For too many, work feels tedious, painful, even meaningless. And we don’t seem to know what to do about it. There is a familiar crisis of meaning and of sustainability. You’ve probably heard the alarming statistics: how so many who lost work during the pandemic just aren’t interested in returning to their jobs. We need to find a way out of disintegration so that we can discover how work can be an experience of loving God, serving our neighbors, and living out the good news of God’s kingdom in th...
Apr 08, 2024•34 min•Ep. 289
As young children its easy to pick up beliefs and behaviors that seem to work for us, but as we move into adulthood, we find that is no longer the case. Today, I’m going to share with you a personal story of how one of my early unhelpful behaviors was transformed by God into something beautiful and useful for me today. _________________________________________________ Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought . You can also join her in the Replenish Community. Dis...
Apr 04, 2024•10 min•Ep. 288
In the summer of 2023, I finally got the opportunity to make a retreat at a place I’ve been wanting to visit for years. I drove up to the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California for an eight-day silent retreat. I’ve done week-long retreats before on the East Coast, but never here in California. I’ve been wanting to share the story of my experience of extended retreat here on the podcast. I’m glad to finally get that opportunity today. ____________________________________________________ C...
Apr 01, 2024•24 min•Ep. 287
One of my mentors often liked to ask a couple of simple questions when we were together: first, “What is the Christian life?” and second, “What is the church?” At first glance, those feel like beginner questions. Of course we know what a Christian is and what church is about. But how many of our assumptions about our life in Christ together look more like being a twenty-first century North American more than an apprentice of Jesus in the here and now of our lives? To what degree are we letting t...
Mar 25, 2024•51 min•Ep. 286
Women have been important leaders throughout church history. There are multiple stories in the Old and New Testaments about the powerful and unique ways women lead. Think Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Phoebe, Priscilla and more. There are the desert mothers, and women such as Julian of Norwich, Clare of Assisi and Teresa of Avila, who have given us wisdom for the ages. Sometimes out in front, sometimes behind the scenes, but always, women have contributed to th...
Mar 21, 2024•43 min•Ep. 285
Having written a book about anxiety, I’ve seen a lot of promises about how to solve it. A life hack here. Six easy steps there. But my own experience with anxiety has been anything but easy. Today, I want to share some of the more unexpected pathways to peace I’ve discovered in my journey. ____________________________________________________ Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership . Discover more ...
Mar 18, 2024•18 min•Ep. 284
Hard . Crusty. Unyielding. Rootless . Shallow. Burning out. Withering. Thorny . Distracted. Choked. Pressed. Good . Healthy. Vibrant. Thriving. What is this list of (mostly disturbing) words I’ve just uttered? Especially when the title of this episode includes, “A Gracious Reflection.” Well, it’s a list that came to mind upon a recent encounter with the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4. I was struck by the inner dynamics described by Jesus. I’ve taken his four types of soil and created some refl...
Mar 14, 2024•10 min•Ep. 283
The greatest priority in the kingdom of God is simple and straightforward. Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).” That sentence will not surprise a single one of you listening. But, in my own experience of the Christian life, it has often felt like we majored on loving God with our minds over loving God with our souls, or hearts, or physical strength. We’ve often valued the right ideas over the right sort of heart or f...
Mar 11, 2024•39 min•Ep. 282
In Anne Lamott 's book, Traveling Mercies , she shares the story that led her to take the leap into her own faith journey. It was the story of Abraham and Isaac that caught her attention. The reality and authenticity of Abraham's belief and trust in God's provision compelled her. It led me to ponder and process that moment in Abraham's life. This is where we’re headed today on the Unhurried Living Podcast. And these are some of the questions we will be addressing: If we place ourselves in Abraha...
Mar 07, 2024•8 min•Ep. 281
Sometimes, anxiety rises in my thoughts, emotions, and body as an overwhelming wave. I’m tempted in moments like that to let myself be overcome, whether by allowing anxiety to immobilize me, to chase me away from what God has given me to do, or even to drive me to ways of working that seem to be only thinly aware that God is with me as I work. I’ve been learning that over time that anxiety became embedded in my mind, my emotions, even my body. But I’ve also been learning that the peace of Christ...
Mar 04, 2024•14 min•Ep. 280
Spiritual growth is often sparked by great love or deep pain. But so much of our world conspires to keep us too busy to feel loved or to pay attention to our deep feelings. We want to grow, but we aren’t always aware of the points at which God is inviting us forward. We need mentors and tools that will help slow us down to notice God with us, and to see where we may be welcoming the grace of God in our lives and where we may be resisting God’s initiative and work. One tool that has helped me imm...
Feb 26, 2024•38 min•Ep. 279
One-third of our waking lives is spent at work. Work is where we make culture and come into contact with our world. Work is central to God's mission to redeem souls, systems, and structures. And God works through our work to bring hope to the brokenness of our surrounding culture. The way of Jesus Christ is good news for the world, and that includes the transformation of our ordinary work into a sacred calling. Ross Chapman and Ryan Tafilowski show how work is a way to love God, serve our neighb...
Feb 22, 2024•47 min•Ep. 278
We’re living in anxious times. I don’t hear anyone saying otherwise. And many feel utterly overwhelmed and powerless against the flood of anxiety that fills our hearts, our minds, our news feeds and our social media communities. Two weeks ago my latest book, A Non-Anxious Life , was released. The more I talk with leaders about soul hurry, the more I realize that a very common variety of it is anxiety. I know anxiety has driven a lot of my own work over the years. That kind of busyness may look i...
Feb 19, 2024•16 min•Ep. 277
1990 was a momentous & tragic year for me. Sadly, it was the year my dad passed away. His was a traumatic and life-altering death. I was just 26-years-old. Unfortunately, my dad’s death was just the beginning of a five-year season of loss. So much to experience by one so young. Today, I’ll be sharing with you my journey of loss and how God met me with great grace. Abiding video referenced in episode. ____________________________________________________________ Follow Gem on Instagram and gra...
Feb 15, 2024•8 min•Ep. 276
At the turn of the century, Billy Graham said, "I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through believers in the workplace.” In the last few years, I’ve witnessed a powerful work of God’s Spirit in and through men and women who are living their faith in their places of business. We are always leaning into the question, “How do I integrate my life of faith and the work of my life? How do I lead from deep-rootedness in God? How do I learn to receive from God all I need to ...
Feb 12, 2024•41 min•Ep. 275
I love every part of our church's opening prayer and today I share about the importance of this prayer as well as the multiple sermons that emerge from the truths tucked within. Eternal God, heavenly Father, with great joy we thank you for graciously accepting us as living members of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and for feeding us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace and mission, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve ...
Feb 08, 2024•8 min•Ep. 274
“Anything you could do in anxiety, you could do a lot better in peace.” That’s something Dallas Willard said. And it became one of the seeds that grew into my latest book with InterVarsity Press: A Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God’s Presence. It has been the most personal and most difficult book I’ve written so far. And it releases tomorrow! I wonder what your anxiety has been like over these last few years. I have to admit that this has been one of the most anxiety-provoking seas...
Feb 05, 2024•39 min•Ep. 273
There’s one more week until we’re back with the next season of Unhurried conversations at the intersection of spiritual leadership and soul care. And I have great news! Gem is coming back to the Unhurried Living Podcast. We’re talking about this today and we look forward to sharing what’s up with the Unhurried Living Podcast Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us ....
Jan 30, 2024•21 min
I want what Jim has. This is the phrase 17-year-old Alan, my husband, uttered as he made one of his first moves into the Christian life. I have always loved hearing Alan share about the first time he went forward in a church to receive Christ. I’ve heard this story multiple times and I’m always struck by how simple and heartfelt Alan’s desire was. We’ll talk more about this today… ______________________________________________________ Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold ...
Jan 22, 2024•6 min
It’s near the beginning of the calendar year and, for some, it feels like a fresh start. Most of us are long past making resolutions. We’ve come to see that they don’t last and are followed up by shame and guilt. I haven’t made resolutions for years. But I thought it might be good to share with you a few simple ways you could plan for some soul care in an ongoing way. These ideas are bottom shelf and that’s good. It’s always wise to begin small and build habits. I mention a couple resources in t...
Jan 08, 2024•8 min
Breathing. It’s as natural as, well, breathing. We breathe all day long without giving it a thought. It’s just one of the many astounding aspects of our God-given bodies. I’m grateful for all the processes that continue to keep me healthy and alive, aren’t you? Today, using the word BREATHE, I’m going to guide you in a spiritual practice that you can use in the middle of any given day. We’ll make the unconscious, conscious and give our souls space to breathe. ____________________________________...
Dec 18, 2023•5 min
Almost everyone I speak with these days is tired or stressed in troubling ways. Not only do we carry our regular burdens and concerns, but we also carry around our knowledge of what is going on in our country and around the globe. While it is true that we cannot psychologically bear up under the weight of all that we see and hear in the information age—we do want to have a basic knowledge of world events. But how do we hold all of this without becoming overwhelmed? How can we be a healthy member...
Dec 11, 2023•45 min
Many of you have likely heard of a way of engaging scripture called Lectio Divina. It is a kind of “Divine Reading.” What I love about Lectio Divina is that it is a slow and formational way of engaging the bible. It can help us move from our heads to our hearts. Lectio Divina is reflective, meditative, receptive and responsive. Let’s begin with a little Lectio 101, and then I will guide you in the practice as we experience Psalm 73:23-26 together. The four movements of Lectio Divina are: Read (L...
Dec 04, 2023•8 min
One of our great concerns at Unhurried Living is caring for the souls of leaders. And one of the ways we focus on this is by helping leaders learn to care well for their own souls. It’s too easy to become so busy with work we believe God has given us, but not enjoying the life that God has given us. There are so many good spiritual practices that can help us care well for our souls. That’s why I’m pleased to have Barbara Peacock as our guest today. She is the author of Spiritual Practices for So...
Nov 27, 2023•55 min•Ep. 272
Today I’m talking with Joanna Meyer, the author of the recently released book Women, Work and Calling . No matter what title you have or don’t have, we are all working women. People, tasks, and schedules fill our days and we all have influence in these spheres. How do you respond to God’s calling? How does God grow our soul through our work? How do we tap into our vocational power? Joanna Meyer is director of public engagement at the Denver Institute for Faith & Work , where she leads public...
Nov 27, 2023•46 min
Today, I’m sharing the last of four episodes on the theme of rest. If you haven’t listened to the first three, I encourage you to go back. These have been some of the most important episodes I’ve offered in our six-and-a-half years as a podcast. As we continue to navigate so many changes that have come to so many of us in these last few years, I wonder how tired you feel inside. I’m not talking about the sort of tired that a nap would resolve or a good night’s sleep might address. I’m talking ab...
Nov 20, 2023•18 min•Ep. 271
I’ve been a reader of the New Testament for forty-five years now. I’m still grateful for the wisdom and life guidance I find in those pages. Checking my current favorite NIV Bible, I realize that the New Testament takes up 225 pages. That’s about the length of many of the books I talk with authors about on this podcast. What I mean to say is that it isn’t as big as I sometimes imagine. And I realize is that I can easily get into habits, even ruts, when it comes to how I understand what I’m readi...
Nov 13, 2023•45 min•Ep. 270
A few years ago I read Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion . He put into eloquent prose a dynamic that I had experienced, but had not yet found words to describe. There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to di...
Nov 13, 2023•5 min
Transition. How do you feel when you hear this word? For some, transitions are welcome because it’s a movement from one place to another. For others, transitions are unwelcome for the same reason. Change can be disconcerting. But whatever you feel about transitions, that’s where we’re headed today in our conversation. ______________________________________________________ Follow Gem on Instagram and grab a copy of her new book Hold That Thought . You can also join her in the Replenish Community....
Nov 06, 2023•7 min
They say that authors often write books that they themselves need. That has certainly been true when it comes to what I’ve written about Jesus’s rhythms of work and rest. I have a deep-seated efficiency and productivity engine inside me. While this has often served me well in my work, it has also gotten in the way when it comes to entering into God’s gift of rest for me. It still feels like a discipline to stop producing and to simply embrace rest. When I do, I experience the grace and kindness ...
Nov 06, 2023•14 min•Ep. 269
