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This week Brooklyn and Karen tackle the topic of intercession. Through intercessory prayer, we enter into the battle with another. We help each other bear burdens by praying. They dive into what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name” and how that relates to authority and abiding. Get ready, because this is an exciting task that has been set before us as we have all been called to intercede. 1. Jesus is our Great High Priest (see Hebrews 4:14-16). What does that mean in regards to our prayers? 2. Our prayers affect things. Does it excite you or scare you to know that you can partner with God? Have you considered the fact that our prayers are powerful or that you have authority? 3. What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? 4. We are hoping to affect the life of someone else, but every time we pray, we are being changed. How has prayer changed you? 5. Listening and abiding are vital elements to intercessory prayer. How are you doing at abiding? 6.1 Peter 2:5 tells us we are all priests. Intercession is for all of us. Who is it easiest to intercede for? 7. Intercession often means we pray for the long haul. How can you discipline yourself to persist? How can you encourage each other to persist? 8. Can you tell a story of a time when someone’s prayers on your behalf affected your life? 9. Share a prayer request and commit to praying for each other this week. 10. Get brave and pray for each other before you leave your time together.

  In this episode, Brooklyn and Karen discuss a form of prayer that you may have never considered, the prayer of rest. In this form of prayer, we enter into the stillness of God’s presence and learn to be with Him. It is a prayer of entering into Sabbath rest by letting go of distractions and becoming increasingly aware of God’s presence. This form of prayer strips us of our need to be productive and teaches us a new trust in God. After listening to this podcast, find a friend or small group and use these questions to continue the discussion:     Prior to this spring, what “forms” of prayer were you familiar with? What type of prayers were you most apt to pray? Are there certain types of prayer that feel more or less comfortable to you? (like love languages) Have you ever prayed “genie” prayers, expecting God to grant your wishes? What is the faulty view of God that underlies these prayers? Have you ever prayed “vending machine” prayers, trying to figure out the “exact change” needed to get the object of your desire? What is the faulty view of God underlying these prayers?  How does the prayer of rest begin to free us from bondage to wrong views of God and thus change our prayers? Read Psalm 40:1, 4 How does the prayer of rest build trust? Why are we prone to activity instead of waiting on God? Have you been able to achieve a place of stillness and focus and listening in prayer? What has been helpful to you? What have the benefits of that time been in your life? Make a commitment to attempt the prayer of rest each day this week. If you have never done this before, start small (a few minutes). Tell your group what you are committing to.  Keep trying, even if you struggle to stay still or quiet.

In this episode, Brooklyn and Karen chat about Praying the Ordinary. Karen starts by laying a foundation for the understanding that sacred and secular are intertwined.  Brooklyn then shares three ways of praying the ordinary and explains how even our work can become prayer.  This episode is sure to get you thinking about the intersection of faith and life and our need to be more aware of God’s presence in all things. After listening, we encourage you to use these questions to continue the conversation with a friend or small group: Draw a diagram of your relational spheres. How many spheres are you juggling? How do you “change” when you enter the different spheres? Can you recognize the toll it takes on you to manage these transitions from one sphere to the next? Do you put God in His own sphere? How often do you think about the fact that God is with you at all times? What might be the results of living with God in a box? How does your life change in the times when you are more aware that God’s presence goes with you throughout your day? Have you ever thought of your work (your vocation, your chores, your volunteering) as prayer? How does this concept change the way you work? Have you ever spent a day looking for God in the midst of the ordinary? Where did He show up? As you have practiced the prayer of Examen, where have you seen His presence in your week? How does looking for God in life's ordinary experiences change how we live? We can pray the ordinary by praying amidst the mundane parts of our day. What things are catalysts for prayer in your ordinary life? How will you implement the Prayer of the Ordinary in the coming week?

In this episode, Karen and Brooklyn discuss the Prayer of Examen.  This prayer is a helpful tool in reflecting on our days and processing them with God.  Through the process of examen, we open ourselves not only to the Holy Spirit’s scrutiny but also His love as we learn to see how God was present in each day.  This practice may sound daunting, but we hope you walk away filled with the desire to know God more deeply through the prayer of examen.   We encourage you to dig deeper into this discussion by continuing the conversation with a friend or small group!   Questions for discussion: Have you heard of the prayer of examen before or was this a new concept? What stood out to you in this podcast? Why do you think we are so resistant to this practice (why has the American church not made this a common practice)? Do you go through your days largely unaware of God’s presence? What practices do you use to remind you of God’s presence throughout the day? When are you most aware of God’s presence? The examen of consciousness (consolation) aids us in becoming more aware of God and how God uses events, people and places for our good.  Think back over the past 24 hours.  Can you share an example of how God blessed you or showed Himself to you in the past day? The examen of conscience (desolation) reveals those things in our lives that are not working for our good, such as selfishness and sin. What about this process sounds daunting?  What about this process sounds good? Psalm 139: 23, 24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of life.” These verses are helpful as we go before the Lord in the process of examen. Why do you think David is so eager to have the Lord search him? What do we know about God that can help us be more eager? (What attributes of God make Him trustworthy in this process?) Psalm 24 “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.” Brooklyn cautioned that we cannot do this process without God.  What is the danger in reflecting on our day without God’s help? Have you ever done this?  How did it go? Do you tend toward making excuses or shaming yourself? Are you a journaler?  Why do you like or shy away from journaling?  How could journaling be beneficial in the process of examen? Last week you made a covenant to pray daily.  This week we encourage you to practice the Prayer of Examen each day. Follow the five steps discussed in the podcast as you allow God to examine you.

We are back for the second week in our season on prayer. Today Brooklyn and Karen explore Covenant Prayer.  Covenant prayer is a commitment to pray.  When we make a covenant, we tell God we will regularly meet Him in prayer. While this commitment feels restrictive, it is actually freeing and brings greater connection to the Lord. As you listen consider making your own covenant to meet daily with the Lord in prayer. We encourage you to listen and then discuss the podcast with a friend or small group.  Begin your time together with prayer.  Invite the Holy Spirit to guide your conversation. Do you thrive in routine and order (like Brooklyn) or resist them (like Karen)? Do you fear committing to daily prayer?Why? Which of the fears about commitment do you most resonate with? (fear that boundaries take away freedom, fear that commitment will take away spontaneity and joy, fear of failure) Have you ever made a covenant to pray?  How does knowing God is gracious and merciful help alleviate your hesitancy to commit? Talk about the Covenant of Time. Think about your schedule, what might work for you as an established time for prayer? What would you need to do to make this commitment (how will you protect this time?)? What might you need to eliminate from your schedule to make time for prayer? What distractions do you anticipate? Talk about the Covenant of Place. Do you have an established place for prayer? If you do, tell the group about it.  If you don’t, what might your ideal place be like? Have you made a covenant to this group?  Have you fully committed to meeting with this group, or do you go when it is convenient? Consider making a covenant with each other. Talk about the Covenant of Heart Preparation. How might you better prepare yourself to meet with God each day? How can you cultivate a holy expectancy for your times of prayer? Make a Covenant to Pray daily for the next week.  Tell your group when and where you will pray.  What are you committing to? Hold each other accountable to this commitment.

Welcome back to another season of Looking Above.  We desire each episode to encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what life throws at you. This season we are tackling the topic of prayer.  What is it? How do we do it? Why should we pray? Each week we will talk about a different type of prayer.   In this episode, Brooklyn and Karen talk about some of their experiences with prayer and then discuss “simple prayer.” Many of us have never thought about or discussed different types of prayer.  We just pray. Join us as we learn how we can deepen our prayer lives as we gain a greater understanding of prayer.   If you want to go deeper still, we encourage you to find a small group of friends and have a discussion after listening to this episode. Here are some questions to guide your discussion:   Can you remember the first time you prayed? (or the first time you prayed out loud?) Share that experience. What is your history with prayer? What have you been taught about prayer? Do you have any big prayers you have prayed that come to mind? Were they answered as you desired? Were they answered in the timeframe you desired? How do you feel when God “doesn’t” answer a prayer, or doesn’t answer as you expected? What do you tell yourself about that experience (for example “Maybe I didn’t pray right.” ) Why don’t you pray (or don’t you pray more often)? What does that reason reveal? When you do pray, what do you pray for? Do you pray “simple” prayers? Are you authentic with God, or do you feel the need to tone down, filter, and sterilize your prayers?  In simple prayer “we” are the focus.  We pray for ourselves and about ourselves. We bring our needs, wants, concerns, hurts, sorrows, joys, complaints, anger, raw emotion, and unfiltered words to God.  What about that feels scary?  What about that feels freeing? Read Psalm chapter 6.  We see the Psalmist being quite authentic with God in this Psalm. What feelings does he express? What does he ask God to do for him? What do you need most from God right now?  Take turns praying for yourself. Pray a simple prayer. Don’t make it pretty. Just be honest.  Tell God where you’re at and ask Him for what you need from Him. Practice simple prayer this week. Have short conversations with God throughout your day.  Tell him your feelings. Ask Him for what you need.  Work to start building a habit of talking to God like you would your best friend. 

We are wrapping up another season of Looking Above and finishing our discussion about building resilience by discussing how we create community.  Karen and Brooklyn focus the discussion on Jesus’ prayer for us in John chapter 17.  Jesus prays for unity among believers. Join us as we talk about what our disunity as a Church is speaking to the world and discuss some guidelines for growing and building a unified and God-honoring community.   After listening, find some time to gather with a friend or small group and discuss these questions:   Why does disunity come naturally?  Have you ever been around or a part of a group that was very unified? What was that like? Read Matthew 22:37-38. What does it mean to love God? How can we pursue this? What are some steps we can take to better love God? Read John 13:34. What are some examples of times that Jesus loved others? What can we learn from those? Read John 13:14. How can we (the members of your group) serve each other better? Read Philippians 2:2-4. What does it look like to actively pursue someone else’s best interest? What choices can we make to “die to self”? Read Ephesians 4:4-6. There is no room for competition in the Kingdom. Why do you think there is such competition between churches, or ministries or individuals? How could we foster a better spirit of camaraderie? Read Ephesians 4:32. Why does God call us to forgive each other in the same manner that He has forgiven us? Take some time to pray for unity in your relationships.

We were created to create.  Each of us has a purpose in this world to join God in his mission of redemption and making beauty and meaning. Karen and Brooklyn discuss our need to first create spaces in which we can relax and find peace and then to join God in making beauty. Unfortunately, the scream of our society to be consumers and to live life at breakneck speed, filling our days with things and to-dos, can deafen the call within us to slow down and create meaning.  We encourage you to join us for this discussion and then carry on the discussion with a friend or small group!  Here are some questions to guide you: Do you own hyggebukser? (Comfy pants) Are you the type of person who puts on your comfy pants as soon as you get home? In your own space (home, apartment, room) do you feel at peace? Are you able to rest and create in that space, or does the space itself thwart your efforts to slow down? Have you ever allowed your "space" to become an idol? What is the danger in this? How do we fight this temptation? Which of these ways of filling your life do you relate to most? (Filling your life with: things, tasks/ serving, achievement, relationships, experiences, search for knowledge, numbing/escaping, micromanaging/control) Are you able to recognize that pursuit as stemming from a longing for purpose? What skills do you have that could be used to create beauty or make meaning? (cooking, cleaning, decorating, gardening, painting, homemaking, writing, teaching, counseling, baking,...any skill that adds beauty or meaning to the world) Do you use those skills well? How might you better utilize those skills?  How does creating things of beauty and making meaning contribute to resilience? How does consumerism (on the other end of the spectrum) make us less resilient? Discuss some of the ways the world is dark and broken.  How could you, personally bring light, hope and love into those situations and partner with God in His work of redemption and beauty making? Read Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 3:23. We are called to be creative, to raise children, to use the world well, and to enrich the world around us. Discuss our job description as given by God. Are we (the people of God) doing a good job at leading the way in these endeavors?

We all live with longings that come from deep inside of us.  When we rip back all the layers, we may be surprised to find that at the core of these longings is a desire for beauty - and for God.  Join Karen and Brooklyn as they unpack the longings that lead us to God and beauty even in the mundane, the wilderness, and the storm.   We encourage you to listen in and then chat about this podcast with a friend or small group.  Here are some questions for discussion: Have you ever woken up and thought, "There has to be more to life"? Talk about boredom and escapism.  Why are we bored? What is boring us? What are we using to escape? What are we escaping?  What are we hoping to find? "Our heart is restless until it rests in you" - St Augustine.  What does your restless heart chase after? What pursuits do you fill your life with? All our longings point to Jesus and to beauty. How have you encountered beauty in your life? Where are you most apt to notice beauty? How does beauty drive us to God? Read Ephesians 2:10. You were created with a purpose and a calling. What good things did He plan for you? What is keeping you from doing that? You were made to create beauty, life, and light. Assess this past week.  How did you bring beauty into the world?  How did you fail - when did you have an opportunity to create beauty, but instead fixated on darkness or brokenness? Have you ever gone through a season of wilderness/ silence/ loss? How did you experience God there? Make a plan to experience beauty this week.  Where will you go, what will you do?

We do not grow without training and we do not train without resistance.  Resistance yields resilience.  Join Brooklyn and Karen as they discuss some rhythms and practical steps we can take to begin to grow new pathways in our brains so that we respond to adversity with resilience. We encourage you to process this podcast with a friend or small group, and have provided these questions to guide your discussion: Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. What does resistance training look like for an athlete (if you've been an athlete, share your experience)? What might resistance training look like for the Christian? "When our appetites are in charge, we respond with instinct and craving instead of with discipline for the greater outcome." (Rebekah Lyons, Building a Resilient Life) If your appetites ruled your life - what would your life look like? "We are wired to take the easiest path." p148 How does this play out? Why does the easiest path make us less resilient? What would our lives look like if we started to see comfort and ease as the Enemy and instead sought the hard? Which of the "rest rhythms" do you participate in regularly? Which are the hardest for you? (Tech detox, Quiet, Confession, Sleep Rhythm, Morning routine, Sabbath Which of the "restore rhythms" do you participate in regularly? Which are the hardest for you? (Play, Clean eating, Knoing identity in Christ, Walking, Intentional adventure, Exercise, Getting outside your comfort zone) Which of the "connect rhythms" do you participate in regularly? Which are the hardest for you? (Friendship, Be the friend you wish to have, Vulnerability, Hospitality, Process pain with others, Hugs, Marriage Retreat, Apologize first) Make a plan to implement one new rest rhythm, one new restore rhythm, and one new connect rhythm this week.  What will you do?

Anxiety is the most common mental illness, experienced by over 19% of adult Americans, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.  Additionally, the National Institute of Mental Health claims that some 31% of us will experience an anxiety disorder in our lifetimes. Brooklyn and Karen sit down and discuss their own struggles with anxiety and why we need to stop looking at anxiety as the enemy and instead embrace its call to turn toward Jesus in our weakness and fear. As always, we encourage you to process this episode with a trusted friend or small group. And, if you are struggling with anxiety, we encourage you to talk to a healthcare professional.  Questions for discussion: Growing up, was there any talk of mental health issues in your home? What was the typical attitude toward mental health? Discuss the differences and similarities between stress and anxiety. Rebekah says, “Anxiety is a friend.” Can you see anxiety as a friend? Why/why not? Have you struggled with anxiety?  What tactics have been most successful in helping you manage your anxiety? Is anyone brave enough to share something that causes them anxiety(or that has caused them anxiety in the past)? Can you work through the five whys together? (Identify the situation “I feel ____ when ____.” Then ask “why” five times to work backward to the root.) How can anxiety draw us closer to God? In Exodus 3, when Moses is feeling anxious about facing Pharoah and going before the Israelite leaders, God does not tell him not to fear the situation, God does not assure him of Moses' own abilities.  God reassures Moses that He (God) will go with Him. How can we apply this to our own situations? How can a proper knowledge of God help us face anxiety? What step will you take this week to know God more so you can trust Him in times of anxiety and stress?

After we become aware of our internal monologue and the things we are speaking to ourselves, we need to consider if the messages are true.  In order to do so, we have to have a measuring stick by which to evaluate truth.  As Christ-followers, we use Scripture as our foundation for truth.  Join Brooklyn and Karen as they chat about truth and how we fill our minds with the truth. As always, we encourage you to go deeper into this discussion with a friend or small group.  Here are some questions to facilitate that discussion: Do you accept the Bible as God’s Word and therefore totally true? If not, why not? If so, how did you come to this belief? (John 14:6, John 8:31-32, 2 Timothy 3:14-17) Give an example of something you have thought (about yourself, life, whatever) that actually isn’t true when you hold it up to Scripture. Give an example of something that you have felt, that isn’t actually true. Give an example of something that someone has said, that you maybe believed, but isn’t actually true. Do you have any verses memorized? How do those verses help you? How does meditating on Scripture make us more resilient? Have you ever been able to recognize a lie in your thoughts and replace it with the truth?  Can you share about that experience? Identify one lie you have been believing.  Work together to find a truth in Scripture that speaks to that lie.  Work on memorizing that verse this week.