There is so much going on in our world that is heavy and hard. And it can be difficult to know how to approach it all, address it all, hold it all. It’s all so very overwhelming. If we want to be a part of the healing work of the Kingdom of God, where do we even begin?

As I’ve continued to work out my faith with God over the years, I’ve realized the big impact is not always mine to make. Instead, what is nearly always mine to do is to be a steady influence in my regular, everyday life. In the small, the subtle, the obscure, the quiet. Even when it doesn’t seem to matter.  Because it’s true that you have to start somewhere. And it’s true that the work we’re called to tends to start small.

So what might that look like? Listen in.

“You don’t have to do great things, but the little things you are doing in your sphere of influence can be done with great conviction, great wisdom, great beauty, and great love.”  —Ruth Krehbiel Jacobs

Small Kindnesses by Danusha Lameris

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In the context of life and faith, it can be easy to lose sight of the main thing. It can be easy to live distracted, disordered, disoriented. Like you hear over and over again on this podcast—it can be easy to forget. To get turned around. To slowly shift our focus away from the center. 

And yet, as we navigate the twists and turns, the ups and downs, of our day-to-day lives, I'm learning that keeping the center in mind is key. So what might that look like? That's what we're exploring today. Listen in :)

Renewing the Christian Mind by Dallas Willard

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Acknowledging and accepting our actual, lived-in lives and experience is often much easier said than done. It’s like our if-only’s become our what-should-be’s—how we should feel, what we should do, the type of response we should have—and when our reality doesn’t match that ideal, well, we turn to filters and facades, forcing ourselves into molds that don’t actually fit. And living that way is exhausting. Perhaps you know the feeling?

Well, one of the greatest gifts I have received through the work and ministry of spiritual direction is compassionate permission to welcome what is and not what I think should be. To honor the full spectrum of my experience, whether I like it or not. Whether I hope it will change or not. 

I'm learning that a practice of welcome means a practice of being honest before God, trusting that God is present and at work in our actual experience, and that through such a welcome, God can and will engage the sacred work of transformation. 

Today, I hope you'll listen in and join me as, together, we welcome what is.

Dr. Larry Crabb

Soulful Spirituality by David Benner

Rumi's The Guest House

The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner

Father Thomas Keating

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In today's episode, we're considering what it means to practice courage.

Sometimes courage can look like a big, grand gesture, a response to literal life-or-death threats and danger. That kind of courage is admirable and worth aspiring to. And I’m also learning that sometimes the practice of courage is small and subtle, but no less significant.

Today, if you're experiencing fear in some way, shape, or form, this episode is for you. Listen in.

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In today's episode, we're exploring what it might mean for us to "wake up" to our lives. To be more attentive to and aware of God’s movement and promptings around and within. To expect the unexpected in regular, ordinary days. To trust and believe God is with us and at work right where we are, even when conditions and circumstances say otherwise. To embody a deep presence and attention. To live a full, abundant life.

This is a life Jesus knew well. And as we see time and time again throughout the gospels, this is the life Jesus came to offer.

So what it might it look like, on a practical level, to live abundantly? To be a person in whom “life has made a home?” Fully attentive and awake to God with and within you? If life feels like a blur, listen in.

1995 Film Balto

Balto Story

Chuck DeGroat

remind{h}er 54: Sleep On It

Kindling Desire for God by Kay Northcutt

Liturgies for Wholeness by Audrey Elledge + Elizabeth Moore

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As I’ve worked toward becoming a spiritual director myself the past couple years, a question I am asked often is, what is spiritual direction? And it’s a great question! If you had told me four years ago that in four years, I would be a spiritual director, my response would have been something like, “Excellent. What is that?”

Well, I’ve learned and experienced so much the past four years, and I’m thrilled to be able to explore that question with you today. In this episode, we cover the following questions:

• What is spiritual direction?
• What is the role of a spiritual director?
• Who is spiritual direction for?
• What might a session be like?

To learn more and/or book an initial spiritual direction session with me, CLICK HERE

Providence Canyon State Park

The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson

The Cultivated Life by Susan Phillips

Coaching, Counseling, and Spiritual Direction by Tiffani Boerio

What Do You Talk About in Spiritual Direction? by Renee Davis Meyer

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As a person of faith, I tend to assume I’m expected to have this unlimited capacity to believe, to trust, to hold fast to what I know is true of God. And I assume that sort of faithfulness is supposed to be true of me always. For forever. 

But I find that expectation can become a bit overwhelming. The pressure of forever doesn’t always feel doable. Yes, eternity is set in our hearts {Ecclesiastes 3:11}, but what if that’s true, and we doubt? What if it’s true, and we waver? What if we struggle and feel uncertain along the way?

One thing I'm discovering is that "forever" is lots of little "for nows." Listen in.

On Being with Krista Tippett + Kate Bowler

Kate Bowler

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

How to Walk into a Room by Emily P. Freeman

The podcast is taking a break for the summer! We'll be back August 14. In the meantime, sign up for my monthly letter, The Re{collection} so you don't miss a thing! 

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In Matthew 18, Jesus invites his disciples to become like children. Which feels so counter to what we’re used to, right? We’re supposed to become self-sufficient adults. We’re supposed to grow up and get ahead, do it ourselves, climb all the ladders, accomplish all the things. And Jesus is saying, “No. That’s not it. If that is all you’re after, if that is your main priority, if that is what you think will make you great, you’re missing out. Because the kingdom of God belongs to the little ones."

Even though we’ve grown up, Jesus urges us to stay little. To not lose sight of or stop nurturing the child within. Because after all, at our core, we are beloved children of God. What might that look like? Listen in.

Hook 1991 Film

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It is true that taking a photo and trying to capture a moment often ends up distracting us from it. It’s a reality we need to recognize, because our screens do often keep us from truly experiencing and even deeply remembering. We say a picture will last longer, but some research shows a picture only skims the surface of all our memory can hold. 

In recent years, in attempt to avoid this, I pretty much gave up taking photos altogether. Because if I forget to take a photo, it must mean I’m fully present to the moment, right? Well, not always. Often I find I’m just as distracted, with or without a camera in hand. Worry, a too-full or fast-paced schedule, insecurity, discontent, or familiarity {just to name a few} can keep me from fully experiencing and appreciating my actual, right-now life. 

And so, in a turn of events, I've started taking pictures again. And it is making a difference. How so? Listen in.

Museum of Modern Art

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Boy Meets World Season 5 Episode 20 "Starry Night"

How to Inhabit Time by James K.A. Smith

Research: How Taking Photos Can Impair Your Memory

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As we journey with God through the ups and downs, twists and turns, stops and goes of life, I'm learning that the posture we assume, matters. And I’d like to offer that we might do well to bend low. Not in a way that diminishes the fullness of who we are, but in a way that grounds us, that keeps us close to the heart of God. To the way of Jesus. To the promptings of the Spirit. Rooted deep down in our souls. 

What might it look like for us to remember the way of Jesus and boldly bend low? Listen in.

Arthur's Seat

Old Man of Storr

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