of dozens of articles and six books, including Celebration of Discipline, Richard continues to write on the spiritual life. He and his wife, Carolynn, have two grown children, Joel and Nathan, nine grandchildren, and live near Denver, Colorado.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn.

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The second most listened to episodes in the nearly five years of this podcast is titled “Working for God or Working with God,” episode #205. A key insight there is that our work or our ministry is not so much something we do for God, and then hope for his blessing after the fact. Our work is a gracious collaboration with the God who initiates and is already at work. 

Today, I’m talking with Dr. Roger Parrott about his book Opportunity Leadership. In it, he makes what some leaders will consider a radical proposal: Many of our assumptions in long-range organizational planning are misguided. He wants to argue for a way of leading that is paying attention to opportunities God’s Spirit is bringing across our paths now rather than projecting futures we can’t possibly predict. Certainly Covid-19 showed us that long-range plans don’t predict the future for any of our lives or our organizations. 

Dr. Roger Parrott is one of America’s most experienced college presidents and was named among the 10 Most Visionary Education Leaders of 2021 by The Education Magazine. Dr. Parrott is a third-generation College president and was one of America's youngest college presidents first elected at age 34. He has served on various boards and was Chair of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. In addition to his book Opportunity Leadership, Dr. Parrott is also the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders. His wife, MaryLou, earned her Ph.D. in English and is a Professor at Belhaven. They have two adult children who graduated from Belhaven.

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Awhile back, during an overnight retreat, I chose to peruse the notes from my first spiritual direction training. I had two folders with worksheets, practices, and handwritten notes from multiple lectures.

My plan was to read through everything, so I could remember and glean from the spiritual wisdom contained in those pages. 

I made it through only half of one handwritten notebook. I barely scratched the surface. Reading through my notes in a soulful way turned out to be a much slower process than I had anticipated.

That time was so rich. I was able to soak in the goodness of God and reflect on how he had used those teachings to carry me through the next ten years.

The lessons I reflected on were like a rototiller, cultivating the soil of my soul’s garden. I was ready to receive what was offered, and it truly prepared me for all of the work that followed over the decade since then.

I thought I would share with you ten seeds of wisdom from my notes. My hope is that one or two of these ideas will connect with you right where you are.

Connect with Gem on Instagram or visit her at the Unhurried Living website.

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We’ve talked often here about the continual challenge of how our devices tend to train us in hurry and distraction. In episode 103, “Managing our Omnipresent Smartphones,” I shared the story of an eight-day retreat where I found myself wrestling with how attached to my smartphone I’d become. You might enjoy going back to that episode after you’ve finished listening to this one. 

Today, I’m talking with a new friend, Heath Wilson, who is the co-founder of a company called Aro. They’ve developed a resource and app that will help you manage how you engage as a family with your smartphones. It’s designed to help us reduce screen time by making it easy and fun to put down our phones.

Aro is built on the principles and science of habit formation, and gamifies the experience of being off your phone. The Aro smart-box is beautiful, tech-packed, and acts as the visual cue for you to put down your phone. I hope you’ll take time to explore this resource further. 

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We live in a world where limits are seen as curses, but maybe good limits are God-given gifts. Only God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere. It’s good news that I don’t have to try to be any of these things because I simply can’t. Today's Unhurried Living Podcast episode is an interview with Kelly Kapic, author of "You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News." I love how Kelly and I are able to talk about and share the intersection of his message on limitations the Unhurried Living message of unhurry.

Kelly M. Kapic is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He is the award-winning author or editor of more than 15 books, including Embodied Hope , The God Who Gives , and Becoming Whole with Brian Fikkert. Kapic is also part of a John Templeton Foundation grant studying “Christian Meaning-Making, Suffering, and the Flourishing Life.”

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Near the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, I spoke with Jay Kim about his book Analog Church. It was a great conversation that you can go back and listen to--episode 131. In his follow-up book, Analog Christian, Jay continues to address how we relate to technology, our devices, and our apps. He talks about how we think we’re using our devices, but don’t realize that our devices are also using us. I love the wisdom he shares in this book. By the way, Analog Christian was recently given The Gospel Coalition Award of Distinction in Christian Living. 

Jay Y. Kim serves as the lead pastor at WestGate Church in the Silicon Valley and on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project. His writing has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children. In addition to Analog Christian, Jay has written Analog Church, 40 Days through the Book of Colossians, and is a contributing author to a number of other projects. 

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Today I’m talking with Dr. Kristi Gaultiere and we’ll be discussing our journey toward emotional and spiritual growth.

I’ve known Kristi for many years. She and her husband have a ministry called Soul Shepherding and their mission is similar to Unhurried Living. They care for and train Christian leaders with a focus on pastors and spiritual directors. Kristi and her husband are both therapists and authors and I’m delighted to share this conversation on transformation over a lifetime.

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As the 2023 Unhurried Living Podcast season begins, I’m pleased to be talking with Jen Pollock Michel about her latest book, In Good Time. As I read it in preparation for today’s conversation, I had so many “Amen” moments. I’m grateful for Jen’s deep-rooted and wise message about unhurried time. 

Jen Pollock Michel is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books: A Habit Called Faith, Surprised by Paradox (winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Award of Merit for Beautiful Orthodoxy), Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want (winner of Christianity Today’s 2015 Book of the Year). 

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Most of us have no idea how others see or process their experiences. And that can make relationships difficult.  Understanding the motivations and dynamics of our different personality types can be the key that unlocks sometimes mystifying behavior in others―and in ourselves.  

Suzanne Stabile’s book, The Path Between Us looks at the nine Enneagram types and how they behave and experience relationships.  

Today I’m sharing a portion of my Replenish conversation with Suzanne. We all desire healthier relationships and Suzanne can help point the way.

The question I asked Suzanne for this I Can Do That! Podcast episode is this: What is a unique challenge for each Enneagram type in relationships?

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

As was typical of a season long ago, there was a pile of little boys in the back of my red minivan. We were driving down the street toward our home when I noticed some unusual dark grey storm clouds in the sky. Behind the clouds was a glowing blue sky, with splashes of pink and gold.

It was the beginning of sunset, and, evidently, my then 4-year-old son had never seen a sky exactly like that before.

“I never saw today!” he exclaimed as he peered out the van window, reacting to the sky.

The wonder in his voice floored me. The only way he could think of to describe this amazing sky which he had never seen before was, “I never saw today!”

What did his exclamation do for my mama’s heart? We’ll that’s where we’re headed.

I’m Gem Fadling and it’s time for ICDT.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

As a part of my living room décor, I have two bowls of rocks. Of course this is lovelier than it sounds. The bowls are glass antiques from my Aunt Ruth’s collection and the rocks are all polished and colorful.

But these aren’t just rocks. They represent a bowlful of treasured memories created with my dad. Markers of time spent together.

I’m Gem Fadling and it’s time for ICDT.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Last week, I shared some of the origin story of my latest book with InterVarsity Press, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living. In this episode, I’m going to share the essence of three of the daily readings from A Year of Slowing Down. I want to give you a feel for the resource. 

In this episode, I’m going to share the essence of three of the daily readings from A Year of Slowing Down. I want to give you a feel for the resource. 

So, for Day 29, I wrote about Psalm 33:5, which reads,

The Lord loves righteousness and justice;  the earth is full of his unfailing love.

If you’re going to learn to slow down to the pace of God’s kingdom, one of the realities you’re going to learn to trust is that the earth is full of God’s unfailing love, and that God loves making things right. He loves to restore attitudes, thinking, and ways of relating and living so they are what he intended. This is the fruit of communing with the God who does everything well. When we align ourselves more closely with God, he finds pleasure in this, and we find ourselves being made more whole and holy.

Sometimes all we can see is the bad in this world. We hear news stories or witness global events and we see the injustice. Where is God in this? Despite the apparent evidence, God is working toward righteousness and justice. God is at work transforming our individual lives so that we, together, might bring change to the world around us. But that takes time. Hasn’t it taken time for God to bring about the transformation your life has needed?

Listen as I talk about the benefits of the book as well as how to best engage with the devotions.

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In our book, What Does Your Soul Love?, I shared a few nuggets of wisdom from one of my mentors, Abbot David Geraets. But there’s one nugget I didn’t put into the book, and I’d like to offer it to you today.  A nugget about silence.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m talking with my sweetheart and husband of 37 years, Alan Fadling, and we’ll be discussing unhurried spiritual leadership. This is Alan’s expertise and I want you to learn from the best.

Alan’s message has been forming over decades. And I’m sure you’ll hear echoes of things I’ve shared with you before. That’s because we’ve taken this journey together, and I count this as a great grace.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and the Replenish Community.

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In today’s and next Monday’s episode, I’ll be sharing more about my latest book with InterVarsity Press, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living.  A Year of Slowing Down is designed to help you take the formational journey my first two books, An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader, describe. 

These devotionals had their beginnings in my personal journal. I’ve been practicing the discipline of spiritual journaling regularly since my twenties. Since then, I’ve journaled about 11,500 pages and 7.6 million words over thirty-some years. 

At its simplest, my journal is a place where I pray. I wrestle with unhelpful thoughts. I meditate on scripture or spiritual readings. I reflect on my experiences. I capture creative ideas and work with them. I do all of this with a sense of God-with-me. It’s my hope that the Spirit who has been with me as I’ve written in my journal will be with readers as they journey through the book. 

I envision these daily readings as five-minute daily retreats. I don’t see the practice of retreat as a way of avoiding or escaping reality. It’s a practice in acknowledging deeper reality. As you read each day, and especially as you carry the included reflection question into your day to chew on, you’ll experience the steady formation of a more unhurried mindset and way of living. Transformation happens at that gracious, steady pace.

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I’m sharing a recent conversation with Lore Ferguson Wilbert about her book A Curious Faith. In it, she talks about questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and question we wish others would ask us. We are sometimes uncomfortable with questions unless we quickly figure out an answer to them. But growing deeper in trusting God often involves “living the questions” rather than merely answering them. 

I believe in the formative power of good questions. Our own book, What Does Your Soul Love?, is based on eight questions that reveal the frontiers of where God is at his transforming work in our lives. 

Lore Ferguson Wilbert is the founder of Sayable.net and the author of Handle with Care, winner of a 2021Christianity Today Book Award. She has written for Christianity Today, Fathom magazine, and She Reads Truth, and served as general editor of B&H's “Read and Reflect with the Classics.” Wilbert reaches an audience of more than 40,000 through email and social media. She is currently pursuing an MA in Christian spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University and lives in upstate New York.

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I’ve enjoyed the treat of having many mentor-like people in my life who were ahead of me on the journey. They knew more than me and readily shared their knowledge and wisdom. They believed in me and my potential, and were willing to help draw me into the next season.  

Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

It is certainly true that my mentors taught and trained me, but just as Ms. Angelou stated, what I remember the most is how they made me feel. Although there have been many who poured into me throughout my life, today I'm sharing with you three important people who touched and changed my life:

• Perla Warren
• Hal Clark
• Ellyn Cowie

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Here in the states, it’s Thanksgiving week. And it’s easy to become stressed or overwhelmed during the holidays. Every year we tell ourselves that we won’t get caught up in the scurry of the season, but difficult relationships and over-extended schedules press in. Then we find ourselves enduring the season rather than enjoying it.

Wrapped up inside all this is another lovely dynamic: decision fatigue. 

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m happy to introduce my latest book A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living, and it releases in two weeks on December 6. 

This book captures a lot of what we’ve been talking about here at Unhurried Living. It is the third book in the unhurried trilogy, following An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader.

With the overwhelming pace of life, many of us struggle to stop long enough to be present. Our long to-do lists and full calendars leave little breathing room to hear from God. We know we need to slow down but we don't even know how to begin.

I’ve spent decades coaching leaders and communities on how to live an unhurried life, teaching that productivity and success are not our first pursuit, but the fruit of living at the pace that our true self longs to live. Designed to help you center your day around God's loving presence, A Year of Slowing Down offers six devotionals for each week of the year. Each day begins with a Scripture passage followed by a short reading and a reflection question.

This book is an invitation to slow down and be present to the movement of God in your everyday life. I hope you’ll embrace God's call to welcome a year of slowing down.

Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Tom Nelson about his book The Flourishing Pastor. Many of you who listen regularly to this podcast are serving in church leadership. Many of you aren’t. This isn’t an episode only for pastors. We’re talking about how we can flourish in our roles and relationships of influence. In fact, flourishing is one of the ways we best serve others. We have an abundance from which we can joyfully share with others. 

These have been challenging years to be a pastor. If you are a pastor, I hope this episode will be of special encouragement to you. If you aren’t a pastor, there is a good chance you have a pastor. Would you listen not only for insights that help you, but also with an ear for how you might be a friend to you pastor? 

Tom is founder and president of Made to Flourish, an organization that empowers pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities.

Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m talking with Dr. Alison Cook and we’ll be discussing how to discover the BEST OF YOU (also the title of her latest book).

Dr. Alison delivers life-changing strategies for helping women develop their voices, forge healthy relationships, and embrace the holy, sacred work of becoming their true selves in God. 

I’m sharing with you a portion of the conversation I had with Alison for our Replenish Community. She shares about the difference between selfishness and selfhood, which leads into a conversation about following the example of Jesus in the area of boundaries.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with James K. A. Smith about his latest book, How to Inhabit Time. The moment I saw this title, I knew there would be some wonderful intersections with our core idea here of learning to live and lead in the unhurried way of Jesus. I wasn’t wrong about that. There is a depth of thinking and a beauty of language in this book. It really was a pleasure to read. 

There is an invitation to live well in the present moment. The language of “inhabiting” takes me to the invitation of Jesus to “abide in him” like a branch remains connected to a vine to be lush and fruitful. Each “now” is the place where we can do that. But we are so often rushing past the present moment (or trying to) and missing the grace that is available to us right here. I know you’re going to enjoy our conversation about these things today.

Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Have you ever experienced a moment when scripture came to life? More than just words on a page or a passage that you memorized, I’m talking about a time when reality-wisdom bowled you over. Well, today I’m sharing a time when scripture leapt off the page and overwhelmed me with the felt reality of its truth.⁠

⁠This week on I Can Do That! Podcast, I share how a reading in church changed how I view and receive scripture.⁠

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke about their book Having the Mind of Christ. In it, they talk about what they call eight axioms for cultivating a robust faith. In a day when so many are disappointed with the faith they were given by the church of their early formation, we need a more vital vision of the life to which Jesus is actually inviting us. 

Too often, our assumptions, our expectations, even our values are shaped more by popular cultural voices than they are by the beautiful ways of God’s kingdom. This is a big part of the reason that Unhurried Living exists. We really believe the pace of the kingdom of Jesus is very different than the cultural one that surrounds us. 

Our guests, Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke, are the cofounders of Gravity Leadership, an organization focused on transformational leadership and discipleship. They provide coaching, consulting, and workshops for pastors and ministry leaders. They are also copastors of a church in Indianapolis called The Table and cohosts of the Gravity Leadership podcast. 

Connect with Matt and Ben on Instagram
Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke

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A few years ago I was reading a book by Mary Pipher, entitled, Women Rowing North. In it, a notable epiphany is had by a woman named Sylvia, whose life took some unexpected turns. Pipher writes, “Sylvia in Austin has learned that she is in control not of life, but of the story about her life.“ 

The same time I was reading this book, I ran into some very unexpected and unwelcome travel issues. And I had to chance to try on this new insight. I have my own story to tell today, one about crafting renewed narratives.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, rather than sharing an author interview or a leadership conversation, I’m going to share a daily practice that has been an important element of my unhurried life and work rhythms for a while now. It’s rooted in some of the insights I wrote about in the last chapter of An Unhurried Leader, which is titled “Working with God.” 

By the way, episode 205 of this podcast, “Working for God or Working with God,” based on that chapter, is one of our top five most downloaded episodes. If you haven’t already listened to that one, I encourage you to go back to it. This has been a big idea that’s been transforming how I think about and engage my work. 

The daily practice I’m going to share with you in this episode is one I’ve come to call, “Praying my Work.” Perhaps like you, I keep track of my work in terms of projects and tasks that I’m engaging in a personal task manager that syncs between my computer and my smartphone. There are plenty of tools like this, and you probably use a tool like this to manage your own work. 

The daily practice of “Praying my work” begins at the end of each day as part of my night prayer. I enjoy starting and ending my day with the daily office of The Book of Common Prayer. This rhythm of praying historic prayers and key passages of scripture has been one important way of praying for me for years now.

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The voice of the inner critic is another voice from my new book Hold That Thought. The inner critic has an opinion about everything and she will be sure to tell you. The inner chatter produced by this voice leads to thoughts that can feel judgmental and can even lead to resentment. Here are a few of her choice thoughts: Why can’t you get this right? Couldn’t you have done better than that? Why do you always keep me waiting? Things could be so much better than this. You don’t look-sound-smell right. Fix it! Do better. Be more. And it had better be perfect! 

Today, I’m talking with my friend, Marla Christian. She has a long history with the voice of the inner critic and I’m so glad she’s here to share with us today. We can glean a lot from her story.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Andrew Arndt about his book Streams in the Wasteland. In it, he shares the ancient wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers who journeyed to the wilderness to seek a closer journey with Christ. Andrew shares some of the parallels between their experience with Rome then and our experience today. 

I was first introduced to the desert fathers and mothers in the late 1980s when I read Henri Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary. It was his sharing of the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers, especially about solitude, silence, and prayer, that launched me on a very different spiritual trajectory than the frantically busy one I’d been on up until then.

Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Prior to joining New Life's team, he served as the lead pastor of Bloom Church, a network of house churches in Denver. He is the host of the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Andrew received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently working on his DMin with Western Theological Seminary. He has written for Missio Alliance, Patheos, The Other Journal, and Mere Orthodoxy. He is the author of Streams in the Wasteland and All Flame. Andrew lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Mandi, and their four kids.

Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website.

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This week Alan interviews friend and fellow author, Steve Macchia, about his latest book The Discerning Life. When we use the language of “discerning” in popular culture, we often mean something like having good taste—like knowing good wine from average. As a spiritual capacity, it’s much more than that as you’ll see.  

In more particularly Christian contexts, we may use the language of discernment as it relates to decision-making. We come to a fork in the road and we feel the need for wisdom to take the best path. But discernment is bigger than this as well. As you listen to my conversation with Steve, you’re going to appreciate the depth and breadth of just what a discerning life can be for us. 

Steve Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc., a ministry which focuses on the spiritual formation needs of leaders and the spiritual discernment processes of leadership teams in local church and parachurch ministry settings nationwide. He is also the director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and previously served for fourteen years as president of Vision New England. Steve is the author of several other books, including Broken and Whole, Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life.

Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website.

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The voice of the stressed achiever has much to do. She likes to focus on accomplishments and she cares about the opinions of others. Never allowing a break, the stressed achiever keeps you driving forward. She’ll have nothing to do with laziness. But what hums underneath is a fear that she doesn’t exist apart from her accomplishments. These are her mantras: Staying busy proves my worth. The more I produce, the more I am. Someone must push this thing up the hill. Let’s get going!

Today, I’m talking with Morgan Northway. She has a before and after story of dealing with her inner stressed achiever and it is truly inspiring.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Most of the women I connect with have an interesting connection with their bodies. And that’s putting it mildly. It seems we either love her, hate her or ignore her. (Notice I didn’t call my body an it, but rather her). I know I’m playing around with semantics, but personalizing my body helps me not keep her at arms distance…like an object. Our bodies are God-created and given.

Many of us have suffered various forms of trauma over the course of our lives. And our bodies store the memory of these traumas inside. This is why we don’t want to ignore her messages.

Today I’m talking with Sarah Jackson and we’ll be discussing the idea of attuning to our bodies with awareness, understanding and care.

The connection between our minds and our bodies is undeniable. And even though the scientific world confirms this, practically speaking, we don’t always know how to make the most of this God-designed connection. Sarah is quite skilled at helping us make that connection. 

Connect with Sarah on Instagram.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

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Today on Unhurried Living Podcast, Trevor Hudson shares wisdom he gained in a long mentoring friendship with Dallas Willard, and long practice in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. He talks about the reality of how the life of the kingdom of God is a different sort of life. It’s a life that meets us even in our places of hardship, weariness, and pain. I think you’re going to find a lot of grace in Trevor’s insights.  

All of this as we find life in seeking God.

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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Today I’m sharing with you a very special story. It’s actually an excerpt from my new book, Hold That Thought. It’s my description of a pivotal scene from the movie Wonder Woman. I know…what can you learn from a superhero movie, right? Well, it turns out you can learn a lot. When you are open, aware and willing, there is no telling from where your next life lesson might emerge.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, we come to the final episode based on our book What Does Your Soul Love? The final chapter is titled: “Process: Staying on the Path of Change.” One of my key learnings over the years has been that to remain a person of spiritual influence in the communities where God has placed me, I must remain engaged in the transforming journey into which God has invited me. Letting myself get stuck, but then stay stuck along the way doesn’t help me or anyone else. 

So I’m looking forward to sharing a recent conversation I had with my friends Jeb Shore and Matt Fogle about Leadership as a Transforming Process. I really enjoyed it and I believe you will as well.

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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On today’s podcast episode I’m sharing a little bit about each of the seven unhelpful voices that sometimes take the steering while of our lives.

At its core, each voice does not believe it already has what it needs. So, it finds a way to whisper (or yell) in your ear to get your attention. When they feel backed into a corner these voices may lash out. Here’s an example from each voice. See if you recognize any of these:

• Stressed Achiever - You haven’t achieved enough yet. You haven’t proved yourself. Get on it!
• Positive Thinker - You can’t possibly have everything yet. But I know how to get it. Let’s go!
• Inner Critic - It’s not perfect yet. We are going to get this right if it’s the last thing we do.
• Anxious Controller - You don’t have enough control. What if things go awry? What will happen then, huh?!
• Complaining Victim - That other person is keeping you from being happy. If they would just change, then you’d have what you need. Until then you are stuck.
• Passive Spectator - And you don’t know how to get it. You only have so much energy and we’ve got more important things to do like hide, be scared, and remain unfulfilled. That way you never have to be disappointed.
• Unsatisfied Heart - How could you possibly fill that giant void in your heart? There is no way to fill up this space, and even if you try there’s no way it will happen any time soon.

Seeing the voices this starkly can make us either laugh or cry. But when these unhelpful thoughts circle around in our brain, they seem very real—and they feel like the truth.

But remember what we said before, you are not your thoughts. These voices come from any number of places inside of us. Past traumas, unhealthy relationships and more cause us to self-protect. And these voices are really trying their best to keep us safe. 

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Nearly ten years ago, I wrote my first book, An Unhurried Life. It’s subtitle was “Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Discovering and following those rhythms of life and work have been a primary focus for Gem and for me in this last decade. 

So you can perhaps appreciate how glad I was when I saw that Ruth Haley Barton’s next book is titled, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. In light of these intense last few years that we’ve all lived together, this book could hardly be more timely! 

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president and CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.

Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Pursuing God's Will Together. 

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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Today, my guest is Jennifer Dukes Lee. Jennifer’s most recent book is entitled, Growing Slow. I placed her here right up front on purpose. Her message is one I deeply believe in. How could I not? We are Unhurried Living after all.

The excerpt I chose for you this month is about wintering. If you think about the seasons of the year, most people don’t appreciate the view of a leafless tree, standing alone in the frozen tundra. But as you hear Jennifer describe what happens to farmland in winter, I hope you will feel encouraged deep down inside your soul. Even when you think nothing is happening…so much is actually taking place deep within.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? .  Today we are talking about the chapter on "Joy.” In other words, the question, “What does your soul love?” is a question of where do we find deep joy?  

In the book of Nehemiah, we hear him telling the people that “the joy of the Lord is their strength.” It is God’s joy over us and in us that empowers and energizes us. It is our finding joy in God that sustains us and enables us to flourish. 

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today Alan talks with author Dr. Todd Hall about his new book The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality. In it, he talks about the reality of how isolated so many of us feel. The pandemic seemed to amplify and accelerate a sense of disconnection many of us were already feeling in some way or another. 

But God invites us into relationship, and connection is a great way to describe what he invites to. God’s Spirit enables us to experience the reality of God’s loving presence with us. But so many feel distant from God rather than close to God. 

Todd W. Hall is professor of psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University, where he teaches courses on the integration of psychology and theology and positive psychology. He is a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and a founding partner at Flourishing Metrics. Hall is an award-winning researcher, focusing on relational approaches to spirituality, virtue, and leadership. He is a coauthor of Psychology in the Spirit and Relational Spirituality, developer of several widely used spiritual assessments, and codeveloper of the Flourish Assessment.

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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Today, I’m sharing with you one of the mentor conversations from the first month of Replenish. You’ll get to hear from me, Brenda Renderos and Larissa Marks as we talk about some of the central paradigms of the formational life. This is the kind of content you can expect each month in Replenish. Real life conversations about important and profound matters.

Brenda Renderos is a soul care coach, and Larissa is a spiritual director and formation coach. They are both quite wise and gracious and I know you’ll hear this shine forth as we move through our conversation.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I first want to talk to you about the word Replenish and why I love it so much. There are a lot of “R” words that I could have chosen: Rest, receive, recover, refill, or restore.

Replenish stands out because within it is the connotation of refilling that which was poured out. It assumes you are giving, serving and working. It is important for us to remember that these dynamics are concurrent. We keep ourselves fresh and replenished as we continue to serve and give.

No matter what your age or stage, I know you are engaging lots of output. Friends, family, work responsibilities--there is much to do. But if you’ve been listening here for long, you know me well enough to know that I believe deeply that you cannot continue to serve from an empty cup.

Replenishing is the idea of the pitcher and the cup. Imagine God as a pitcher of cold, refreshing water and he is constantly pouring. We, the cup, remain under that replenishing stream as we live our lives. John 15 would call this abiding.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Notice, discern and respond (NDR). Three simple words. And yet they take time and intention. Today’s I Can Do That! episode is like a mini-workshop. I’m not just going to chatter away at you. Instead, you can take action on a thought right now, as we move through this together.

This is about telling ourselves the truth. Critical, shaming or numbing thoughts do not help us mature the way we desire. We are simply becoming more aware of our thoughts so that they don’t run the show and keep us from engaging life the way we want to.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the last few years I’ve been consoled many times by this phrase: you already have what you need. It comes straight from 2 Peter 1:3 and the Spirit reminded me of its power during a particularly stressful season. It’s now an ongoing life-paradigm for me.

I thought it might be nice if we spent a little time in 2 Peter, lingering over these words slowly. Savoring them like a fine chocolate.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3) .

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book,Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In the early part of my life I'd like to think that I was a relatively functional and intelligent participant in my own life. And I was. I got married, I held down a job, and we began a family. I enjoyed a large community and a wonderful life. 

However, under the surface, I didn't really have access to my own, individual voice. There was a kind of holy confidence missing. Self-doubt and anxiety often ruled the day. And I knew little of boundaries.

I now enjoy a major shift of focus. I know who I am in God and a holy confidence has emerged. I feel more solid inside because I stand more firmly on who God says I am. My confidence comes from him. This holy confidence feels like being in flow most of the time.

Sure, I still struggle just like all of us do in day-to-day ways. However, in a central place inside myself I stand in this holy confidence. And I move forward in flow. 

There is obviously more to the story here. How did I get from there to here? Well, I unpack all of this more in today’s episode.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website

Learn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today we are talking about thoughts. We begin with  "You are not your thoughts. You have thoughts."  

The first time I heard this I, of course, understood every single word. And yet it seemed like a foreign concept to me. What do you mean I'm not my thoughts? They're in my head, it's my voice, of course it's me!

Another way of saying this is: You are more than your thoughts. You have thoughts. But you are not your thoughts. This is such a freeing insight. Because it means you have the choice to move toward objectivity when you notice certain thoughts floating through your brain. Especially the unhelpful ones.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that has unhelpful thoughts. Anxiety-producing, control-enacting, fear-inducing, judgment-oriented thoughts. These are not my best move, but isn’t it easy to slide into these dynamics?

Once I understood that I was not my thoughts and that I have thoughts, I realized I was able to make a choice. But this is harder than it looks. Sure, I could make a choice, but there are many steps between where I am now and a whole new way of behaving.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? .  Today we are talking about the chapter on "Control.” The core question around which this chapter revolves is this: “What Are You Clinging To?” In a conversation with friends on the topic of control in leadership, they tackle the idea that leadership and control are not the same thing. 

Many of the ways in which Christian leaders want to influence others are not exactly controllable. You can’t control people in the same way you might be able to control things. And when our leadership happens in the context of God’s kingdom, we might want to ask what effect our attempts to take control have in light of God’s presence and power. 

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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Picture this...you are at the gym and you’re getting ready to lift some weights. It’s been a while, but you’ve decided to go for it. The barbell is in your hands and you are prepared to lift it up over your head.

But before you do so, a guy walks over to you and says, “I bet you can lift more than that. Here, let me help you.” You protest, but he insists and then he proceeds to add 20 more pounds to each side. And then he just walks away, no cheering you on, and no coaching.

You try to lift the barbell but it won’t budge. What you thought was going to be a profitable time of exercise just turned into a dead-weight hit and run that stalls your workout.

The dynamic of control is like those extra 40 pounds--extra, unnecessary weight. Control can take an otherwise regular situation and turn it into an un-liftable challenge.

And the irony is that we are that guy who added the extra weight. We do it to ourselves!

Bearing up under the weight of control takes its toll. We find we are unable to keep going while carrying the world on our shoulders. Much of the stress in our lives is caused by expectations, as well as trying to control situations so they turn out the way we think they should.

What would it look like to give up control?

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

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Alan shares his conversation with Justin Whitmel Earley about his latest book Habits of the Household. A few years ago, we shared a conversation about his first book, the award-winning Common Rule (you can go back to episode 72 to listen to that conversation).

Justin's book extends his insights into a personal rule of life into how to cultivate a rule of life for a family. At the time he wrote the book, he and his wife, Lauren, had three young boys and another on the way. What he writes has plenty of insight for households of many kinds as Holy habits extend from personal practice to community practice. 

Justin Whitmel Earley is a writer, speaker, and lawyer from Richmond, Virginia, and the author of the award-winning book on habits and spiritual formation, The Common Rule. But most of all, Justin is a dad who is married to Lauren and spends a lot of time wrestling his four young boys. 

Connect with Justin on IG @justinwhitmelearley

Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

Unhurried Living Podcast episode 72 with Justin Whitmel Early on Common Rule

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We are living at a time when rampant contempt and disregard for humanity fill our daily newsfeeds. This is not limited to North America or Western culture; it’s occurring worldwide. We don’t even hear all of the terrible things that are happening, but what we do hear is now beyond unbearable.

Like so many others who are speaking out about this problem, I don’t have easy answers. So, from my heart, I am asking that we continue to be people of blessing.

We can be present in our own very real lives. Day by day. Moment by moment. We can bridle our own tongue, monitor our own anger, and guard our own heart. And we can will the good of another—one person at a time.

Dallas Willard has said that a “blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn’t merely words. It is the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God. Only God is capable of bringing good to another. We naturally say, ‘God bless you,’ and that’s right. You bless someone when you will their good by invoking God on their behalf. This is the nature of blessing. God wants us to receive blessing from Him and extend it to others.”

• Right now, recall and savor one way God has blessed you.
• Out of gratitude for that blessing, what might it look like for you to put forth your will for the good of another person today?

God is present. He loves you. Let that overflow, and be a blessing.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today Alan is sharing some personal thoughts on the chapter in his book What Does Your Soul Love? on “Fear.” The core question around which this chapter revolves, no surprise, is “What Are You Afraid Of?” It’s a challenge that we all face. It’s been said that the most common word of command God gives in the Scriptures is “Do not fear.”  Alan hopes that what he has to share in today’s episode will help you enter into the encouraging gift of this command. 

Learn more about Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

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If you are in the middle of a season of change, you likely feel out of place, neither here nor there. You feel the need for some fresh air, some energy to keep going.

If you are at the end of a season of change, you may be tired. You desire to celebrate, but you can’t keep your eyes open. Plus, the next project is looming before you and you don’t know if you have time to celebrate.

Here is a passage on which you can hang your hat no matter what stage of your process you are in. It’s from Isaiah 26:7-9, The Message…

The path of right-living people is level.

    The Leveler evens the road for the right-living.

We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger

    in the path sign-posted with your decisions.

Who you are and what you’ve done

    are all we’ll ever want.

Through the night my soul longs for you.

    Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.

When your decisions are on public display,

    everyone learns how to live right.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

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In today’s episode, Alan speaks with his friend and bishop, Todd Hunter. His most recent book is titled Deep Peace: Finding Calm in a World of Conflict and Anxiety. It’s a pretty timely topic, wouldn’t you say? Statistics over these last couple of years tell us that anxiety is at perhaps an all-time high. And you don’t have to go much further than your social media or news feed to see the levels of conflict in our time. 

One of the simple statements Todd has shared more than once goes, in part, like this: “If it can be done in anxiety, it can be done better in peace.” Alan shares that this has been a bit of ongoing spiritual direction that he’s returned to countless times. He’s come to find that peace is a far better foundation for good living, good relationships and good work that anxiety or anger have ever been. 

IG @bishoptoddhunter

Connect with Alan at www.unhurriedliving.com

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Over the years, as I engaged in various forms of group exercise, I’ve collected some helpful tips from many fitness instructors. I’ve been able to narrow some of these ideas into an acronym that may help you formationally.

Many of the same principles that grow us physically can also be translated into our formational inner work.

So let’s take a look at ARC: Ability, Rhythm and Core.

• ABILITY - Start where you are.
• RHYTHM - Engage healthy rhythms.
• CORE - Let your believing  become knowing  through practice.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

"How are you suffering?"  Doesn’t this sound like a fun episode? 

However, it won’t take long to realize, and agree, there has been a lot of suffering in the last few years. A global pandemic. I’ve lost two friends to it, and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost two months of my life fighting COVID19 two different times. 

There’s been so much pain. 
Social conflict. 
Political polarization. 
Racial pain. 
Vocational isolation or overwhelm. 

This episode addresses these truths  in a conversation I have with friends on the topic of pain.  The discussion draws from the chapter in my book, What Does Your Soul Love?, of the same title and looks at "how are we suffering?"

In my book, An Unhurried Life, I put two chapters back to back that I wish didn’t go together like they do. One is titled “Suffering: Unexpected Unhurrying,” and the other is “Maturity: Growing Up Takes Time.” I wish that hardship and spiritual growth didn’t go together so often, but the seasons that have contributed the most to deepening my roots or strengthening my trust have been hard ones. So I hope this episode will help you envision how some of the hard places you’ve been walking just might be something God uses for your best good and the good of those around you.

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What would it look like for you to slow down your inner pace as you converse with someone else? Here are five ways you can practice being present and listening to another person:

Begin to quiet your mind as you listen. We all have distractions, but begin to practice setting aside your own inner whirlwind for a bit. Let the life of the person in front of you come to center stage. Quiet your own mind and tune in to what they are saying. Be at rest in their presence.

Let God’s love for the person enter into your heart. This is the time for empathy. Remind yourself that this person is loved by God exactly as they are. Let God’s reality become yours. As you listen, let your heart fill with love for them. Whatever they share, you know that God is already there. God is accomplishing His work in their life. You can become a conduit for God’s love by opening yourself to God as you listen.

Resist the temptation to problem-solve. It is easy for us to move directly into problem-solving or advice-giving mode. Watch out for this tendency. Most people truly just need to be heard. As they are talking things out, they often stumble upon their own solution. Even if they don’t, your humble, listening ear is still a gift they may not find anywhere else. Don’t rob them of the beauty of simply sharing their life.

Think about what God might have on His heart for the person. Listening to the person and at the same time listening to God—this is an art form we can learn. As you listen, remain open to the heart of God. How might God feel toward this person? What might God desire for their life?

Respond with invitations and questions. When you respond, try to do so in a way that shows you really heard them. Let your response be filtered through the question “What would God desire for them?” For example, you could replace “You know what you should do…” with “What is God inviting you to in this situation?” Give them space to thoughtfully respond.

Listening can help us learn that we do not always have to be “on” or fix other people. The Lord Himself is working His own processes in each of our lives. We can learn to be true friends, mentors, & influencers as we cooperate with Him.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In this week's episode, we share a recent conversation Alan had with James Bryan Smith about his latest book, The Good and Beautiful You. In it, he talks about who we really are in God. How has God created us to flourish? What does it look like to be fully alive inside? How do we discover the person Jesus created us to be? We think you’re going to find this episode really helpful in answering questions like these. 

A few years ago, Alan and Gem wrote their book on the soul titled What Does Your Soul Love?  There is such a difference between being a self that we define and being a soul made in the image of a good and beautiful God. We have no better sense of meaning, purpose or identity than one given by a Master Artist who created us as an expression of divine vision. God makes us special. In God we belong. 

James Bryan Smith is a professor of theology at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. He is a founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, and is an ordained United Methodist Church minister, serving in various capacities in local churches. 

Jim is author of a number of best-selling books, including the Good and Beautiful series which includes The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community, and the latest in that series that we’re talking about today, The Good and Beautiful You. 

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"So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t." (Romans 12:5, MSG)⁠

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"Love one another from the center of who you are…" (Romans 12:9, MSG)⁠

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I now often use these verses as I prepare I speak to a group. I remind myself to embrace and to be who I am, without qualification. ⁠

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I get to be exactly who I was made to be. ⁠

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And I remember that I get to love those in front of me from the center of who I am. What a treat. What a privilege! And, to borrow a phrase, I can do that!⁠

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This is an Unhurried Living way of serving. I serve from my authentic self and I love from the center of that place. ⁠

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So much freer than trying to pretend I am something I am not and trying to impress those I am teaching.⁠

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I prefer authenticity and love over pretending and impressing.⁠

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If you are suffering from situational anxiety today, remind yourself that you are loved, that you get to be exactly who you are, and that you can love from the center of your deepest place. ⁠

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

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You, too, do not have to pretend or impress. You can give your best and leave the outcomes to God.

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In our book, What Does Your Soul Love?, I shared the story of how I was learning photography at the same time as I was in the midst of a dark night of the soul.

At the time, and to this day, I carry within me the principles and metaphors of photography as a paradigm for my life. There are many connections here between photography, presence and perspective. I’d like to share three with you now.

1. Look for the light.

2. Remember the rule of three.

3. Choose where to focus.

Listen to today's I Can Do That Podcast as I unpack all three of these dynamics.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’ve been a spiritual director and coach for many women over many years. There are common themes that have arisen in that time. ⁠

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One prevalent theme I bump into over and over is this: Women tend to think there is something wrong with them if they are not progressing quickly through their current situation. ⁠

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Whether it’s a difficult work situation, a troubled relational issue, a period of extended grief, or any formational dynamic, most are convinced that quickly is the only reasonable and truly healthy way forward. This is usually an unconscious bias that goes unnoticed until you say some things out loud and look at them a little closer.⁠

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What’s the rush? Let go of the need to get over it and to continue a production-line mentality. This takes courage and hope, but in the long run you will have participated in your own transformational process. ⁠

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You are being shaped more and more into the image of Christ. How long might that take? Breathe. Feel. Cooperate with the invitations set before you. It’s counter cultural, but this isn’t a race and no one is grading you.⁠

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Allow yourself the gift of grace. Grace of pacing. Grace of process. Grace of permission.⁠

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

As a person of influence, you may be tempted to move ahead more quickly than your people can move. Be sure they sense you are with them in their journey, that you aren’t trying to drag them forward at your pace.

If you are accompanying someone on their journey right now, notice if you are allowing them the dignity to set their own pace. Are there any adjustments you need to make as you accompany them?

Relationship is more important than achievement.

And, if you find yourself on the receiving end of someone else’s grace, it’s ok to receive that gift from them. If you need more time, that’s ok. The fact that you are still pedaling means something. You aren’t giving up and you will get to your destination.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Often, when I talk about Unhurried Time with God, I offer that the reason we do it is because Jesus himself did it. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray. He got in touch with the Father so he could find out what to do, and more importantly, who he was.

Jesus said that the works he did were the Father’s works and the words he spoke were the Father’s words. How else did he know what to do and say except for time spent in God’s presence?

Wouldn’t it be great for someone to look at your life and work and exclaim, “Wow! That looks exactly like Jesus. I can’t distinguish between the two of you because you are so much alike.” How might we copy our Master so that our work is indistinguishable from his? What amount and kind of time does that take?

Ask yourself: What sorts of practices are conducive to receiving the love, mentorship, and guidance of Jesus? What does apprenticeship to Jesus look like in your current season?

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn even more about her and her programs at Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A few of our deepest needs are to be seen, known and heard. Some of us can share our hidden spaces directly with God. Others may need to make their way to God with the help of trusted friends, spiritual directors, coaches or counselors. Either way is beautiful because it means you are becoming more whole.

So…show it all to God. Tell it like it is. It’s already happening and God knows about it. You are not hiding just because you have your hands over your eyes. That toddler game of peek-a-boo is cute with a little one, but it is exhausting for us if we continue to play it as an adult.

Find the freedom you desire. Take that next small, simple and gracious step forward. The one that you can see. Don’t worry about all of the other steps. The grace for each of those will be there when you get there.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her programs at the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“Unnatural, frantic, anxious work, work done under pressure of greed or fear or any other inordinate passion, cannot properly speaking be dedicated to God, because God never wills such work directly.” (Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 19)

These words are a direct blow to my anxiety. Frantic work is never God’s invitation. Simply being reminded of this can be enough to quell the low hum of anxiety.

If I know anything about myself it’s this: I want all that I do to be dedicated to God. And if anything stands in the way of that, I want to stop doing it as soon as I am able.

So I’ll sink further into this reality: “The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need.” 

The ways of Jesus are found in the Great Commandment, the Fruit of the Spirit, the Sermon on the Mount, Psalm 23, and more. We do not see Jesus moving frantically or anxiously. 

Even with all of his interactions, he always shared underlying dynamic: “I do what the Father is doing. I say what the Father is saying.” He always knew what he was about and he felt no need to push or to burn the fuel of anxiety. Jesus was not frantic.

Identify an area of your life in which you are moving frantically or anxiously. Remember, as Merton said, God never wills such work. How might you make an inner shift that leads to working from a non-anxious heart?

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn about her at the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Wherever I go, do I act as though I should be there or am I held back by self-doubt? Do I enter with holy confidence or am I hamstrung by fear? Do I engage with assured presence or am I pressed down by anxiety?

What if a “Beloved child of God” ticket was in my hand and I could use it at will. Like an eternal park hopper pass at Disneyland. Or like a never-ending entrance to the Cathedral in Florence.

Of course, I don’t need to wonder—because I am a beloved child of God. Jesus assures me of this. It isn’t in question.

How about this: the next time you stand on the threshold of a new opportunity, and fear raises its ugly head, look down into your hand and see your “Beloved child of God” ticket. Then proceed to enter in like any ticket holder would.

The next time you need to set a healthy boundary, look down into your hand, see your ticket, remember you are loved, and then continue to make your way.

The next time you want to enter more deeply into an unhurried way of life, and anxiety about your value-apart-from-production pops up, notice the ticket in your hand, and move forward.

Confidence in my belovedness can be at least as sure as when I hold a ticket to a concert and I know I’ll get in the door.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn about her programs at the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“What is most real to you?”

There are a lot of ways that the idea of “truth” is talked about these days. There are those who view truth primarily as a philosophical or doctrinal category to be understood and perhaps defended. There are those who talk about “my truth” as a way of describing their personal perspectives or views.  

This week on Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan talks with friends and pastors on this topic of truth as a kind of lived honesty.

This conversation stems from a chapter in Alan and Gem's book "What Does Your Soul Love?"  We invite you to listen to the discussion, buy the book and experience what your soul is longing for and what your lived truth truly is.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over the years I have grown tired of my own inner dialogue—whether I am doing the right things, being the right things, saying the right things, accomplishing the right things. And not simply in regard to my outer work life but also my inner spiritual life. I have worn myself out with shoulds and ought-tos.

What my heart truly seeks is peace. What it truly seeks is love. My simple, sighing prayer is, “I just want to be in Your love.”

Might that be your prayer too?

How does your heart long for God’s love?

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her on Unhurried Living Website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

God is saying that even if a mother were to forget her children (which she won’t), God will never forget us. God is doubling down on how much he wants us to know that he will never withhold his love for us. God’s compassion is sure and you will not be forgotten.

This is important for us to hold onto as we continue to make our way through our lives. Life is difficult enough, let alone the last couple of years with the added strain of the pandemic. The weight has been, at time, unbearable for many.

In the midst of this is this vital message: You are not forgotten. 

Which means that you are remembered with compassion. Let’s hold onto this truth and let it change us from the inside out. 

Connect with Gem on Instagram  or learn more about her at the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The pace of grace, that’s the key theme in today’s episode of Unhurried Living Podcast. One of my mentors was fond of saying that just as truly as we are saved by grace, so we live by grace, serve by grace and lead by grace. Grace is not merely a doorway through which I enter into the life of the kingdom. Grace is the pathway on which I walk every step of my life.  

Grace is not some kingdom commodity that God guarantees me. It is his very way of interacting with us with generous, joyful love. God invites us to make ourselves as home in his gracious presence. It’s is in God’s nature to long to be gracious to us.

Today I'm talking with Ed Khouri, author of Becoming a Face of Grace. We’re talking about how it works to experience the grace of God and then to live graciously and interact with others graciously. 

For more than 40 years, Ed has worked with substance abusers and their families in diverse settings. Serving as a pastoral counselor, trainer, and writer, Ed’s work has encompassed outpatient counseling, jails, transitional housing for homeless addicts in all phases of residential treatment. He even provided daily supervision for all therapeutic services and staff in a 96-bed state-licensed substance abuse treatment program. Ed is an ordained minister and president of Equipping Hearts. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

If you are in deep pain and are waiting in the process, Holy Saturday is the day on the church calendar when you are deeply, lovingly acknowledged. Waiting is real. The loss is real.

The disciples did not know about the resurrection to come the next day. They only knew their grief and loss.

We are here and now. We know how the story continues. Resurrection did come. But today we will sit in the unknowing, the loss, the confusion.

Let yourself be seen in this place. Give yourself permission to grieve. It's ok to await resurrection, but don't miss the beauty of the waiting.

Since this is Holy Week, I’m walking us briefly through the three movements of this weekend.

Dying. Waiting. Rising.

You can read and download this episode on the Unhurried Living blog so you can follow along and reflect on each day Holy Week.  

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“Where are you hiding?”  

Our habit of hiding goes back to the beginning of creation. Eve eats forbidden fruit. Adam joins her. They become self-conscious, perhaps even self-focused. And so when they sense God drawing near, instead of drawing near like they’ve always done before, they hide.  

We do the same thing. We imagine that it is better to hide our messes from God rather than to bring them into the presence of mercy and grace. But it’s no better than a branch thinking it good to detach from the vine.  

This week on Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan talks with friends John Freeman and Jeb Shore, about vulnerability.

This topic stems from chapter 4 of What Does Your Soul Love?

Listen in wherever you enjoy podcasts.  Then answer the question... what are you hiding?

#whatdoesyoursoullove #unhurriedleader #unhurriedliving #unhurriedlife  

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I wonder if you, like me, had a small handful of childhood dreams. It might time to reflect back on them. See if you can uncover your heart’s desire inside a child’s wish. You may just find your next steps in the hands of your inner child. Tucked within may be keys to how you might want to express yourself even now.

Here’s your “I Can Do That!” for this week: 

Take a few minutes this week to reflect on your childhood career choices, or even just any memories you have of childhood dreams. Notice if there is an aspect of that in you right now. How might you want to express that more fully here and now in your adult life?

Remember, you’re making your way forward one small, simple and gracious step at a time. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I'm chatting with Curt Thompson, MD about his latest book The Soul of Desire. I found so many intersections with what Gem and I have been learning in our journey towards wholeness and vitality in our life in God. In this book, Curt talks about the place of desire in our lives, how desire can sometimes get hijacked, but how desire can be a holy motive and energy that moves us toward the beautiful life of God he has always intended for us. 

Curt Thompson is a board-certified psychiatrist,  founder of Being Known, an organization that develops resources for hope and healing at the intersection of neuroscience and Christian spiritual formation, and host of Being Known Podcast. In addition to The Soul of Desire, he is also the author of The Soul of Shame and Anatomy of the Soul.

You can connect with Curt on social media on Instagram and Facebook.

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Today, Alan shares a recent conversation with his wife and partner in Unhurried Living, Gem, and their friend Matt Fogle, about the chapter on “Resistance” in What Does Your Soul Love? The key question that frames that chapter is, “What is getting in your way?” 

We’re tempted that the main things that get in our way are out there somewhere. We assume that if other people were more cooperative, things would be dramatically better for us. But so often the main things that get in our own way actually arises from within us. We have old habits of getting what we want and need without much reference to God. There are still remnants of practical atheism embedded in these habits. 

We really think you’re going to find this episode helpful as you continue to make your way forward on the transforming journey on which Christ has invited you.

Learn more about Alan on the Unhurried Living website.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your life? Do you ever feel like you’re under a pile and there is no way to dig out? At this point, these are silly questions because we’ve been under a lot of strain the last couple of years. Many people feel pushed beyond their limits.

I’ve noticed that my own negative thoughts and expectations can add another layer of weight when things aren’t going well. I burden my already heavy heart with should’s and self-judgments. This is easy to slide into when we are sick or when life throws a curveball or something unexpected at us. We lose our bearings and grasp for a lifeline.

If you find yourself feeling stressed or overwhelmed, let me offer you an image. I don’t want to preach about this or give easy advice about how to make your situation better. I simply want to offer an invitation to soak in the reality of being surrounded-- of finding refuge.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Connect with Gem on Instagram @gemfadling or learn more about her on the Unhurried Living website.

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Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had a while back with Mark Scandrette about  his book, The Ninefold Path of Jesus. In it, he shares his experience of seeking to live more deeply and faithfully into the nine beatitudes that begin what some call Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In his book, Mark shares a beautiful vision of what it might look like if we practiced the beatitudes as a way of following Jesus more closely and faithfully. 

I love how Mark casts a vision for the kind of life Jesus considers blessed. So often, the culture around us suggests that the good life is in achieving more, or acquiring more, or impressing more people. But Jesus seems to say that a life of abundant goodness is found somehow in 

being

 more like him. He lived an abundant life. His way of treating people was remarkable. He was full of love, of joy, of peace, of all the things we seek. It’s good when we let Jesus define what a good life for us would be like. 

We invite you to connect with Mark on social media on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Your first tooth…

Your first day of kindergarten…

Your first car…

Your first kiss…

Your first home. 

Life is full of firsts. We spend our lifetime taking first steps that lead to growing up and maturing into functioning adults.

Along the way, our souls are taking first steps as well. The first time we heard about God. The first time we heard the name of Jesus. The first time we saw an answer to prayer. The first time we acted on His behalf, in the care of another. And, yes, the first time it all came crashing down around us.

Today, I’d like to share with you three of my firsts. Turning points in my relationship with and understanding of God.

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more about her coaching and community groups.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“What do you really want?” 

It’s a deceptively simple question, but the longer we live with it the more we realize we want so many different things at so many different levels to so many different degrees. It’s actually a genius question to surface that it is that our soul actually wants. 

This week Alan is sinking in deeper on a chapter of his and Gem's book, What Does Your Soul Love? Eight Questions That Reveal God’s Work in You.  The chapter is on Desire and the question that lies at the heart of that chapter is, “What do you really want?”

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.