Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

It’s a fun episode today, because tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of Alan’s first book, An Unhurried Life. It is still gaining momentum and finding its audience. The word unhurried just really resonates with people. There’s a longing that people have, within our noisy, rushed culture, for a deep breath and a felt sense of peace. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about...

Here's another prayerful practice you can use in the middle of a busy day to help you become present and remember that God is with you. We’ll envision ourselves on the ocean shore and I’ll share a few phrases from Psalm 42 and Psalm 145. So set aside what you are doing for a moment and let’s enter into the Ocean of God’s Love. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about adv...

Join us on our podcast today as we talk about our "normal condition" and about living from within the source of it all...God Himself. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us .

Spiritual friendship is a life-giving gift we give ourselves and others. There are likely people in your life who are struggling with self-doubt, fear or other issues. You can be a loving, listening ear and a quiet voice of encouragement. A simple sentence or two, shared at just the right time, may have a huge payoff in that person’s life. Don’t ever think that what you have to offer is too small....

In these weeks following Easter, our church community has been focusing on “Resurrection: A New Life of Love.” The essence of the risen life is love. Living a risen life is living in Jesus’ way of love. We live in Southern California, and it can be a very hurried place. I have a little made up word to describe one way I experience the chronic hurry of our region. The word is “gronk.” “It is a cont...

I recently re-read Tina Fey’s Bossypants which is a really fun read. I was reminded about the four rules of Improv. It sent me on an online search for the rules and I stumbled upon the 11 Commandments of Improv by Del Close. Del Close was a coach to many of the Saturday Night Live greats like Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner and dozens more. It’s amazing how these simple rules can h...

We’re talking about “Addiction” today. This isn’t so much about the substances, or relationships, or activities to which we find ourselves addicted. It’s more of a conversation about how the dynamics of addiction impact us. When we act on addictive impulses, it is like borrowing against future emotional resources. Having a few too many drinks to feel lighthearted or relaxed is like borrowing peace...

What's it like to be a reservoir kind of person? Wouldn’t you like to live, relate and serve from a place of fullness, rather than continuing to pour out the last drop from your ever-emptying cup? We can learn how to treasure the goodness God is always pouring out to us, storing it up like a reservoir of abundance out of which we might bless and serve others without becoming empty. We can make spa...

Engage with us as we talk about a dynamic that some will face in their spiritual journey, what John of the Cross called “The Dark Night of the Soul." It sounds kind of ominous and scary, but it’s actually just a place where our faith is given an opportunity for testing and refining. That doesn’t mean it feels good to us, but it is a good place. A while back, Alan wrote an article about the da...

Right now, we find ourselves in the season of Lent, and a few weeks ago, Alan wrote a blog post titled “Lent: An Invitation to True Satisfaction.” He said that, "In Lent, rather than aiming at acquisition, we aim for some form of openness or even empty space. Fasting results in empty stomachs. Self-denial can quiet our selfish ambition." But the “empty” here isn’t a vacuum. It is a welco...

We made our way through quite a few rooms of the Hermitage. The interiors were jaw dropping, the paintings gorgeous. And, as Alan said, he had been there before, so he knew when we were nearing the original painting we were most looking forward to seeing, which was Rembrandt's Prodigal Son. He gave me a brief warning as we turned the corner, "Get ready." We rounded the corner and entered...

In this mini-sode, we want to share eight simple ways you can bless people. These are actually drawn from a resource we produced a year ago, called "Take Five: 17 Simple Ways to Serve Others." That was before we launched this podcast, so I wanted to share some of the helpful ideas with you all. These little "five minute" ideas aren't complex. That's actually the point. You coul...

Many years ago, I (Gem) was having a conversation with a very dear friend. As we interacted, she shared some insights about me that I had not directly told her before. No one could have known, because I had not shared with anyone. She was quite observant, but I was still surprised when she shared with me her thoughts. I asked her how she knew. She said, "I know you because I pray for you.&quo...

Today, it is my delight to share a conversation that I had with Emily P. Freeman. As I've followed her on Instagram, read her blog and enjoyed her podcast - I've found her to be a true kindred spirit. She is singing the same song as as Unhurried Living - as she shares the message of small moment living in a face paced world. A little about Emily - She is a writer, creative director, and spiritual...

Today is the last in our five-part series where we've been responding to your answers to our poll question: "What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?" We received a whole grouping of answers that were all about life's seasons, stages and transitions. " We have the mom with young children at home trying to figure out how anything resembling un...

This is the fourth in a five-part series sharing answers to the question: "What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?" Here are the questions on priorities that arose from our community: I want to be able to serve without overdoing it. How do we deal with the impulse to procrastinate as it relates to priorities? How do I deal with urgent things that...

Thanks for joining us today. You're really going to enjoy what our guest, JK Jones, has to share about what he's learned from the Monks. He wrote a book a while back titled: What the Monks Can Teach Us . We enjoyed sharing some of the ways that monastic writings, monastic communities and monastic practices have been a source of grace and wisdom for us in our journey with Jesus. You'll also appreci...

Today is number three in a series where we are sharing answers to our survey question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” This week, we’re talking about “Distractions and Soul Busyness.” Let’s take a look a look at five of the questions that came up within this theme to see if we can find a little more freedom in our everyday lives. 1 - The internet...

Thank you for joining us today. Over the course of our first few episode of the new year, we are sharing answers to our poll question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” This is the second podcast in that series. Last week, we talked about “Nine Practical Challenges to Living Less Hurried.” This week, we’re talking about “Dealing with Workplace Stre...

Last year we polled our community and asked them a key question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” Very simple. Very practical. We got some great responses. We arranged the responses into five categories which will be the theme of some of our upcoming episodes. Those themes are:  Practical Challenges to Living Less Hurried  Dealing with Workplace...

The Welcoming Prayer is a process that you can use on the go. It is useful for times when something comes up that makes you feel sad, hurt, or stressed. Sometimes, in the middle of a busy day, we don’t have time to address all of the emotions that come up. But we may notice here and there that an emotion is quite loud. We need a way to deal with it and continue on in our tasks or work. In just a f...

Great news - I have found a way to reduce much of the stress in my life. Actually, let me re-phrase that: A way to reduce much of the stress in my life found me. I wasn’t looking for this stress reducer, but it hit me like an 18-wheeler and set me on a new path. Much of the stress in my life is caused by my expectations, as well as my trying to control situations so they turn out the way I think t...

Well here we are in December. The Thanksgiving holiday is behind us and the Advent and Christmas season lies ahead. We hear the songs that are calling this the most wonderful time of the year, but it can sometimes feel like the busiest and most hurried time of the year. There are just so many details to solve, so many social gatherings, so many responsibilities. We can end up feeling so rushed tha...

The ultimate reality is that we are loved by God, just as we are and as he made us (our true self). However, as we grow up, and over time, we begin to construct a false self. The false self is who we wish we were. It is the person we want others to think we are. We compensate for a world that is not what we thought it would be. Over time, we begin to believe the false self is actually us. But we g...

In this episode, we are talking about pain and loss. It is an inevitable part of all of our lives. We want to try to give some perspective on pain and how it can actually be viewed as a grace. If you are in the middle of deep pain right now, I’m sure that the word “grace” is not on the tip of your tongue. We are so sorry that you are so heavy and burdened right now. We hope you can hear this and t...