Coffeehouse Contemplative

We have an internal voice that constantly tells us what we should be doing to make ourselves more worthy of love or acceptance. This voice may come from our family of origin, religious upbringing, or workplace environment, but it presses down upon us and stifles our joy and sense of meaning. What if we viewed the world in another way?

NEW BOOK: No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith

Prayer in Motion: Connecting with God in Fidgety Times

Luke 10:38-42

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Having a big dream for a new beginning or a changed lifestyle sounds great in our heads, but beginning to pursue them is something else entirely. The reality of what we need to do to make the change we seek is often jarring and discouraging. Carving out smaller steps and habits is the way to get past these times of frustration or hesitation.

ALL MY BOOKS

Amie McNee website

Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic by Reinhold Neibuhr

"Sunrise swims to cope with winter," Chicago Tribune

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We each have days that are personally meaningful to us. There are the more obvious ones like birthdays, relationship anniversaries, and holidays, but we each may also have days that we ourselves acknowledge and remember but that most others have no idea about unless we tell them. And yet marking those days is as important to us as the others, and maybe even moreso.

Episode 36: No Perfect Time

No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith

Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday

Luke 9:28-36

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Pursuing your creative passion involves a certain amount of awkwardness, since you'll need time to develop yourself as a creator. But then when it comes time for the question of whether to share your creation with the world, that brings a new set of fears: of being laughed at, or rejected, or ignored. It can take a lot of courage to share your passion with others, but the possibility of finding your audience outweighs the risk of looking foolish.

Dare to Be Stupid by "Weird Al" Yankovic

Matthew 5:14-16

"Those Impious Galileans" by Jonathan D. Blundell

MY NEW BOOK: No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

On March 7th, my new book, No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith, officially releases. I take time this week to talk about where it came from and why I'm publishing it the way that I am, as well as read two entries. I'm excited to share this new creative work with my expanding listener base.

No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith

Episode 35: Ash Wednesday

Episode 31: The Eject Button

My author newsletter

All my other books

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Ash Wednesday--and the season of Lent in general--is known to be a time of humility, repentance, and being honest with ourselves about our shortcomings, mistakes, and mortality. With all that's going on in our world every day, why would we want to pile more on? This episode will explore the lesser desirable themes of the upcoming season, while also exploring their positive qualities (no, really, there are some).

Joel 2:12-17

Psalm 51

Reinhold Niebuhr - Time Magazine

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We encounter moments for which we prepare carefully and with attention to as many details as we can. But then something might happen that demands our adaptation, testing our ability to change our approach in order to respond. If we try to stick strictly to the script, we may miss out on an opportunity for growth. But if we allow for this "eruption of the real" to happen, we may experience life more fully.

"How playwright Tetsuro Shigematsu has transformed my homiletics classes" by John Byassee

Nick Hurwitch

Wonder and Whiskey: Insights on Faith from the Music of Dave Matthews Band

Mark 7:24-29

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We tend to associate the season of winter with scarcity, barrenness, and despair, where signs of life are more difficult to come by. It's also a season where we are left with all that we are facing, with less to shield ourselves from dealing with it. But even bare seasons can carry hope and redemption and the promise of new life, even if those things are harder to see.

Whole 'nother Story - February by Kevin Killeen

Episode 31: The Eject Button

I'm not languishing, I'm dormant by Austin Kleon

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Many people have a tendency to see illness in terms of failure, laziness, and weakness. This view places an extra burden on the sick and disabled, which are among the last things that they need. Rather than guilt and shame, those who suffer from illness need healing and support, as well as a re-framing of the meaning of illness in general.

Episode 31: The Eject Button

John 9:1-41

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

What’s a moment where you long considered doing something different or letting go of something, and you finally did it because circumstances pushed you into doing it? We may dwell in hesitation and rationalization and safety for so long, but eventually reach a point where staying where we are is no longer an option. Sometimes it's less than ideal, but at other times, it's exactly what we need.

My new website!

Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder