Attaching to God: Neuroscience-informed Spiritual Formation

Geoff and Cyd talk about the impact of reading Why I Believe: A Psychologist's Thoughts on Suffering, Miracles, Science, and Faith, by Dr. Henry Cloud, specifically...the place of miracles and healing in mental health concerns, how encountering God often precedes evidence for God,and, the power of open systems and God at work in the world. From the book's blurb: "World-renowned psychologist and leadership expert Henry Cloud has impacted millions of lives through his groundbreaking books and through his work coaching leaders of the most influential organizations in the world. But few people know the details of his own story and how he became one of the most beloved and respected psychologists and faith influencers in America. In this indelibly personal and vulnerable book, Dr. Cloud leads us through his early struggles with illness and depression and the miracles that healed him and led him to his calling as a healer of others. Through masterful storytelling combined with a deeply nuanced understanding of the human mind, Dr. Cloud invites readers to inhabit the spaces of suffering and elation that make us most human and to walk alongside of him as he ponders the great questions we are so often afraid to ask but which also give life meaning."FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Why do kids love climbing trees and running wild? Discover the fascinating benefits of risky play and its connection to spiritual attachment. Unstructured play fosters independence and emotional well-being, while joy in worship brings us closer to God. Personal stories and research reveal the thrill-seeking behaviors of children and their impact on family dynamics and spiritual growth. Embrace adventure, celebrate accomplishments, and explore the playful nature of faith for a richer spiritual experience.

Emmanuel—God with us. We have heard this promise of God’s presence. But might our attachment wounds skew, distort, or hinder us from embracing this reality? Do we live as slaves to our attachment strategies rather than as beloved children of God? And how can we learn to do something different in our spiritual lives?Summer Joy Gross is an Anglican priest, retreat leader, and spiritual director whose work is guided by the belief that our stories can be transformed by God's invitation to make his love our home base. She is associate faculty of spiritual formation and the art of spiritual direction at the Healing Care Ministries' spiritual direction school. She is the host of The Presence Podcast and lives in North Georgia with her husband, their three teenagers.Summer has just written a book called, The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God. You can find more about Summer here: https://www.athirstforgod.com/And the Presence Project here: https://www.athirstforgod.com/the-presence-project/FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

There is an innate need in all of us to know that there is something more beautiful than the dark places of the world we live in. After two losses within their community just prior to the 2020 pandemic, St. Andrew Methodist Church in Plano, TX discerned that God was asking them to go on the offense against the darkness of mental illness.This is the story of Beacon of Light, a ministry providing much-needed resources, support, and treatment for those struggling with mental health issues while also empowering Christ-centered communities to find hope even in the most difficult times.Geoff speaks with Arthur Jones and Doug Reed. Arthur is the lead pastor of St. Andrews Methodist church in Plano, Texas. Doug Reed is the executive director of Beacon of Light, launched out of St. Andrews. Sign up for more information: https://www.beaconoflightmh.org/newsletterFREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

The inaugural episode of season six, and all about "Geoff's Second Half of Life 'Crisis' and why we renamed the podcast" (and note, 'crisis' is in scar quotes).Welcome to Season 6, of what is now called the Attaching to God podcast.  We are going to be doing more episodes of just the two of us talking (Cyd and Geoff). But we will also have interviews with people, and hopefully a regular guest appearance (if we can get him to commit once a month).In addition to this, we are adding a regular segment called "Baggage Claim" where one or both of us notice the baggage we are bringing into relationships (big things or small things) See minute "27" for this new segment. FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

The problem of toxic masculinity is much bigger than contemporary expressions of Christianity. Mistreatment of women and men dehumanizing others is a feature of human culture fraught with sin.  But the church is called to be salt and light, so how can we foster a non-toxic masculinity?Our guest today is Zachary Wagner, a writer, researcher, and minister. He serves as the editorial director for the Center for Pastor Theologians. We’re talking about his book Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality.FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Dr. Holly Allen discusses forming spiritually resilient children, emphasizing healthy development, defining spirituality in children, nurturing their resilience, promoting positive outcomes, and cultivating their identity as children of God. She reflects on the transformative nature of children's spirituality and the significance of fostering spiritual connections with young ones.

Research tells us that when people suffer from a mental health crisis, the first person they turn to for help is not a physician, a psychiatrist, or a social worker, but a pastor, a priest, or a minister. Unfortunately, many church leaders are not trained to recognize mental illness and don’t know when to refer someone to a mental health professional. And how do we know the difference between a mental illness and a spiritual issue?This is what we are talking about with Dr. Matthew Sanford, author of Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness, and CEO of the Hope and Healing Center in Houston, TX. Other books by Dr. Stanford: The Biology of Sin: Grace, Hope and Healing for Those Who Feel TrappedMadness and Grace: A Practical Guide for Pastoral Care and Serious Mental IllnessFREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Does God hate? Is God emotional? Emotions feel irrational, impulsive, and problematic for God, especially when we think about hate, jealousy, or sorrow. But the truth is the Bible is full of all sorts of stories that express God expressing emotions. This episode focuses particularly on God and the emotion of hate.Our guest is Dr. David Lamb. He is the MacRae Professor of Old Testament and in 2017 the Dean of the Faculty at Missio Seminary. He is the author of "God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist." And more recently has written "The Emotions of God: Making Sense of a God who hates, weeps, and loves." And Dr. Lamb spent twenty years on staff with InterVaristy. FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

For many people, sorrow, despair, anxiety, and mental illness are everyday experiences. And while we have tremendous advancements in therapy and psychiatry, the burden of living often comes down to some mundane choices, like "Should I still bother to get out of bed?"Dr. Alan Noble joins us to talk about life with mental anguish and his book, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living. We talk about faith and hope in the goodness of life amid the struggles and pain.FREE Attaching to God SummitBuilding Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOWStay Connected: Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).