The Cartographers

We talk about pain, suffering and lament and where to find hope in this episode with Aubrey Sampson. If you feel like you’re praying to the ceiling fan or can’t find God, then this episode is for you. This is a rich conversation that will help you develop a vocabulary for pain and lament. If you’ve lost someone, are disappointed, have chronic pain, or know someone who does, please have a listen.

Aubrey is a church planter and the director of discipleship and equipping at Renewal Church, the author of The Louder Song and Overcomer. A member of the Redbud Writers Guild, Aubrey also contributes to Propel Women. She is a speaker, preacher, wife, and mama of three boys.

LINKS

Aubrey’s book, The Louder Song: https://amzn.to/2liGhjU

Aubrey’s book, Overcomer: https://amzn.to/2mLFsQU

Aubrey’s website: www.aubreysampson.com

Book Aubrey to speak: http://www.aubreysampson.com/speaking-2/

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“If it weren't for the biblical language of lament, I don’t know if I’d be walking with God right now.” @aubsamp on @aahales’ #FindingHolyPodcast

“I’m good with pain…but I couldn’t handle my own pain,” @aubsamp on #lament on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales

‘Knowing we actually have permission to talk to God in anger, and grief and suffering…” @aubsamp with @aahales on #findingholypodcast

”Let’s make some intentional appointments to allow for our suffering and lament in the church.” Listen to @aubsamp on #lament in the church with @aahales on #findingholypodcast

““How” is one of those big questions of lament and it’s kind of an accusation against God….and we can eventually get to the “Yet’s”.

ONE SMALL STEP

Ekah is the Hebrew word for “how.” Hows start our journeys of of lament.

Grab a journal (or the back of a receipt!) and simply list your “how’s”: How long do we need to wait for a child? How could you let this happen? How could he lose his job? How could she betray my friendship?

Imagine God holding these. God may not answer specifically, but he will meet you with his presence. He will meet you in the how’s.

WE’D BE HONORED if you shared how you’re working through material from The #FindingHolyPodcast on social media. Subscribe + share an episode with a friend! Tag @aahales on social media and use the #FindingHolyPodcast hashtag. Keep up to date on all #FindingHolyPodcast here: https://mailchi.mp/ddd0fd792a7b/findingholypod

A LITTLE SOMETHING SPECIAL! Join Aubrey and Ashley on Instagram LIVE Thursday, October 3 at 8:30am Pacific to talk about God, pain, and the Enneagram and you could win a FREE BOOK! Follow Ashley at instagram and we’ll see you Thursday!

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Conversations around race and justice can be hard, vulnerable, and polarizing. Yet because we believe God created all of us as image bearers of himself, we need to enter in. So many people don’t have the tools to know how to navigate those conversations well. Cara Meredith is a great conversation partner as we talk through issues of race and justice and how her marriage to the son of black Civil Rights icon shaped her future.

LINKS

Article Cara mentioned about diverse friendships around their table: https://amyjuliabecker.com/guest-post-cara-meredith/

Cara’s website: https://www.carameredith.com

Cara’s book, The Color of Life: https://amzn.to/2muBKuY

Cara’s blog on Patheos: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/coloringoutsidethelines/

Cara’s speaking: https://www.carameredith.com/speaking

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“Coming from a white suburban background, I realized that, over time, issues of race also had to do with me.” @caramac54 on #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales

“Marrying my husband, the son of a Civil Rights icon, entered me into conversations about race and how to raise mixed-race children.” @caramac54 at #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales:

“As a child, I didn’t believe issues of race had to do with me.” Get a few small steps to talk about race with @caramac54

“My motto is to listen, learn, and listen some more.” @CaraMac54 on #racialjustice

ONE SMALL STEP

Identify one small way you’re seeking power or privilege — it might be even as small as not paying attention to those who are in a place of vulnerability (rather than power) in your community. Spend a few minutes taking stock of where you spend your time, who you hang out with, and ask: how is my “normal” not like other people’s “normal”? Make a list.

Pray through your list. Ask God to open your eyes to people who are different from you. Practice one small step of intentionally moving towards others.

Pick a place and pick your prayer.

How can you be intentional to enter into friendships from those who are different from you?

WE’D BE HONORED if you shared how you’re working through material from The #FindingHolyPodcast on social media. Subscribe + share an episode with a friend! Tag @aahales on social media and use the #FindingHolyPodcast hashtag. Keep up to date on all #FindingHolyPodcast here: https://mailchi.mp/ddd0fd792a7b/findingholypod

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We’re connecting the dots between the things that really matter and our everyday, ordinary lives.

Today, I sit down with Casey Tygrett to talk about memories. We talk about how they influence our lives and communities and how God might be inviting us into a larger story of redemption through spiritual practices. It’s a wide-ranging conversation — from memories of God’s people in the bible, to how God might make our memories sacred again, and how pain fits into the picture. Plus we talk about how the soul is like a burrito.

Listen in. Casey Tygrett is an author, pastor, and host of the otherWISE podcast. His new book is called As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories In Our Spiritual Life . He is also the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions. You can connect with Casey and find more information on his website or read his weekly Patheos blog “Everything Becoming”. Casey and his wife Holley and daughter “The B” live just outside of Chicago, IL.

LINKS

Casey’s book, As I Recall: https://amzn.to/2tCELJH

Casey’s book, Becoming Curious: https://amzn.to/2U1ytir

Casey’s website: http://www.caseytygrett.com

Casey’s podcast: https://apple.co/2tA2WbM

Patheos Blog: https://bit.ly/2TbGzb7

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“The soul is like a burrito” and other fun things I heard @cktygrett say with @aahales on the #findingholypodcast:

“Our memories have written a through line and the Spirit of God says I can take this and do something with it.” @cktygrett on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:

“Memories have seasons.” @cktygrett on @aahales’ the #findingholypodcast

“Communities have memories. Lament can help us acknowledge pain.” @cktygrett on @aahales’ the #findingholypodcast

ONE SMALL STEP

We’re borrowing one right from Casey’s playbook, try taking 5 minutes today and writing out (scripting) a memory. Write down the who, what, when, and where. Involve your senses. Tell a concrete story with details. Then take just 2 minutes of solitude and silence and ask God: What might you be wanting me to do or know from this memory? Invite the Spirit of God in to your memories. It’s part of how we experience God’s presence in a daily way.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of As I Recall for more great practices. Casey is a trusted guide to walk alongside you.

And — make sure you tag us to talk more! Because big things matter but so does the laundry!

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We don’t often think about how our places shape us and our stories. We often think of our places as a backdrop to all the living we do, just the context for how we’ll move about in the world. We don’t clearly articulate how places shape our souls. 

My guest today has a particularly helpful take on place — partly because she’s lived on different continents as a minority and has learned how to navigate majority cultures. She’s lovely to talk to and offers us so much wisdom (and stories) about how to tell our stories of place well. 

Patrice Gopo articulately explains how places have shaped her in this episode. Patrice Gopo is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a personal essayist and often writes about topics of race, immigration, and belonging. Her first book, a collection of personal essays entitled All the Colors We Will See, is a Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Patrice is a firm believer in the power of personal narratives to create pathways of connection and understanding in society. When she’s not writing and reflecting about her own journey, she teaches and speaks about the importance of personal storytelling.

LINKS

Buy Patrice’s book, All the Colors We Will See: http://bit.ly/patricegopo

Website: patricegopo.com/subscribe

Instagram: @patricegopo

Facebook: @patricegopowrites

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How do places form our loves? Listen to @patricegopo on place, race, immigration, and the stories our places tell on the #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales. 

What does moving across the world, writing our stories, and doing the laundry have in common? Find out from @patricegopo on the #findingholypodcast.

Don’t miss this fantastic episode with @patricegopo and @aahales on the #findingholypodcast. It’s a theology of place unpacked. 

ONE SMALL STEP

Give yourself a 10-minute assignment: think about your place. Go on a walk in your neighborhood. Brainstorm in your journal. But give yourself 10 minutes to start noticing how who, what, when, where and what happens right where you live forms your loves. 

Curious what that might look like? You can go to aahales.com, scroll to the bottom, and enter your email: then you’ll get a free download of the first chapter of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, about how Target forms our desires. Red carts, coffee, and clearance sections, oh my! (And the book is 40% off right now at IVP as part of their Summer Reading List, details here). 

Remember, no matter where you live, that you get to live the story of Jesus. But don’t forget the laundry — because big things matter, but so does the laundry! 

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If you’re someone who struggles to know how our bodies fit into our faith, this conversation is for you. 

There’s so much around the idea of touch in the church and in our culture that feels like a landmine. While we can be tempted to believe we’re brains on sticks or disembodied souls, Jesus came as a man to show us the power and ministry of touch. 

You’ll want to listen in this week to hear Lore’s wisdom about embodied faith, touch, and her new book releasing in 2020, Handle with Care. 

Lore Ferguson Wilbert has lived all over the United States and is unsettled enough to call nowhere home, but she lives in Flower Mound, Texas for now. She is a wife to her husband and a member of The Village Church where they both serve. She writes and edits full time for many publications like The Gospel Coalition, CT, Revive Our Hearts, Fathom Magazine, and The Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission on spiritual formation, faith, culture, and theology in life. You can read more of her work at sayable.net. 

LINKS

Lore’s blog: www.sayable.net

Lore’s book, Handle with Care: https://amzn.to/305tS1c

ONE SMALL STEP

Begin your day by praying over your body. Thank God for each part. Pray for healing for each part. Thank God for your body – for your brain, your heart, your belly, your hips, your toes. Ask the Holy Spirit to comfort you and show you the goodness of the gospel through your body and where you move today. 

Thanks again for being a part of this conversation! As always, we love to hear from you. Email your comments to [email protected] and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review: 

“Big things matter, but so does the laundry.” May your laundry folding, dinner-preparing, walking-self experience God more fully because of your body this week. 

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Sometimes when we’re in the thralls of our normal routines, our roles in our families and in our neighborhoods, it’s hard to stop and pay attention. Shawn Smucker, author, husband, and busy father to 6, talks with us about what it looks like to choose presence from cross-cultural friendships with a refugee and with his own family. 

Here’s a bit more about Shawn: He lives in Lancaster, PA with his wife, Maile, and his 6 children. He’s the author of The Day the Angels Fell, The Edge of Over There, Once We were Strangers, and the forthcoming novel, Light from Distant Stars. Be sure to preorder his latest release before July 16 for a free peek into the life and journal of a novelist. 

You’ll want to listen in for wisdom about parenting, about how to navigate cross-cultural friendships and be present to your actual neighbors. But you’ll also want to stick around to hear his laundry routine for a family of 8, how his wife Maile and he aren’t just sliding into established roles in their writing and parenting lives together, and how you can take one small step of presence in a culture that idolizes hurry and busyness. 

LINKS:

Link to purchase The Day the Angels Fell: https://amzn.to/2X7B2oL

Link to purchase The Edge of Over There: https://amzn.to/2RwDsr3

Link to purchase Once We Were Strangers: https://amzn.to/2X2iIgR

Link to pre-order Light from Distant Stars: https://amzn.to/2X6MBws

More about Shawn, his work, and his writing services: http://shawnsmucker.com

SHARE:

Listen to @ShawnSmucker discuss his friendship with a Syrian refugee and what it taught him about a “drop in” friendship in a culture of busyness on the #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales

Curious about how to navigate a meaningful life in the midst of marriage and family life? You’ll want to listen to @shawnsmucker on the #findingholypodcast

Listen to how @shawnsmucker and his wife reevaluated roles, made time for the work they love, and still manage to get the laundry done for a family of 8 on The #FindingHolyPodcast

ONE SMALL STEP:

Move your communication from social media to one-on-one for a week. Write a note of gratitude. Look your children in the eye. Practice presence in small and unseen ways. We’d even love to get a note here at the podcast (email us at [email protected]) and would love for you to stay in the conversation by subscribing. 

Keep the conversation going by purchasing Finding Holy in the Suburbs for a friend and see how your can love your place, your actual neighbors, and those right in front of you. Better yet, buy it from real people (we recommend Hearts & Mind Bookstore, who will send it from real people not a drone!)

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This a great conversation on quiet, stillness, habits, and brain neural pathways. You’ll love learning about why our brains react against stillness and quiet. even task-positive network and default mode network in the brain and how this all fits into how we connect with God. 

A Massachusetts native, Michelle DeRusha moved to Nebraska in 2001, where she discovered the Great Plains, grasshoppers the size of Cornish hens ... and God. She writes about listening to your soul speak at michellederusha.com, as well as a monthly column for the Lincoln Journal Star.

Michelle earned a Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Massachusetts and a Master's Degree in English from the University of Connecticut. She worked as a magazine writer and editor in New York City, a PR and marketing specialist for a community college and a fundraiser for PBS and NPR before settling down into her career and calling as a writer. 

Here’s why you should listen: If you’re longing to connect with God, be present to yourself and people around you, you’ll want to see how something as small as 5 minutes of quiet a day has reframed our guest today. 

Stick around: You’ll get one small step to help you connect yourself to God and the wider community of faith at the end. 

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“Ultimately coming to understand your identity as a child of God, is that you’ll naturally start to turn outward to community.” @michellederusha on #FindingHolyPodcast 

“Our brain literally forgets how to rest.” Listen to @michellederusha on our restless age and what can help on #TheFindingHolyPodcast with @aahales

“I practiced directed rest and it took weeks before I could push below that upper level of distraction.” @michellederusha 

LINKS

Link to purchase Michelle’s latest book, True You: https://amzn.to/2K7e1LU

Link to purchase 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: https://amzn.to/2MQ2qmL

Link to purchase Katarina and Martin Luther: https://amzn.to/2ML2aVI

Link to purchase Spiritual Misfit: https://amzn.to/2KDGLLt

Michelle’s website: http://michellederusha.com

NEXT SMALL STEP:

The point isn’t just about being silent or even paying attention to nature. Ultimately we need to know ourselves well enough to know what we each need to do to pay attention to how we connect to God. Michelle talks about how embracing silence allowed her to get to her true self – the self exposed before God. 

Let’s try something small just like Michelle: if 5 minutes feels like a lot, even start with 2 minutes of quiet a day. Put an alarm on the phone and practice 2 (or 5) minutes of silence. You might even have to lock yourself in a bathroom, but it’s worth it! Before you begin give your time of quiet to God, asking him to focus your mind and return your attention and affections to him in your moments of directed rest. 

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Darryl Dash is pastor of Liberty Grace Church in Toronto, and author of *How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Your Life*. He is also cofounder of Gospel for Life and director of Advance Church Planting Institute. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has over 25 years of ministry experience. Darryl is married to Charlene and has two adult children: Christy and Josiah. You can find Darryl online at DashHouse.com.

WORKS MENTIONED

Darryl Dash’s book : How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Life: https://amzn.to/2JT07g8

Gretchen Rubin, Better than Before: What I learned about Making and Breaking habits: https://amzn.to/2JWrVjL 

M. Scott Peck, on the stages of community: http://atlc.org/members/resources/four_stages_community.html

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“I am famished for God’s presence…I say that as someone desperate.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales: 

“The church is going to be disillusioning. Yet there is something that happens. God uses the church to grow us.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales: 

“Habits are valuable insofar that they lead me to God.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales: 

How to commit to 3 small habits to grow in your faith. @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales: 

ONE SMALL STEP

Join me with one small step – let’s make a habit. For the next 21 days, let’s commit to reading our Bibles. It doesn’t need to big or studious. Start small – just even one verse before you check your email or grab your keys and coffee in the morning.

Let me know how it goes! Email me on the contact form on the website: aahales.com. 

IF YOU HAVEN’T YET…

Subscribe to The Finding Holy Podcast on itunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Share an episode.

Read — continue the conversation by reading Finding Holy in the Suburbs. 

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On this second edition of a “Suburban Bootcamp,” Bryce and Ashley Hales talk together about how the gospel reorients our relationships vertically with God and horizontally with others. So how do we make the mental shift from the allure of convenience to moving outwards towards others? 

Hospitality flows from God who has made room for us — seen most clearly in  the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

Ashley posed a few helpful diagnostic questions as we think about hospitality and making room:

SOME QUESTIONS

Where am I making room in my time?

Where am I making room in my body for others — do I look at people? Do I see the needs around me?

Where am I making room in my affections — so that I’m looking for ways to connect with others who are far from God? 

But where do we start? Bryce encourages to embrace awkward and be a good neighbor and start today in one small step. 

ONE SMALL STEP

Put a date on the calendar three weeks out. 

Create a reason to get together with some friends, neighbors, and people you sort of know. Try out your favorite barbecue recipe, or grab a Costco lasagna. The point is to make room in your schedule and your home to really see people. 

GET INVOLVED

Hooray! A Leader’s Guide is coming soon for Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much. With chapters on hospitality and busyness, you won’t want to miss the book, or the chance to read and talk about with friends. Buy yourself a copy (hey! pick one up for your whole group) and stay tuned for the release of the Leader Guide!

If you’re looking for a little reminder about the things that matter in a noisy world, make sure you get The Essential 3. It’s a small dose of beauty, truth, and goodness in the form of 3 links sent directly to your inbox each week. It’s short, sweet, and just what you might need. Get it here. 

SHARE

“Hospitality is about making room.” @aahales @bahales #Findingholypodcast #suburbanbootcamp

What to do when you feel like hospitality is all about Martha Stewart. It starts with a Costco lasagna and baby wipes. #hospitality #suburbanbootcamp #FindingHolyPodcast @aahales

“Making room” makes the gospel and hospitality feel accessible. #findingholypodcast

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It’s 2019! Welcome back to The Finding Holy Podcast, where we connect the dots between the things that matter and your everyday, holy life. 

Before we kick off season 2, we’re going to have a three-week interlude. During these three weeks, I sit down with my husband and pastor, Bryce Hales, and we host a little suburban boot camp. It’s short. It’s sweet and it will give you some concrete action to take. 

This first session we talk about the allure of convenience and how consumerism has infiltrated the church. 

Listen in for a short episode with a lot of laughter, one small step, and how to begin to think about our lives less as consumers and more as lovers of our places and our churches. 

A SMALL STEP 

Plan and cook a meal. This will slow your body down and get you into the moment. The process of planning and cooking helps us give rather than receive, or seeing ourselves as consumers. 

Our favorite soup recipe can be found at aahales.com/Podcast. 

Let us know how it goes!

SHARE + SUBSCRIBE 

Will you help us grow? Be sure to share the show and subscribe wherever we listen to podcasts. 

“When we view church as event rather than as family we are poorer for it.” #findingholypodcast

“The Bible commends faithfulness and perseverance far more than we do.” #findingholypodcast 

“How we talk — “I have to” is really “I don’t want to.” Start noticing.” #findingholypodcast

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