Discerning God in Advent and Christmastide

Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: Dave Currie and Susan Currie

“Epiphany was our main missions conference in the local church, when we invited the children to bring offerings to Jesus as we sought to share the light of Jesus to the far corners of the earth.” –Dave Currie

Epiphany is both a day and a season in the church calendar. Occurring on January 6, it concludes the 12 days of Christmas and signifies the wise men following the bright star to find Jesus. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, symbolic of the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. Dave and Sue Currie follow the church calendar as a couple and as a family and guide us into the experience with the richness and fullness that Epiphany is intended to provide. As we follow Jesus let’s joyfully reveal his light to the world.

Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net

Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: Susan Currie, Rick Anderson, Jeremy Stefano, and Matt Scott

“Four words have been my focus this past year: silence, slowing, simplicity, and Sabbath.” –Matt Scott  

It’s always good for the soul to look back and around us before looking ahead. Turning the page from one calendar year to the next gives us opportunity to do so prayerfully, reflectively, and gratefully. The LTI Lead Team talks about the various ways they do so on today’s episode. Collectively representing more than 60 years of service to LTI, each team member offers great wisdom and practiced ideas of how to anticipate a new year. These include spiritual practices such as Examen, journaling, restful noticing, updating rule of life, and creatively decluttering. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” –Psalm 90

Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Anna Friedrich

“I love Christmas because, with the resurrection in view, its obscure beginning and its incredible beauty strengthens my trust in God.” –Anna Friedrich

Shifting from Advent into Christmas is seamless when considered in the light of the full Christian story. For four weeks our hearts have been inclined toward waiting, watching, and wondering once more. In Christmas, our yearnings and longings are fulfilled in the joyful coming of the long-awaited Messiah Jesus. From the perspective of a wife, mom, artist, and poet, Anna Friedrich refreshes us with her musings about our stirred-up emotions, our anxious longings, and the joy of being welcomed again into the depth and beauty of the glorious Incarnation. 

Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE

“Learning the value of waiting has largely been removed from our vocabulary. Advent gives us the gift of waiting.” –Curtis Almquist, SSJE

Advent is a season of anticipation. A time of preparation for the Christian community. The promised Messiah is coming in Jesus and the Church remembers once more. With a penitential quality to the season, Advent is a solemn time to pay attention to what is standing in the way of our walking in the way. It’s a time for personal reflection in our prayer closet where stillness and silence are our teacher. It’s a season of noticing those around us who are lost and lonely, reaching out to those who fear being forgotten. It’s a time to practice presence and gratitude.

Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Curtis Almquist, SSJE

“Advent invites us to slow down and create space in order to receive Christ in the fullness of our being.” – Curtis Almquist, SSJE

Discerning God during the season of Advent takes prayerful intentionality, especially with the onslaught of alluring messages from our over-commercialized world. It’s the beginning of the church year, where we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ in his physical nativity, in our own hearts, and in his future second coming. It’s also a time of disciplined fasting and abstinence, a time to ponder and pray, which helps us to get in touch with our deepest longings as we prepare our hearts for the prophetic and mysterious coming of Christ into this world.

Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net