The Cartographers

We talk about empathy, trauma, care for the sexually abused, and telling your story. Please note we talk about sexual abuse in this episode. But do know that the conversation is full of grace and aware of trauma and the healing of God. We talk what the church can do, too.

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LINKS

Mary DeMuth’s book, We Too: How the Church can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis: https://amzn.to/2Wu8vbb

Mary’s site: https://www.marydemuth.com/

Resources for pastors from Mary: https://www.wetoo.org/resources/

Mary’s podcast: https://www.marydemuth.com/pray-every-day-podcast/

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

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“The church has been my avenue of healing.” @marydemuth on the #findingholypodcast #wetoo #metoo

“This journey has been fits and starts, trauma therapy, and underneath it all is this dogged desire to be whole.” @marydemuth on #findingholypodcast

“What I would love to hear is survivor stories from the pulpit” @marydemuth #findingholypodcast

“To work through the trauma that resides within you: Be tender with yourself.” @marydemuth #findingholypodcast

“My spiritual habits of my sabbatical have served me during Covid-19.” @marydemuth #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

This week’s small step is to practice the prayer Mary prayed. Here it is: “I can’t. You can. Please help.” This might be a great companion as you think about your own story and moments when you need God’s provision and help.

You might want to start by telling your story to a licensed counselor. My friends over at Faithful Counseling offer a special discount for Finding Holy listeners. Get that here.

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Leslie Leyland Fields and I chat about place and how and why our stories matter. When the world has been upended by COVID-19, maybe some gentle writing practices might help you recover yourself and help you live into the questions.

Leslie Leyland Fields is the multi-award winning author/editor of twelve books. Her newest isYour Story Matters: Finding, Writing and Living the Truth of Your Life which includes an 8-part RightNow Media DVD series filmed with Ann Voskamp. Her other books include Crossing the Waters: Following Jesus through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt and the Seas, which won Christianity Today's 2017 Book Award in Christian Living. (And is also available as a DVD video series) and The Wonder Years: 40 Women Over 40 on Aging, Faith, Beauty and Strength.

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LINKS

Leslie’s site: http://www.leslieleylandfields.com/

Join in on Leslie’s class that goes through her book for FREE: https://books.thedisciplemaker.org/why-your-story-matters/

Leslie’s newest book, Your Story Matters and available at NavPress.

Harvester Island Writers Workshop: http://www.leslieleylandfields.com/harvester-island-writers-workshop

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

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There’s so many ways to attend to our places and our stories. @leslielfields on #findingholypodcast

Writing comes out of both silence and space. @leslielfields on #findingholypodcast

I never thought I would write a writing book. @leslielfields on #findingholypodcast

Writing is more than recording, but is a way to ask a lot of questions. @leslielfields on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Use one of Leslie’s prompts: For once I want to tell the truth about ___________. Use it to word seek into it. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Don’t think about what comes out. Pursue God, the logos and truth and wait to see what new understanding comes from that.

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How do we live when circumstances are wonderful or when we’re in the middle of anxiety and fear? Meredith McDaniel, author of In Want + Plenty and invites us into spiritual practices to sustain our weariness, increase our vulnerability, be a real community, and see the provision of God.

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LINKS

Meredith’s site: https://www.meredithmcdaniel.com/

Her book, In Want + Plenty: https://amzn.to/3adGyrB

Morning pages, an idea from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: https://amzn.to/3cl72Jh

A new podcast, Everything just Changed with Bryce Hales and Brad Edwards

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“We need eyes to see how heaven is meeting earth, every single day.” @meredith_mcdaniel @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“We need to slow down, pay attention to our bodies and reach out.” @meredith_mcdaniel @aahales on #findingholypodcast

We need to look back and trace God’s hand. We start to find our “manna moments” and we can point to God’s hand in our story. @meredith_mcdaniel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

Life is hard and God is good. We need embodied practices. @meredith_mcdaniel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Pause in your morning. Turn off the news. From the first second of your day, surrender your day to God and ask to hear from him. Borrow Suzanne Stabile’s question, “What is mine to do today?”

Consider how you can share your own search for “manna” with others.

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Don’t you long for your life to feel seamless — not boxed into categories or feelings? This lovely conversation with the brilliant and kind Steven Garber is one step in the right direction.

Join us as we talk about place, spiritual disciplines, family stories, and the invitation to live an integrated, whole life.

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LINKS

Steven’s most recent book, The Seamless Life (available on ebook now from Amazon and InterVarsity Press, and in paperback now from IVP (Amazon will catch up later).

Steve’s book, Visions of Vocation

Simone Weil, “Reflections of the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God”

Get your FREE PANDEMIC ANCHORING POINTS from Ashley here (including Holy Week at Home).

Worksheet on vocation

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“When the day of the Lord comes, even the cooking pots will be called holy to the Lord.” Steven Garber on vocation and a seamless life on #findingholypodcast

The task of the Christian student is to learn to pay attention. Steven Garber on #findingholypodcast

“We live off of our eschatological commitments whatever they are.” Steven Garber and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

“To see the questions behind my work, was my father’s prayer each day.” Steven Garber on #findingholypodcast

We need to hold together more honestly and truthfully what we believe to be true about the future and how we live today. Steven Garber on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales.

We’re feeling the curse of anonymity. It’s not a good thing for the human heart to be unknown. Steven Garber on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Take a sheet of paper and make a cross in it with four sections: work, rest, play and worship. Free associate. What do you love? What elements in each speak to you? Write them down. You can make it easy by downloading and printing a sheet right here (aahales.com/podcast-notes/stevengarber).

Then circle the words or phrases that continually crop up. You’ll find a few answers to how God’s made you and how you can even find some solace during this pandemic.

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Laura Fabrycky and I talk about how people belong to people and places, about our choices for the good of community, acedia, and what Bonhoeffer has to teach us today.

Laura M. Fabrycky is a American writer and poet, currently residing in Brussels, Belgium. She is the author, most recently, of Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus: Exploring the World and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Fortress Press, 2020), a historically grounded memoir of her experience as a volunteer guide at the Bonhoeffer-Haus during her family's diplomatic assignment to Berlin, Germany. She focuses on questions of political theology and the moral imagination in cultivating the common good. 

LINKS

Laura’s book, Keys to Bonhoeffer Haus: https://amzn.to/2UAFwRP, or at ChristianBook.com: shorturl.at/xFVX8

Laura’s website

Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris

ANCHORING POINTS IN A PANDEMIC, a free resource from Ashley Hales

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We see him as more than a hero, we see him as a human being.

What I have to do is figure out dinner. There are aspects of Bonhoeffer but they have to be expressed in my own life. It might look very small.

What are the stories I’ve inherited as an American? Listen in to @lmfabrycky on #findingholypodcast

How do ordinary rhythms of life matter to my neighbor? @lmfabrycky on @aahales’ #findngholypodcast

The safety of my children is intricately entertwined with others’ safety. @lmfabrycky #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Laura offers us so many thoughtful starting places that are particularly helpful right now during a pandemic. Each day, take this question with you: What’s the small choice to choose to engage instead of choosing to withdraw?

Pray through your key chain as your places of responsibility. Pray about the stories that are represented there.

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Each time you share or subscribe more people find life-giving conversations. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Share and you could win a copy of Laura’s book!

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Join us for this special bonus episode with Karla Reed, a style influencer on Instagram and a Christian. We're not economists (at all!) but we talk about all the confusion about how to think about our spending during the current pandemic. Do we support local businesses? Do we go on a spending freeze? How do we use our money in wise and generous ways when the future is uncertain? Listen in to Karla’s pathways towards generosity and her own rooting practices.

Karla Reed uses Instagram to educate women on sustainable fashion, help women be creative with what they wear, and feel less alone. She's the mother of 3, wife to Jason, and lives in southern California. You can follow her on Instagram at @KarlaReed.

LISTEN IN ON APPLE PODCASTS OR MEGAPHONE.FM.

LINKS

Follow Karla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlareed/

FIND YOUR ANCHORING POINTS IN A PANDEMIC (a resource) from Ashley Hales

Ashley's book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, available in ebook for $3.99 or in paperback and audio: https://amzn.to/3bylOfj

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What do you do when your livelihood depends on other people shopping? Join us on the #findingholypodcast

How do we think about our spending or our lack of spending with the economy has grinded to a halt?

What practices enable you to be generous even when it looks like resources are scarce? Join us for a bonus episode with Instagram influencer, Karla Reed

How might we practice creativity and generosity during a pandemic? Join us for a bonus episode with Karla Reed on #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Pray through your budget. We're all experiencing this pandemic differently. Some have been let go, others are in stable positions, others are largely dependent on others for their income. If all of our resources are gifts from God, then we need to not act as if they are ours to control. Pray through your budget. Consider where you can cut back to be increasingly generous.

Give and receive. We can easily default to hoarding -- either to hoard our excess in times of plenty or hoard our small resources in times of scarcity. Pray about how you might give -- money to a struggling friend, an extra roll of toilet paper, supporting local or small businesses, etc -- and then actually do it. Pray as you give, placing your trust in a good God. Also, receive the gifts of God's provision, too and practice gratitude.

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The Finding Holy podcast is still new and we'd love more people to be involved in conversations. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and let me know on social media at @aahales (on IG and Twitter) and you'll be entered to win a book!!

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Join us for a special series in the month of March on Lenten practices with Lore Ferguson Wilbert. This week, we’re all in need of hope. Join us.

Lore is a writer, thinker, learner, and author of Handle with Care. She writes for She Reads Truth, Christianity Today, Lifeway, and more, as well as her own site, Sayable.net. You can find her on social media @lorewilbert. She has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.

Listen at Megaphone.fm here, on Apple Podcasts here or on Google Podcasts, here.

Win a copy of Lore’s book! Contact me on social media at @aahales!

LINKS

Lore’s website: Sayable.net

Lore’s book: Handle with Care https://amzn.to/32PrMFz

Ashley book on sale for $3.99 on Kindle this week! https://amzn.to/2UqTKUq

FREE PANDEMIC INFOGRAPHIC for rooted practices in the midst of a pandemic

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We live in this already-not yet life. We have hope as we meet with Christians on Sundays. They’re all echoes of one another. @lorewilbert @aaahales #findingholypodcast

We forget who we are. The Sabbath gives us a taste of God’s goodness. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

Hope — like grief and sadness — can’t be borne alone. @aahales @lorewilbert

It’s easier to be known for anger and self-righteousness than hope and peace. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

Do the small things and that God is not wasted in small things. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

YOUR ONE SMALL STEP

Choose something small that is your stake in the ground that you are choosing hope. Think about drinking your 8 glasses water, taking a walk, or memorizing a portion of scripture. Take one small step. Check it off. Watch for God’s faithfulness.

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We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.

We’ll be giving away a copy of Lore’s book, so if you’re a new subscriber, contact me @aahales on social media to let me know!

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

This week, Lore Ferguson Wilbert and I take a break and talk about finding anchoring points during COVID_19.

Lore is a writer, thinker, learner, and author of Handle with Care. She writes for She Reads Truth, Christianity Today, Lifeway, and more, as well as her own site, Sayable.net. You can find her on social media @lorewilbert. She has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.

LINKS

Lore’s website: Sayable.net

Lore’s book: Handle with Care https://amzn.to/32PrMFz

Ashley book on sale for $3.99 on Kindle this week! https://amzn.to/2UqTKUq

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The Lord will keep you. The boundary lines show us our limitations. @lorewilbert @aaahales #findingholypodcast

We share some anchoring points during this global pandemic on #findingholypodcast with @aahales and @lorewilbert

How scripture, prayer, lists and apps are helping us during #covid_19. #findingholypodcast with @aahales + @lorewilbert

Consider ways you can be creative loving others during the pandemic. A roll of toilet paper, a note, an offer to pray. @aahales @lorewilbert

YOUR ONE SMALL STEP

Practice a breath prayer: Breathe in. “The Lord keeps me.” Breathe out. “in his perfect peace.”

Choose one of the anchoring points we mention — drinking water, praying throughout your day, keeping a list — and let us know how it goes.

SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!

We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.

We’ll be giving away a copy of Lore’s book, so if you’re a new subscriber, contact me @aahales on social media to let me know!

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

Join us for a special series in the month of March on Lenten practices with Lore Ferguson Wilbert — this week’s is on rhythms of fasting and feasting.

Lore is a writer, thinker, learner, and author of Handle With Care. She writes for She Reads Truth, Christianity Today, Lifeway, and more, as well as her own site, Sayable.net. You can find her on social media @lorewilbert. She has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.

LINKS

Lore’s website: Sayable.net

Lore’s book: Handle with Care https://amzn.to/32PrMFz

Ashley book on sale for $3.99 on Kindle this week! https://amzn.to/3aIBLPu

Mentioned:

Tish Harrison Warren, “Why I Fell in Love with the Season of Advent, NYT

Babette’s Feast

Ashley’s article on Lent mentioned from inTouch Magazine, “Across the Threshold”

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God had the full feast for his kids and one thing he asked them to deny themselves. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

We are fasting from the wrong things and with the wrong eye. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

Seasons of anxiety and what you go to for ultimate comfort on #findingholypodcast with @lorewilbert and @aahales

An encouragement to watch our language of “bad” and “good” during Lent. Listen in with @lorewilbert and @aahales on #findingholypodcast

We aren’t made clean based on what we do or do not eat. @lorewilbert @aahales #findingholypodcast

YOUR ONE SMALL STEP

Pick one thing to fast from this week and one thing to feast towards this week. Maybe it’s checking your email, or eating certain foods, or reading everything you can online that you know will just provoke your anxiety. And choose the best possible thing to feast!

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We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.

We’ll be giving away a copy of Lore’s book, so if you’re a new subscriber, contact me @aahales on social media to let me know!

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

The Church has historically practiced Lent as a period of preparation for Easter. What does it have to do with our bodies? Why does this matter to our spiritual lives?

Join me and Lore Ferguson Wilbert for a special four-week series on Lent.

Lore Ferguson Wilbert is a writer, thinker, learner, and author of Handle With Care. She writes for She Reads Truth, Christianity Today, Lifeway, and more, as well as her own site, Sayable.net. You can find her on social media @lorewilbert. She has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.

LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS OR ONLINE AT MEGAPHONE, or wherever you listen to podcasts subscribe to the FINDING HOLY podcast.

LINKS

Lore’s website: Sayable.net

Lore’s book: Handle with Care https://amzn.to/32PrMFz

Ashley’s article mentioned from inTouch Magazine, “Across the Threshold”

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How do our bodies matter to the life of faith and to Lent particularly? Join @lorewilbert and @aahales on the #findingholypodcast

Jesus sees women in their wholeness and we don’t experience that today often as women because we’re trying to fit into a man’s world. @lorewilbert on #findingholypodcast

Denying is important and caring is important. On bodies this #Lent with @lorewilbert on #findingholypodcast

The reward for giving up a chocolate bar might not be a chocolate bar. The reward is God himself. @lorewilbert on #lent and #bodies for #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

Practice caring for your body this week. Maybe you notice how you feel after a walk, or you enjoy a bath, or have tasty food and a glass of water. If we’re choosing to deny our bodies, we can also choose to care for them properly and honoring God through them.

For me, I’m taking daily walks and actually stretching after them! What about you?

Let me know how it goes — tag me on social media at @aahales or #findingholypodcast. I’d love to hear!

SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!

We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.

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