Dear Subscribers of the Soul Care Conversation Podcast:​

Welcome to a new season—we sure need a new season, don’t we!  For the next 14 weeks, I (Steve) will be your host and we will be talking about the issues surfacing in our hearts in anxious times. 14 podcasts—14 topics—14 weeks for you and friends to listen, glean, process and work through.

We’ve made this season to fit more of a contemplative theme… knowing that through all the action we are taking politically, racially, economically, and relationally we need to find ways to cocoon, to reflect, think, and process. I hope these podcasts in particular will become a great source of encouragement.​

Friends, these are ideal conversations for you to consider listening to with a friend or perhaps in a small group. More than just a curriculum, this is a spark to get a deeper conversation going—a conversation that is below the waterline—a conversation the soul needs to have to thrive.

In addition, I am proud and happy to share that if you are a patron—and if not,  I hope you will become one, especially after me sharing this with you—that in each podcast we are making available a TRANSCRIPT for you to read and reflect on. Underline, circle or put question marks when you find yourself wondering what I meant or wanting more clarification. We’ve also including a 5-minute story from a person who has been sitting on the potter’s wheel and is sharing their own story of what they experienced and the benefits of sitting at the potter’s wheel.

​This first podcast is on Exhaustion.  I get real. I make it personal. I do this to present my own confession to be a portal into your own story.  My story is different. My story is not unique, however. I believe one of the diagnosis' of the soul for so many is utter and complete exhaustion.  Rather than offer a left brain, 7 steps to Avoid Exhaustion :-) - I chose to be confessional and more right brain/ non-linear to help you think through your own dashboard, to see if exhaustion might fit as an adjective you would use to describe your soul.

​By the way, what are the four words you’d use right now to describe the state of your soul?

• Listen.
• Reflect.
• Ponder.
• Marinate.

Be blessed!

Steve

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This week’s episode is Steve sharing his recent struggles with exhaustion… that deep in the heart, soul weary exhaustion that many of us are struggling with right now. It’s a beautiful episode that will speak to your heart and soul and help you find the unforced rhythms of grace.

What Steve did to help his recovery

• Pulled away from the news

  • Let go of newspaper

  • Limited tv news/ads

• Delete, snooze, and hide toxic people from social media

• Took off to Blue Ridge Mountains for time away

  • Made a dam at creek - a symbol for the things damned in him that needed to get out

• Let nature bring healing and rest

  • Put ourselves out in God’s glory – do daily detoxing

• Read the red letters of Jesus – focused on Jesus and nothing else

• Matthew 11:28 (MSG)

• A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry

• POEM: A Blessing for one who is Exhausted by John O’Donohue

• POEM: I Think I Need One Hundred Days Like This! by Stephen W. Smith

• Blog Post from Steve that started the idea of this episode - Finding the Courage to be Exhausted

Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

[email protected]

Check out our recommended reading, our books on spiritual growth, and soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats. 

This is the final week of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations."

​Next week we begin Season 4 of the podcast, with 12 weeks of all new episodes!

Today we are talking about friendship. Not just any kind of friendship, but spiritual, or soul friendship. What is a soul friend (in Gaelic known as Anam Cara)? And how does it tie in to having a spiritual director? Listen in on this conversation with Kaylene and Tara Owens, founder of Anam Cara Ministry, and learn!

Today’s Guest - Tara Owens

Tara was born in Montreal to British parents who moved to Canada for a better life for their growing family. Canadian by birth and British by blood, she has lived all over the US, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Tara discerned the call to spiritual direction while completing a Master of Theological Studies in Spiritual Formation at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. She was captured by the incredible privilege it is to companion someone as they discern the voice of the Loving Creator in their lives.

Tara founded Anam Cara Ministries in 2007 as a place of where true soul friendship can be found. ‘Anam Cara’ is an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘soul friend,’ one of the essential qualities of a spiritual director.

Suggestions on where to find a Spiritual Director:

• Your local church

• A local seminary

• Retreat Centers

• Anam Cara Ministry (https://anamcara.com/spiritual-direction/)

• Potter’s Inn (https://www.pottersinn.com/)

Moment to Breathe - A Friendship Blessing by John O’Donohue - from his book Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom

Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

This is week 8 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

Last week we laid the foundation and discussed what Rhythm means in our lives. This week we are looking at the Model of Rhythm in the life of Jesus… the perfect example, the way, the truth, and the life for each of us. This is one of the most important topics we share and a game changer for so many! Steve will then lead us in a reflection on I Corinthians 2:12-13 and I Corinthians 7:5-6.

 I Corinthians 2:12-13 | Reflection from The Message by Eugene Peterson

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

I Corinthians 7:5-6 | Reflection from the NIV Version

For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.

FREE DOWNLOAD of the Rhythm Reader, a resource for you to reflect on how to live in Rhythm. Take time to circle or underline key words that stir something inside you while using this resource.

Moment to Breathe - Taken from Chapter 4 in the “The Jesus Life” where Steve explains rhythm in more detail. You can buy it for just $10! - www.pottersinn.com/bookstore/the-jesus-life 

• I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

• Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. - Luke 2:41

• He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. - Luke 4:16

• At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. - Luke 4:42

• Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. - Luke 5:15-16

• Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. - Psalm 46:10

• When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves. - Luke 9:10

• Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. - Luke 21:37-38

We are discounting our Soul Care 101 Online Streaming sessions, which includes a study guide, for listeners to our podcast! Normally $47, it is now $29 for a limited time. - you can purchase it below!

Soul Care 101 is a simple tool to help you become familiar with the essential themes of soul care.

PURCHASE IT HERE 

Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

This is week 7 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

What is the rhythm of our life/the speed in which we live in? This week’s podcast will help you look at your own rhythm and how the urgency in today’s world should not dictate how you manage and care for your own soul. Steve will also walk through the scriptures mentioned below and will then lead us in a reflection on Matthew 11:28-30.

Mathew 11:28 Reflection from The Message by Eugene Peterson

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

RESOURCES

• FREE DOWNLOAD of the Rhythm Reader, a resource for you to reflect on how to live in Rhythm
• Inside Job (Chapter 7) by Stephen W. Smith
• Moment to Breathe - Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda
• Genesis 1:5
• Genesis 1:14 
• Genesis 8:22
• Psalm 104:19-20, 23

This is week 6 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

How many times have you thought you were completely alone in this stress-filled world - financial issues, family conflicts, marital struggles, depression… the list is long and exhausting.

The big question is, does God care about all that? Does he care that your kids are misbehaving and making you lose your mind? That at night you can’t get your mind to shut off and goes further into depression and anxiety? That you and your spouse can barely talk to each other?

The answer is so much more complex than a simple “yes.” Listen in as Steve speaks to this very question - please join us.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST

• John 1:43-48

• Psalm 143:8

Moment to Breathe - Thomas Merton’s Prayer

• Text

• Audio

Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

This is week 5 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

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In our heads, we know that being is more important than doing. But the reality of our day-to-day life is that we easily drift into a performance-based relationship with God and others. Jesus modeled a different way to live. In today’s episode, we learn how Jesus lived a life that began with acceptance by his Heavenly Father and ended by achieving more than any human being ever has. He has shown us the way---living as the beloved of God.

• Moment to Breathe:  Belovedness from You Are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living by Henri J.M. Nouwen
• Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen
• Clinical Theology by Frank Lake 
• The Cycle of Grace by Trevor Hudson and Jerry P Haas

Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here

This is week 4 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

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The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. In this podcast, Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst that we might have missed because of our busyness, and to foster a heart of gratitude.

• Moment to Breathe: Matthew 11: 28-30 (MSG)
• Five Steps to the Daily Examen

Send Us Feedback: https://www.pottersinn.com/feedback

Support the Podcast: https://www.pottersinn.com/donate/

This is week 3 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Enjoy!

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In this episode we are treated to a special preview of the Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute where Gwen Smith teaches on Sabbath Keeping: God’s Design For Our Dilemma. The discussion includes the origin of Sabbath, why we feel so much guilt concerning Sabbath, and why God gave us Sabbath in the first place. Gwen also introduces her 4 Pillars of Sabbath:

1. Rhythm - Sabbath is God’s built-in way of giving us rhythm in our lives instead of just running full-steam continuously.

2. Protection - In a sense, Sabbath protects us from ourselves and the violence that we inflict on ourselves, driving ourselves to work harder and harder. Sabbath gives us rest.

3. Joy, Delight, and Celebration - Sabbath is a blessed and holy day when God rests in His creation and He delights and celebrates in you.

4. Belovedness - Taken altogether, Sabbath is a reminder that we are beloved by a good and gracious God who truly cares for us and our well-being.

Soul Care Institute program information

The 4 Pillars of Sabbath Drawing

“Trough” poem by Judy Sorum Brown View here.

The Sea Accepts All Rivers and Other Poems by Judy Sorum Brown

For more on Judy Sorum Brown, her poems, books and other work, please see https://www.judysorumbrown.com/books

Article by Parker Palmer, The Self inflicted Violence of Over-Work

Free Resource for Download: The Sabbath Reader

Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.

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In this episode we join Steve and Gwen for two sessions of their Soul Care 101 course recorded at the retreat center known as Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge. Enjoy this fireside conversation with pops and crackles from the fireplace, as they examine the three core questions of every soul. In the first session they talk about:

Question 1 - Am I Loved?

Every person everywhere wants to know if they are loved. Some (or all) of us may have love wounds where we either didn’t get the love we needed or we looked for love in all the wrong places. Learn what it means to be beloved and how to rest in the truth of God’s love for us.

In the second session they discuss:

Question 2 - Am I Safe?

What fears do we carry with us that shape us? How do these fears affect our image of God? If we don’t feel safe how does that affect how we relate to others? Also it’s good to ask, am I a safe person? Do I listen to others or am I quick to judge?

Question 3 - Do I Belong?   

It is evident from an early age that we all want to belong to a group, a community. Where are we finding our safe community? Is it the right place? Are we able to be our true selves there or do we feel that we have to act or look a certain way? Do we change our behavior depending on where we are or who we are with?

• Download a Study Guide for Question 1 and Questions 2 and 3
• Soul Care 101 Course: Purchase here at the Potter’s Inn Bookstore
• Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 7:7-9
• Moment to Breathe: The Inner Voice by Henri Nouwen. Read the excerpt here.
• Other Books Mentioned
• Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell 

Today is the beginning of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!

Today's episode is from the very beginning of the podcast (the 2nd episode) -  "What is Soul Care?" 

Enjoy!

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Join co-hosts Steve Smith and Joe Chambers as they give more definition to what soul care is and how it relates to icebergs and the Brooklyn Bridge! Steve Smith shows us the stress of living divided lives and lays out the importance of caring for all aspects of the human experience: physical, emotional, relational, vocational, and spiritual. Plus enjoy an interview with Joe Walters, head of the Soul Care Institute and learn how you can take part in a 2-year journey to better soul health.

Be sure to click 'Subscribe' to see the embedded links:

Understanding the Soul with Icebergs: View and Download Here

Free Giveaway: Five Reasons Soul Care Matters by Stephen W. Smith: View and Download Here

Poem: For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue

This poem is available in his book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.

Learn more about John O’Donohue at www.johnodonohue.com

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton

Building Below the Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership by Gordon MacDonald

Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon.

Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here