What if we’ve misunderstood joy—not just as a culture, but even as the church? What if joy isn’t the reward for a life finally in order, but the defiant practice of those choosing trust in the middle of the mess?

In this short reflection, we’ll explore how joy might be less about emotion and more about formation. And why this rebel virtue might just be what our soul—and our world—needs most.

👉 If this stirs something in you, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Each week, I share a thoughtful spiritual formation tool to help you live these truths more deeply.

📤 And if this dig helps you, send it to a friend. Joy is meant to be shared.

About This Episode:Joy isn’t something we chase—it’s something we wake up to.

In this first episode of Formation Digs, we explore how spiritual practice helps us hold space for the soul to notice God—even in the middle of ordinary life. Joy often begins when we stop rushing, pay attention, and open our hearts to grace already present.

This short reflection offers a simple daily practice to help you do just that.

Call to Action (CTAs):

👉 Subscribe to The Compass for weekly reflections, spiritual formation tools, and resources for living a deeper life with God: Click here to subscribe.

🎧 Share this episode with a friend who might need encouragement today.

What happens when trust stops being a spiritual concept—and starts becoming your daily lifeline?

In this Formation Dig, we explore what it means to trust God when life doesn’t resolve on schedule. No tidy answers. No spiritual shortcuts. Just real life, real waiting, and real hope.

Along the way, we’ll draw wisdom from the saints who’ve gone before us—Julian of Norwich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Augustine, Corrie ten Boom, and others—voices forged in seasons where trust wasn’t easy, but necessary.

If you’re in one of those seasons right now, this reflection is for you.

📬 Stay Connected

At The Compass, we explore spiritual formation for real life—not just the polished moments, but the messy ones too.

If this reflection resonates, consider subscribing or sharing it with someone who needs it today.

👉 Click here to subscribe or give a gift subscription to support this work.

In this short reflection, we explore 2 Corinthians 3:18 and the practice of contemplative seeing.Paul uses the word katoptrizomenoi—“to behold as in a mirror”—reminding us that spiritual transformation happens when we set our attention fully on Christ.

Key Takeaways:

* We become what we behold.

* Transformation is not about striving harder, but gazing longer.

* In Christ, the veil is removed. We now have direct, open access to God’s glory—and that changes us.

Reflection Question:

What are you gazing at most in your daily life?Is it shaping you into the person you long to become?

💬 Stay Connected

If this episode was meaningful to you, consider subscribing to The Compass on Substack. Every week, I share spiritual formation tools, reflections, and practices like this one.

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🎧 Share the Journey

Share this podcast with a friend who could use a pause for reflection this week.You can find past episodes and practice tools at The Compass.

In this episode of Formation Digs, I’m sharing a personal story from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage—a moment that revealed more than just a stumble on the trail. It exposed a deeper spiritual issue:

I had become—we’ve become people—someone who walked while reading, led while distracted, and lived without truly seeing.

I now call this Gazing-Deficit Disorder—not a medical condition, but a spiritual one.

We live in a world that has rewired our attention. The result? We’re skimming life instead of gazing at the Presence of God.

This reflection invites us to pause, look up, and recover the ancient practice of spiritual attentiveness.

Key Themes:

* The danger of leading while distracted

* How the digital world reshapes our interior life

* The contemplative tradition’s reminder: What we contemplate, we become

* Why recovering the practice of gazing at God is vital—for pastors, leaders, and anyone longing for deeper formation

Reflection Question:

What’s right in front of you right now that you’ve been too distracted to notice?

The face of someone you love?The ache of your own soul?The gentle whisper of God?

💬 Stay Connected

If this episode stirred something in you, consider subscribing to The Compass on Substack. Each week, I’ll provide spiritual formation tools, reflections, and guided practices to help us slow down and live more deeply with God.

👉 Subscribe here

🎧 Share the Journey

Know someone who’s living while distracted?Send them this episode as an invitation to slow down and look up.

What if 88% of the people in your church were still in the earliest stages of spiritual growth?

That’s what recent research tells us. And yet—there’s hope. Because while spiritual maturity is stalled, spiritual hunger is rising. People are longing for depth. The question is: who will help guide them?

In this episode, I share:

* Startling data from Grey Matter and Barna Research

* Why the church’s current models often fall short

* The quiet wisdom of Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century kitchen helper who found God in the ordinary

* Why his story still matters—and what it says about the future of spiritual direction

* How we can form a new wave of everyday spiritual companions—people who walk with others toward the presence of God

This is the heartbeat behind our Certificate in Spiritual Direction: not louder voices, but deeper guides.Ordinary people. Quiet presence. Life-changing depth.

🧭 Want In?

Enrollment is now open for the Fall 2025 cohort of our 9-month Certificate in Spiritual Direction.Learn more or request an application:

Not sure if it’s the right fit?Download our free one-page reflection tool to help you discern:👉 Click Here for Spiritual Direction Tool

💬 Like this episode?Share it with someone who’s hungry for more than surface-level faith.Tag us or send a message—let us know what stirred something in you.

And if you’re new to The Compass community, subscribe to get weekly spiritual formation tools and reflections:

Closing Word:

Whether you’re peeling potatoes or pastoring a church, the invitation still stands:You don’t need to be profound.You don’t need to be polished.You just need to be present.

Thanks for listening.— Gene

7 minutes | Hosted by Gene Maynard

Intro (Show Notes Preview):Welcome to Formation Dig, a few quiet minutes each week to excavate the deeper layers of faith. In today’s episode, I’m reflecting on two practices that have been quietly shaping me: gathered worship and slow-motion Sabbath. These may seem like separate rhythms—but they meet at the intersection of formation.Come along as we explore the cross-shaped axis of worship and a Monday mountain hike with my grandson.

💬 What’s Inside This Episode:

* Worship when it feels ordinary: Why it’s okay if Sundays don’t feel electric

* The holy surprise of staying rooted in one church for 20 years

* Sabbath as resistance: A mountain trail as a form of protest

* How to practice presence in a world obsessed with productivity

* Two invitations for the week: one for gathered worship, one for slow walking

✍️ Practice for the Week

Vertical–Horizontal Check-In

* What to do during worship: Whisper“Lord, fill my heart with You.”

* After church, speak one encouraging sentence to someone you barely know.

Mini-Sabbath Walk

* Set aside 1 hour for an unhurried walk—no phone, no earbuds.

* Let this prayer guide your steps: “Breathe in grace, breathe out hurry.”

* Write down one thing you noticed about God, and one thing you noticed about someone or someplace.

📜 Scripture Blessing

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…You will find rest for your souls.” — Matthew 11:28–29

🔔 Subscribe & Dig Deeper

If this episode stirred something in you, consider subscribing to The Compass—where every week we share soul-forming reflections, spiritual practice tools, and a gentle path for living deeply with God.

👉 Subscribe to The Compass for free or become a paid subscriber to access weekly spiritual formation tools.

🎓 Interested in going deeper?Enrollment is now open for the Certificate in Spiritual Direction through The Compass Center. If you feel called to accompany others in their journey with God, this 9-month program may be the next step.👉 Learn more by reaching out to me

Formation Dig is written and hosted by Gene Maynard.Thanks for listening—and may grace and joy meet you in your steps this week.

Welcome to today’s Formation Dig.

I want to tell you a story—one that starts on a rugged mountain trail and ends with a hidden bench carved by time. I’d passed it dozens of times without seeing it. But the moment I noticed it, everything changed.

That bench? It became a picture of what spiritual direction is all about: helping someone see what they’ve never noticed before. Not by giving answers—but by offering presence, patience, and the quiet gift of attention.

In this short episode, we’ll explore why spiritual direction isn’t about advice or fixing. It’s about learning how to notice what grace has placed right in front of us—often in places we’ve overlooked.

And if something stirs in you as you listen—if you wonder whether you might be called to offer that kind of presence for others—I’ve created a simple, reflective tool to help you explore that.

👉 Free Discernment Tool:

Is There a Spiritual Director in You?A gentle, prayerful guide to help you listen for your next step.→ Open the Tool Now

🔔 Call to Action:

If this episode speaks to you:

✅ Subscribe to The Compass on Substack for weekly formation posts and resources🌿 Become a Paid Subscriber to receive beautiful weekly practice tools

📤 Share this episode with someone who might need it today

🧭 Explore the Certificate in Spiritual Direction — Cohort 2 opens Sept 1→ Explore the Program

What can a rickety wooden roller coaster teach us about the sacred work of spiritual direction?

In this episode, I share a story from years ago—when a challenge from my sons, a belly full of junk food, and one unexpected seat partner led to a moment I’ve never forgotten. Through it, I discovered something essential about the quiet gift of presence and the heart of spiritual companionship.

Spiritual direction isn’t about fixing others—it’s about walking with them, listening deeply, and gently helping them notice God’s presence in the middle of life’s ups, downs, and hairpin turns.

🧭 Mentioned in This Episode:

The Compass Center’s Certificate in Spiritual DirectionCohort 2 opens September 1, 2025→ Explore the Program→ Or message me directly—I’d love to hear your story.

🔍 Want to Discern if This Path Is for You?

Download the free tool in tomorrow’s Formation Dig episode:“Is There a Spiritual Director in You?”A gentle guide to help you listen for your next step.

💬 Let’s Stay Connected

If this episode stirred something in you:

✅ Subscribe to the podcast and never miss a reflection📬 Join The Compass on Substack for weekly posts + tools🌿 Become a Paid Subscriber and receive weekly spiritual formation practices

📤 Share this episode with a friend who might need some quiet encouragement today

🎙️ Reflection Question:

When was the last time someone simply sat with you, without trying to fix you?And how might you offer that gift to someone else this week?

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”—Matthew 11:28

In this 15-minute Formation Dig, Gene shares a personal reflection on the practice of spiritual direction—how it changed his life, what it really is (and isn’t), and why this quiet work may be one of the most powerful gifts you can offer another soul.

Whether you’re walking through a foggy season or longing to learn how to walk alongside others with clarity and grace, this episode will ground you in what matters most.

🪷 Reflection Question for the Day

Where in your life right now do you need someone simply to be with you rather than fix you?

Could God be inviting you to offer that same quiet presence to someone else?

📚 Mentioned in Today’s Episode

🎓 Learn more or apply for the upcoming cohort:👉 Explore the Certificate in Spiritual Direction

📬 Want to talk with Gene about whether this program is right for you?

🧭 Learn more about The Compass Center

💛 Support This Work

If this episode encouraged you, consider becoming a paid subscriber to The Compass. Paid subscribers receive a weekly formation tool every Wednesday—designed to anchor these themes in daily life.👉 Click here to subscribe

You can also share this post or give a gift subscription to a friend, pastor, or spiritual seeker who needs encouragement.

Thanks for listening—and for walking with others in a world that needs more soul.

—Gene