Remember when devices were not omnipresent in our lives. Life before email, before text messages, before mobile phones and personal computers. It feels like a completely different era of life and hard to remember what it was like. There is so much that our devices do to serve us. And they are wonderful when they serve, but not so wonderful when they become our masters. Today on the Unhurried Living Podcast, we’re talking about a new book from Felicia Wu Song , " Restless Devices ", helping us id...
Feb 21, 2022•42 min•Ep. 208
If you’ve walked in snow you know the feeling of being the first to step in the untouched wonder. As we enjoyed our winter walk, we came up on a patch that felt a little unwieldy to me. So I asked Alan if he would go ahead of me and test out the path first. That’s a great wife move, right?! As I looked down at the path that Alan was creating for me with his big boots, a random thought about leadership slipped into my mind. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was the spirit sharing with me ...
Feb 21, 2022•4 min
In episode #2 of this podcast I introduced the posture of transformation : open, aware and willing. (Or OAW for short). Today I’d like to look at the humble way of transformation . And it’s three words you hear me say at the end of every episode: small, simple and gracious. When it comes to change, herculean moves rarely keep us on the path. Sure, we may have some audacious goals. I know I do. But how do you reach a goal? You take one step at a time. Especially if you are working on your inner g...
Feb 14, 2022•7 min
Today on the Unhurried Living Podcast, we’re talking about the spiritual practice of silence. We’ve heard lots of authors and spiritual writers talk about how important the practice of silence is, but a whole lot of us struggle to figure out exactly how that might work in our actual lives. We feel too busy. Or we feel there’s too much to do to spend any significant time alone and quiet. But the practice of silence is a place where we learn how to listen well, how to be more present to God, to ot...
Feb 14, 2022•37 min•Ep. 207
Today I’m offering five simple dynamics to engage as we move into 2022. And, I know, I’ve used a corny rhyming pattern for them, but I couldn’t help myself. I’m hoping this helps you retain what I’m sharing. It’s time to… Feel Get real Kneel Heal Make a deal I told you it was a corny rhyme. But there is nothing corny about taking care of yourself, body, mind and soul. Follow Gem on IG @gemfadling or learn more about her work at Unhurried Living (maybe even join her in a community or coaching gro...
Feb 07, 2022•7 min
Today's Unhurried Living episode is on a theme that a lot of us work pretty hard to avoid: aging. We’d much rather talk about how to stay young than address the realities of growing older. I celebrated my sixtieth birthday this year. It was the first decade birthday that has had a lingering impact on me. Thirty, forty and fifty came and went for me, but sixty has been a year of reflection and many questions. So today I'm chatting with Alice Fryling , spiritual director and author, on her latest ...
Feb 07, 2022•34 min•Ep. 206
Well, we’ve made it through 2021. I don’t know about you, but this year seemed to fly by compared to 2020. Time is funny, isn’t it. It’s actually moving along at the same pace all the time, and yet our perception of it shifts. We haven’t figured out how to stop time…yet, but I’d like to offer a practice that can help you capture more meaning out of the time you have. This is a great end of the year process and it’s very simple. A few years ago I was listening to an interview with public radio pe...
Dec 27, 2021•6 min
Love is our focus as this is now the fourth week of Advent. I trust over the course of our Advent weeks together you have enjoyed sinking further into the love of God, the grace of Jesus and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Is your heart a little more ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus? Today I simply invite you to enjoy another imaginative prayer. We’re going to picture ourselves at the beach, my favorite place. And we’re going to engage the invitation to drink deeply of God’s all-encompas...
Dec 20, 2021•5 min
We’re in the Advent week of joy. This is our third week of sinking into the season by experiencing a spiritual practice together. Let’s keep ourselves grounded in our Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and prince of peace. On today’s episode I’ll guide you through the Carry Prayer as you bring your need for healing to Jesus. Learn more about Gem on the Unhurried Living website and follow her on Instagram . Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about adver...
Dec 13, 2021•9 min
In the last chapter of An Unhurried Leader, I talked about the difference between our working for God and working with God. There is a way for us to do our work in a way that imagines God is elsewhere, assigning us work to do but mostly waiting for us to do it ourselves. It’s a beautiful thing to realize that whatever our work, paid or freely given, we can do our work with God. We aren’t alone in the work we do. Our work is simply one more way we can live our lives in collaborative friendship wi...
Dec 13, 2021•44 min•Ep. 205
This is the second week of Advent and our focus is peace. Over the course of Advent I’m sharing one helpful spiritual practice per week to help us stay centered on the season. Today we are going to try on a practice called SLOW. SLOW stands for stop, linger, observe and wonder. You can use SLOW right there in the middle of a busy day. This idea first came to mind when I would catch myself feeling stressed but didn’t really know why. Sometimes it’s just a habit I carry. So I would stop, drop my s...
Dec 06, 2021•7 min
Today, I’m talking with Brian Zahnd about his latest book "When Everything’s On Fire" . The subtitle is Faith Forged From the Ashes. Brian’s book speaks to just how much this season in which we found ourselves over the last couple of years has tested our faith. A word some use to describe this experience is “deconstruction.” Some think that deconstruction is a new idea, but something like deconstruction has always been a part of how our faith is refined. Sometimes, we are given beliefs in our ch...
Dec 06, 2021•51 min•Ep. 204
Think about the stories when Jesus and his disciples are on their way somewhere. The disciples often seem agenda-oriented and, therefore, they become quite frustrated when Jesus keeps stopping to talk with or to help one individual along the way. They seem to think that all this stopping is getting in the way of arriving where they are going. They feel like they are going to serve a whole village and Jesus keeps stopping to help one person. Why does he do this? Because, better than any of us, Je...
Nov 29, 2021•10 min•Ep. 203
This is the first week of Advent and for the next few weeks, we’ll walk together toward the birth of Christ, culminating on Christmas Day. For this season of Advent, I thought it would be good to share a few helpful spiritual practices. So we’ll engage hope, peace, joy and love in this way for the next four weeks. More than teaching these practices, we will experience them together. On today’s episode we’ll experience the Practice of Unpacking. Enjoy this and the entire Advent series. I also inv...
Nov 29, 2021•9 min
Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we’re talking about the symptoms of exhaustion. It’s easy to miss hints that you might need to ease up and rest. So today I wanted to briefly list a few symptoms that may reveal your level of tiredness. You find yourself complaining a lot. You’re bugged by everything. You have a decreased ability to concentrate. Brain fog is diminishing your focus. You have a shorter fuse. You notice your angry outbursts are increasing or intensifying. You find that your crea...
Nov 22, 2021•8 min
Welcome Sister Joan Chittister to the Unhurried Living Podcast where we are talking about her latest book, " The Monastic Heart " where she offers simple, practical, deep wisdom. You know when someone has lived truth well when they can make things so very easily understandable. Sr. Joan Chittister is an internationally known author and lecturer, and the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality. She is past president of the Conference of Amer...
Nov 22, 2021•44 min•Ep. 202
Sometimes we imagine that the in between parts are unimportant. We only live for the big and notable moments. And, typically, these are the moments we post on social media. Social media can be a place where we curate our own version of quick transitions, showing the best and moving our story along. But most of our life is in the in-between. That’s why presence and being in the moment matters. It can be easy to waste time or numb ourselves in those moments if we think they are just filler. Rather...
Nov 15, 2021•7 min
Unhurried is about making time in our lives for what matters most. The irony is that when we are frantically busy, we often run past what (and who) matters most in our lives. We can learn to slow down to remember and do what matters most to us and to God. Today I talk with dear friends John Freeman and Jeb Shore on how we take this simple idea and live into it's reality for our living and leading. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at li...
Nov 15, 2021•32 min•Ep. 201
This is a continuation of the conversation we began last week. So, let’s return to the word I mentioned in the last episode…receptivity. Receptivity isn’t discussed much these days. We are typically more concerned with activity - what we’re producing or how much we’re achieving more often rises to the surface of our conversations. But receptivity is critical for the work of the soul. Openness, listening, letting go, embracing, presence: these are all more accessible in unhurried time with God. F...
Nov 08, 2021•12 min
Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with Stephen Arterburn about a book he and David Stoop have written: The Soul of a Hero. This theme is so prevalent in our culture. So many of our most popular movies are rooted in the hero’s journey. There is something noble and beautiful that we can aspire to in the heroic way of Jesus himself. Stephen Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministries, the nation’s largest faith-based broadcast, counseling, and treatment ministr...
Nov 08, 2021•31 min•Ep. 200
Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with my friends, Darrell Warner and Matt Fogle about how we make space to notice and respond to God’s presence in our busy lives. So often as leaders, we fill every minute with activity—really good activities. But a leader needs to cultivate moments for receptivity in the midst of our many good activities. We talk about questions like: What challenges do you face in arranging space to simply be in the presence of God in your busy life? What ...
Nov 01, 2021•39 min•Ep. 199
Without question, there is one spiritual practice that has been the most central to my soul’s formation. In fact, I have been engaging this practice for over half my life and I have not experienced it the same way twice. Here at Unhurried Living we call it Unhurried Time with God. But it is classically known as solitude and silence. I realize the term solitude and silence might sound a little daunting or intimidating. But really, it’s simply a matter of setting aside some extended time (one or m...
Nov 01, 2021•8 min
Today I’m introducing the process of Notice, Discern, & Respond (or NDR). NDR is a supremely helpful progression for change, especially in terms of our thoughts. Once you become familiar with this simple idea, it can be an underlying way of life as you engage your own thoughts and feelings as well as your transformational journey. The beauty of NDR is that it helps you make the move away from reacting and into the more helpful mode of responding . Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Viktor ...
Oct 25, 2021•11 min
In today’s episode, Alan speaks with Ashley Hales about her new book A Spacious Life . You’ll hear a lot of intersections between her good thoughts here and Alan’s first book, An Unhurried Life . Alan’s book had a title focused on time. Ashley’s book has a title focused on space. But they are both talking about the great challenge and cost of hurry, and God’s invitation to live our lives at the slower and more fruitful pace of God’s kingdom. Ashley Hales is a writer, speaker, and host of the Fin...
Oct 25, 2021•29 min•Ep. 198
Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with my friends, Jeb Shore and John Freeman about how our obsession with productivity impacts the level of hurry in our souls. In An Unhurried Life , I wrote a chapter titled “Productivity: Unhurried Isn’t Lazy,” in part, to speak to this tendency to make assumptions about what makes our lives productive. The irony is that my over-busyness is more often a sign of a lazy soul that it is of a productive day. The title, “Productivity and Our Hu...
Oct 18, 2021•38 min•Ep. 197
Hope is a deep and strong dynamic. I believe that deep down, we all have access to this gift. However, for many of us, it gets buried underneath the hard knocks of life. And yet hope gets uncovered, over time, as we make our way through our circumstances. Hope is that beautiful combination of two more life-giving dynamics: with and through . And, more importantly, it’s with and through with God. Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, I’ll be sharing some of my personal stories of loss and how I ma...
Oct 18, 2021•14 min
In today’s episode, Alan talks with fellow author, A. J. Sherrill about contemplative prayer. It’s such a timely practice for our frantic, hurried world today. We really do need wise mentor and coaches like A. J. to help us actually live the invitation to “Be still and know that God is…God is with us…God is at home in us through Christ by the Spirit.” We so need to learn how to be comfortable in solitude, silence and stillness. AJ Sherrill has more than twenty years of experience as a pastor, in...
Oct 11, 2021•31 min•Ep. 196
Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we are talking about love. I realize it’s pretty audacious to think I can discuss this subject in a 10-minute podcast. Let me assure you, I am in no way covering the depths of God’s love or what it means to give and receive love. I am simply layering another part of our foundation. But I’m not going to talk about a prancing through the daffodils kind of love. I told you that we’re combining grounded optimism with practical spirituality and I meant it. This me...
Oct 11, 2021•7 min
I’d like to propose an idea right up front here. Can we acknowledge that 100% of the time we do not know 100% of the story? I know this may be jarring to some of us. I, personally, like to think that I always know what’s going on. I’m an excellent mind-reader and an astounding predictor of outcomes. I hope you can tell that my tongue is firmly planted in cheek. We don’t actually know 100% of any situation, do we? After we settle into that level of humility, a beautiful dynamic can emerge: curios...
Oct 04, 2021•5 min
Alan and friends, Darrell Warner and Matt Fogle, share a great conversation about the issue of identity. In his book, " An Unhurried Leader ", Alan wrote about how doing our work to prove our worth is a very common temptation for leaders. It can be surprising just how often insecurity is driving us to frenetic activity. We too often imagine that our value or worth is hanging in the balance of how well we perform. But what if our value is already decided in our favor. What if our identity is a gi...
Oct 04, 2021•46 min•Ep. 195
