Coffeehouse Contemplative

We each have days that are personally meaningful to us. There are the more obvious ones like birthdays, relationship anniversaries, and holidays, but we each may also have days that we ourselves acknowledge and remember but that most others have no idea about unless we tell them. And yet marking those days is as important to us as the others, and maybe even moreso. Episode 36: No Perfect Time No P...

Pursuing your creative passion involves a certain amount of awkwardness, since you'll need time to develop yourself as a creator. But then when it comes time for the question of whether to share your creation with the world, that brings a new set of fears: of being laughed at, or rejected, or ignored. It can take a lot of courage to share your passion with others, but the possibility of finding yo...

On March 7th, my new book, No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith, officially releases. I take time this week to talk about where it came from and why I'm publishing it the way that I am, as well as read two entries. I'm excited to share this new creative work with my expanding listener base. No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith Episode 35: Ash Wednesday Episode 31: The Eject B...

Ash Wednesday--and the season of Lent in general--is known to be a time of humility, repentance, and being honest with ourselves about our shortcomings, mistakes, and mortality. With all that's going on in our world every day, why would we want to pile more on? This episode will explore the lesser desirable themes of the upcoming season, while also exploring their positive qualities (no, really, t...

We encounter moments for which we prepare carefully and with attention to as many details as we can. But then something might happen that demands our adaptation, testing our ability to change our approach in order to respond. If we try to stick strictly to the script, we may miss out on an opportunity for growth. But if we allow for this "eruption of the real" to happen, we may experience life mor...

We tend to associate the season of winter with scarcity, barrenness, and despair, where signs of life are more difficult to come by. It's also a season where we are left with all that we are facing, with less to shield ourselves from dealing with it. But even bare seasons can carry hope and redemption and the promise of new life, even if those things are harder to see. Whole 'nother Story - Februa...

Many people have a tendency to see illness in terms of failure, laziness, and weakness. This view places an extra burden on the sick and disabled, which are among the last things that they need. Rather than guilt and shame, those who suffer from illness need healing and support, as well as a re-framing of the meaning of illness in general. Episode 31: The Eject Button John 9:1-41 Music: "Reflectio...

What’s a moment where you long considered doing something different or letting go of something, and you finally did it because circumstances pushed you into doing it? We may dwell in hesitation and rationalization and safety for so long, but eventually reach a point where staying where we are is no longer an option. Sometimes it's less than ideal, but at other times, it's exactly what we need. My...

Our thoughts are often scattered by the number of different responsibilities that we have to keep track of, that any one of them is always in danger of not receiving our best effort. Before taking on any helpful tips or tricks regarding how to focus, we first need to explore the issues underlying our lack of focus, which often stem from our sense of self. Be Water, My Friend by Shannon Lee Zen in...

Anger is one of the most socially unacceptable emotions, in part because it makes others uncomfortable, but also in part because it is often expressed in destructive, harmful, and abusive ways. As a natural human emotion, anger is not wrong in itself, but what we do with it can be. Rather than avoid our anger, we should take time to understand it better, and to discern how best to express it. The...

Some practices that help reduce anxiety may involve breathing exercises or talking things out with others. But just as effective might be actions that involve taking it out - not on people, but on inanimate objects such as hitting a bag, stomping balloons, or going for a walk or run. Sometimes we need something much more active as a form of release to bring us back to ourselves. Episode 27: Just V...

The past few years have been marked by anxiety, for both national and personal reasons. So where do we find peace in the midst of this? How may we be able to calm and center our minds, hearts, and spirits not just to survive, but to truly live a life? What sorts of tangible actions could we take to tap into a vibe that sustains us? NEW WEBSITE Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the...

We are now in the season of Advent, a time of 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. It's a time of preparation for the celebration of birth, and to reflect on our need for God to do a new thing in the world. So in this final episode for 2021, I want to give a reflection meant to be a help you the listener in your own preparation leading up to this special time. Luke 2:1-20 John 1:...

Most people associate coffee with the morning, but coffee can be for the late hours of the day as well. For many who drink it this time, it may be when coffee’s practical uses truly come to the forefront.  But again, there can be another dimension to enjoying coffee after hours. Its spiritual potential is just as strong as earlier in the day. Episode 23: Coffee Meditation #1 Episode 24: Coffe...

Coffee has a reputation of speeding things up, but I think it can also have an opposite effect.  It can help slow us down and take stock of our surroundings. Coffee may be able to alter and enhance our awareness at the chemical level, but it can also alter our awareness at the mental and spiritual level by helping us take stock of what’s around us and within us. Episode 23: Coffee Meditation...

For some, coffee is essential to waking up. For others, it's a common cause and catalyst for socialization. It can aid in our ability to reflect and observe. This episode and the ones that will follow will be a series of meditations less about coffee itself and more about the larger experiences that it helps us enjoy. How to Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile Coffeehouse Con...

“Forgive and forget” is one of those terms that people sometimes trot out in times of trauma, especially when one person has inflicted it on another. But forgiveness isn’t that simple, in part because forgetting isn’t that simple. When we experience that level of injury, it lives in our bodies, minds, and spirits. How might forgetting play a role in our healing? Or can it? Epis...

We may tend to frame our need for healing from trauma or loss in terms of "letting go" or even forgetting what happened, as if we won't truly experience wholeness again until this past event is erased from our heart and mind. But rather than erase it from our lives (which isn't really possible), we may instead acknowledge that it is part of us, and incorporate it into our new and emerging sense of...

As we consider the habits and decisions that have brought us to where we are, that will especially include how this pandemic season has forced us to rethink and redirect parts of our lives. We’ve been presented with so many different changed circumstances that we can’t avoid taking into consideration that the question “what are you building” can’t be answered in the same way now. Episode 18: What...

The question "What are you building?" pertains to every aspect of our lives, but let's apply it to one thing: the church. Through this example, non-churchgoers may still be able to see how this may be applied in other ways. Episode 18: What Are You Building? Music: "Reflections" by  Wild Wonder

Many events in our lives or in the world happen because they’ve been building for a while, set in motion days, weeks, years ago by a series of decisions and factors. We may or may not know it at the time, but they helped contribute to where things are today. Are we able to analyze how certain things in our lives built to where they did? Can we pause to look behind and see what we’ve been building...

After admitting you can no longer do something and entering the bare season after, you may begin to get anxious about how long that season is taking. Maybe the answer involves a slow discovery or comes as a sudden epiphany. Either way, there are certain ways in which we may take active and intentional steps to figure it out. Episode 15: Sometimes You Can't Episode 16: A Bare Season Brian Cook, The...

Letting go of something can feel liberating. But then we may enter a new season where we wonder what's next, and it may take a while to figure that out. What can we do during this bare season that will help us discover what we may be called to produce next? Episode 15: Sometimes You Can't Luke 13:6-9 Music: "Reflections" by  Wild Wonder

We receive so many messages around us that no matter how hard things get, we should be able to push through. We're told to never say that we can't. And yet admitting that we don't have the energy, resources, or willpower that we really need could be the first step to greater healing and wholeness. Blog posts: Blank , Can't Handle This Bo Burnham, All Eyes on Me Music: "Reflections" by  Wild W...

It's been a long, low creative energy summer. But I'm ready to get this podcast back up and running with some new ideas and a slightly different approach. I hope that you didn't give up on me in the meantime, and that this episode popping up on whatever subscription feed you use is a welcome thing. Coffeehouse Contemplative: Spiritual Direction for the Everyday Episode 4: Practice Makes Proficient...