Life with God: A Renovaré Podcast

Nathan welcomes author Sarah Clarkson to the show to discuss Scottish preacher and fiction writer George MacDonald—a key influence on Sarah’s literary career as well as her faith.Show NotesYou can find Sarah writing regularly at her Substack, From the Vicarage (sarahclarkson.substack.com) or discover her books at sarahclarkson.comRecommended by SarahFree online version of The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Free online version of Princess and the Goblins, one of Sarah’s favorite children's novels by MacDonaldFree online version of Lilith, Sarah’s favorite adult fairy tale by MacDonaldSarah’s friend, Dr. Amanda Vernon, is a MacDonald scholar and children’s literature enthusiast.A website dedicated to books, articles, art, and music about, or inspired by, George MacDonald's sermons, lectures, poems, prose, and prayers.Recent Word on Fire edition of The Golden Key.

Poet laureate, professor, and author Ben Myers joins Nate to discuss a book that has been a constant and formative presence in his life: Dante's The Divine Comedy.Benjamin Myers is the Crouch-Matthis Professor of Literature and the director of theGreat Books Honors Program at Oklahoma Baptist University. A former poet laureate ofOklahoma, he is the author of four books of poetry as well as of one previous and twoforthcoming books of nonfiction. His poems, essays, and stories have appeared in manyjournals and magazines, including Image, The Yale Review, First Things, and Rattle.He is a contributing editor for Front Porch Republic and lives in Chandler, OK. His mostrecent book of poems is The Family Book of Martyrs (2023).Show NotesThe "100 Days of Dante" project.The entire Comedy without commentary. Ben's article “A Disgusting Poem on God’s Goodness.”  Ben's book The Family Book of Martyrs.

Mimi Dixon, an insightful author focused on the impact of spiritual literature, joins renowned Christian author Richard Foster for a profound discussion. They explore the transformative journey of spiritual disciplines, reflecting on personal stories that shaped their faith. The conversation covers the emerging genre of book biographies, the importance of community in faith formation, and the delicate art of writing a biography while the subject is alive. They also share a unique prayer practice to help listeners let go and receive grace.

Author and podcast host Nick Page shares some guidelines for understanding the Bible and reading with a heart open to encountering God.Show NotesThe Mid-Faith Crisis PodcastSome of Nick’s Books Nick Page on microblog

Mariah Velásquez, Director of the Incarnatio Center for Formation and Integration at Westmont College and Associate Director of the Martin Center, joins Nate on the Life with God podcast to talk about a favorite book—Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God.Show Notes1. Book excerpts: Practicing the Presence of Christ An Habitual Sense of God's PresenceLiving Each Moment with a Sense of God's Presence2. Lectio 365 Prayer App - A helpful way to re-orient to God's presence in the morning and evening.3. Content from the Martin Institute's recent academic workshop, "A Crisis Among Us: The Problem of Christian Immaturity" is available here.4. You can find Mariah's writing on Conversatio.orgThe Practicing of Presence. A roadmap report on spiritual formation 

Writer and editor Julia Roller joins Nate to talk about how God uses books to guide us into transforming ideas and encounters and shares about the book that changed her life.Julia Roller is an author and editor living in San Diego, CA with her husband and three children. She is also the MomCo Coordinator at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church. Julia's most recent book is Mom Seeks God, but some of her other books include A Year with God (with Richard J. Foster), A Year with Aslan, and 25 Books Every Christian Should Read. Connect with her at her web site, juliaroller.com, or on Instagram Julia (@julialroller) or Facebook.Julia's suggestions for continued reading:In “How Should We Read?”, Christopher Hall discusses some ways to slow down our reading and ruminate over the text. I love that although Hall’s thoughts are inspired by a desert monk (of course they are, Chris!), one of his suggested techniques involves his smartphone. I can’t think of anyone who’s written as much about spiritual reading as C.S. Lewis, and Zach Kincaid’s “A Reading Life” post on the official C.S. Lewis site is an admirable compilation of some of Lewis’s best thoughts about reading. Lyle Smith Graybeal and I wrote “How to do Spiritual Reading”, an excerpt from the introduction for 25 Books Every Christian Should Read, to offer some practical ideas for spiritual reading as well as some reasons why we should all engage in it.Richard Foster reflects on the books that shaped him as a young man in this article from Leadership Journal, “How Significant Books Become Good Friends.” Many of these books made the cut for 25 Books Every Christian Should Read. My discussion with Nathan inspired me to look critically at my own all-consuming reading practice. In examining my lifelong love of reading, I had to ask the question: “Is Reading Bad for You?” (See if you can guess my answer.) 

Deep relationships take time. Renovaré board and ministry team member Margaret Campbell shares with Nate what she's learned through the years about the slow and beautiful unfolding of true friendships — with people and with God.

Joe Davis and Nick Page have been friends for over 30 years and co-host The Mid-Faith Crisis Podcast. They share with Nate about disagreement as a productive part of friendship and faith that helps us work through concepts that impact our ability to love God and others.Show NotesThe Mid-Faith Crisis PodcastSome of Nick’s Books Nick Page on microblog

South African Spiritual Director Adri-Marie van Heerden talks with Nate about making friends cross-culturally, the need for humility, and learning to see others as God sees us — with great regard.Adri-Marie's organization is called Tending the Fire. You can contact her at a3mvanheerden@gmail.com.

Nathan talks with prison chaplain John Paul Westin about the penitentiary as parish and learning to see each person there as God's "friends and special ones."Show NotesA few annotated book suggestions from John Paul:Cur Deus Homo — Anselm of Canterbury thinks about why God needed/chose to become human.The 3 Colors of Community, Christian A. Schwarz — How highly flawed individuals can use their propensity to sin to help build healthy Christian community.Fearfully and Wonderfully, Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancy — The human body (sick or healthy) can show us so much about the wonder of God and our human nature.The Shack, William Paul Young — God can heal the deepest wounds and betrayal.John's Gospel, John son of Zebedee — A look at life through the eyes of the beloved.Life of the Beloved — Henri Nouwen's beautiful consideration of the nature of Jesus' friendship.The Brother's Karamazov — Fydor Dostoevski's brilliant and crazy story of God's presence in a chaotic Russian family life.The Heart of the Parish, Martin Thornton — Seeing wherever you are as your parish and your life as filled with your neighbors and parisioners. Everyone.Hearing God — Dallas Willard's encouraging challenge to believe Jesus when he tells us we really can talk to God like we talk to one another.Reading the Bible with the Damned — Bob Eklad's believes that people on the margins often have intense experiences of God's involvement in their lives that are of biblical import.Letters and Papers from Prison —Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reflections on seeing God's loving presence in prison and how it transformed his thinking.