Welcome to Episode 2 of the Sanctuary Stirrings Fall Series!

I’m especially excited about this episode because I’m joined by the MOST IMPORTANT guest I’ve ever had—or ever will have—on the podcast: my husband of 40 years, the one and only Bryan Melton!

This is Part One of our “Cheers to 40 Years” conversation, as we look back over four decades together and reflect on the gift of marriage and what God has taught us along the way.

In this episode, you’ll get to know Bryan a little better—my husband, former DJ, and the visionary behind the Sanctuary at Bear Creek. We talk about the very different families and ideas about marriage we grew up with, what we each brought into our relationship, and the miraculous—and slightly quirky!—story of how God brought us together.

In a time when ideas about marriage, relationships, men and women, and what it means to build a life together continue to shift, we go back to the beginning and ask some bigger questions:

• Why did God create marriage?
• What makes it such a gift?
• What can happen when God brings two very different people together to journey through life side by side?

Come along for this personal, fun, and faith-filledconversation as Bryan and I celebrate 40 years together andreflect on God’s beautiful gift of marriage.

---

Thanks so much for joining me today!

For more resources to help you grow in your relationship with God and one another, information about the Prayer Cabin, and details about our upcoming fall retreat, visit lorigmelton.com and thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com.

Before we rush into all that fall holds, what if we tooka few moments to look back?

Join me for this opening episode of the Fall Series tohear what’s been happening at The Sanctuary at Bear Creek, get a sneak peek at the conversations coming to the podcast this fall, and receive a simple Labor Day Examen—a practice of looking back over the summer with God and remembering His goodness--using something you already have in your hand: your phone.  

So good to be back with you again, and looking forward to all the blessings ahead!

---

Resources You May Enjoy Connected to this Episode:

• Ep 58 When a Book Becomes a Mentor: Reading as Discipleship with Sue Donaldson
• Making Space For God: The Blessing of 24 Hour Retreats with Joel Hogan
• Gratefulness by George Herbert

• The One Who Jesus Loves Fall Silence & Solitude Retreat

​Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God​ by Lori G Melton

****

Thanks so much for joining me today.

You can find more resources for growing in your relationship with God and one another, information about the Prayer Cabin, and details about our upcoming fall retreat at lorigmelton.com and thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com.

You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

On this final episode of the Spring Series, join host Lori G. Melton to explore reading as a vital piece of our discipleshipthrough a conversation with speaker and author Sue Donaldson about Oswald Chambers’ devotional My Utmost for His Highest and its impact on Sue’s life withGod for over 50 years.

Sue recounts receiving the book from her sister in 1972, keeping annotated copies through major life moments, and returning to read it daily in 2021 while journaling prayers.

She highlights Chambers’ central call to complete surrender and being “abandoned to God,” along with themes likehumility, worry, and “trusting God and doing the next thing.”

Sue shares Chambers’ biography, including his chaplaincyin Egypt during WWI and early death, and explains how his wife Biddy’s shorthand notes and hospitality enabled the devotional’s creation and enduring influence, connecting these lessons to Sue’s own ministry of hospitality andwriting.

Reading as a vital part of our discipleship — the perfect topic to complete this series focused on the practices that form us over a lifetime!

Resources:

• Welcomeheart.com to learn more about Sue Donaldson
• Never Alone: Stories of Invitation & Connection by Sue Donaldson
• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
• Abandoned to God by David McCasland
• The Woman Who Was Chesterton by Nancy Carpentier Brown
• Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Calahan
• Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God by Lori G. Melton. Take the next step in your spiritual formation and embark on a year-long journey alongside a giant of the faith, inspired by the author’s year learning from the life of Mister Fred Rogers, America’s Favorite Neighbor.

Articles You May Enjoy:

When a Book Becomes a Mentor: Reading as Discipleship

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit ⁠lorigmelton.com⁠ or ⁠thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com⁠. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Sabbath … One of the most precious gifts that God gave to all of creation at the beginning of time. Yet, one that is misunderstood or completely missing in our lives today.

It’s a gift that our world--with its incessant speed, exhaustion, search for meaning and connection, needs now more than ever. Yet, a topic surrounded by controversy and conflicting perspectives. Many of us have put it on the shelf.

But something inside keeps saying, “There’s a gift here that we’re missing.”

That’s why I’m so excited about this conversation with author and seminary professor, Travis West, about his new book The Sabbath Way: Making Room for Rest, Connection, and Delight.   

Listen in and receive not just a day off … but a way of living that will shape your work, identity, community--and a vital key to the shalom you long to bring to the world.

Resources:

• Travis-West.com to find more information about Travis, the sabbath, and slowing your life down to the speed of love.
• The Sabbath Way: Making Room for Rest, Connection, and Delight by Travis West. This book invites readers to rediscover Sabbath as a transformative rhythm meant to shape not just one day, but an entire way of life.
• Design Your First Sabbath Worksheet
• The Sabbath = Delight? No Way ... Or Is It? Accompanying Article to this week's conversation.
• The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel … A Sabbath classic and Travis’ top pick for Sabbath reading.
• Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God by Lori G. Melton. Take the next step in your spiritual formation and embark on a year-long journey alongside a giant of the faith, inspired by the author’s year learning from the life of Mister Fred Rogers, America’s Favorite Neighbor.

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• Children of God or Slaves: Receive the Gift of the Sabbath
• The Mantle Top Seven

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit ⁠lorigmelton.com⁠ or ⁠thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com⁠. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Faith is not always expressed in the ways we might expect--like kneeling in the Church sanctuary, reciting holy prayers, or putting money in the offering plate. Often, it’s more evident through painful acts of obedience.
Tune in to this week’s episode for a story you’ll likely resonate with—one that explores how we discover God’s will not through your own thoughts, emotions, or circumstances alone, but through the voices of others.

Resources:

The Little Flowers of St. Francis

How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Grieg, pg 202
From No to Know: What Am I Saying No To? Glordinary podcast with Stacy Homes

Other articles you may enjoy:

And Then, There Was Francis

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit ⁠lorigmelton.com⁠ or ⁠thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com⁠. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

On this episode, Lori G. Melton welcomes artist, Anglican deacon, and author Ben Lansing to discuss his book, Our Church Speaks: An Illustrated Devotional of Saints from Every Era and Place, and how the lives of the saints point us to Jesus and strengthen us in the “messy” times we live.

Burdened to offer what he could during the COVID pandemic, Ben began sharing portraits of the saints on Instagram—along with short histories and meaningful quotes.

What began as a simple offering quickly revealed a deep hunger, as people found themselves longing for more.

That faithful beginning grew into a powerful devotional featuring 52 saints from across centuries, continents, genders, and vocations—pairing biographies, prayers, and pastoral reflections, along with a companion podcast.

Together, they reflect on how the saints laid a beautiful and powerful foundation for our faith—enriching the body of Christ and reminding us we are not alone in our journey.

Resources Mentioned:

• You can find Ben Lansing, the Our Church Speaks Book, Podcast, and Art Series on his website: OurChurchSpeaks.com

• Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God by Lori G. Melton. Take the next step in your spiritual formation and embark on a year-long journey alongside a giant of the faith, inspired by the author's year learning from the life of Mister Fred Rogers, America's favorite neighbor.

Other articles you may enjoy:

• “All Saints Day” … What Are We Supposed to Do with the Saints Anyway?

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit lorigmelton.com or thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

In this episode, Lori G. Melton welcomes writer and Bibleteacher, Cara Ray, to discuss moving from a checklist “quiet time” to an unhurried, Spirit-directed, joyful way of knowing God she calls “holy leisure,” drawn from a phrase Cara discovered in Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline.

Cara shares how lifelong pressure to be consistent in daily quiet time left her feeling like a failure and jealous of others’ insights, until pursuing holy leisure changed both the priority and quality of her time with God through practices like journaling Scripture, slowing down, silence, and savoring God’s goodness, truth, and beauty.

They connect the concept to examples such as Psalm 27:4,Mary at Jesus’ feet, and saints like Corrie ten Boom.

The perfect episode to walk with you toward Easter—inviting you to experience the living relationship made possible through the blood of Jesus, and to find your time with God gently renewed as you listen.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• The Pursuit of Holy Leisure: Enjoying God in Everyday Places by Cara Ray
• Paths of the Righteous: Psalm 23 in the Lives of Faithful Missionaries & Witnesses for Christ by Cara Ray
• 5 Easy Ways to Worship Jesus This Easter Week Article

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit ⁠lorigmelton.com⁠ or ⁠thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com.⁠ You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Welcome to Episode Three of the Sanctuary Stirrings Spring series, where we continue the conversation about the often-overlooked soul.

Prompted by Jesus’ command in Matthew 22 to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, we'll unpack the surprising realization that most of us can't clearly define the soul — or how to love God with it.

If you’ve ever wondered,

• What is the soul?
• What importance is it to God?
• How are we to love God with all of it?

This episode is for you!

---
Resources:

• ​Expressions of the Soul: Celtic Christianity and Life withGod​ by Robin T. Jennings. A rich exploration of the soul, Christian Celtic faith practices, and spiritual giants, and how they can deepen our relationship with God. ​
• What is the Human Soul?​ GotQuestions.org
• The Sanctuary at Bear Creek Prayer Cabin A sacred space for time alone with the Good Shepherd. Come and let Him tend to your soul.
• ​Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God​ by Lori G. Melton. Take the next step in your spiritual formation and embark on a year-long journey alongside a “giant” of faith, inspired by the author’s year of studying the life of Mister Fred Rogers, America’s favorite neighbor.

For more encouragement and resources to grow in your relationship with God and others, visit lorigmelton.com or thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Join me today as we welcome retired Episcopal rectorand pilgrimage leader Robin T. Jennings for part one of our discussion about the soul, to talk about his book, Expressions of the Soul: Celtic Christianity and Life with God.

Robin shares how a chaplain’s question led him fromwork at a Chicago boys’ home to seminary, and how later travel and leading pilgrimages to Ireland, Scotland, and Iona sparked his interest in Celtic Christianity, monastic life, and the gifts of the Celtic spiritual giants, like St. Columba.

We focus on recovering attention to the soul—oftenneglected part of who we are compared to the mind and heart—drawing on scriptures such as “He restores my soul” and Jesus’ command to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Robin describes the soul as the “conductor,” serving asa gateway to our mind, heart, and will to enter into a loving relationship with God and our neighbor, and highlights the presence of God we experience through the Celtic practices of worshipping God in nature, anam cara (soul friendship),community, and the gifts of the Celtic saints.

I think you’ll love this conversation, divinely dropping on St. Patrick’s Day!

___

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Expressions of the Soul: Celtic Christianity and Our Life with God (Robin T. Jennings) explores Celtic Christianity as a way to recover attention to the soul as the center of personal encounter with God, including themes like nature as a place of God’s presence, pilgrimage, hospitality, and “soul friendship”(anam cara).

• How the Irish Saved Civilization (Thomas Cahill) describes the role of Irish/Celtic monastic communities in preserving scripture, manuscripts, learning, and elements of civilization during and after Rome’s decline.

• Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (John O’Donohue) centers on the Celtic idea of anam cara (“soul friend”) and the importance of relationships that attend to the inner life.

• Saint Patrick: The Confession of Saint Patrick and Letter to Coroticus, translated by John Skinner

• Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God by Lori G. Melton. Take the next step in your spiritual formation and embark on a year-long journey alongside a “giant” of faith, inspired by the author’s year of studying the life of Mister Fred Rogers, America’s favorite neighbor.

Welcome to the Sanctuary Stirrings Spring Series! 8 episodes are headed your way, featuring a great lineup of topics and guests to grow in your intimacy with God and others!

I can’t think of a better one to start with. My guest is Joel Hogan, a former Christian Reformed World Missions leaderand a missionary in the Philippines has been taking monthly 24-Hour retreats for over 30 years!
Transitioning his Christian life from focusing on “doing for God” to being with Him, Joel shares his journey through the years, the blessings of this practice, and the practical how-tos.
If you long to deepen your relationship with God by spending more time alone with Him, you’re going to love this episode.

---
Our 7 Favorite Retreat Venues article
Take a DAWG Day by Linda Andersen, author of Spiritual Retreat for Tired Souls. This article is the perfect guide for a 24-Hour Retreat!

The Hermitage Retreat Center
The Sanctuary at Bear Creek Abide Prayer Cabin

Journey with a Giant: Choose Your Guide, Pursue Your Purpose, and Grow in Your Walk with God by Lori G. Melton 

---To receive accompanying articles to these episodes, others about growing in your relationship with God and one another, and information about upcoming events, you can sign up for my newsletter at lorigmelton.com
You can also follow us on Facebook at Lori G Melton and The Sanctuary at Bear Creek.