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 website...
Nov 07, 2022•6 min
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 t...
Nov 07, 2022•40 min•Ep. 233
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...
Oct 31, 2022•46 min•Ep. 232
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...
Oct 24, 2022•11 min•Ep. 231
A few years ago I was reading a book by Mary Pipher, entitled, Women Rowing North . In it, a notable epiphany is had by a woman named Sylvia, whose life took some unexpected turns. Pipher writes, “Sylvia in Austin has learned that she is in control not of life , but of the story about her life.“ The same time I was reading this book, I ran into some very unexpected and unwelcome travel issues. And I had to chance to try on this new insight. I have my own story to tell today, one about crafting r...
Oct 24, 2022•8 min
The voice of the inner critic is another voice from my new book Hold That Thought . The inner critic has an opinion about everything and she will be sure to tell you. The inner chatter produced by this voice leads to thoughts that can feel judgmental and can even lead to resentment. Here are a few of her choice thoughts: Why can’t you get this right? Couldn’t you have done better than that? Why do you always keep me waiting? Things could be so much better than this. You don’t look-sound-smell ri...
Oct 17, 2022•31 min
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 Contempor...
Oct 17, 2022•46 min•Ep. 230
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 talki...
Oct 10, 2022•39 min
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 ...
Oct 10, 2022•44 min•Ep. 229
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 the...
Oct 03, 2022•13 min
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 Unh...
Oct 03, 2022•42 min•Ep. 228
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 website Learn about and pre-order her new book, H...
Sep 26, 2022•7 min
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 r...
Sep 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 227
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 you...
Sep 19, 2022•13 min
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 togeth...
Sep 19, 2022•46 min•Ep. 226
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,...
Sep 12, 2022•9 min
We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? . Today we are talking about the chapter on "Joy.” In other words, the question, “What does your soul love?” is a question of where do we find deep joy? In the book of Nehemiah, we hear him telling the people that “the joy of the Lord is their strength.” It is God’s joy over us and in us that empowers and energizes us. It is our finding joy in God that sustains us and enables us to flourish. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLivi...
Sep 12, 2022•41 min•Ep. 225
Today, I’m sharing with you one of the mentor conversations from the first month of Replenish . You’ll get to hear from me, Brenda Renderos and Larissa Marks as we talk about some of the central paradigms of the formational life. This is the kind of content you can expect each month in Replenish. Real life conversations about important and profound matters. Brenda Renderos is a soul care coach, and Larissa is a spiritual director and formation coach. They are both quite wise and gracious and I k...
Sep 05, 2022•43 min
Today Alan talks with author Dr. Todd Hall about his new book The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality . In it, he talks about the reality of how isolated so many of us feel. The pandemic seemed to amplify and accelerate a sense of disconnection many of us were already feeling in some way or another. But God invites us into relationship, and connection is a great way to describe what he invites to. God’s Spirit enables us to experience the reality of God’s loving presen...
Sep 05, 2022•38 min•Ep. 224
I first want to talk to you about the word Replenish and why I love it so much. There are a lot of “R” words that I could have chosen: Rest, receive, recover, refill, or restore. Replenish stands out because within it is the connotation of refilling that which was poured out. It assumes you are giving, serving and working. It is important for us to remember that these dynamics are concurrent. We keep ourselves fresh and replenished as we continue to serve and give. No matter what your age or sta...
Aug 29, 2022•8 min
Notice, discern and respond (NDR). Three simple words. And yet they take time and intention. Today’s I Can Do That! episode is like a mini-workshop. I’m not just going to chatter away at you. Instead, you can take action on a thought right now, as we move through this together. This is about telling ourselves the truth. Critical, shaming or numbing thoughts do not help us mature the way we desire. We are simply becoming more aware of our thoughts so that they don’t run the show and keep us from ...
Aug 22, 2022•10 min
Over the last few years I’ve been consoled many times by this phrase: you already have what you need . It comes straight from 2 Peter 1:3 and the Spirit reminded me of its power during a particularly stressful season. It’s now an ongoing life-paradigm for me. I thought it might be nice if we spent a little time in 2 Peter, lingering over these words slowly. Savoring them like a fine chocolate. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all ...
Aug 15, 2022•6 min
In the early part of my life I'd like to think that I was a relatively functional and intelligent participant in my own life. And I was. I got married, I held down a job, and we began a family. I enjoyed a large community and a wonderful life. However, under the surface, I didn't really have access to my own, individual voice. There was a kind of holy confidence missing. Self-doubt and anxiety often ruled the day. And I knew little of boundaries. I now enjoy a major shift of focus. I know who I ...
Aug 08, 2022•9 min
Today we are talking about thoughts. We begin with "You are not your thoughts. You have thoughts." The first time I heard this I, of course, understood every single word. And yet it seemed like a foreign concept to me. What do you mean I'm not my thoughts? They're in my head, it's my voice, of course it's me! Another way of saying this is: You are more than your thoughts. You have thoughts. But you are not your thoughts. This is such a freeing insight. Because it means you have the choice to mov...
Aug 01, 2022•9 min
We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? . Today we are talking about the chapter on "Control.” The core question around which this chapter revolves is this: “What Are You Clinging To?” In a conversation with friends on the topic of control in leadership, they tackle the idea that leadership and control are not the same thing. Many of the ways in which Christian leaders want to influence others are not exactly controllable. You can’t control people in the same way y...
Jul 25, 2022•40 min•Ep. 223
Picture this...you are at the gym and you’re getting ready to lift some weights. It’s been a while, but you’ve decided to go for it. The barbell is in your hands and you are prepared to lift it up over your head. But before you do so, a guy walks over to you and says, “I bet you can lift more than that. Here, let me help you.” You protest, but he insists and then he proceeds to add 20 more pounds to each side. And then he just walks away, no cheering you on, and no coaching. You try to lift the ...
Jul 25, 2022•6 min
Alan shares his conversation with Justin Whitmel Earley about his latest book Habits of the Household . A few years ago, we shared a conversation about his first book, the award-winning Common Rule (you can go back to episode 72 to listen to that conversation). Justin's book extends his insights into a personal rule of life into how to cultivate a rule of life for a family. At the time he wrote the book, he and his wife, Lauren, had three young boys and another on the way. What he writes has ple...
Jul 18, 2022•45 min•Ep. 222
We are living at a time when rampant contempt and disregard for humanity fill our daily newsfeeds. This is not limited to North America or Western culture; it’s occurring worldwide. We don’t even hear all of the terrible things that are happening, but what we do hear is now beyond unbearable. Like so many others who are speaking out about this problem, I don’t have easy answers. So, from my heart, I am asking that we continue to be people of blessing. We can be present in our own very real lives...
Jul 18, 2022•6 min
If you are in the middle of a season of change, you likely feel out of place, neither here nor there. You feel the need for some fresh air, some energy to keep going. If you are at the end of a season of change, you may be tired. You desire to celebrate, but you can’t keep your eyes open. Plus, the next project is looming before you and you don’t know if you have time to celebrate. Here is a passage on which you can hang your hat no matter what stage of your process you are in. It’s from Isaiah ...
Jul 11, 2022•6 min
Today Alan is sharing some personal thoughts on the chapter in his book What Does Your Soul Love? on “Fear.” The core question around which this chapter revolves, no surprise, is “What Are You Afraid Of?” It’s a challenge that we all face. It’s been said that the most common word of command God gives in the Scriptures is “Do not fear.” Alan hopes that what he has to share in today’s episode will help you enter into the encouraging gift of this command. Learn more about Alan at UnhurriedLiving.co...
Jul 11, 2022•12 min•Ep. 221
