The Cartographers

How do we talk about race and ethnicity as a discipleship issue and not a partisan issue? David Swanson talks about his book, Rediscipling the White Church and creative possibilities for this moment in time. Join us for Season 4 as we consider hot-button issues alive and well in our world today: Living Faithfully in an Upside-Down World.

LINKS

David’s book, Rediscipling the White Church: https://www.ivpress.com/rediscipling-the-white-church

David Swanson’s site: https://dwswanson.com/

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”Every congregation gets to be a part of reconciliation for the body of Christ for the glory of God.” @davidswanson

“What Jesus accomplished on the cross includes justice as well.” @davidswanson

“By pursuing racial justice, we’re alerting our communities that the kingdom of God has come near. There is a new way of living.” @davidswanson

“Politically we’re often more aligned with people of our same race than with Christians of other races.” @davidswanson

“As Christians, we don’t have to content ourselves with American optimism.” @davidswanson

“Race detaches us from place.” @davidswanson

ONE SMALL STEP

Use your internet scrolling time to do a little research project: take a few minutes to do a google search about your place. Who were the first inhabitants? What were housing laws like? Did an indigenous people group live there? Find out about the land underneath your feet and bring those findings to a God, in whose image we all are made.

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! This whole season we’ll be talking with pastors, theologians, activists, professors and how we live right now with this confluence of a pandemic, racism, uncertainty and a partisan culture.

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In this first episode of Season 4 on Living Faithfully in an Upside-Down World, David Taylor and I talk about the language of the Psalms and how they can help chart the way forward for Christians living now — in a pandemic, in an election year, with polarizing tensions, racial violence, inequality and more swirling around us.

Find language, practices, and habits to root you now.

LINKS

David Taylor’s book, Open and Unafraid: https://amzn.to/3hfwtPk

David’s website: http://artspastor.blogspot.com/

Follow David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdavidotaylor

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The Psalms give us edited language for our unedited emotions, and permission to say certain things to God. @wdavidotaylor

The Psalms remind us: Be a mess but do so before the face of God. @wdavidotaylor

ONE SMALL STEP

Grab one other person and read through the same psalm a day for a week. Ask a daily question: What is one thing that caught your attention? The next day, follow up on that question with your person. Commit to read daily, connect somehow, and pray.

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! This whole season we’ll be talking with pastors, theologians, activists, professors and how we live right now with this confluence of a pandemic, racism, uncertainty and a partisan culture.

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We need thoughtful voices that can ask hard questions and gently lead us forward. We need help as we consider how to vote, how to love our neighbor, and how to flex during this pandemic. Join us for Season 4: Living Faithfully in an Upside-Down World.

Share a favorite episode on social media and tag me at @aahales (on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook) and you'll be entered to win a free copy of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs!

For more info and past episodes, listen at www.aahales.com/podcast.

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Ashley Hales and Anjuli Paschal talk about what it looks like to stay in our emotions and bring them to Jesus, how to stay with others in the midst of racial tensions, political polarization, and the pandemic.

Be sure to catch up: Episodes 50-55 all deal with emotional health (listen here)

Tell us what you want to hear! 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE.

LINKS

Anjuli’s website: https://www.anjulipaschall.com/

Follow Anj on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lovealways.anjuli/

Anjuli’s book: Stay https://amzn.to/2D3coML

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Emotions aren’t your enemy. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

Staying is being attentive to God and my emotions. Resistance can tell you so much about what is going on in your soul. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

Feelings are gifts point us to the conditions of our heart. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

“Tell me your experience” is a great way to start on conversations with race. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

It’s vulnerable to ask. It’s vulnerable to listen. It’s vulnerable to speak. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

Healing can start at our dinner tables. @lovealways.anjuli @aahales #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

What are you resistant to doing? Feelings are gifts point us to the condition of our heart. If resistance is a gift to you, try going there for just 5 minutes a day. After you brush your teeth, take 5 minutes for a resistance check-in. What have you resisted throughout your day? Bring those emotions to God and trust the Holy Spirit to teach you to welcome resistance as a gift.

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We're taking a little break...We’ll be back in the middle of August for Season 4 of The Finding Holy Podcast on the Upside-Down Kingdom in a Divided World.

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Ashley Hales and Rebecca Brewster Stevenson talk about waiting on God, what that looks like in Covid-19, and how to practically deal with your emotions.

Other applicable episodes: Episode 46 with Meredith McDaniel on God’s steadfastness, Episode 38 with Laura Wifler and Emily Jensen on a scaffolding for faithfulness, and Episode 35 on loneliness and the common good.

Tell us what you want to hear! 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE.

LINKS

Rebecca’s website: https://rebeccabrewsterstevenson.com/

Rebecca’s book, Wait: https://amzn.to/3j1s5EM

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“Waiting is always the absence of the ability to make something happen.” @rebeccabrewsterstevenson @rbstevenson1 @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“There is a lament and grief to waiting.” @rebeccabrewsterstevenson @rbstevenson1 @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“Make space to grieve. Make time.” @rebeccabrewsterstevenson @rbstevenson1 @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“The God of the universe wants to hear from me about the needs of the world.” @rebeccabrewsterstevenson @rbstevenson1 @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“Look past the thing you want to the God who is doing a thing.” @rebeccabrewsterstevenson @rbstevenson1 @aahales on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Have a couch moment. As you pass through your home, sit down on the couch. Check in with your body and your emotions: Are you feeling dejected, anxious, are you leaking your emotions all over your family or the internet? Check in. Bring those in prayer to God.

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! Don’t forget to fill out that survey to help out: 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE.

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Ashley Hales and Aundi Kolber talk about Aundi's new book, Try Softer, and emotional health now.

Aundi Kolber is a Licensed Professional Counselor (MA LPC), writer, and speaker in Castle Rock, Colorado. She specializes in trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. Connect with Aundi at aundikolber.com, on Facebook at aundikolberwrites, and on Instagram at aundikolber

Tell us what you want to hear! 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE.

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PODCASTS and MEGAPHONE.FM or your favorite podcast-listening app.

Other applicable episodes: Episode 51 with K.J. Ramsey on suffering on hope, Episode 18 on talking about race with Cara Meredith, and Episode 52 on transforming ordinary losses with Stephanie Lobdell.

LINKS

Aundi’s book, Try Softer: https://amzn.to/3fanxto

Aundi’s website: https://aundikolber.com/

Aundi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aundikolber/

Faithful Counseling link for FInding Holy listeners:

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We need to create more language around trauma. Try Softer is the response. @aundikolber with @aahales on #findingholypodcast

Try Softer allows our bodies to soften into the grace of wholeness. @aundikolber with @aahales on #findingholypodcast

Compassion is a softened posture. It allows us to ask: is this in alignment with who I am? @aundikolber with @aahales on #findingholypodcast

Taking a break is a form of resilience. @aundikolber and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

As an ending prayer for your day — a sort of prayer of Examen — notice where you were outside of your window of tolerance. Instead of shaming yourself notice, too, what can help ground you and keep you in your window of tolerance. Things like nature, moving your body, times of silence or beauty, might be some things you choose. Write down three and choose to follow them this week as life-giving gifts (not a list of "shoulds", “or else.”).

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! Don’t forget to fill out that survey to help out: 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE.

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Ashley Hales and Stephanie Lobdell talk about loss shaming, church hurt, and we can lean into a narrative of hope in practical ways right now.

Rev. Stephanie Lobdell, MDiv, is a pastor and writer. She served as co-lead pastor with her husband, Tommy, for ten years and is now the Campus Pastor at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. She is the author of Signs of Life: Resurrecting Hope out of Ordinary Losses and co-author of Lenten Postcards. Stephanie and Tommy have two children, Josephine and Jack.

Other applicable episodes: Episode 51 with K.J. Ramsey on suffering on hope, Episode 36 with Richella Parham on Life behind Lifehack Answers, and Episode 22 with Catherine McNiel on Hope in Chaos.

LINKS

Stephanie Lobdell’s website: http://www.stephanielobdell.com/

Stephanie’s book: Signs of Life: https://amzn.to/2ZAmAnO

2 MINUTE SURVEY about the podcast HERE

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Right now it feels like a feverpitch of loss. @srdlobdell and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

What does the resurrection mean for us now? God breaks in to creation. @srdlobdell and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“I love Jesus but I’m not willing to lie about what hurts.” @srdlobdell and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“You cannot hustle your way to wholeness or resurrection.” @srdlobdell and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Practice keeping a pen and paper list of your losses (your ordinary ones as well as the large ones) with a corresponding gratitude list. It’ll be a way to move through rather than around pain and loss. This is how we practice resurrection.

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! Don’t forget to fill out that survey to help out: 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE — and you’ll get a chance to win a copy of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs!

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Ashley Hales and K.J. Ramsey talk about loss and suffering as an invitation to God and community.

K.J. RAMSEY (BA, Covenant College; MA, Denver Seminary) is a licensed professional counselor, writer, and recovering idealist who believes sorrow and joy coexist. Her writing has been published in Christianity Today, Relevant, The Huffington Post, Fathom Magazine, Health Central, and other publications on the integration of theology, psychology, and spiritual formation. She and her husband live in Denver, Colorado. Follow K.J.’s writing at kjramsey.com and across social media at @kjramseywrites.

Tell us what you want to hear! 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE — and you’ll get a chance to win a copy of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs!

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PODCASTS and MEGAPHONE.FM or your favorite podcast-listening app.

Other applicable episodes: Episode 42 on Cultivating Hope with Lore Ferguson Wilbert, Episode 48 with Risen Motherhood’s Laura Wifler and Emily Jensen on a Scaffolding for Faithfulness, and Episode 19 with Aubrey Sampson on lament.

LINKS

K.J’s book, This Too Shall Last: https://amzn.to/37XpAhK

K.J.’s website: http://kjramsey.com/

K.J.’s podcast, This Too Shall Last: http://kjramsey.com/podcast

Follow K.J. Ramsey on Instagram and Twitter.

SPECIAL OFFER: Counseling with Faithful Counseling — get 10% off your first session here: getfaithful.com/findingholy.

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“Our suffering is an invitation to turn and see our suffering Savior.” @kjramseywrites

Being more present to the moment we’re in enables us to dwell in peace and extend peace to others. @kjramseywrites

“We weren’t made for pain. We were made for love.” @kjramseywrites

Bear witness to what you feel and experience. That’s showing hospitality to yourself. @kjramseywrites

“Suffering is an invitation to wake up to a God who is here.” @kjramseywrites

ONE SMALL STEP

Pay attention to your overwhelm and note where what triggers it. Practice praying a breath prayer in moments of overwhelm. Try a few lines from a psalm, such as “The Lord is my shepherd” (breathe in), “I shall not want, (breathe out).

SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!

We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends! Don’t forget to fill out that survey to help out: 2 MINUTE SURVEY HERE — and you’ll get a chance to win a copy of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ashley Hales and Heather Caliri talk about anxiety, vulnerability and church and what to do about it from a Christian perspective.

Heather Caliri is a writer and artist who is happily content with being an awkward Christian. Tired of anxiety controlling your life? Try her mini-course, “Five Tiny Ideas for Managing Anxiety," for free here.

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PODCASTS and MEGAPHONE.FM or your favorite podcast-listening app.

Other applicable episodes: episode 49 on hustle, episode 21 on mental illness and a Christian imagination, and episode 37 on ovewhelm and a rule of life.

LINKS

Heather course: https://www.heathercaliri.com/anxiety/

Heather’s website: https://www.heathercaliri.com/

Follow Heather on Instagram: @heathercaliri

SPECIAL OFFER: Counseling with Faithful Counseling — get 10% off your first session here: getfaithful.com/findingholy.

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“There was this awkwardness where my insides didn’t match up with where I thought I should be.” @heathercaliri #findingholypodcast

Anxiety often presents itself in the word, “enough.” If I just did that, then that would be enough.” @heathercaliri on #findingholypodcast

“We feel awkward and so we stop asking questions. Awkward places are a place of invitation.” @heathercaliri #findingholypodcast

Naming brings order out of chaos. @aahales @heathercaliri on #anxiety #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

We’re all experiencing a level of anxiety during a global pandemic and during national turmoil.

Here’s a 5-minute check-in:

1. Pay attention to your body. Where do you feel tension? What is tight or hurting?

2. Ask yourself curiosity questions. Use phrases like “I wonder what that’s about…”

3. Bring these to God in prayer.

4. Ask asking this, we can start formulating next steps — and ask about how about who to invite into our overwhelm, how to share, and how we need help.

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In this conversation Ashley Hales and Daniel Im talk about hustle culture and what the lies about our work tell us about our souls.

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PODCASTS and MEGAPHONE.FM or your favorite podcast-listening app.

LINKS

Daniel’s book, You Are What You Do: https://amzn.to/2Uvwwxc

Daniel’s website: https://www.danielim.com/

New Churches Q&A Podcast: https://www.danielim.com/new-churches-qa-podcast/

The ImBetween Podcast: https://www.danielim.com/imbetweenpodcast/

SPECIAL OFFER: Counseling with Faithful Counseling — get 10% off your first session here: getfaithful.com/findingholy.

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Listen to Daniel Im on the gig economy and how it shapes our souls on #findingholypodcast @danielsangi

“The lie of the gig economy is a life of freedom and absolute control.” @danielsangi

“I wonder if this is God’s moment to attack the consumeristic impulses of Western Christianity.” @danielsangi on #findingholypodcast

“We can actually use these lies as conversation starters with people.” #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Positive self-talk is a bandage, Daniel reminds us. Ask yourself some questions when you think of all the lies you are believing: Where did that start? How do I feel? Then take those laments to Jesus.

Then, practice reading through the Psalms as a pattern of reorientation. Practice spending time with Jesus before you scroll or read the news.

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We’d love it if you could subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast and tell your friends!

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