Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

In this episode of the  Unhurried Living Podcast , Alan Fadling reflects on four striking insights from Frederick Faber’s  Spiritual Conferences , a classic work of Christian spiritual formation. These timeless passages speak directly into our modern struggle with busyness, pressure, and spiritual exhaustion.   Alan explores the surprising rhythm of the saints who “did f...

In this episode, Gem Fadling invites you to rethink the idea of “life balance.” Many of us try to keep every part of life perfectly calibrated, yet still feel overwhelmed and spiritually depleted. Instead of striving for balance, Gem offers a more compassionate and sustainable approach: cultivating a life rhythm shaped by God’s presence.   Through gentle guidance and four re...

Why don’t people trust the church anymore—and how can that change?   In this episode, Alan talks with Dr. Eric Mason, founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia and author of Rebranding the Church: Restoring the Image of God’s People in the World (Multnomah, 2025). Eric believes that rebranding the church isn’t about polishing its image&md...

A comforting, formational, year-end episode.   As the year comes to a close, many of us feel pressure to evaluate, wrap up loose ends, or “finish strong.” But maybe there’s another way. In this grace-filled conversation, Alan and Gem explore how to end the year without pushing yourself… and instead rest in the easy yoke of Jesus (Matthew 11:28–30).   Togeth...

Prayer doesn’t always move in one direction. Sometimes it feels rich and alive; other times, quiet and dry. But what if those ebbs and flows aren’t signs of failure, but signs of growth?   In this episode, Alan Fadling reflects on how prayer matures—not in a straight line, but like the slow, rising tide. Drawing on insights from Leonard Boase’s 1962 classic  The P...

When life feels overwhelming, empathy often becomes the very thing our souls are longing for. In this episode, Gem sits down with Bill and Kristi Gaultiere, founders of Soul Shepherding, to explore the healing power of empathy in the Christian life.   Drawing from their new book  Deeply Loved , they share how true empathy helps us trade self-judgment for grace, comfort emotional wounds,...

True success doesn’t happen overnight. In his new book  Gradually Then Suddenly , bestselling author and pastor Mark Batterson reminds us that God is often doing His deepest work slowly—beneath the surface, over time—so that when the breakthrough comes, we’re ready for it. In this conversation, Mark and Alan explore how faithfulness in small, daily choices pr...

During the holiday season, we can all feel overwhelmed and stressed. But what do you really need? And what would it look like to engage life with a deeper sense of agency and self-compassion? Today on Unhurried Living Podcast, we are replaying a conversation between Gem and Aundi Kolber as they invites us to embrace the transformative power of kindness toward ourselves. We’ll explore ho...

What if your morning didn’t begin with hurry, but with holy attention? In this episode, Alan Fadling shares how simple, grounded practices help him begin each day in God’s presence.   Over the years, Alan’s early “quiet time” has matured into a rhythm of relationship—an unhurried meeting with the Living God. He describes his morning flow of silence, Scriptu...

What happens when you spend an entire year learning from the life and wisdom of a trusted spiritual mentor? In this conversation, author and spiritual director Lori G. Melton shares her experience walking alongside the insights of Mister Fred Rogers, America’s favorite neighbor.   Drawing from her book Journey with a Giant, Lori invites us into a year-long spiritual practice of choosing...

What if reading could become a spiritual practice—not just for gaining knowledge, but for nourishing your soul?   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling talks with Jeff Crosby, author of  World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading, about the formative power of books. Together they explore how stories, poetry, memoir, and even Scripture can shape our hearts,...

Every day, we are bombarded with thousands of messages promising happiness, comfort, or even identity if only we buy the right product. But beneath the noise of advertising lies a deeper reality: we are already loved, already chosen, already whole in Christ. In this episode, Gem Fadling shines a light on how consumer slogans shape our sense of self and offers a way back to the truth of God’s...

Where do you turn when your soul feels thirsty? In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling reflects on Psalm 87:7, “All my fresh springs are in You.” We explore how God alone is our true source of renewal, even when we’re tempted to drink from counterfeit springs like busyness, control, or distraction. Drawing on the imagery of living water and daily bread, Ala...

Hospitality is more than setting a table or opening your home. It’s a posture of the heart—a way of seeing and responding to the people God places in your path. True hospitality flows from God’s generous welcome to us and creates spaces of belonging wherever we go. In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling talks with Laura Murray, author of Becoming a Person of...

What if rest isn’t a luxury—but essential to your calling? In this episode of the  Unhurried Living Podcast , Alan Fadling talks with Travis West, author of  The Sabbath Way , about how Sabbath can renew leaders from the inside out. Far from being just a “day off,” Sabbath is a way of living that restores joy, deepens trust in God, and sustains our calling in a pr...

For many of us, faith has been shaped by pressure to perform and produce. But in John 15, Jesus gives us another way: abiding in the True Vine. In this episode, Gem Fadling sits down with artist and author Bette Dickinson to explore how God as the loving Vinedresser leads us not toward exhaustion, but toward flourishing. If you’ve felt weighed down by striving or longed for a slower, more or...

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast , we explore the difference between work that flows from grace and love, and work that drains us because it’s fueled by fear, insecurity, or people-pleasing. Together we’ll talk about holy rhythms of work and rest, and what it looks like to return to the “easy yoke” of Jesus. If you’ve been feeling weary, overextended, o...

What’s the difference between rushing through a city and truly receiving it? In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast , Gem Fadling talks with Lauren Mouat—a writer, instructor, and licensed tour guide based in Tuscany, about how to travel with intention, depth, and presence. Lauren, originally from California, moved to Rome more than a decade ago and now leads tours through her...

What if you could hear the Psalms and Proverbs as if for the very first time? In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast , Alan Fadling talks with Terry Wildman, Ojibwe and Yaqui follower of Jesus, storyteller, musician, and lead translator of the  First Nations Version (FNV). Terry has spent decades sharing Creator’s story in ways that resonate with Indigenous hearts. After the wi...

What if your leadership wasn’t driven by hurry, but rooted in soul-deep transformation? In this episode, Alan and Gem Fadling explore how spiritual formation and leadership are meant to stay connected—and why separating them leads to exhaustion and burnout. We’ll talk about: Why leadership development often gets siloed from spiritual formation How unprocessed inner life shows up...

In a world where certainty, hot takes, and strong opinions dominate, what if curiosity and humility were actually the more faithful way of following Jesus? In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast , Alan talks with pastor, theologian, and professor A. J. Swoboda about his new book, A Teachable Spirit . Together, they explore what it means to cultivate intellectual humility as a spiritual di...

How do you move beyond shame and silence to discover your true worth? In this inspiring episode, Gem Fadling sits down with Eryn Eddy Adkins—founder of So Worth Loving and co-host of the God Hears Her podcast—to talk about healing, faith, and what it really means to find belonging in a safe, loving community.   If you’ve ever struggled with feelings of shame, not-enoughness,...

Many leaders wrestle with the question: If I slow down, will I still get anything done? In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan explores Jesus’ words in John 15 alongside the wisdom of farmer-poet Wendell Berry to reimagine productivity, not as frantic busyness, but as abiding fruitfulness. Discover a vision of work that nourishes rather than depletes, both for you and for thos...

Ever catch yourself jumping to conclusions… and being totally wrong? Or maybe you find it hard to admit when you're mistaken—especially when it's personal. That’s not just stubbornness, it’s cognitive bias, and it’s wired into all of us. But there’s good news: we can grow beyond it. In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling talks with Dr. Eri...

In this popular replay episode, Alan Fadling invites us into a deeply personal and practical reflection on anxiety, rooted in themes from his new book, A Non-Anxious Life . Alan shares his own lifelong journey with anxiety—how it shows up in his thoughts, emotions, and even his body—and how Jesus has been teaching him a better way: a path of peace. You’ll hear stories of travel d...