Potter's Inn Soul Care Conversations

Steve's Podcast List for Summer 2023 If there is one podcast that defines my life message and legacy, surely it is this one. This has the key to unlock all the years of trying and performance to get it right. I explore why reading the “red letters of Jesus “ is so important and some thoughts to inspire us upward and onward! Could you PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND THEN SHARE THIS WITH FIVE OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO NEED IT? We would appreciate it!   MENTIONED IN PODCAST SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter M. Ivey The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith Pray as you Go - APP for Lectio Divina   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 33:36 My Yoke Is Easy by John Michael Talbot CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats

The trapeze artist free falls into the hands of trust and love. Jesus let go, while on the cross and surrendered his life into good hands of his Father. — Henri Nouwen SHOW NOTES It’s hard work to let go. Ask Moses, Peter, Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus, or really—any character in the Scriptures. Like it or not, letting go is one of the big scholastic courses you sign up for in being born. Today we explore Letting Go—it all comes together in our May Issue of our new resource, the Soul Care Ezine. Steve talks about how the whole process of Letting Go is such an important part of your own soul journey.  This episode is the final one for this season. We will be taking a break this summer, but will be back in the Fall with more podcasts!   MENTIONED IN PODCAST Read Issue 2 of the Soul Care Ezine on Letting Go Poem read by Steve - The Welcome Prayer by Father Thomas Keating Subscribe to the Soul Care Ezine Pay it Forward - Donate to the Soul Care Ezine   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 38:46

We carry these desires, our deepest longings, with us. It’s part of what it means to be human, and they are drivers in our lives whether or not we acknowledge them. — Jeff Crosby SHOW NOTES Today’s guest is Jeff Crosby, the author of the new book (releases May 23, 2023) Language of the Soul. For over fifteen years, Jeff has been searching for a language of the soul--a way to articulate our deepest longings. Through the years he gathered clues from within global music styles, from different cultures, from his own Christian tradition and its sacred texts--and from deep within himself. Jeff explores the ways in which God meets us in our deepest longings of the heart – our longing for home, friendship, forgiveness, spiritual transformation, and more – not by satisfying our every desire but by granting us what we genuinely need. SPECIAL GUEST JEFF CROSBY Jeff Crosby is the president and CEO of ECPA, the trade association of Christian publishing, and has spent nearly four decades working in

Be responsible, serve, and protect. — Kyle Meyaard-Schaap SHOW NOTES Have you ever looked at the effects of climate change and the apathy of so many around you and wondered, "What are we missing here?" Today’s guest Kyle Meyaard-Schaap understands this feeling from personal experience. He is the author of the recently released book, Following Jesus in a Warming World, a field guide for Christian climate action. Steve and Kyle discuss the book and how climate change should not be grounded in a sense of guilt or drudgery, but in the joy of caring for creation. Thank you for joining us today! SPECIAL GUEST KYLE MEYAARD-SCHAAP   Kyle is vice-president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. Previously, he was the national organizer and spokesperson for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, and he has been featured in news outlets such as CNN, PBS, NPR, NBC News, and U.S. News & World Report. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife and two children. Kyle’s Website (Order his new book, read mo

“There is no house like the house of belonging.”  — David Whyte SHOW NOTES Every soul needs to belong. We look for our sense of belonging in our families, tribes, nations, and friendships Today we explore the place of our home—that place where you actually live and the role and influences that this place has on our spiritual lives. ​It all comes together in our new resource, the Soul Care Ezine. Steve shares why we decided to create the Ezine, what will be included in each issue, and how it can be a part of your own soul journey.    MENTIONED IN PODCAST Read Issue 1 of the Soul Care Ezine The House of Belonging by David Whyte Subscribe to the Soul Care Ezine Pay it Forward - Donate to the Soul Care Ezine   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 26:33 - Resurrexi by Juliano Ravanello · from Music of Silence: Gregorian Chants  

We are continuing the conversation today with Steve and Roger Housden. It was Roger who opened the portal for Steve to get and understand poetry. Roger is a prolific writer, poet, speaker and teacher and speaks with a grace and appreciation of self-discovery and exploration . Thank you for joining us today! Our Special Guest - Roger Housden Roger Housden is an author and has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. His first book was published in the U.K. in 1990, and as of 2018, he has published twenty six books, including four travel books, a novella, Chasing Love and Revelation, and the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with the publication in 2018 of Ten Poems  for Difficult Times. A native of England, he lives in Marin County, California, and teaches around the world. Roger’s Website Roger’s Books   Mentioned in Podcast Come Before Winter Retreat A Brief for the Defense by Jack Gilber

Todays podcast has very special meaning for Steve as he had the opportunity to speak with Roger Housden. It was Roger who opened the portal for Steve to get and understand poetry. He’s a prolific writer and poet and the podcast became a soul enriching experience. We pray you are enriched as well!   OUR SPECIAL GUEST - ROGER HOUSDEN Roger Housden is an author and has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. His first book was published in the U.K. in 1990, and as of 2018, he has published twenty six books, including four travel books, a novella, Chasing Love and Revelation, and the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with the publication in 2018 of Ten Poems  for Difficult Times. A native of England, he lives in Marin County, California, and teaches around the world. Roger’s Website Roger’s Books   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 38:13 - Minha Alma tem Sede de Deus (My

We are continuing the conversation with Steve in Part 2 of 12 Foundations to Care for your Soul. STEVE: These days, I find myself bothered by multiple voices all trying to be heard. I’m realizing that the only voices I want to, need to and trust these days are the ones who have credibility. They must have lived life; revealed a brokenness in their souls and walk with a limp to have credibility. I need to just pass on the many social influencers and newbies yelling through their posts to be heard. I find myself growing deaf to such clamor. How about you? Thank you for joining us today!   Resources Mentioned in Podcast The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith Soul Custody by Stephen W. Smith Inside Job by Stephen W. Smith Podcasts on Dignity Ep. 10: Exploring Dignity of the Soul Ep. 59: Dignity Matters!   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 21:48 - Guardai-me ó Deus - with Juliano Ravanello. LYRICS (in English) Keep me, O God, because in you I take refuge! Keep me, O God, because in you I take refug

Today’s podcast is with Steve, in a message that he felt could contribute to a deeper understanding of soul care. These days, I find myself bothered by multiple voices all trying to be heard. I’m realizing that the only voices I want to, need to and trust these days are the ones who have credibility. They must have lived life; revealed a brokenness in their souls and walk with a limp to have credibility. I need to just pass on the many social influencers and newbies yelling through their posts to be heard. I find myself growing deaf to such clamor. How about you? Thank you for joining us today!   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith Inside Job by Stephen W. Smith Podcast on Body/Health: The Body-Soul Connection, Part 1 & Part 2 Podcasts on Dignity Ep. 10: Exploring Dignity of the Soul Ep. 59: Dignity Matters!   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 40:21 - Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo from String Quartet No. 16 in F Major Op. 135 - Written by Ludwig Van

Many of us seemed hard wired to do, do, and do more. Changing this requires a long, slow rewiring of our minds at the cellular level. It is not acquired by reading quotes, attending conferences or transferring an addiction of accomplishing more and more to the spiritual life. Steve talks with author Alan Fadling about his beautiful book, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living A year of slowing. I like it and you will also! TODAY’S GUEST - ALAN FADLING Alan is a founding partner of Unhurried Living, Inc, a non-profit that trains people to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. Alan is a trained spiritual director and leadership consultant, and the author of the award-winning books An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader, which was honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality. He is also coauthor (with Gem Fadling) of What Does Your Soul Love? Learn more about Alan & his books, podcast, coaching, and Unhurried Living on his website - www.

Today we are continuing the conversation with special guest Wesley Vander Lugt and Steve, as they continue to discuss beauty as oxygen and Kinshop Plot, a mission that is all about the deep belonging, resonant relationships, and entangled identities that bring us fully alive. Thanks for joining us in today’s conversation! TODAY’S GUEST - WESLEY VANDER LUGT Wes is a pastor, theologian, writer, educator, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, kinship, and theodramatics. ​Wes currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice who imagine and embody resonant relationships of every kind. Wes holds a PhD in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts from the University of St Andrews. His publications include Living Theodrama: Reimagi

Oxygen is essential to our survival. Did you ever think that Beauty might also be essential to our survival? Special guest Wesley Vander Lugt and Steve dig deep into how Beauty is not just about decoration in our lives or as an illustration of truth, but something deep in us that longs to not only enjoy beauty, but to be drawn into it and participate in it. Thanks for joining us in today’s conversation. TODAY’S GUEST - WESLEY VANDER LUGT Wes is a pastor, theologian, writer, educator, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, kinship, and theodramatics. ​Wes currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice who imagine and embody resonant relationships of every kind. Wes holds a PhD in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts fr

We are approaching a new season. The days will get longer now. The darkness will be more and more dispelled. The days of Lent are near. Easter is coming, but not yet. Lent is a time for self-examination and reflection - it is the 40 days leading up to Easter. In these 40 days, we are invited to look deeper and to look within. It's a time of humbling ourselves and recognizing what is most dead in us -- and with that, what needs to come alive in us! And that is why Potter’s Inn and Steve has created a resource that will guide you in those 40 days of self-examination and reflection, called 40 Days, 40 Miles, 40 Questions: A Lenten Journey. On today’s podcast episode, Steve explains this new resource in depth and why 40 Questions in 40 Miles for 40 Days: A Lenten Journey is a spiritual practice that engages the body, heart, mind, and soul. Thanks for joining us today! RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST 40 Days, 40 Miles, 40 Questions: A Lenten Journey by Stephen W. Smith MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 25:50

Aspen trees are a beautiful sight in the Western US. But did you know you will never find an aspen tree growing alone in a natural setting? Aspen trees grow in community. Their roots are intertwined under the ground, making a grove of trees into one big tree. The story of Lazarus echoes the spiritual lesson of the aspen grove: we cannot grow alone. We were never meant to remain alone as we emerge from the tomb. As we learn from Lazarus, we see that our roots intertwine with others. Jesus calls us to embrace a “grove” of people and allow a community of friends to help us change. Join us in this conversation on the importance of community in each of our lives. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST The Lazarus Life: Spiritual Transformation for Ordinary People by Stephen W. Smith John 1:14 Luke 10:34-35 MSG Romans 15:7 John 11:43 Philippians 2:1-4 MSG I Kings 6:24-33 MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 42:45: Bring Us, O Lord God by William Harris - performed by VOCES8.   SUPP

How do we live with difficult people and how do we live when we’ve been hurt in a relationship? Today Joe Chambers is reading from Steve’s book “The Jesus Life” and it unpacks those very subjects. It’s Steve at his most raw, honest, and vulnerable. Thank you for joining us for this challenging discussion! RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith John 2:24 NIV Mark 3:13 NIV Ps. 8:3-4 MSG Eph. 1:4 MSG John 15:15 MSG Mark 3:14 NIV Gen 2:18 NIV Luke 24:32 MSG Acts 17:27 MSG Luke 18:15-17 MSG Matt. 15:19-20 NIV John 2:23-25 NIV Psm. 133:1 NIV Romans 15:7 NIV   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 44:51: What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Hymns Of Comfort from the Classic Worship Series. Performed by Eric Wyse & Paul Nelson SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you: Use our Donation Page on our Website Donate using our new App Send b

Today Joe Chambers joins us in reading from Steve’s Book “Soul Custody.” It’s a discussion about Soul Companions and how the four quadrants of the human heart offer us a picture of the four levels to friendship. Being made in the image of God--the Trinity--we are most fully ourselves when we live life together. Thank you for joining us in today's discussion!   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST Soul Custody: Choosing to Care for the One and Only You by Stephen W. Smith Proverbs 27:19 TLB Ruth 1:16-17 MSG 2 Samuel 1:26 MSG Luke 24:32 Exodus 3:3 KJV 1 Peter 1:22 Mark 7:14-23 MSG 1 Cor. 13:4-7 MSG   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 52:05: Entreat Me Not To Leave You, performed by Atlanta Master Chorale   FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM Facebook Soul Care Conversations Group Page Potter’s Inn Main FB Page Instagram   CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. W

SHOW NOTES Welcome to Season 9 of the Soul Care Conversations Podcast! We are beginning Season 9 with a 3-part series on Friendship, and today will be a reading from a book that Steve contributed to, The Transformation of a Man’s Heart. The Chapter is written by David G. Benner and is titled “Friendships: Experiencing Others on the Journey.” This chapter has such depth and wisdom on the importance of friendship in our lives. Take some time as you listen - take notes, contemplate the friendships in your life, and meditate on the scriptures that are mentioned. It will give you a new perspective on the soul friends in your life.   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST The Transformation of a Man’s Heart - Compiled and Edited by Stephen W. Smith List of Scriptures mentioned (PDF Document)   MUSIC USED IN PODCAST Music Break at 52:15: Anam Cara, performed & written by Caitlin Grey   FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM Facebook Soul Care Conversations Group Page Potter’s Inn Main FB Page Instagram   CONT

SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you: Use our Donation Page on our Website Donate using our new App Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast) ________________________________________________________ SHOW NOTES On our final podcast for this season, Steve has a remarkable and soulful conversation with author, teacher, and leader Majorie Thompson. They discuss her long friendship with Henri Nouwen and her roles as an author, spiritual director, publisher, and eventual care giver to her own mother and mother in law, which shifted her role and required sacrifices and humility. It’s a beautiful conversation and we look forward to you joining us for it! ABOUT OUR GUEST Marjorie J. Thompson is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church USA. She received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies

SHOW NOTES How many times have you thought you were completely alone in this stress-filled world - financial issues, family conflicts, marital struggles, depression… the list is long and exhausting. The big question is, does God care about all that? Does he care that your kids are misbehaving and making you lose your mind? That at night you can’t get your mind to shut off and goes further into depression and anxiety? That you and your spouse can barely talk to each other? The answer is so much more complex than a simple “yes.” Listen in as Steve speaks to this very question. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST John 1:43-48 Psalm 143:8  Moment to Breathe - Thomas Merton’s Prayer Text Audio Find more resources on Soul Care and our podcast on Potter’s Inn Social Media channels Facebook Instagram

SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you: Use our Donation Page on our Website Donate using our new App Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)   SHOW NOTES “Beauty. Some forms of beauty calm us, others excite us, but all tend to grab our attention and intrigue us enough to have an affect. Beauty of course comes in many forms beyond the human face and form. From the landscape, seascape, and skyscape to the wonders of music, art, math, and science, we’re surrounded by reminders of the deeper things, the higher things, the truest things in life and beyond. Let’s make sure we steep ourselves in a recognition and enjoyment of the many and varied beauties around us, small and large. Then, we'll be likelier to act in more beautiful ways, in all things.” —Tom Morris The first part of our podcast is the re