Coffeehouse Contemplative

Social media can be a wonderful place of information, connection, and affirmation. It can also be incredibly addictive, and detrimental to our minds and spirits.  NEW ADVENT EBOOK: Four Weeks: Reflections for Advent Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey The Nap Ministry Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

In honor of the upcoming release of my new Advent ebook, Four Weeks: Reflections for Advent , I thought I'd take the time to talk a bit more about the books I've already published. This week I focus on the two books I've written that connect faith with pop culture, as well as my previous ebook. Episode 61: All My Books, Part 1 Wonder and Whiskey: Insights on Faith from the Music of Dave Matthews B...

In honor of the upcoming release of my new Advent ebook, Four Weeks: Reflections for Advent , I thought I'd take the time to talk a bit more about the books I've already published. This week I focus on the two books I've written about spiritual practice. Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday Prayer in Motion: Connecting with God in Fidgety Times Music: "Reflections" by Wi...

This week's episode was almost a bad idea, but then I realized that and changed it. How do we spot a bad creative idea, and what makes it bad? I explore that while sharing a few bad ideas I've had over the years. PRE-ORDER MY NEW ADVENT EBOOK: Four Weeks: Reflections for Advent Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

What do you do when some part of your life just...stops? It was a part of your meaning-making and helped form part of your identity, and now it's just not there any more? What are our options when we suddenly have to start over? 30 Days of Writing My Month of Writing, Derailed My books My monthly newsletter Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Remembering and giving thanks for the life of a recently departed mentor, the Rev. Richard Plant. Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

When is an ending really an ending? What does it look like to measure our lives less by calendars and clocks and more by seasons? Changing our perception of the ebbs and flows of our lives may help us identify signs of change, both past and present. Episode 52: Enjoy the Day Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman Managing Transitions by William Bridges and Susan Bridges Music: "Reflections" by Wil...

Sometimes we do everything as best we can when discerning a new venture, but once we begin we may still discover that it wasn't the right fit after all. What could cause this, and how might we react after? Episode 55: Notes on Discernment Episode 48: This, Too, Is a Lesson Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

So many things factor into a good and faithful process of discerning what we are called to do. Here are 8 factors (among others) that are important to consider when figuring out where we may be meant to go next. Episode 54: Don't Say That Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday Jeremiah 20:7-12 Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

When we consider trying something new, how often might we tell ourselves that we might be too young/old/inexperienced/quiet/outgoing/etc. to actually do it? We might be depriving ourselves by squashing our ambition before we start, or soon after we try. The story of Jeremiah's call helps give insight to moving past these initial statements. Jeremiah 1:4-10 Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

What keeps us from trying something new? It could be a variety of factors, some rational and others less so. But how do we know whether it will be good for us until we actually venture out and do it? Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We take such great pains to try to tame or "seize" time, because we're often told that this is the way to measure our worth. But there's a different way to approach the limited amount of time that we have, and it's by something besides our calendars and to-do lists. Episode 51: Summer Sabbath Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith Music: "Reflections...

The podcast is taking July off, so this will be my last episode for a month. To that effect, I want to reflect on the concepts of rest and sabbath, and why they're so important and necessary to experience a full and joy-filled life. Genesis 1:1-2:4 Sabbath by Dan Allender Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Brueggemann The Nap Ministry My website My books My newsletter Music: "Reflections" by Wild Won...

Have you ever spoken to or sought guidance from a loved one or mentor who is no longer living? If you've never done so, it's not that strange of an idea. Biblical and spiritual writers offer some ideas on how to do this, but it's really as simple as imagining their presence and talking. Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday (my first book) Hebrews 11-12:3 All the Ways Our...

What truths about ourselves might we be avoiding, and why are we avoiding them? It may be because to address them is to experience discomfort and pain. But that discomfort and pain will also bring growth and greater wholeness. Millenneagram by Hannah Paasch Proverbs 8 All the Ways Our Dead Still Speak by Caleb Wilde Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We may not always realize it, but everything we go through has the potential to teach us something. It may not be the first thing on our mind when it happens, but eventually we can look back and identify what we learned from both the most joyous and tragic moments in our lives. Episode 46: Further Thoughts on Healing Acts 2 Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

At the end of a hard month that has brought tragedy and uncertainty about the future, it's important to give voice to our anger, sadness, and anxiety. This week's episode explores the theology of lamentation and offers a brief guide on how to do it. Lamentations 3 Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We may recognize when we're in need of healing. But there are a lot of voices within and outside us that will work against us actually taking time to do it. Where'd those voices come from, and how can we discern which are truly worth listening to? Episode 45: A Hodgepodge Nerdette podcast, Aim for just okay Amil Niazi, " How the pandemic Made Me Lose My Ambition " Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wond...

I had a few different things on my mind this week, and rather than flesh any of them out into a full length episode, I decided to just talk about all of them. So here I talk about 1) the important messages our body sends us, 2) more thoughts on being a geek, and 3) Mother's Day. Episode 44: The Geeks Have Inherited the Earth Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

Books, movies, TV, and music help us make meaning and find community with fellow fans. They also provide ways to talk about faith and spirituality that Bible verses and theology books might not. Having just attended Cleveland Fan Expo, this sort of thing is on my mind, and so I talk about it. The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark I. Pinsky My pop culture books: Wonder and Whiskey: Insights...

After over 20 years of journaling, I’ve learned what works best for me. You may still be trying to figure out what works best for you. Here are some basic thoughts and tips for those looking to begin or improve their own journaling practice. A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren Moleskine notebooks   Zequenz notebooks Morning pages Music: “Reflections” by Wild Wonder

Many people of faith may have a strange relationship with Easter. It may be due to the past few Easters being so different due to the pandemic, or to the strange claims we make on this day, or to our pulling away from the faith community we’ve been a part of.  Luke 24:13-35 No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday  Mu...

Sometimes words are just words. But when we have stories, experiences, or personal connections to them, they become so much more. This includes the words and practices of Holy Week. NEW BOOK: No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith Music: "Reflections" by Wild Wonder

We have an internal voice that constantly tells us what we should be doing to make ourselves more worthy of love or acceptance. This voice may come from our family of origin, religious upbringing, or workplace environment, but it presses down upon us and stifles our joy and sense of meaning. What if we viewed the world in another way? NEW BOOK: No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith Praye...

Having a big dream for a new beginning or a changed lifestyle sounds great in our heads, but beginning to pursue them is something else entirely. The reality of what we need to do to make the change we seek is often jarring and discouraging. Carving out smaller steps and habits is the way to get past these times of frustration or hesitation. ALL MY BOOKS Amie McNee website Leaves from the Notebook...