Engage with us as we talk about a dynamic that some will face in their spiritual journey, what John of the Cross called “The Dark Night of the Soul." It sounds kind of ominous and scary, but it’s actually just a place where our faith is given an opportunity for testing and refining. That doesn’t mean it feels good to us, but it is a *good* place. A while back, Alan wrote an article about the dark night for our blog. It’s one of our most visited posts. That’s...

Right now, we find ourselves in the season of Lent, and a few weeks ago, Alan wrote a blog post titled “Lent: An Invitation to True Satisfaction.” He said that, "In Lent, rather than aiming at acquisition, we aim for some form of openness or even empty space. Fasting results in empty stomachs. Self-denial can quiet our selfish ambition."

But the “empty” here isn’t a vacuum. It is a welcoming of God’s presence. We open up space for God to be active in and...

A visit to a museum provides the backdrop for a conversation on what it means to be an apprentice to a master.

We made our way through quite a few rooms of the Hermitage. The interiors were jaw dropping, the paintings gorgeous. And, as Alan said, he had been there before, so he knew when we were nearing the original painting we were most looking forward to seeing, which was Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son. He gave me a brief warning as we turned the corner, “Get...

In this mini-sode, we want to share eight simple ways for blessing others. These are actually drawn from a resource we produced a year ago, called "Take Five: 17 Simple Ways to Serve Others." That was before we launched this podcast, so I wanted to share some of the helpful ideas with you all.

These little "five minute" ideas aren't complex. That's actually the point. You could easily add plenty of other creative ways to bless another. We simply encourage you to do the good that God has put...

Many years ago, I (Gem) was having a conversation with a very dear friend. As we interacted, she shared some insights about me that I had not directly told her before. No one could have known, because I had not shared with anyone. She was quite observant, but I was still surprised when she shared with me her thoughts. I asked her how she knew. She said, "I know you because I pray for you."

I didn't really understand that fully at the time, but over the years I began to learn what she meant....

Today, it is my delight to share a conversation that I had with Emily P. Freeman. As I’ve followed her on Instagram, read her blog and enjoyed her podcast – I’ve found her to be a true kindred spirit. She is singing the same song as as Unhurried Living - as she shares the message of small moment living in a fast moving world.

In our conversation we talk about: story, process, spiritual practices, small moment living, making connections between our outer world and our inner...

Today is the last in our five-part series where we’ve been responding to your answers to our poll question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?”

We received a whole grouping of answers that were all about life’s seasons, stages and transitions.

• We have the mom with young children at home trying to figure out how anything resembling unhurried time is even possible.
• There’s the student who is away at college, who...

This is the fourth in a five-part series sharing answers to the question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” Here are the questions on priorities that arose from our community:

1. I want to be able to serve without overdoing it.
2. How do we deal with the impulse to procrastinate as it relates to priorities?
3. How do I deal with urgent things that aren’t all that important?
4. What about my relationship with time - managing time and...

Thanks for joining us today. I’m glad your listening to this episode. You’re really going to enjoy what our guest, JK Jones, has to share about what he’s learned from the Monks. He wrote a book a while back titled: What the Monks Can Teach Us. We enjoyed sharing some of the ways that monastic writings, monastic communities and monastic practices have been a source of grace and wisdom for us in our journey with Jesus. You’ll also appreciate his gracious, humble,...

Today is number three in a series where we are sharing answers to our survey question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?”

This week, we’re talking about “Distractions and Soul Busyness.” Let’s take a look a look at five of the questions that came up within this theme to see if we can find a little more freedom in our everyday lives.

#1 - The internet and social media can eat up my time so quickly. How do I...