The Spacious Place, with Kari Levang

"The sweetest joys and delights I have experienced, have not been those that have arisen from a hope of my own estate, but in a direct view of the glorious things of the gospel…I felt an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise how to express….to be full of Christ alone; to love him with a holy, pure love; to trust in Him; to live upon Him; to serve and to follow Him."   Our work matters,...

Hey there! Thanks for coming to this space where honesty leads the conversation. I had no intention of recording this, but after some interaction with people on social media, I decided to go ahead and do it.  So, this is a follow up to a story I shared on Instagram/Facebook about a panic attack I had. There was enough engagement from people wanting to hear how I actually dealt with it, and shared...

God give us the grace to embrace mysteries we don't understand, The cruciform openness to live a tender surrender, into Your ways wiser and kinder than ours, and the deep shalom of simply being with You here, right here, with us.   —-Ann Voskamp   In this episode we're taking a journey through some passages of Scripture together to see that in all the mystery, there is one who invites us to commun...

1 Thessalonians 5:18…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   In this episode I'm having a conversation with some of our long time, dear friends, Joe and Amy Coy.  We spent some time talking about what living a life of thanks has been like for them. They shared with me (and now you:), what it has looked like for them in each of their vocational place...

John Bunyan called believing "sweating work". He once wrote, "He that undertakes to believe, sets upon the hardest task that ever was proposed to man…"     In this episode I'm talking a little bit about what it means to overcome evil. We'll talk about the reality of the battle we are in, as well as the fact that our Jesus has ultimately bought us victory. We'll talk of the communal nature of the b...

In this world, you will have trouble…John 16:33   We all experience struggles in this thing we call life. In this episode, I share how my own word battles around my worth led me on a hunt for an answer to this question. I don't know about you, but I often get quiet and choose to stay alone when things are hard for me, so after a long, hard day I decided to search around for how Jesus had been in t...

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Proverbs 4:26 Today my friend and I are talking about steadfastness…what it means, as well as how it is appropriated into our own lives as we live out our days with Jesus and one another.   We share some personal experiences around what it's looked like to believe God's steadfastness love for us, even when we blow i...

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8   This week we're talking about change…how to navigate it with new lenses and different tools. What would it look like to actually take the time to pay attention to yourself and honor the fact that you're in the middle of a disruption? I have been through major changes this last year and a half and I share a few of the things that...

How far can we go? How much is permissible? The Psalms suggest that we can go the whole way, that it is all permissible; the praise, yes, but also the grief, the sorrow, the anger… -Walter Brueggeman   In the Spacious Place, we often talk about freedom and I think in some ways it can get confusing for some---actually it used to be very confusing for me! So today I'm gonna share a little bit about...

This is a special episode to me! The woman who actually, without even knowing it, inspired me to start this podcast, is a guest on today's show! Cheryl Scruggs has a new book out called, 'Thriving Beyond Belief' and we're talking about this whole concept of thriving…what it is and what it isn't, as well as some of her own personal stories that included trauma and how she found herself thriving, ev...

"Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder." E.B. White   Jesus is not afraid to hang out with messy, unkept, sinners. In fact, that was his very plan from the beginning!   In this episode I am taking you back in time to parts of my story where I can see now that Jesus was there….wooing me, drawing me, even tho I wasn't ready to say yes. I'll show you how he was making deposits that woul...

A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty. —Unknown   A spacious place includes all the parts of us. Today I'm having a short chat with my 3 year old granddaughter Winnie that I thought might be fun for you to get in on with me. I mean, who doesn't love to hear about some of a 3 year olds favorite things?!!   If you need to smile today then this one's for you!  

I water you, you water me; we grow together. Brandon Nembhard   How would the Body of Christ look if our shifted from building our own kingdoms, to building His? This week my friend Laurine and I are having a conversation about the idea of being together. We talk through why we believe it matters, what gets in the way of us practicing it, and how we've grown along the way with one another.   Join...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; Acts 1:8   The trinity is both mysterious and confusing, comforting and wonderful. Today I'm having a conversation with Laurine from Breathe in Him podcast, about the Holy Spirit. We navigate some of the big thoughts around who He is and why it matters to know the truth about the trinity through God's word, as well as some of the nuance...

If you feel like you're not valuable Let me tell you there's more….from Lauren Daigle's song "Valuable"   There are so many new people engaging with the Spacious Place, so today I decided to do a little introduction to who I am and how this podcast came to be. I'm sharing some bits of my own story and how God and others moved me to a new space--- and how I couldn't keep it to myself! Even if you'r...

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24   Are birthdays fun for you or do they have an element of hard to them? This episode is two days after my 54th birthday, so I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I've learned, what I'm still learning this year, and how it feels in the middle of all of that! Come along with me as I share what this year...

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." -Viktor E. Frankl   Do you ever talk to fill in quiet spaces? Or know someone who does that? Me too! Today we're talking about someone in the Bible (spoiler alert...it was Peter:)--- who often did the same thing. We'll look at a story in Mark where t...

"You can withstand life's rhythms of waves as long as you have your own interior sacred rhythms with God who rocks you safe. "   Often when we think about creating habits, it's at the beginning of the year or a marker birthday, not in May.   But in light of the habits that we already have in place, it can be helpful to determine whether they are working or if there are other ways we can use our ti...

Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen. Brene Brown   In this episode, I gathered with a group of women that chose to link arms and entrust one another with our vulnerable places in regards to the creative adventures we were all beginning during our middle age season. Here we are 4 years later, and not only do we still love one another, but our relationship has deepened treme...

God speaks to Adam and halts him in his flight. Come out of your hiding place…our of your self torment….confess who you are, do not lose yourself in religious despair, be yourself, Adam. Where are you?     —Dietrich Bonhoeffer   In this episode I'm sharing about something my friend in Sierra Leone Africa shared with me about living courageously. I'll tell you her story and then unpack with you wha...

  "Waiting is just a gift of time in disguise——a time to pray wrapped in a ribbon of patience——because, is the Lord ever late?"   Ann Voskamp   Do you ever feel like the weather outside lines up with the condition of your heart? I sure do. Today I'm talking about how an early morning peek out the window opened my heart and mind in such a way for God to speak to my soul. His invitation to join Him,...

1 Thessalonians   5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.   "The greater the obstacle, the greater the opportunity for healing."   —-Laurine   My friend Laurine has been on the Spacious Place podcast a couple of times before and I just love chatting with her because it is honest. She is one of the most tenacious pursuers of Jesus— and mind, body...

Charles Swindoll…Intimacy with The Almighty I'm finally learning that His Sovereign plan is the best plan. That whatever I entrust to Him, He can take care of better than I. That nothing under His control   can ever be out of control. That everything I need, He knows about in every detail. That he is able to supply, to guide, to start, to stop, to sustain, to change and correct in His time for His...

I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.     Leo Tolstoy   In this episode we're gonna talk about the language of love and why it matters. I'll share some ways Mike and I have missed the mark and how we're still learning and growing one day at a time. I'll also give you a tip that someone gave me years ago t...

Maturity requires the integration, not amputation of what we have received thru our conception and birth, our infancy and schooling.   Today's episode is just days away from my 6 year anniversary of Freedom from captivity. I'm sharing what it's looked like for me, what freedom is and what it isn't, and hopefully I'll leave you with hope as you navigate your own journey with Jesus and others.     L...