In this podcast, Geri and I introduce a foundation spiritual practice called the Community Temperature Reading (CTR for short). This is especially relevant as so many of us are under particular relational pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic. When Geri and I became followers of Jesus, we learned a number of spiritual practices, or disciplines, such as Bible study, worship, fasting, and prayer. Their purpose was to mature us in our love for God. We didn’t learn, however, spiritual practices to mature us into great lovers of people. It wasn’t until we hit our own Wall in our marriage that we realized this enormous gap. We also realized people were supposedly growing in love for God, but that this wasn’t translating into greater love for people. People with zeal for Jesus were often defensive, judgmental, critical, unapproachable and unsafe. And that included us! So we began the journey, in 1996, of developing spiritual practices, or skills,. Read more.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.                                                   Isaiah 30:15 In this podcast, I share a message from Isaiah 36-37 when Israel found herself under enormous pressure surrounded by the armies of Assyria. The year is 703 BC and the entire country is squeezed and weighed down under pressure from this invading army. Hezekiah, Israel’s king, responds brilliantly and leads God’s people to a restful place of trust in the living God – and to a deliverance from their enemies as well! The question, then, is how did he do it? Hezekiah does so in four very specific ways, offering a model for us as we lead amidst the pressure of the Corvid-19 pandemic:. Read more.

I am joined in this podcast by Geri as we address one of the great challenges we face during of this prolonged, stay-at-home time in which we find ourselves – our relationships.  Covid-19 has radically altered our relationships at work, in our families, and with our friends. Thus, learning to love well as Christ-followers is one of the most important things we can do in this season. In this podcast, we introduce a life-changing skill called “Clarify Expectations.” Unmet and unclear expectations create havoc in our places of employment, classrooms, friendships, dating relationships, marriages, families, and churches. We expect other people to know what we want before we say it (especially if they are invested in the relationship). The problem with most expectations is that they are:  unconscious unrealistic unspoken un-agreed upon We all know the unpleasant experience of other people having expectations we never agreed to. In order for an expectation to be. Read more.

In this podcast, I apply John of the Cross’ extraordinary work on the dark night written almost 500 years ago to the unique situation in which we find ourselves – a global, collective dark night of the soul. We may not know what God is doing, where He is going, how He is getting us there, or when this will be over. But I do believe there is one thing we can know: This is potentially a deeply transformational season in which God empties us of things hindering the inflowing of His life into the depths of our being. This dark night of loving fire is His invitation to allow Him to lead us by another road, cultivating a lifestyle of a more contemplative, a more patient, a more silent waiting on Him, offering Jesus space to invade us during this season. Why? He wants to do something extraordinary in us, so much so. Read more.

Geri joins me in this podcast as we share four ways to transition from surviving to flourishing during this COVID-19 pandemic. Using the framework of a Rule of Life (an intentional tool to help us remain in the center of God’s love), we share ways to structure our days amidst our involuntary isolation. Looking at the four areas of prayer, rest, relationships and work, we provide examples from our own lives to stimulate your thinking before God so you can create your own Rule of Life: In this podcast, we seek to answer the questions: Prayer – How do we rest in His love, and be still before Him, with all the anxiety around us? How do we pour out our sadness, anger, and fear before the Lord? Rest – How do we intentionally rest from paid and unpaid work each day rather than live in the guilt and anxiety of feeling unproductive? Relationships. Read more.

In this podcast, I apply more fully and specifically last week’s message from the story of Job on the three biblical phases of grief –to us personally and to our leadership. We live in a culture that values control and continued ascent through life. We like things rising, whether that be the stock market, the economy, the growth in our churches, or our conquering of problems. The problem is we are in a season of descent and decline. This pandemic’s disruption of our life plan reveals the illusion we were ever in control. There are three main approaches to the enormity of grief around us and our loss of control. The first, and most common, is to get busy and try to keep the momentum going strong. We may strive to hold things together by embarking quickly on new strategies and plans. The problem is that by pushing the sadness of this season to. Read more.