Finding Holy
By Ashley Hales
Each week, Ashley Hales sits down with authors, pastors, activists and artists to discuss faith, culture, and spiritual practices and how it relates to ordinary life. AND -- you'll get to hear their laundry routines, because big things matter, but so does the laundry.
*A quick note, I wanted to let you know that we've moved our podcast to another host. If you're hearing this, you're subscribed to the wrong feed. To subscribe to the new one, just head over to feeds.megaphone.fm/CHRTDY4295404622
Finding HolyJun 18, 2019
#29 Advent with Jen Pollock Michel -- What does a 'yes' cost?
We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.
Listen in wherever you listen to podcasts!
*A quick note: I wanted to let you know that we’ve changed podcast hosts. So make sure you’ve subscribed to this RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/CHRTDY4295404622
LINKS
Jen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.
Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).
Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).
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“I like that stories of doubt are included in the Christmas story. Uncertainty is part of faith.” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast
“Scripture is full of real people, not idealized ones.” Listen in to the #findingholypodcast this #Advent with @aahales and @jenpmichel
Advent is a reminder that the road never becomes clear. We don’t have certainty, just a little bit of light.” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast
“Faith is not formed when we have all the coordinates,” @jenpmichel and @aahales on detours, plans, and saying yes to God on #findingholypodcast
“Our yeses are built incrementally” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast on #Advent.
ONE SMALL STEP
Advent might be a time for you to take a posture of submission, to practice some silence to hear God speak.
Make a list: what are yeses, what are your no’s, and what are your “wish you could’ve” things this Advent season. Bring your list to God. This helps us bring our actual self to God, not an idealized
SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.
#28 Advent with Jen Pollock Michel -- Week 1: Embrace the Real
We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.
LINKS
Jen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.
Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).
Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).
Other works mentioned:
James K. A. Smith, You Are what You Love and On the Road with St. Augustine
Edith Schaeffer, What is a Family?
Athanasius, On the Incarnation
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“On the one hand I sense a longing for God and yet there are a gazillion things to do.” @jenpmichel on the #findingholypodcast
Listen in to @jenpmichel and @aahales talk about the surprise of Advent in this series on the #findingholypodcast
Incarnation is the death of abstraction. The invitation is for us notice being in a body this Advent. Listen to @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast
“We keep pushing off the ideal for the real” @aahales and @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcast
“Advent had been the occasion of my annual meltdown” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
A question for you to ponder:
What would it look like for you to embrace the real rather than the ideal this season? Practice embracing the real instead of pining for the ideal this Advent season?
SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.
#27 Where do we go from here?
After three great episodes on how our places shape our loves and what we do about it as believers, Ashley Hales and Brandon J. O’Brien give listeners a road map for what to do next. We invite you into a thicker discussion about faith and culture here at the Finding Holy Podcast.
LINKS
Win a free book here: aahales.com/giveaway
Ashley’s book: amzn.to/2OdABDi
Brandon’s book: amzn.to/2DcVqsk
Jose’s book: amzn.to/2QH0NIe
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Even with different places and cultural histories, we’ve been able to identify why place matters with @dennaepierre @brandonjobrien and @aahales on #findingholypodcast. Listen in.
The places we live pre-date us. Our relationship to place and time are complex. @aahales and @brandonjobrien on #findingholypodcast
Staying put helps you take place seriously for your own formation. Listen in to @josehumphreys @dennaepierre @brandonjobrien on #findingholypodcast on culture, church planting and place.
There’s something deeply Christ-like to stay put, to let a place shape you even if you expect there are ‘better’ opportunities elsewhere. Listen in to @aahales and @brandonjobrien on a #theologyofplace on #findingholypodcast.
ONE SMALL STEP
We ask you a few questions to help you work through your spot in your place:
- Look at the root systems where you live — how did things become the way they are? Start as locally and concretely as possible.
- How can I see a bigger picture about what my place is really like right now? What do I not see?
- Explore the idea of staying put — what’s appealing and what’s scary about it? Place effects us internally.
- What is God asking me to do right now: Who is in front of me who needs to be seen?
Enter to win a free book in our big November giveaway: aahales.com/giveaway
Sign up for Brandon’s free email course here: www.brandonjobrien.com.
SUBSCRIBE, SHARE AND WIN:
Subscribe, rate and review the Finding Holy Podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts! Make sure to win a free book in our big giveaway this month: www.aahales.com/giveaway
We want to invite you into a free email course Brandon is offering for our polarized nation! Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/2c670cdfc8b6/email-course
Coming up this December: Advent reflections coming up with Jen Pollock Michel on the Finding Holy Podcast during the month of December. Sign up for Jen’s reflections here. Make sure you’re subscribed to the Finding Holy Podcast so you don’t miss our conversations!
#26 Miniseries on Place with José Humphreys
Our places shape our loves. Can the church stick with a place? We continue this mini-series in November on place with series co-host, Brandon J. O’Brien, and today we bring in José Humphreys of East Harlem, NYC.
José Humphreys is a facilitator and pastor of Metro Hope Covenant Church, a multiethnic and multicultural church in East Harlem, New York City. He is also a social worker, consultant and author. Humphreys is involved in shalom-making in New York City through facilitating conversation, contemplation, and action across social, economic, cultural, and theological boundaries.
Catch the first episode on place here, and the second one with Dennae Pierre here.
LINKS
Connect with Jose on his website: https://www.josehumphreys.com
Buy Jose’s book: https://amzn.to/2qjUxvk
Jose’s church: Metro Hope Church
Giveaway to win Jose’s book (and other books too!): www.aahales.com/giveaway
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“We all show up with a certain gospel story…” @josehumphreys on #place and #churchplanting on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales
“How do we live mindfully in the places God has put us?” A fabulous conversation with @josehumphreys and @brandonjobrien on a #theologyofplace
“The theology we’ve inherited is very much about Sunday and resurrection. How is disorientation important part of the Christian life?” We talk place, race, gender and the gospel on #findingholypodcast with @josehumphreys @brandonjobrien
Instead of thinking about property values of what a place has for us, start by looking at the cultural, political, colonization root systems of our places. @josehumphreys on #findingholypodcast
“Staying put means that place can shape us as much as people, or other categories.” @josehumphreys on #findingholypodcast with @aahales and @brandonjobrien
ONE SMALL STEP
Start to think through the tender places in your own life about staying put in your place. What hurts about staying put? What’s exciting? Where are the tender places in your own life and desires where staying put feels a little achy?
Name those tender places. Tag Ashley @aahales on Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag #findingholypodcast to join the discussion.
SUBSCRIBE, SHARE AND WIN!
Subscribe to the Finding Holy podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. We’d be thrilled if you rated and reviewed it on iTunes and shared with a friend! Don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY NOW at aahales.com/giveaway.
#25 Miniseries on Place with Dennae Pierre
Dennae Pierre is executive director of The Surge Network, a movement of local churches partnered together to put Jesus on display in Arizona. She is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and serves as one of the Co-Directors for City to City North America. Dennae has been involved in church planting, community development, and started a non-profit that serves birth mothers whose children are in the foster care system. Dennae is married to Vermon and they have four children: Marcel, Mya, Judah, and Jovanna!
Where does our faith provide the ability to cross boundary lines?
LINKS
The Surge Network: http://surgenetwork.com
Foster Care Iniatives: http://www.fostercareinitiatives.org
GIVEAWAY: www.aahales.com/giveaway
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“I grew up with a lot of awareness of racial tension in our city. My life was constant boundary-crossing.” @dennaepierre on #place on #findingholypodcast
“We don’t just want diversity. We actually want reconciliation.” @dennaepierre on place, church planting, and living out the kingdom of God in Phoenix on #findingholypodcast:
“You can’t remain in tension without remaining in Christ — through prayer and identifying with the sufferings of Christ.” @dennaepierre of @surgenetwork
“Pick an average place and give your life to it. And just be faithful. God has done amazing things.” @DennaePierre
“The evangelical story of “go find your place where you can live your life to the fullest” is such an individual story of greatness. You don’t see that in scripture.” @dennaepierre of @surgenetwork
Hear the good news of solidarity with your city, evangelism, and reconciliation from @dennaepierre of @surgenetwork on #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
Dennae encourages to press into places of pain in our cities and suburbs.
What might it look like to stay put where you are?
Practice taking a walk around your neighborhood, or put yourself in a new habit (try volunteering and getting to know a new segment of your city if you’re disconnected). Let us know how it goes by tagging @aahales or using the hashtag: #findingholypodcast
SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE
Make sure to subscribe and share this episode! Head on over to be entered to win one of 100s of books at www.aahales.com/giveaway!
#24 Miniseries on Place with Brandon J. O'Brien
Are you a citizen of the world or a good neighbor?
We have a special series just for you! Through the month of November, we’ll be taking all about how places actually form our loves. We’ll walk you through the virtues of staying put, stories of what it looks like to embody the message of Jesus in your place, and give you some small steps for you in your own place.
Brandon J. O’Brien and I kick off this first conversation. Brandon J. O'Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Director of Content Development and Distribution for Redeemer City to City, an organization that supports church planting in global cities. Brandon is author of several books, the most recent of which is Not From Around Here: What Unites Us, What Divides Us, and How We Can Move Forward (Moody, 2019). He lives with his wife, Amy, and two children in Uptown Manhattan.
LINKS
Brandon’s website: https://www.brandonjobrien.com
Buy Brandon’s book, Not From Around Here: https://amzn.to/2CndJuh
Enter the giveaway here: www.aahales.com/giveaway
Books in the giveaway:
Not From Around Here: https://amzn.to/2CndJuh
Finding Holy in the Suburbs: https://amzn.to/2WPSavX
Seeing Jesus in East Harlem: https://amzn.to/2PWsMD9
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“I’d always attributed differences to culture or theology, but realizing how much geographical places affect us was eye-opening for me.” @BrandonJOBrien
From Walmart’s hometown to Chicago suburbs to Manhattan, @BrandonJOBrien shares about how where he’s kicks us off on #place on #findingholy
Don’t miss this conversation on place where @brandonjobrien talks about how our Christian discipleship is actually affected by where we live on #findingholypodcast.
“The way we’re talking about our faith is actually similar to how we’re talking about other cultural issues” @
We’re all shaped by forces other than the Bible and our convictions. Paying attention to our places can make us more empathetic.
We talk about how the story of the Bible is a story of place, too — and each individual Christian is bound to a place. “We have a tendency to abstract our Christian faith” @brandonjobrien
How our digital lives intersect with our emplaced lives — so much here with @brandonjobrien and @aahales on #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
Consider putting something off and putting something on through this month’s series on place. Maybe you want to put your phone on a curfew or fast from social media so that you’re embodied and emplaced for a bit. Also consider taking a new form of transportation
SUBSCRIBE, SHARE AND GET YOUR FREE BOOK!
We’re a new podcast and every time you share and subscribe, we get to bring others in to the conversation. So subscribe and share today!
And what you’ve all been waiting for: a huge giveaway! Head on over to aahales.com/giveaway
#23 A Special Announcement
In this interlude, Ashley Hales introduces one small step to push back against the consumerism that wants to form us in its image AND an invitation to a special series on place coming up in November with Brandon J. O’Brien, Dennae Pierre, and Jose Humphreys.
Right now, be entered to win a free book bundle on place: fill out your form here! Share with your friends!
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In November, get a chance to win one of over 100 books given away on place! Head to aahales.com/giveaway
“Our loves are actually the things that move us into change, into personal and communal transformation.” @aahales on #findingholypodcast
“If you value thoughtful work, you need to support it in the marketplace with your marketplace dollars.” @aahales on #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
Two, this week!
1) Support work you love that is thoughtful, nuanced, and challenging with your marketplace dollars, or even write a note of encouragement to someone in the church or public sector who is working for dialogue and change;
2) Head on over to aahales.com/giveaway to be entered to win a free book bundle for our November series!
SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE
Be sure to subscribe to the Finding Holy Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts! We’re still a new podcast so when you subscribe, share and rate the podcast, it helps more listeners find us! Thank you.
#22 Catherine McNiel on Practices to Awaken to Hope in the Chaos
It’s hard to see the deeper things when life is full and busy. In this conversation with Catherine McNiel, we talk about how we can be awakened to God’s presence in creation. We’re invited to see God move in our actual, concrete reality — in the beauty and in the decay and despair.
This isn’t a garden-variety book (or conversation). She says, “if we’re not tempted by despair, I don’t think what we’re experiencing is actually hope.” Listen in to a wonderful conversation and win a free book too!
Here’s a bit about Catherine: Catherine McNiel is a writer and speaker who seeks to open eyes to God’s creative, redemptive work in each day—while caring for three kids, two jobs, and one enormous garden. She’s on the lookout for wisdom, beauty, and iced coffee. Catherine is the author of All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God's Presence in His Messy, Abundant World and Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline which was an ECPA finalist for New Author.
LINKS
Buy Catherine’s book: All Shall Be Well
Buy Catherine’s book: Long Days of Small Things
Subscribe to Catherine’s newsletter
Follow Catherine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/catherinemcniel
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“It’s really important to me that it’s not just that we find God in the beauty of creation, but even in the darkness.” @catherinemcniel @aahales #findingholypodcast: https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
“Your book can really be a corrective for this idea that life should always be improving and going up and to the right", @aahales says of @navpress book, #allshallbewellbook on #findingholypodcast: https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
“Winter comes, but so does spring, so does the dawn.” We trust God through the repetition. @catherinemcniel on #allshallbewellbook on @aahales’ #findingholypodcast: https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
Learn how @catherinemcniel learned to live her book after writing it through darkness, sitting in a chair and what sustained her on @aahales’ #findingholypodcast: https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
“The suffering was not the bondage, it was the freedom.” @catherinemcniel on #findingholypodcast: https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
“I’m grounding theology in our real life. The truth of God is applicable wherever I happen to be right now.” @catherinemcniel #findingholypodcast https://tinyurl.com/findingholypodMcNiel
ONE SMALL STEP
Give yourself a 5-minute brainstorming session. During your time, write and think about: Where are the moments in your life where you see despair? Where do you see hope?
In another 5 minutes, offer your findings to God.
Honesty can unite the things that we say we believe about God and our experience of God. Share your list, your thoughts and this episode by tagging me at @aahales and using the hashtag, #findingholypodcast.
SHARE, SUBSCRIBE AND WIN! We’re still a new podcast. We’d LOVE it if you could subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and share with all of your people!
And we have a special surprise! One winner will win a copy of Catherine’s book, All Shall Be Well!
To enter: All have you do is: 1) subscribe, 2) email me that you subscribed at findingholypodcast@gmail.com and one lucky winner will get a free book! Giveaway ends October 31.
#21 Mike Cosper on Developing a Christian Imagination
On this episode I chat with Mike Cosper about everything from great sentences, to mental illness, leaving church ministry, to the Enneagram and how to develop a Christian imagination. It’s a fruitful conversation that we hope helps you connect the dots between the things that really matter and your everyday, holy life. (Bonus! You can also listen to me on Mike’s podcast, Cultivated here).
Mike Cosper is the author of several books, including Recapturing the Wonder, Rhythms of Grace, and Faith Among the Faithless. He served for fifteen years as the pastor of worship and arts at Sojourn Church in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2017, he founded Narrativo, a podcast production studio, and Harbor Media, a non-profit producing podcasts for Christians in a post-Christian world. He and his wife Sarah have two daughters and live in Louisville, Kentucky.
LINKS
Buy Mike’s book: Recapturing the Wonder
Some of Mike’s other books: Faith Among the Faithless, Rhythms of Grace, The Stories We Tell
Mike’s podcast, Cultivated: Listen here
Mike’s podcast company, Narrativo
Works Mike mentions:
George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to be Secular
Charles Taylor, A Secular Age
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We talk imagination, meaning, the Enneagram, church ministry and good sentences on the #findingholypodcast with @mikecosper:
“I think of myself more as an interpreter of ideas than an originator of them.” @mikecosper on @aahales’ #findngholypodcast
“We have to keep our metaphors fresh, our ideas fresh. We have be allergic to cliches.” @mikecosper on imagination, writing, and living in a secular age on #findingholypodcast
“What are ways to get back into an imaginative space as Christians?” @aahales asks @mikecosper on #findingholypodcast
“I crashed emotionally. I had a deep season of depression.” @mikecosper on mental illness, life in the church, and the Christian imagination on #findingholypodcast
For the first time @mikecosper shares his surprising laundry secret on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales.
ONE SMALL STEP
Pay attention to the small moods or states of being that you might have a hard time accessing at this time in your life (think of things like joy or anxiety or depression). Name it.
Give yourself a homework assignment of sorts and pick one activity you could do to begin to engage that emotion. Take a walk and snap photos of things that strike you as beautiful. Laugh with a child. Read a poem or visit an art gallery to jog your imagination awake. Sit in the silence and name the fears, worries, or sadness that you hurry past.
Let us know how it goes by tagging @aahales on social media and using #findingholypodcast hashtag.
BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE wherever you listen to podcasts. We’d love if you left a review on Apple Podcasts.
The Finding Holy Podcast has a special treat for you during the month of November where we’ll be kicking off conversations with folks in global cities and small towns about place and the gospel. Plus, there will a TON of GIVEAWAYS. Don’t miss it: subscribe today!
#20 Seth Haines on Addiction + Sobriety of the Soul
It’s easier to numb ourselves than feel our pain. This helpful and insightful interview with Seth Haines (author of Coming Clean and the forthcoming The Book of Waking Up) shows us a way forward. We talk about so much: addiction, sobriety, political polarization, rhetoric, the church, and parenting. Don’t miss this one!
LINKS
Preorder Seth’s new book coming in January: The Book of Waking Up: https://amzn.to/2po4hUe
Seth’s book, Coming Clean: https://amzn.to/2oA7gsz
Seth’s website: http://www.sethhaines.com
Seth’s Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/sethhaines
A video of John Michael Talbot Seth speaks about in the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gma2z9GCPp8&t=228s
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“The primary addiction I notice is Facebook, Twitter, social media. We all use some method to numb pain.” @sethhaines
“When you’re the addiction guy, people confess these things.” @sethhaines
“Why don’t you think we have more robust ways to deal with pain?” @aahales asks @sethhaines on the #findingholypodcast
“I had to invite God into that pain through silence and solitude.” @sethhaines on #addiction, recovery, and pain on #findingholypodcast
“Personal transformation gave way to communal transformation.” @Sethhaines on the church, spiritual practices, and addiction on #findingholypodcast
“These are the things that keep you sober. Don’t live lives of isolation. Also the community is necessary.” Listen to @sethhaines on #findingholypodcast
“ The best thing we can do as parents is model lives of temperance.” @sethhaines @aahales #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
Give yourself just 10 minutes a day of quiet. Start by making a list. Ask: Am I in a season of stress? Make a list of your stressors. Also consider the things you cannot not do — maybe you have to watch Netflix every night, or have a drink or a bowl of ice cream. Maybe you find yourself scrolling through social media whenever there’s a quiet moment, or shopping online, or getting enraged on social media.
When you go to these things, ask: what am I avoiding? Get curious about what those things do for you. I hope you’ll find some insight in the process.
SUBSCRIBE and review the Finding Holy Podcast on iTunes! It’s one great way to help others find us here.
#19 Aubrey Sampson on Developing the Language and Faith to Lament
We talk about pain, suffering and lament and where to find hope in this episode with Aubrey Sampson. If you feel like you’re praying to the ceiling fan or can’t find God, then this episode is for you. This is a rich conversation that will help you develop a vocabulary for pain and lament. If you’ve lost someone, are disappointed, have chronic pain, or know someone who does, please have a listen.
Aubrey is a church planter and the director of discipleship and equipping at Renewal Church, the author of The Louder Song and Overcomer. A member of the Redbud Writers Guild, Aubrey also contributes to Propel Women. She is a speaker, preacher, wife, and mama of three boys.
LINKS
Aubrey’s book, The Louder Song: https://amzn.to/2liGhjU
Aubrey’s book, Overcomer: https://amzn.to/2mLFsQU
Aubrey’s website: www.aubreysampson.com
Book Aubrey to speak: http://www.aubreysampson.com/speaking-2/
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“If it weren't for the biblical language of lament, I don’t know if I’d be walking with God right now.” @aubsamp on @aahales’ #FindingHolyPodcast
“I’m good with pain…but I couldn’t handle my own pain,” @aubsamp on #lament on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales
‘Knowing we actually have permission to talk to God in anger, and grief and suffering…” @aubsamp with @aahales on #findingholypodcast
”Let’s make some intentional appointments to allow for our suffering and lament in the church.” Listen to @aubsamp on #lament in the church with @aahales on #findingholypodcast
““How” is one of those big questions of lament and it’s kind of an accusation against God….and we can eventually get to the “Yet’s”.
ONE SMALL STEP
Ekah is the Hebrew word for “how.” Hows start our journeys of of lament.
Grab a journal (or the back of a receipt!) and simply list your “how’s”: How long do we need to wait for a child? How could you let this happen? How could he lose his job? How could she betray my friendship?
Imagine God holding these. God may not answer specifically, but he will meet you with his presence. He will meet you in the how’s.
WE’D BE HONORED if you shared how you’re working through material from The #FindingHolyPodcast on social media. Subscribe + share an episode with a friend! Tag @aahales on social media and use the #FindingHolyPodcast hashtag. Keep up to date on all #FindingHolyPodcast here: https://mailchi.mp/ddd0fd792a7b/findingholypod
A LITTLE SOMETHING SPECIAL! Join Aubrey and Ashley on Instagram LIVE Thursday, October 3 at 8:30am Pacific to talk about God, pain, and the Enneagram and you could win a FREE BOOK! Follow Ashley at instagram and we’ll see you Thursday!
#18 Cara Meredith on Starting Conversations Around Race
Conversations around race and justice can be hard, vulnerable, and polarizing. Yet because we believe God created all of us as image bearers of himself, we need to enter in. So many people don’t have the tools to know how to navigate those conversations well. Cara Meredith is a great conversation partner as we talk through issues of race and justice and how her marriage to the son of black Civil Rights icon shaped her future.
LINKS
Article Cara mentioned about diverse friendships around their table: https://amyjuliabecker.com/guest-post-cara-meredith/
Cara’s website: https://www.carameredith.com
Cara’s book, The Color of Life: https://amzn.to/2muBKuY
Cara’s blog on Patheos: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/coloringoutsidethelines/
Cara’s speaking: https://www.carameredith.com/speaking
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“Coming from a white suburban background, I realized that, over time, issues of race also had to do with me.” @caramac54 on #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales
“Marrying my husband, the son of a Civil Rights icon, entered me into conversations about race and how to raise mixed-race children.” @caramac54 at #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales:
“As a child, I didn’t believe issues of race had to do with me.” Get a few small steps to talk about race with @caramac54
“My motto is to listen, learn, and listen some more.” @CaraMac54 on #racialjustice
ONE SMALL STEP
Identify one small way you’re seeking power or privilege — it might be even as small as not paying attention to those who are in a place of vulnerability (rather than power) in your community. Spend a few minutes taking stock of where you spend your time, who you hang out with, and ask: how is my “normal” not like other people’s “normal”? Make a list.
Pray through your list. Ask God to open your eyes to people who are different from you. Practice one small step of intentionally moving towards others.
Pick a place and pick your prayer.
How can you be intentional to enter into friendships from those who are different from you?
WE’D BE HONORED if you shared how you’re working through material from The #FindingHolyPodcast on social media. Subscribe + share an episode with a friend! Tag @aahales on social media and use the #FindingHolyPodcast hashtag. Keep up to date on all #FindingHolyPodcast here: https://mailchi.mp/ddd0fd792a7b/findingholypod
#17 Casey Tygrett on the Redemption of Soul Memories
We’re connecting the dots between the things that really matter and our everyday, ordinary lives.
Today, I sit down with Casey Tygrett to talk about memories. We talk about how they influence our lives and communities and how God might be inviting us into a larger story of redemption through spiritual practices. It’s a wide-ranging conversation — from memories of God’s people in the bible, to how God might make our memories sacred again, and how pain fits into the picture. Plus we talk about how the soul is like a burrito.
Listen in. Casey Tygrett is an author, pastor, and host of the otherWISE podcast. His new book is called As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories In Our Spiritual Life . He is also the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions. You can connect with Casey and find more information on his website or read his weekly Patheos blog “Everything Becoming”. Casey and his wife Holley and daughter “The B” live just outside of Chicago, IL.
LINKS
Casey’s book, As I Recall: https://amzn.to/2tCELJH
Casey’s book, Becoming Curious: https://amzn.to/2U1ytir
Casey’s website: http://www.caseytygrett.com
Casey’s podcast: https://apple.co/2tA2WbM
Patheos Blog: https://bit.ly/2TbGzb7
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“The soul is like a burrito” and other fun things I heard @cktygrett say with @aahales on the #findingholypodcast:
“Our memories have written a through line and the Spirit of God says I can take this and do something with it.” @cktygrett on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
“Memories have seasons.” @cktygrett on @aahales’ the #findingholypodcast
“Communities have memories. Lament can help us acknowledge pain.” @cktygrett on @aahales’ the #findingholypodcast
ONE SMALL STEP
We’re borrowing one right from Casey’s playbook, try taking 5 minutes today and writing out (scripting) a memory. Write down the who, what, when, and where. Involve your senses. Tell a concrete story with details. Then take just 2 minutes of solitude and silence and ask God: What might you be wanting me to do or know from this memory? Invite the Spirit of God in to your memories. It’s part of how we experience God’s presence in a daily way.
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of As I Recall for more great practices. Casey is a trusted guide to walk alongside you.
And — make sure you tag us to talk more! Because big things matter but so does the laundry!
#16 Patrice Gopo on the Intersection of Place, Race, and Faith
We don’t often think about how our places shape us and our stories. We often think of our places as a backdrop to all the living we do, just the context for how we’ll move about in the world. We don’t clearly articulate how places shape our souls.
My guest today has a particularly helpful take on place — partly because she’s lived on different continents as a minority and has learned how to navigate majority cultures. She’s lovely to talk to and offers us so much wisdom (and stories) about how to tell our stories of place well.
Patrice Gopo articulately explains how places have shaped her in this episode. Patrice Gopo is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a personal essayist and often writes about topics of race, immigration, and belonging. Her first book, a collection of personal essays entitled All the Colors We Will See, is a Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Patrice is a firm believer in the power of personal narratives to create pathways of connection and understanding in society. When she’s not writing and reflecting about her own journey, she teaches and speaks about the importance of personal storytelling.
LINKS
Buy Patrice’s book, All the Colors We Will See: http://bit.ly/patricegopo
Website: patricegopo.com/subscribe
Instagram: @patricegopo
Facebook: @patricegopowrites
SHARE
How do places form our loves? Listen to @patricegopo on place, race, immigration, and the stories our places tell on the #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales.
What does moving across the world, writing our stories, and doing the laundry have in common? Find out from @patricegopo on the #findingholypodcast.
Don’t miss this fantastic episode with @patricegopo and @aahales on the #findingholypodcast. It’s a theology of place unpacked.
ONE SMALL STEP
Give yourself a 10-minute assignment: think about your place. Go on a walk in your neighborhood. Brainstorm in your journal. But give yourself 10 minutes to start noticing how who, what, when, where and what happens right where you live forms your loves.
Curious what that might look like? You can go to aahales.com, scroll to the bottom, and enter your email: then you’ll get a free download of the first chapter of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, about how Target forms our desires. Red carts, coffee, and clearance sections, oh my! (And the book is 40% off right now at IVP as part of their Summer Reading List, details here).
Remember, no matter where you live, that you get to live the story of Jesus. But don’t forget the laundry — because big things matter, but so does the laundry!
#15 Lore Ferguson Wilbert on The Goodness of Bodies
If you’re someone who struggles to know how our bodies fit into our faith, this conversation is for you.
There’s so much around the idea of touch in the church and in our culture that feels like a landmine. While we can be tempted to believe we’re brains on sticks or disembodied souls, Jesus came as a man to show us the power and ministry of touch.
You’ll want to listen in this week to hear Lore’s wisdom about embodied faith, touch, and her new book releasing in 2020, Handle with Care.
Lore Ferguson Wilbert has lived all over the United States and is unsettled enough to call nowhere home, but she lives in Flower Mound, Texas for now. She is a wife to her husband and a member of The Village Church where they both serve. She writes and edits full time for many publications like The Gospel Coalition, CT, Revive Our Hearts, Fathom Magazine, and The Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission on spiritual formation, faith, culture, and theology in life. You can read more of her work at sayable.net.
LINKS
Lore’s blog: www.sayable.net
Lore’s book, Handle with Care: https://amzn.to/305tS1c
ONE SMALL STEP
Begin your day by praying over your body. Thank God for each part. Pray for healing for each part. Thank God for your body – for your brain, your heart, your belly, your hips, your toes. Ask the Holy Spirit to comfort you and show you the goodness of the gospel through your body and where you move today.
Thanks again for being a part of this conversation! As always, we love to hear from you. Email your comments to findingholypodcast@gmail.com and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review:
“Big things matter, but so does the laundry.” May your laundry folding, dinner-preparing, walking-self experience God more fully because of your body this week.
#14 Shawn Smucker on Choosing Presence in a Busy Culture
Sometimes when we’re in the thralls of our normal routines, our roles in our families and in our neighborhoods, it’s hard to stop and pay attention. Shawn Smucker, author, husband, and busy father to 6, talks with us about what it looks like to choose presence from cross-cultural friendships with a refugee and with his own family.
Here’s a bit more about Shawn: He lives in Lancaster, PA with his wife, Maile, and his 6 children. He’s the author of The Day the Angels Fell, The Edge of Over There, Once We were Strangers, and the forthcoming novel, Light from Distant Stars. Be sure to preorder his latest release before July 16 for a free peek into the life and journal of a novelist.
You’ll want to listen in for wisdom about parenting, about how to navigate cross-cultural friendships and be present to your actual neighbors. But you’ll also want to stick around to hear his laundry routine for a family of 8, how his wife Maile and he aren’t just sliding into established roles in their writing and parenting lives together, and how you can take one small step of presence in a culture that idolizes hurry and busyness.
LINKS:
Link to purchase The Day the Angels Fell: https://amzn.to/2X7B2oL
Link to purchase The Edge of Over There: https://amzn.to/2RwDsr3
Link to purchase Once We Were Strangers: https://amzn.to/2X2iIgR
Link to pre-order Light from Distant Stars: https://amzn.to/2X6MBws
More about Shawn, his work, and his writing services: http://shawnsmucker.com
SHARE:
Listen to @ShawnSmucker discuss his friendship with a Syrian refugee and what it taught him about a “drop in” friendship in a culture of busyness on the #FindingHolyPodcast with @aahales
Curious about how to navigate a meaningful life in the midst of marriage and family life? You’ll want to listen to @shawnsmucker on the #findingholypodcast
Listen to how @shawnsmucker and his wife reevaluated roles, made time for the work they love, and still manage to get the laundry done for a family of 8 on The #FindingHolyPodcast
ONE SMALL STEP:
Move your communication from social media to one-on-one for a week. Write a note of gratitude. Look your children in the eye. Practice presence in small and unseen ways. We’d even love to get a note here at the podcast (email us at findingholypodcast@gmail.com) and would love for you to stay in the conversation by subscribing.
Keep the conversation going by purchasing Finding Holy in the Suburbs for a friend and see how your can love your place, your actual neighbors, and those right in front of you. Better yet, buy it from real people (we recommend Hearts & Mind Bookstore, who will send it from real people not a drone!)
#13 Michelle DeRusha on the Life-Changing Habit of Quiet
This a great conversation on quiet, stillness, habits, and brain neural pathways. You’ll love learning about why our brains react against stillness and quiet. even task-positive network and default mode network in the brain and how this all fits into how we connect with God.
A Massachusetts native, Michelle DeRusha moved to Nebraska in 2001, where she discovered the Great Plains, grasshoppers the size of Cornish hens ... and God. She writes about listening to your soul speak at michellederusha.com, as well as a monthly column for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Michelle earned a Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Massachusetts and a Master's Degree in English from the University of Connecticut. She worked as a magazine writer and editor in New York City, a PR and marketing specialist for a community college and a fundraiser for PBS and NPR before settling down into her career and calling as a writer.
Here’s why you should listen: If you’re longing to connect with God, be present to yourself and people around you, you’ll want to see how something as small as 5 minutes of quiet a day has reframed our guest today.
Stick around: You’ll get one small step to help you connect yourself to God and the wider community of faith at the end.
SHARE
“Ultimately coming to understand your identity as a child of God, is that you’ll naturally start to turn outward to community.” @michellederusha on #FindingHolyPodcast
“Our brain literally forgets how to rest.” Listen to @michellederusha on our restless age and what can help on #TheFindingHolyPodcast with @aahales
“I practiced directed rest and it took weeks before I could push below that upper level of distraction.” @michellederusha
LINKS
Link to purchase Michelle’s latest book, True You: https://amzn.to/2K7e1LU
Link to purchase 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: https://amzn.to/2MQ2qmL
Link to purchase Katarina and Martin Luther: https://amzn.to/2ML2aVI
Link to purchase Spiritual Misfit: https://amzn.to/2KDGLLt
Michelle’s website: http://michellederusha.com
NEXT SMALL STEP:
The point isn’t just about being silent or even paying attention to nature. Ultimately we need to know ourselves well enough to know what we each need to do to pay attention to how we connect to God. Michelle talks about how embracing silence allowed her to get to her true self – the self exposed before God.
Let’s try something small just like Michelle: if 5 minutes feels like a lot, even start with 2 minutes of quiet a day. Put an alarm on the phone and practice 2 (or 5) minutes of silence. You might even have to lock yourself in a bathroom, but it’s worth it! Before you begin give your time of quiet to God, asking him to focus your mind and return your attention and affections to him in your moments of directed rest.
#12 Darryl Dash on 3 Habits for Spiritual Growth
Darryl Dash is pastor of Liberty Grace Church in Toronto, and author of *How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Your Life*. He is also cofounder of Gospel for Life and director of Advance Church Planting Institute. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has over 25 years of ministry experience. Darryl is married to Charlene and has two adult children: Christy and Josiah. You can find Darryl online at DashHouse.com.
WORKS MENTIONED
Darryl Dash’s book : How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Life: https://amzn.to/2JT07g8
Gretchen Rubin, Better than Before: What I learned about Making and Breaking habits: https://amzn.to/2JWrVjL
M. Scott Peck, on the stages of community: http://atlc.org/members/resources/four_stages_community.html
SHARE
“I am famished for God’s presence…I say that as someone desperate.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
“The church is going to be disillusioning. Yet there is something that happens. God uses the church to grow us.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
“Habits are valuable insofar that they lead me to God.” @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
How to commit to 3 small habits to grow in your faith. @dashhouse on the #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
ONE SMALL STEP
Join me with one small step – let’s make a habit. For the next 21 days, let’s commit to reading our Bibles. It doesn’t need to big or studious. Start small – just even one verse before you check your email or grab your keys and coffee in the morning.
Let me know how it goes! Email me on the contact form on the website: aahales.com.
IF YOU HAVEN’T YET…
Subscribe to The Finding Holy Podcast on itunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Share an episode.
Read — continue the conversation by reading Finding Holy in the Suburbs.
#10 Suburban bootcamp 2 -- Hospitality for Busy People
On this second edition of a “Suburban Bootcamp,” Bryce and Ashley Hales talk together about how the gospel reorients our relationships vertically with God and horizontally with others. So how do we make the mental shift from the allure of convenience to moving outwards towards others?
Hospitality flows from God who has made room for us — seen most clearly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Ashley posed a few helpful diagnostic questions as we think about hospitality and making room:
SOME QUESTIONS
Where am I making room in my time?
Where am I making room in my body for others — do I look at people? Do I see the needs around me?
Where am I making room in my affections — so that I’m looking for ways to connect with others who are far from God?
But where do we start? Bryce encourages to embrace awkward and be a good neighbor and start today in one small step.
ONE SMALL STEP
Put a date on the calendar three weeks out.
Create a reason to get together with some friends, neighbors, and people you sort of know. Try out your favorite barbecue recipe, or grab a Costco lasagna. The point is to make room in your schedule and your home to really see people.
GET INVOLVED
Hooray! A Leader’s Guide is coming soon for Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much. With chapters on hospitality and busyness, you won’t want to miss the book, or the chance to read and talk about with friends. Buy yourself a copy (hey! pick one up for your whole group) and stay tuned for the release of the Leader Guide!
If you’re looking for a little reminder about the things that matter in a noisy world, make sure you get The Essential 3. It’s a small dose of beauty, truth, and goodness in the form of 3 links sent directly to your inbox each week. It’s short, sweet, and just what you might need. Get it here.
SHARE
“Hospitality is about making room.” @aahales @bahales #Findingholypodcast #suburbanbootcamp
What to do when you feel like hospitality is all about Martha Stewart. It starts with a Costco lasagna and baby wipes. #hospitality #suburbanbootcamp #FindingHolyPodcast @aahales
“Making room” makes the gospel and hospitality feel accessible. #findingholypodcast
#9 Suburban Bootcamp 1
It’s 2019! Welcome back to The Finding Holy Podcast, where we connect the dots between the things that matter and your everyday, holy life.
Before we kick off season 2, we’re going to have a three-week interlude. During these three weeks, I sit down with my husband and pastor, Bryce Hales, and we host a little suburban boot camp. It’s short. It’s sweet and it will give you some concrete action to take.
This first session we talk about the allure of convenience and how consumerism has infiltrated the church.
Listen in for a short episode with a lot of laughter, one small step, and how to begin to think about our lives less as consumers and more as lovers of our places and our churches.
A SMALL STEP
Plan and cook a meal. This will slow your body down and get you into the moment. The process of planning and cooking helps us give rather than receive, or seeing ourselves as consumers.
Our favorite soup recipe can be found at aahales.com/Podcast.
Let us know how it goes!
SHARE + SUBSCRIBE
Will you help us grow? Be sure to share the show and subscribe wherever we listen to podcasts.
“When we view church as event rather than as family we are poorer for it.” #findingholypodcast
“The Bible commends faithfulness and perseverance far more than we do.” #findingholypodcast
“How we talk — “I have to” is really “I don’t want to.” Start noticing.” #findingholypodcast
#8 Sam Wheatley on the spirituality of parking in New York City
Places form our loves. They also form our habits. I’d noticed how Sam was chronicling his new life in NYC on Instagram and how moving the car had become a spiritual space for contemplation and exploration. I was fascinated and I wanted to know how the big city connected with the gospel. Listen in.
ONE SMALL STEPIdentify one transitional moment — find one spot in your day, whether that’s moving the car, doing the laundry, or your morning commute and consider how you can turn it Godward instead of selfward (or simply distracting yourself with technology). Identify one transitional step — meditate on a line from scripture, or say a simple prayer in your transitional moment. These sorts of small habits fashion our attention toward God and his gospel rather than towards self.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for joining us in Season One. May I ask you to do three things?
Subscribe to The Finding Holy Podcast on itunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Share an episode.
Read — continue the conversation by reading Finding Holy in the Suburbs.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
We’ll be back in January for a special edition of “Suburban Bootcamp” with Bryce and Ashley Hales. In January expect a few episodes where Bryce and Ashley Hales sit down to talk about how to start from the ground up creating a culture of generosity, vulnerability and hospitality. You’ll want to listen in if you’re in ministry, if you live in the suburbs, or even if you’re curious about how to take some practical steps in conjunction with my book Finding Holy in the Suburbs.
#7 Hannah Anderson on having your feet in two worlds
Stick around: You’ll find some gold nuggets to encourage you to stay rooted in your place -- whether you’re in the country, city, or suburbs. And at the end, you’ll have your one small step to help take all the things that matter into your ordinary, holy, life.
Hannah provided us some wonderful questions to help us in the ways of discernment:
--How would what I share (online) affect my real-life relationships?
--What is the point of correcting? Would it build the community?
--What would I say to this person if this person was in my kitchen? Proximitiy checks our tendencies.
A SMALL STEPThis week remember to lighten up. Humor disarms. Try a family dance party to get out of your own head or using a self-deprecating joke. It’ll allow you to begin to empathize instead of using truth as a weapon.
LINKS
Hannah’s website: www.sometimesalight.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/sometimesalight
Persuasion Podcast: persuasionpodcast.buzz/
Link to purchase Made for More: amzn.to/2QMwArB
Link to purchase Humble Roots: amzn.to/2rtISa3
Link to purchase All that’s Good: amzn.to/2QINKpZ
SHARE
Discernment simply means developing a taste for what’s good. --@sometimesalight on #FindingHolyPodcast
How does discernment equip us to navigate a broken, complicated world with confidence and joy? -- @sometimesalight #FindingHolyPodcast
Hannah Anderson talks about rural, working class Appalachia, the mistakes she’s made and how she’s practicing discernment on #FindingHolyPodcast:
“The nature of truth is communal.” Listen in to @sometimesalight on #FindingHolyPodcast:
A GIFT FOR YOU
Share an episode of The Finding Holy Podcast online and review it on iTunes. Then take a screenshot and send it to me at findingholypodcast@gmail.com. I’ll send you your very own Finding Holy journal!
#6 Micha Boyett on seeing the world as Jesus sees it
Micha Boyett, author of Found, talks motherhood, raising a son with Down Syndrome, and what it looks like to be a good neighbor in San Francisco. Don’t miss her helpful tips on practicing to see the way Jesus sees -- even when you’re in the school pick-up line.
Here’s a bit more about our guest: Micha Boyett is a poet, activist and author of the book, Found: A Story of Questions, Grace and Everyday Prayer. She has an MFA and writes on spiritual formation, down syndrome and motherhood. She hosts The Lucky Few podcast which focuses on changing the narrative about Down Syndrome.
A SMALL STEP
It’s Micha’s practice. → Create a visual clue for the change you want to see.
Try grabbing a sticky note right now. Write a word, phrase, or portion of scripture that you want to meditate on. (For me, I’m putting a bright pink sticky note on the fridge that says “breathe.” so that when the noise of four small kids gets too much, I’ll remember that breathing is one way we rewire those neurons)!
So grab a sticky note, put on a word or phrase and put it where you’ll see it. Let me know how it goes!
It’s one small way to begin to take the ideas we want to embody -- like peace, love, and kindness -- and begin to make a practice of them.
LINKS
Micha’s website: www.michaboyett.com/
The Lucky Few Podcast: www.theluckyfewpodcast.com/
Twitter: @michaboyett
Link to purchase Micha’s book, Found: amzn.to/2SsFZBY
Link to purchase No Drama Discipline: amzn.to/2QDlnK4
Link to purchase The Whole-Brained Child: amzn.to/2SuidWf
SHARE
“Spiritual discipline is sometimes about retraining our brains.” —@michaboyett on #findingholypodcast with @aahales:
“The smallest choices are usually the ones that effect you the most.” —@michaboyett on #findingholypodcast with @aahales
“Spiritual discipline is always going to be a practice.” —@michaboyett on #findingholypodcast with @aahales
“Thanksgiving is always the heart of change.” —@michaboyett on #findingholypodcast with @aahales
A GIFT FOR YOU
Head over to aahales.com, enter your email, and you’ll get a free download of the first chapter of my book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs. (Or you can purchase it here).
#5 Russ Ramsey on How Story Forms Us
In Episode 5, we talk about the best burrito restaurant in Nashville and how to creatively engage social media through pursuing beauty. We also chat about our actual places, and a few small steps to jog our imaginations as Christians -- and, of course, I ask about his laundry routine.
Russ has some great tips to share about how to approach scripture this Advent season.
As your small practical step, I’d simply encourage you to try something this Advent season a little differently. Let's jog our imaginations.
--Take a different route home
-- Frequent a local business
--Engage scripture differently
--Read a gospel through the Advent season
--Try to get your laundry into the basket (Just kidding!)
Here are Russ’s tips for engaging scripture:
Read a portion of scripture beginning to end. Read aloud. Listen to scripture audio recordings.
Engage your imagination: look for details in what you read.
Scripture gives us wisdom, not necessarily answers. It forms the way you think. How are you formed as you read?
LINKS:
Russ’s website: russ-ramsey.com/
Christ Presbyterian Church Cool Springs: www.christpres.org/visit-cool-springs/
Twitter: @russramsey
Baja Burrito (best burritos in Nashville): www.bajaburrito.com
Link to purchase The Advent of the Lamb of God: amzn.to/2r3JNOf
Link to purchase The Mission of the Body of Christ: amzn.to/2TJ8dtA
Link to purchase The Passion of the King of Glory: amzn.to/2TKTs9t
Link to purchase Struck: amzn.to/2P2984w
SHARE:
“When you see social media as a tool...when it’s not the main thing, then you can use it for good.” @russramsey on social media #artwednesday #findingholypodcast
“Story is a trojan horse for truth.” @russramsey on #findingholypodcast
“We hide scripture in the heart by way of imagination.” @russramsey on #findingholypodcast
DON'T FORGET:
-Subscribe to #FindingHolyPodcast
-Share a link o a favorite episode on social media. Screenshot it and send it to me. I'll send you a little gift in the mail! Email me your photo at findingholypodcast@gmail.com
#4 Bronwyn Lea on staying put
Bronwyn Lea is an author, speaker, activist, and most recently, editorial curator for Propel Sophia. She loves Jesus, puns, her home country of South Africa, her adopted country of the US, her endlessly patient husband, her three goofy kids, wisdom and justice, seeing women thrive in the Kingdom, and quality ice-cream (in no particular order).
As a response to the interview, I simply invite you to pray. As you pray consider these questions from Bronwyn:
Can you start by processing things with God in private? Tell God what I’m sad and mad about.
Is this between just God and me? Do I need to speak out? Do I need to be quiet?
Secondly, I'd love to hear if you took one small step towards being hospitable with your neighbors. Try something like a Trader Joe's Open House. Tell me all about it.
As always we love when people subscribe and leave reviews on iTunes! When we get to 20, the first 20 reviews will get a free "Finding Holy" journal! (Screenshot it and send it to me at aahales AT gmail).
Links:
aahales.com/
Bronwyn's website: bronlea.com/
Twitter: @BronLeaTweets
Propel Sophia: www.propelwomen.org/content/propel-sophia-landing-page/gk9bjk
#3 Jen Michel on finding home in a big city
We want the Finding Holy Podcast to help connect the dots between the things that matter and your everyday, holy life. Find out more at aahales.com/podcast.
Here’s one small step to take to do just that:
Take a walk. With or without a dog or kids. This allows you to meet neighbors and begin to hear their stories. So schedule a walk in your neighborhood this week. Simply start paying attention to the needs around you. As you walk more regularly, you’ll meet people, see needs to meet, and make time and space to pray and reflect.
GIVEAWAY
Leave a review on iTunes and I’ll contact you to receive your free Finding Holy journal for the first 20 reviews!
LINKS:
Link to purchase Teach Us to Want: amzn.to/2EkuI4n
Link to purchase Keeping Place: amzn.to/2Cg6CVI
Jen’s website: www.jenpollockmichel.com/
Twitter: @jenpmichel
Share: “We can actually look at salvation itself as an act of housekeeping.” -@jenpmichel on home, Toronto, laundry and paradox for the #findingholy podcast with @aahales: apple.co/2CeiHLg
#2 Alan Noble on your digital life
In the first episode of “The Finding Holy Podcast,” I sit down to talk with Alan Noble, author of the book Disruptive Witness. We talk about everything from Twitter, Instagramming your hike, to best practices online, his book, ironing, dressing nicely and doing the laundry. Find out more at https://aahales.com/podcast
ONE SMALL STEP
Connect the dots between the things that matter and your everyday, holy life: 3 questions for you as you consider how to interact in online spaces: What are my triggers? (Do I go to Twitter when I’m angry, sad or lonely? What are other ways I might deal with my emotions?) What is a healthy amount of time to be online? (And, when am I consciously turning off?) What practices might I take up to engage with God, myself, or others this week? (Try taking a walk like Alan).
LINKS
Link to purchase Disruptive Witness: https://amzn.to/2P2ZnnL
Christ and Pop Culture: https://christandpopculture.com/
Alan’s website: oalannoble.com
Twitter: @TheAlanNoble
SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!