Freely & Lightly S1 - Freely And Lightly

026: Tom Ashbrook: Being Changed by God’s Love

December 13, 2021

Being open to receive God’s love for us is often a learning process. Equally challenging is learning to love God, as well as our neighbor. Mark and David are joined by Tom Ashbrook, an author, spiritual director and, spiritual formation missionary with Imago Christi. In this rich and encouraging conversation, Tom shares his story of being changed by the love of God in deep and meaningful ways.

025: You Can Know God Loves You

November 29, 2021

How would your approach to life change if you went from simply believing that God loves you to knowing he loves you? In this conversation, Mark and David discuss the challenge of truly knowing God’s love - rather than just holding it as a belief. They share about some of their experiences in learning to rest in God’s love and offer a helpful practice for learning to know God’s love in a meaningful way.

024: Kathy Pyrc - Trusting God, Companionship, and Creating Space

November 15, 2021

Responding to the Lord’s invitation or trusting God in our daily life can be very challenging. Mark and David talk with Kathy Pyrc, a Spiritual Formation Missionary with Imago Christi, as she shares her experiences of trusting God in places of pain, creating space for the Lord in everyday life, and living a life transformed by the love and presence of God.

023: God is Love

October 25, 2021

Understanding God’s love can be difficult because the notion of what passes for love often falls short. Mark and David address many misconceptions about love presented and accepted in our culture, contrasting them against the reality of God’s perfect love. This episode begins to explore what is means to love others “because he first loved us” and learning to receive God’s love in our own lives.

022: Finding a Sabbath Rest

October 11, 2021

Sabbath is important - but what does that look like practically? In this final episode on rest, Mark and David discuss what do on your Sabbath. They each share their experiences of learning to find what Sabbath looks like for each of them and offer helpful suggestions for how to examine your own activities to find what the Lord’s invitation may be for you personally in experiencing this practice in your day to day life.

021: What is a Sabbath?

September 27, 2021

We all know that rest is important for our physical well-being, yet it is a more complex than that. Our culture of “busyness” and “usefulness” can create resistance within us to embrace rest as a spiritual practice. Mark and David discuss the “why” behind rest - why it matters and is important to practice, and explore how God designed creation to need rest, and the gift Sabbath is intended to be.

020: Rest for the Soul

September 13, 2021

Although rest may be viewed merely as sleep or inactivity, it is much more than that. Rest is an invitation from the Lord, a form of worship, and a space to simply be with God. Mark and David continue their discussion on the top of rest, exploring the complexities and gifts of the practice, and address some of the baggage and struggles that people have around the practice of rest.

019: Dangerously Tired

August 30, 2021

After examining what rest is NOT in the last episode, Mark and David continue their conversation this week by looking at what rest IS, asking the question: What does real rest actually look like? They provide framework for assessing whether or not an activity is restful, and offer questions to ask as you seek to find rest in your own life.

018: The Promise of Rest

August 16, 2021

In order to implement a Sabbath rhythm in your life, you must begin with rest. Modeled by God, rest is an integral spiritual practice. Mark and David discuss what rest is - as well as misconceptions about rest in our culture. They also address the challenges that accompany the practice of rest, in order to find practical ways to cross the hurdles that accompany this important practice.

017: Amy Fletcher - Embracing Gratitude and Abandoning Comparison

August 2, 2021

The twists and turns of life can challenge our faith. Mark and David talk with Amy Fletcher, who shares how she has encountered God’s love for her throughout her life and circumstances. Her experience of trusting in the character of God in the midst of darkness is encouraging and full of hope. She also shares how the practice of gratitude has shaped her.

016: What Practicing Feels Like

July 26, 2021

Beginning a new practice is difficult and feels like hard work, while engaging a familiar practice can feel effortless. Mark and David share their experiences of the many ways practice can feel - from bumpy starts to experiencing ease and joy over time. Find encouragement for wherever you are in your experience of spiritual practices - and however practice feels to you right now.

015: A Practicing Life

July 19, 2021

Spiritual disciplines - training exercises for life in the Kingdom of God - are essential for the follower of Jesus. But why is practicing so hard? This episode dives into the ways our perceptions or expectations can detract from the benefit of engaging in spiritual practices in our lives. Join Mark and David as they offer helpful encouragement for learning to embrace beginning to practice.

014: The Practice of Silence, Part 2

July 12, 2021

This episode continues last week’s conversation about the difficulty of hearing from God and keeping company with Jesus in a cultural landscape of distraction, as well as the challenges that accompany the practice of silence. Join Mark and David as they share their personal experiences with the practice, as well as offer helpful encouragement for beginning to practice to silence.

013: The Practice of Silence, Part 1

June 28, 2021

Keeping company with Jesus and hearing from God can be difficult because of the “noise” and distraction readily found in daily life, or the challenge of not knowing where to begin. Yet the practice of silence can be equally difficult and very uncomfortable. Join Mark and David as they share their experiences of learning to practice silence, and offer practical encouragement for how to begin to incorporate this practice into your life.

012: The Practice of Solitude

June 21, 2021

Our perceptions of solitude can create many obstacles to practicing it. Maybe being alone feels like punishment, or removing daily “noise” seems scary. Perhaps it is an inviting practice, but finding time for it feels impossible. How can this spiritual practice be experienced as a gift? Join Mark and David for this conversation about learning to make space to pull away from others for the express purpose of being alone with God.