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Join Summer Gross and Christy Purifoy as they explore the profound role of beauty in spiritual life, placemaking, and community. Discover how cultivating beauty can nourish the soul, foster resilience, and reflect God's redemptive love. Read the transcript on substack HERE Find out how to join us at Maplehurst at summerjoygross.com/long-table-retreat Join Summer's newsletter list HERE and receive creative ways to rest in the Presence of God this weekend. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and the theme of beauty in summer 00:28 The reflection of divine beauty in everyday life 01:23 Christy Purifoy's journey into placemaking and beauty 02:02 Beauty as a priestly calling and creative expression 04:26 The significance of Maplehurst and place-based beauty 06:13 The story of finding Maplehurst and dreaming new dreams 08:23 The power of rootedness and cultivating beauty 09:19 The home as a character and sanctuary 10:21 Walking into Christy Purifoy's soul through her home 12:00 The smallness of our dreams and God's larger plan 13:17 Creating hospitality from the depths of the soul 14:43 Beauty as a hospital for souls 16:33 Music and beauty as sources of hope in hospitals 17:19 Beauty during difficult seasons and emotional nourishment 18:43 Balancing practicality and extravagance in beauty 19:42 The gift of retreat and divine rest 21:03 The importance of receiving divine gifts 22:28 The theology of beauty and delight in creation 27:11 Beauty as a reflection of heaven and restoration 36:30 Hope and resilience through beauty amidst global suffering 38:33 The joy of summer fruits and local abundance 42:26 The practice of evening poetry and emotional play 44:44 Transforming emotions into poetry for spiritual insight 45:13 The value of honest expression and naming feelings 45:27 Upcoming retreat at Maplehurst and invitation to join 46:20 Closing thoughts and gratitude for shared beauty

Many insecure avoidants have a hard time placing their fingers on their emotions. They feel more comfortable learning. They feel more comfortable conquering. It allows them to keep their emotions at a distance. But, when they sense a call to open up their inner life to God or they hit a wall and need greater emotional resources, I often invite them to read a Psalm a day, noticing the emotions that are being prayed. Then, I invite them to notice what emotions are coming up from within them. So friends, you're in for a treat. Leslie Leyland Fields, a writer and self-professed insecure avoidant shares the practice from the Psalms that taught her how to get out of her head and develop a heartfelt intimacy with God. She shares about it in her book, Nearing the Far God, but also in this conversation at the Presence Project Podcast. We'd LOVE to have you join us in person at The Long Table Retreat. Click HERE for more information.

Uncomplicating the Ignatian Examen & Reflecting w/ God as a Child If we are anxious or avoidantly attached, often as we move toward prayer, we sift and sort our stories ourselves, wondering which ones to tell God. We weigh our story and wonder if it is worthy. Will it hold his attention? Does it matter? Is it angsty or whiny? Am I showing enough faith or worship? If we grew up with an experience of impatience from our caregiver, we begin to believe that our story will not be treasured, that it's better not to try. That it needs to be weighty or witty or already metabolized before it is worth their time. So we begin to minimize the mess, believing we need to clean ourselves up before we come into His presence. Or maybe we think our story has to be maximized, over-spiritualized to be worthy of notice. Jesus reminds us to "come as a child" and that He has "all the time in the world" to hold our story. He may be omniscient, but, as a perfect caregiver, He still desires to hear every angle of our joy or pain through our perspective sifting and sorting it with us. Show Notes: Transcript and notes on Summer's new Substack here Beginner's Guide to the Examen Nightly Guide to the Examen: 7 ½ minute recording Creative Right-brained Examen with Sarah Herring Free Daily examen workbook page Andrew Huberman's podcast: Making and Breaking Habits

I loved reading chapter 1 of The Emmanuel Promise for you. You can watch me read it to you over at YouTube HERE. PRE-ORDER The Emmanuel Promise: Discover the Security of a Life Held by God wherever you find your books. $11.39 and free shipping at Baker Publishing's own site HERE. At this price, you can be generous with your whole book group. Pre-Order on Amazon here. Then, get your pre-order gifts HERE, including 2 private podcasts.

This episode is DAY 1 of a private 7-Day podcast devotional called "Welcome Home," a gift for anyone who pre-orders The Emmanuel Promise.  Pre-order from Baker Publishing for $11.39 and free shipping here! Pre-order from Amazon here After pre-ordering, get your gifts and join the launch team here. The Emmanuel Promise is an invitation to set down shame and recognize that your attachment story, your earliest relationship with your caregiver, may be what's obstructing your relationship with God. Your caregivers were human. Limited. Living with their own broken and imperfect story. God's love is lavish. He's . Compassionate. Perfect. But, since our neural pathways for relationships were created in those first three years, our brains have to be rewired to Perfect Love.

The neural pathways for relationship are developed in the first three years of a person's life. This affects even our relationship with God and is at the heart of attachment theory. Therapist Maggie Rhine, the head of the Healing Care Center, tells the story of her struggle to gain a secure attachment after having multiple surgeries as an infant.  "Looking at our attachment stories is not dishonoring to our parents. So many of them did the best they could. It is not blameworthy, or shame-worthy, but it is grief-worthy and we've got to name it and bring it into the presence of God so we can heal." Maggie Rhine Order Summer's book and learn more about how your attachment story has affected your relationship with God here: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/5... or here: https://a.co/d/4g3xdRX   Find out more about the Healing Care Center where Maggie and other experts work, a place where you can do intensive work on your attachment story, here: https://www.thehealingcarecenter.org/

Attachment theory and the many obstacles to a life immersed in the Trinity's Love Honest conversation about detaching to attach in our marriages Understanding our attachment story and style in order to heal and live out of knowing you are God's beloved. The simple, but profound spiritual practices which have been a gift for Terry Experience Terry Wardle lead you into Jesus' Presence through Safe Place   Pre-order The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God  with Baker for 11.49! HERE on Amazon HERE or wherever you get your books.   Check out Healing Care Ministries amazing offerings HERE   Terry Wardle has written a treasure trove of incredible books including Identity Matters and one of my favorites, Every Breath We Take, a book every Presence Project Listener will LOVE.   He also has a weekly podcast called Slingstones: Listen here.

The insecure anxious attached hope to get an "A" in Lent to try to be more worthy for God. They're afraid they have to clean themselves up before God wants to be in their presence. The insecure avoidant attached like to keep things more intellectual, reading about someone else's Lent. If they have sin in their lives, they think they have to go at it alone. The truth is that the Holy Spirit wants to be the One in charge of inviting us to new areas of increased freedom. He wants us to come to Him to become unbound. We were never meant to do this alone.  ............................................... PRE-ORDER The Emmanuel Promise: Discover the Security of a Life Held by God From Baker Publishing for $11.39 HERE From Amazon HERE Receive a mini-retreat right to your inbox based on podcast episodes by signing up HERE. I call it the Slow Weekend Starter Kit.

Preorder THE EMMANUEL PROMISE: Discover the Security of a Life Held by God Neuroscience. Attachment theory. The stories that shape our image of God AND the spiritual practices that invite us to experience His tender love to build attachment.  Just $11.39. Arrives April 30th   Writer  Summer Gross @revsummerjoy on Instagram The Presence Project on Patreon for monthly groups and online retreats The Presence Project on Facebook http://www.summerjoygross.com   Jodi Grubbs @jodi.grubbs on Instagram Live Slowly: A Gentle Invitation to Exhale ALSO on April 30th   Julianne Clayton: @juleclayton on Instagram Listen to the Remind{h}er podcast here.   Bette Dickinson @bette_dickinson on Instagram https://www.bettedickinson.com/ https://www.bettedickinson.com/all-art   Kris Camealy: @kriscamealy on Instagram https://www.kriscamealy.com/ An illustration of her sweet mixed media makings Kris' podcast: Refine Retreat, the podcast   Maeve Gerboth: @maeve_gerboth on Instagram Explore spiritual direction with Maeve.   Books and Resources: Kate Bowler On Being with Krista Tippett: On Having a Body https://onbeing.org/programs/kate-bowler-on-being-in-a-body/ Celtic Benedictions with J. Philip Newell Jamie Winship: Fearless Living Tanner Olson: Walking a Little Slower  David Benner: Soulful Spirituality John O'Donohue: Bless the Place Between Us  Get Summer's free resource to move through tangled emotions here.

Show Notes for Episode 66 with Alan Fadling:   Pre-order The Emmanuel Promise by Summer Gross for $11.39!!! HERE Find A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living by Alan Fadling HERE Pre-order Alan Fadling's newest book, A Non Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God's Presence which releases February 6th. Pre-Order here. Buy Steve Macchia's accessible book on Rule of Life: Crafting a Rule of Life HERE. Get Margaret Silf's book Inner Compass with chapters on Holy Desire HERE. Join Summer's twice-monthly retreat, Table of the Beloved to work on our Rule of Life together HERE. Get Summer's newsletter to receive mini-retreats through your inbox as well as more resources for your life as His Beloved HERE

Show Notes for Episode 66 with Alan Fadling:   Pre-order The Emmanuel Promise by Summer Gross for $11.39!!! HERE Find A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living by Alan Fadling HERE Pre-order Alan Fadling's newest book, A Non Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God's Presence which releases February 6th. Pre-Order here. Buy Steve Macchia's accessible book on Rule of Life: Crafting a Rule of Life HERE. Get Margaret Silf's book Inner Compass with chapters on Holy Desire HERE. Join Summer's twice-monthly retreat, Table of the Beloved to work on our Rule of Life together HERE. Get Summer's newsletter to receive mini-retreats through your inbox as well as more resources for your life as His Beloved HERE

What if we were invited to savor the holidays, the moments of delight we initiated as well as the unforeseen joys, all as gifts from our Emmanuel? For many, the holidays are full of reminders of pain and we either overschedule ourselves or numb, hoping not to pop up until after January 1st when all the painful nostalgia is over. Barb McMaster, a member of the Presence Project shares her practice of creating a delight list, the neuroscience of why it matters, and how we can experience God's joy in our joy. Episode 65 show notes: Pre-Order The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held with God here from Baker Books. And friends, thank you. Your pre-orders are the way booksellers make decisions of what books to stock on their shelves. FREE Savoring Christmas Delight Journal: Click here to start your journey to more joy this holiday Need to know that God sees you in the middle of your heaviness this holiday? Click here for the FREE Workbook will walk you through.  Barb McMaster, who was my conversation partner this episode, and a thoughtful and articulate guide, has created a podcast here. You can join the Presence Project including the twice-monthly retreat called Table of the Beloved @ www.patreon.com/thepresenceproject

How burning out from performance Christianity could actually save your life. AJ Sherrill teaches us how after burning out as a young church planter, he found a new rule of life based in contemplative prayer and discovered a depth to the Christian life he didn't know was available. And it all started with learning to slow down, and create rhythms of being with God throughout the day. Show Notes: A.J. Sherrill's website AJ's book: Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurobiology of Contemplative Prayer just $10 on Amazon. A wonderful resource Pre-order Summer's book: The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God Get on Summer's mini-retreat newsletter list to find out about groups and resources, including the upcoming Lectio Diving journal. Receive free 21 page workbook helping you go from overwhelm to emotional resiliency by clicking here.

In episode 63, I invite you fireside for a lectio divina 101 chat and together we answer Jesus' invitation in John 21:9-13 to "Come, have breakfast."   Show Notes: *Have Summer come lead at your gathering: [email protected] *Want to find out more about All Soul's Atlanta? Click here. *Philip Yancey's article, The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul. Read it here. *Summer's future book, The Emmanuel Promise has a chapter about lectio divina and free corresponding lectio divina videos throughout. Pre-Order Summer's upcoming April 2024 book, The Emmanuel Promise by clicking here.

This statement by my spiritual direction professor, Robert Woodcock, peaked my curiosity: "We sometimes forget that there are two people in this relationship, us and God. We forget that we are in a relationship with a Person with feelings and hopes and dreams for our life together.  Sometimes we are brave enough to ask God what He thinks but rarely are we brave enough to ask God how He feels."  With lectio divina, we slow down the Scripture so we can get to know God's heart.   Show Notes: Interested in finding out more about getting a 2 year spiritual direction certificate? healingcare.org/direction Want to listen to Jesus' heart through John? Start in the sister podcast, The Slow Word Movement, here. Want to join a group doing this LIVE? Join Table of the Beloved, patreon.com/thepresenceproject Pre-order Summer's book on looking at how we've shaped our image of God through the lens of our attachment wounds here.