I want what Jim has.

This is the phrase 17-year-old Alan, my husband, uttered as he made one of his first moves into the Christian life.

I have always loved hearing Alan share about the first time he went forward in a church to receive Christ. I’ve heard this story multiple times and I’m always struck by how simple and heartfelt Alan’s desire was. We’ll talk more about this today…

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

It’s near the beginning of the calendar year and, for some, it feels like a fresh start. Most of us are long past making resolutions. We’ve come to see that they don’t last and are followed up by shame and guilt. I haven’t made resolutions for years.

But I thought it might be good to share with you a few simple ways you could plan for some soul care in an ongoing way. These ideas are bottom shelf and that’s good. It’s always wise to begin small and build habits.

I mention a couple resources in this episode. Here are those links:

• An Unhurried Time with God guide
• Annual  Examen guide

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Breathing. It’s as natural as, well, breathing. We breathe all day long without giving it a thought. It’s just one of the many astounding aspects of our God-given bodies. I’m grateful for all the processes that continue to keep me healthy and alive, aren’t you? 

Today, using the word BREATHE, I’m going to guide you in a spiritual practice that you can use in the middle of any given day. We’ll make the unconscious, conscious and give our souls space to breathe.

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Almost everyone I speak with these days is tired or stressed in troubling ways. Not only do we carry our regular burdens and concerns, but we also carry around our knowledge of what is going on in our country and around the globe.

While it is true that we cannot psychologically bear up under the weight of all that we see and hear in the information age—we do want to have a basic knowledge of world events.

But how do we hold all of this without becoming overwhelmed? How can we be a healthy member of our planet without crumbling beneath the weight?

My guest today is radio host, Carmen LaBerge, and she is going to help us make our way.

Carmen LaBerge is an author, speaker and host of the Christian talk radio show Mornings with Carmen LaBerge, across the Faith Radio Network. On air, live each weekday morning, Carmen demonstrates civil conversation as she and her guests bring the mind of Christ to bear on the headline news of the day. 

Carmen has conducted thousands of interviews with widely respected influencers, reporters, authors, and leaders. She is author of Speak the Truth: Bring God back into every Conversation and blogs at www.carmenlaberge.com

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Many of you have likely heard of a way of engaging scripture called Lectio Divina. It is a kind of “Divine Reading.” What I love about Lectio Divina is that it is a slow and formational way of engaging the bible. It can help us move from our heads to our hearts. Lectio Divina is reflective, meditative, receptive and responsive. 

Let’s begin with a little Lectio 101, and then I will guide you in the practice as we experience Psalm 73:23-26 together.

The four movements of Lectio Divina are: 

• Read (Lectio)
• Reflect (Meditatio)
• Respond (Oratio)
• Rest (Contemplatio)

With Lectio Divina, rather than gathering information, we seek to allow God to meet us in our hearts and minds in a spirit of transformation. We allow ourselves to sink into the passage…to linger…to think, yes, but also to feel and to experience. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

One of our great concerns at Unhurried Living is caring for the souls of leaders. And one of the ways we focus on this is by helping leaders learn to care well for their own souls. It’s too easy to become so busy with work we believe God has given us, but not enjoying the life that God has given us. 

There are so many good spiritual practices that can help us care well for our souls. That’s why I’m pleased to have Barbara Peacock as our guest today. She is the author of Spiritual Practices for Soul Care. We had a very encouraging conversation about 40 practices she recommends in her book. 

Barbara Peacock is a spiritual director, author, teacher, and preacher. She is the founder of Barbara L. Peacock Ministries, committed to developing disciples through prayer, spiritual direction, soul care, mentoring, and teaching. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m talking with Joanna Meyer, the author of the recently released book Women, Work and Calling. 

No matter what title you have or don’t have, we are all working women. People, tasks, and schedules fill our days and we all have influence in these spheres. 

How do you respond to God’s calling? How does God grow our soul through our work? How do we tap into our vocational power? 

Joanna Meyer is director of public engagement at the Denver Institute for Faith & Work, where she leads public events, hosts the Faith & Work Podcast, and founded Women, Work, & Calling, a national initiative that equips Christian women for godly influence in public life. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked in global telecom, nonprofit consulting, and campus ministry with Cru. Joanna served as associate faculty at Denver Seminary and completed a certificate in Women in Leadership through Cornell University. She contributed to Women &  Work and has written for Faith Driven Entrepreneur and various Denver Institute publications. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing the last of four episodes on the theme of rest. If you haven’t listened to the first three, I encourage you to go back. These have been some of the most important episodes I’ve offered in our six-and-a-half years as a podcast. 

As we continue to navigate so many changes that have come to so many of us in these last few years, I wonder how tired you feel inside. I’m not talking about the sort of tired that a nap would resolve or a good night’s sleep might address. I’m talking about a deeper tired—a weariness of soul. 

I’ve found myself wrestling with weariness at levels that has often surprised me. My wife, Gem, and I have both had to be far more intentional about finding the deep rest our souls need from God. In this episode, I’ll share what we’ve been learning. I’m hopeful you’ll find it helpful. 

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A few years ago I read Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion. He put into eloquent prose a dynamic that I had experienced, but had not yet found words to describe.

There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. . . . In a deeply religious culture people know that the deep level of prayer and of divine attendance is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined. . . . Between the two levels is fruitful interplay, but ever the accent must be upon the deeper level, where the soul ever dwells in the presence of the Holy One.

Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1941), 9. 

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Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought. You can also join her in the Replenish Community.

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’ve been a reader of the New Testament for forty-five years now. I’m still grateful for the wisdom and life guidance I find in those pages. Checking my current favorite NIV Bible, I realize that the New Testament takes up 225 pages. That’s about the length of many of the books I talk with authors about on this podcast. What I mean to say is that it isn’t as big as I sometimes imagine.

And I realize is that I can easily get into habits, even ruts, when it comes to how I understand what I’m reading in these pages. 

That’s why I’m glad to share my recent conversation with Dr. Scot McKnight about his recent translation of the New Testament called The Second Testament. In reading through familiar passages in it, I found myself challenged and awakened to the New Testament in quite a helpful way. I think you’ll find what he shares about this translation to be very life-giving.

Right after my conversation with Scot, my wife, Gem, and I have a brief conversation about our experience of The Second Testament. Be sure to stay with the episode for those thoughts. 

Scot McKnight serves as Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is the author of many books, including Reading Romans Backwards, Pastor Paul, The King Jesus Gospel, and commentaries on James, Galatians, and 1 Peter. He is also the coeditor of the Story of God commentary series and general editor of the forthcoming second edition of the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.

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Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.