Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Andrew Arndt about his book Streams in the Wasteland. In it, he shares the ancient wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers who journeyed to the wilderness to seek a closer journey with Christ. Andrew shares some of the parallels between their experience with Rome then and our experience today. I was first introduced to the desert fathers and mothers in the late 1980s when I read Henri Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary. It was his sharing of the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers, especially about solitude, silence, and prayer, that launched me on a very different spiritual trajectory than the frantically busy one I’d been on up until then. Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Prior to joining New Life's team, he served as the lead pastor of Bloom Church, a network of house churches in Denver. He is the host of the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Andrew received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently working on his DMin with Western Theological Seminary. He has written for Missio Alliance, Patheos, The Other Journal, and Mere Orthodoxy. He is the author of Streams in the Wasteland and All Flame. Andrew lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Mandi, and their four kids. Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The voice of the stressed achiever has much to do. She likes to focus on accomplishments and she cares about the opinions of others. Never allowing a break, the stressed achiever keeps you driving forward. She’ll have nothing to do with laziness. But what hums underneath is a fear that she doesn’t exist apart from her accomplishments. These are her mantras: Staying busy proves my worth. The more I produce, the more I am. Someone must push this thing up the hill. Let’s get going! Today, I’m talking with Morgan Northway. She has a before and after story of dealing with her inner stressed achiever and it is truly inspiring. 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.

This week Alan interviews friend and fellow author, Steve Macchia, about his latest book The Discerning Life. When we use the language of “discerning” in popular culture, we often mean something like having good taste—like knowing good wine from average. As a spiritual capacity, it’s much more than that as you’ll see.   In more particularly Christian contexts, we may use the language of discernment as it relates to decision-making. We come to a fork in the road and we feel the need for wisdom to take the best path. But discernment is bigger than this as well. As you listen to my conversation with Steve, you’re going to appreciate the depth and breadth of just what a discerning life can be for us.  Steve Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc., a ministry which focuses on the spiritual formation needs of leaders and the spiritual discernment processes of leadership teams in local church and parachurch ministry settings nationwide. He is also the director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and previously served for fourteen years as president of Vision New England. Steve is the author of several other books, including Broken and Whole, Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life. Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Most of the women I connect with have an interesting connection with their bodies. And that’s putting it mildly. It seems we either love her, hate her or ignore her. (Notice I didn’t call my body an it, but rather her). I know I’m playing around with semantics, but personalizing my body helps me not keep her at arms distance…like an object. Our bodies are God-created and given. Many of us have suffered various forms of trauma over the course of our lives. And our bodies store the memory of these traumas inside. This is why we don’t want to ignore her messages. Today I’m talking with Sarah Jackson and we’ll be discussing the idea of attuning to our bodies with awareness, understanding and care. The connection between our minds and our bodies is undeniable. And even though the scientific world confirms this, practically speaking, we don’t always know how to make the most of this God-designed connection. Sarah is quite skilled at helping us make that connection.  Connect with Sarah on Instagram. 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 on Unhurried Living Podcast, Trevor Hudson shares wisdom he gained in a long mentoring friendship with Dallas Willard, and long practice in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. He talks about the reality of how the life of the kingdom of God is a different sort of life. It’s a life that meets us even in our places of hardship, weariness, and pain. I think you’re going to find a lot of grace in Trevor’s insights.   All of this as we find life in seeking God. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, we come to the final episode based on our book What Does Your Soul Love? The final chapter is titled: “Process: Staying on the Path of Change.” One of my key learnings over the years has been that to remain a person of spiritual influence in the communities where God has placed me, I must remain engaged in the transforming journey into which God has invited me. Letting myself get stuck, but then stay stuck along the way doesn’t help me or anyone else. So I’m looking forward to sharing a recent conversation I had with my friends Jeb Shore and Matt Fogle about Leadership as a Transforming Process. I really enjoyed it and I believe you will as well. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today I’m sharing with you a very special story. It’s actually an excerpt from my new book, Hold That Thought. It’s my description of a pivotal scene from the movie Wonder Woman. I know…what can you learn from a superhero movie, right? Well, it turns out you can learn a lot. When you are open, aware and willing, there is no telling from where your next life lesson might emerge. Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about and pre-order 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.

On today’s podcast episode I’m sharing a little bit about each of the seven unhelpful voices that sometimes take the steering while of our lives.At its core, each voice does not believe it already has what it needs. So, it finds a way to whisper (or yell) in your ear to get your attention. When they feel backed into a corner these voices may lash out. Here’s an example from each voice. See if you recognize any of these:Stressed Achiever - You haven’t achieved enough yet. You haven’t proved yourself. Get on it!Positive Thinker - You can’t possibly have everything yet. But I know how to get it. Let’s go!Inner Critic - It’s not perfect yet. We are going to get this right if it’s the last thing we do.Anxious Controller - You don’t have enough control. What if things go awry? What will happen then, huh?!Complaining Victim - That other person is keeping you from being happy. If they would just change, then you’d have what you need. Until then you are stuck.Passive Spectator - And you don’t know how to get it. You only have so much energy and we’ve got more important things to do like hide, be scared, and remain unfulfilled. That way you never have to be disappointed.Unsatisfied Heart - How could you possibly fill that giant void in your heart? There is no way to fill up this space, and even if you try there’s no way it will happen any time soon.Seeing the voices this starkly can make us either laugh or cry. But when these unhelpful thoughts circle around in our brain, they seem very real—and they feel like the truth.But remember what we said before, you are not your thoughts. These voices come from any number of places inside of us. Past traumas, unhealthy relationships and more cause us to self-protect. And these voices are really trying their best to keep us safe.  Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about and pre-order 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.

Nearly ten years ago, I wrote my first book, An Unhurried Life. It’s subtitle was “Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Discovering and following those rhythms of life and work have been a primary focus for Gem and for me in this last decade. So you can perhaps appreciate how glad I was when I saw that Ruth Haley Barton’s next book is titled, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. In light of these intense last few years that we’ve all lived together, this book could hardly be more timely!  Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president and CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Pursuing God's Will Together.  Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today, my guest is Jennifer Dukes Lee. Jennifer’s most recent book is entitled, Growing Slow. I placed her here right up front on purpose. Her message is one I deeply believe in. How could I not? We are Unhurried Living after all.The excerpt I chose for you this month is about wintering. If you think about the seasons of the year, most people don’t appreciate the view of a leafless tree, standing alone in the frozen tundra. But as you hear Jennifer describe what happens to farmland in winter, I hope you will feel encouraged deep down inside your soul. Even when you think nothing is happening…so much is actually taking place deep within. Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about and pre-order 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.