Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

I’ve enjoyed the treat of having many mentor-like people in my life who were ahead of me on the journey. They knew more than me and readily shared their knowledge and wisdom. They believed in me and my potential, and were willing to help draw me into the next season.  Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It is certainly true that my mentors taught and trained me, but just as Ms. Angelou stated, what I remember the most is how they made me feel. Although there have been many who poured into me throughout my life, today I'm sharing with you three important people who touched and changed my life:Perla WarrenHal ClarkEllyn Cowie Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

I’m sharing a recent conversation with Lore Ferguson Wilbert about her book A Curious Faith. In it, she talks about questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and question we wish others would ask us. We are sometimes uncomfortable with questions unless we quickly figure out an answer to them. But growing deeper in trusting God often involves “living the questions” rather than merely answering them. I believe in the formative power of good questions. Our own book, What Does Your Soul Love?, is based on eight questions that reveal the frontiers of where God is at his transforming work in our lives. Lore Ferguson Wilbert is the founder of Sayable.net and the author of Handle with Care, winner of a 2021Christianity Today Book Award. She has written for Christianity Today, Fathom magazine, and She Reads Truth, and served as general editor of B&H's “Read and Reflect with the Classics.” Wilbert reaches an audience of more than 40,000 through email and social media. She is currently pursuing an MA in Christian spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University and lives in upstate New York.   Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m happy to introduce my latest book A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living, and it releases in two weeks on December 6. This book captures a lot of what we’ve been talking about here at Unhurried Living. It is the third book in the unhurried trilogy, following An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader.With the overwhelming pace of life, many of us struggle to stop long enough to be present. Our long to-do lists and full calendars leave little breathing room to hear from God. We know we need to slow down but we don't even know how to begin.I’ve spent decades coaching leaders and communities on how to live an unhurried life, teaching that productivity and success are not our first pursuit, but the fruit of living at the pace that our true self longs to live. Designed to help you center your day around God's loving presence, A Year of Slowing Down offers six devotionals for each week of the year. Each day begins with a Scripture passage followed by a short reading and a reflection question.This book is an invitation to slow down and be present to the movement of God in your everyday life. I hope you’ll embrace God's call to welcome a year of slowing down. Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Here in the states, it’s Thanksgiving week. And it’s easy to become stressed or overwhelmed during the holidays. Every year we tell ourselves that we won’t get caught up in the scurry of the season, but difficult relationships and over-extended schedules press in. Then we find ourselves enduring the season rather than enjoying it.Wrapped up inside all this is another lovely dynamic: decision fatigue.  Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m talking with Dr. Alison Cook and we’ll be discussing how to discover the BEST OF YOU (also the title of her latest book).Dr. Alison delivers life-changing strategies for helping women develop their voices, forge healthy relationships, and embrace the holy, sacred work of becoming their true selves in God. I’m sharing with you a portion of the conversation I had with Alison for our Replenish Community. She shares about the difference between selfishness and selfhood, which leads into a conversation about following the example of Jesus in the area of boundaries. Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Tom Nelson about his book The Flourishing Pastor. Many of you who listen regularly to this podcast are serving in church leadership. Many of you aren’t. This isn’t an episode only for pastors. We’re talking about how we can flourish in our roles and relationships of influence. In fact, flourishing is one of the ways we best serve others. We have an abundance from which we can joyfully share with others. These have been challenging years to be a pastor. If you are a pastor, I hope this episode will be of special encouragement to you. If you aren’t a pastor, there is a good chance you have a pastor. Would you listen not only for insights that help you, but also with an ear for how you might be a friend to you pastor? Tom is founder and president of Made to Flourish, an organization that empowers pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities. Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Have you ever experienced a moment when scripture came to life? More than just words on a page or a passage that you memorized, I’m talking about a time when reality-wisdom bowled you over. Well, today I’m sharing a time when scripture leapt off the page and overwhelmed me with the felt reality of its truth.⁠⁠This week on I Can Do That! Podcast, I share how a reading in church changed how I view and receive scripture.⁠Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with James K. A. Smith about his latest book, How to Inhabit Time. The moment I saw this title, I knew there would be some wonderful intersections with our core idea here of learning to live and lead in the unhurried way of Jesus. I wasn’t wrong about that. There is a depth of thinking and a beauty of language in this book. It really was a pleasure to read. There is an invitation to live well in the present moment. The language of “inhabiting” takes me to the invitation of Jesus to “abide in him” like a branch remains connected to a vine to be lush and fruitful. Each “now” is the place where we can do that. But we are so often rushing past the present moment (or trying to) and missing the grace that is available to us right here. I know you’re going to enjoy our conversation about these things today.Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke about their book Having the Mind of Christ. In it, they talk about what they call eight axioms for cultivating a robust faith. In a day when so many are disappointed with the faith they were given by the church of their early formation, we need a more vital vision of the life to which Jesus is actually inviting us. Too often, our assumptions, our expectations, even our values are shaped more by popular cultural voices than they are by the beautiful ways of God’s kingdom. This is a big part of the reason that Unhurried Living exists. We really believe the pace of the kingdom of Jesus is very different than the cultural one that surrounds us. Our guests, Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke, are the cofounders of Gravity Leadership, an organization focused on transformational leadership and discipleship. They provide coaching, consulting, and workshops for pastors and ministry leaders. They are also copastors of a church in Indianapolis called The Table and cohosts of the Gravity Leadership podcast. Connect with Matt and Ben on InstagramMatt Tebbe and Ben Sternke Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, rather than sharing an author interview or a leadership conversation, I’m going to share a daily practice that has been an important element of my unhurried life and work rhythms for a while now. It’s rooted in some of the insights I wrote about in the last chapter of An Unhurried Leader, which is titled “Working with God.” By the way, episode 205 of this podcast, “Working for God or Working with God,” based on that chapter, is one of our top five most downloaded episodes. If you haven’t already listened to that one, I encourage you to go back to it. This has been a big idea that’s been transforming how I think about and engage my work. The daily practice I’m going to share with you in this episode is one I’ve come to call, “Praying my Work.” Perhaps like you, I keep track of my work in terms of projects and tasks that I’m engaging in a personal task manager that syncs between my computer and my smartphone. There are plenty of tools like this, and you probably use a tool like this to manage your own work. The daily practice of “Praying my work” begins at the end of each day as part of my night prayer. I enjoy starting and ending my day with the daily office of The Book of Common Prayer. This rhythm of praying historic prayers and key passages of scripture has been one important way of praying for me for years now. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.