The Spacious Place, with Kari Levang

O, begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises…Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way: else you will be a trifler all your days. …Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow. Do not starve yourself any longer.   John Wesley   Today's episode is a conversation with my friend Laurine, who has been courageous with Jesus...

In this episode my guy, Mike and I chat a little bit about our big move! The idea was to share the move, but once we starting chatting we ended up talking about so much more! Things like marriage, mistakes, forgiveness, desires, dreams and so much more. If you don't know Mike it's a great way to get a peek into what he's like—-and if you do know him….well, you'll just love hearing his heart in thi...

Explore with delight, as though you and God are learning together how to make the day special for both of you.   Ruth Haley Barton   We can choose to make a careful exploration of our lives (formation), no matter what we're doing. That's the coolest part about being one that God delights in—it doesn't happen only when we are doing something "spiritual". Last week as I was packing, I found myself b...

The most helpful thing any of us can say about spiritual transformation is: I cannot transform myself, or anyone else for that matter . What I can do is create the conditions in which spiritual transformation can take place by developing and maintaining a rhythm of Spiritual practices that keep me open and available to God. Ruth Haley Barton   I might be biased but the guest on today's episode is...

"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." CS Lewis   We talked a little about why formation matters last week and I want to continue in that vein of conversation today, but with a twist. What next??? What does it look like to even begin this process?   I want to talk about a simple process that Paul has laid out in a letter to the church of Colosse. He...

Spiritual people are not those who engage in certain spiritual practices; they are those who draw their life from God.   Dallas Willard   Last week we talked about spiritual formation and a little bit about what it is—-this week we'll explore together why it matters.   What it is that would move us to engage with God in His formation processes. I think you might be surprised to hear some of the th...

"The most important discover you will ever make is the love the Father has for you. Your power in prayer will flow from the certainty the the one who made you likes you, he is not scowling at you, he is on your side. Unless our mission and our acts of mercy, our intercession, petition, confession, and spiritual warfare begin and end in the knowledge of the Father's love, we will act and pray out o...

I think all of us can relate to feeling like we've been in a long season of lots of change.—-some more than others, of course. In today's episode I'll talk through a few of the things that I'm clinging to as I get ready to enter into a major change for Mike and I. Join me as I share how I'm planning to navigate this next season with God, myself and with others.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8   I think it's safe to say that the last couple of years have been anything but easy. In this first episode of 2022, I will share some of the intentions that I plan to carry with me into this new year, things that will better equip me to live well. And, I'm also going to let you in on a few of the things that I'm asking God and o...

"You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you."   ― Barbara Sher   In this episode, my 100th episode I'll share a few of the things I've learned along the way as I've stayed in this process of trying something new, trusting God with the obedience of what He's invited me into, wi...

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will. James Stevens   In this episode I wanted to take a look at the Christmas story through the lense of Mary and share a couple of the things that stood out to me. This middle age woman has so much to learn from the faith of a teenager who lived a couple of thousand years ago and I think you may just find some things you've got to receive as wel...

Proverbs 18:24 "Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin." The Message : True friends will be with you through life's most soul-shaking changes.   Well friends, this episode is a little longer than normal because I sat down with   my dear friend Karin Peabody. I've shared before that God gave me a team of 4 amazing people as He led me through the wonde...

It is in the context of relational intimacy that real life change takes place. Ruth Haley Barton It seems simple, but in this episode I'll share how I've found that practicing this with others, makes this not only possible, but delightful at the same time. As I've invited others to come along over and over again, I'm finding that two really are better than one! Today we talk about how realizing th...

To pray with soul and body means praying with all of who we are: our physicality, our emotions, our intuitions, our imaginations, our minds, and all of our experiences. Therefore, when we pray with body and soul, or love with body and soul, we are believing, responding, surrendering with all of who we are. Jan Vennard     In this episode, we'll talk about the next two rhythms that I've found to he...

Today's episode is all about preparing our own hearts as we prepare to go and be with those we will celebrate with over the holiday season. There are a few practices that I have been using that I've found helpful, so I thought I'd share them with you! Some simple ways to pay compassionate attention to yourself, as you get ready to step into a room with people who it may, for some reason, be hard,...

God is forming us into new people. And the place of that formation is in the small moments of today. Tish Harrison Warren Today we're going to start with the first two things that I have found to be vital pieces in the process of clinging to what is good in my own life.    Paying attention, (which I believe is a cultivated art), is the first one and as we work at it, we get better and better, and...

Paul never forgets that we are embodied creatures. Everything we think, say or do, we do in a body. Presenting our bodies means staying aware each day that our body is the primary location in which we actually express our heart, soul, strength and mind. Frank Crouch   In this episode I'll lay the foundation for our conversation around the invitation to Cling to what is good in Romans 12. We'll go...

Intimacy can be hard. Especially when we haven't even figured out how to be ourselves with ourselves yet.   But we don't need to dodge ourselves. We can do the slow work of paying attention and when we're ready, we'll can let others into the process with us. Psalm 139 is a great pathway to practice this kind of intimacy with the One who formed us. I'll share today a little about what this process...

The danger of coming to stay with me in our home in Central Oregon is that I will talk you into coming on the podcast and sharing things about your life:) This week I'm chatting with three of my sweet friends around Romans 12:9—-Love must be sincere; hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Each of us have had some big challenges in life that have allowed for us to exercise these directives an...

You guys!—today as I talk with Meg about the passage in Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good, we find ourselves swimming in the delight of God's love. But more than that, we talk all about what the process has been— and continues to be like for both of us as we wrestle with the truth that we are totally loved and delighted in, simply because God cannot be anyt...

Christ's invitation to the weary and heavy-laden is a call to begin life over again upon a new principle--upon His own principle. "Watch My way of doing things," He says. "Follow Me. Take life as I take it. Be meek and lowly, and you will find Rest." - Henry Drummond   Today we'll finish up our conversation around the Matthew 11 passage. We'll land on rest and spend some time talking about what th...

Back in the middle of August we talked about the invitation to Come, to Jesus with our weary and burdened selves.(Matthew 11:28-30) Join me this week as we unpack some thoughts around the next step of this invitation--- and we'll start with yokes. Not jokes, but yokes:) We're gonna talk not only about what they are but what makes them helpful.

Solitude is the place of purification and transformation, the place of the great struggle and the great encounter. Henri Nouwen   It's easy for us to romanticize what getting alone with God in solitude will be like. In this episode I'll share with you the discomfort and messiness of my time alone with Jesus and how it ultimately led me somewhere other than what I was hoping and expecting.

Today is me sharing with you spontaneously about what it was like to cling to what was good in my own discomfort. Hopefully me sharing how terrible I felt and what the struggle was like, to choose a different way, will lead you to some encouragement. If nothing else, you'll know you're not alone in have an occasional hard day.

When we are in touch with God's joy and peace in us (clinging to what is good), then we become whole and holy persons. Like living torches we radiate the light and heat of God's compassionate love. Mark Yaconelli   This week we'll continue our conversation about clinging to what is good, but we'll fast forward to what that looks like for me today. I'll share some of the ways that I have continued...