Quiet on Purpose

Episode 111 - Ignite Hope

This episode is being released the day before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Today's scripture highlights the practice of thanking God for what He has done, and it makes an interesting connection between gratitude and hope. Listen in! Read Psalm 52:9 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2052%3A9&version=NIV] Questions from today's episode: What am I grateful for today? What do I have to be grateful for every day? As I take time to be grateful for these things, do I perceive even a tiny spark of hope igniting within me? Am I willing to commit to a spiritual practice of beginning each day with gratitude for a period of  time, being watchful for how it impacts my life in big and small ways? https://open.spotify.com/track/1kHGN0Sa3wcKDlP6M9nKjR?si=fa9ef89ece43419e https://open.spotify.com/track/1kHGN0Sa3wcKDlP6M9nKjR?si=9000608382a54376

Episode 110 - Fearfully and Wonderfully

Complaining about our bodies or our personalities is a "Great-American-Pastime" it would seem. But the scriptures confront that habit in Psalm 139, when the psalmist declares that he is "fearfully and wonderfully made". In today's episode we'll linger in the imagery of being "knit together" in our mother's wombs. Listen in! Read Psalm 139:13-14 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20139%3A13-14&version=NIV] Questions from today's episode: Linger in the beauty that God knit each one of us together in our mother’s womb and is intimately acquainted with everything about us. He declares that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! As you meditate on this truth, is your loving Creator inviting you to surrender your complaint about any part of you, either a physical trait or a personality trait, and instead to praise and thank Him for making you exactly as you are? Would you invite Him to show you how He might use that trait as a blessing to others? Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

Episode 109 - Fight For You

Recently, it has seemed like everyone I know and love is involved in some kind of battle. Battles with various health struggles, battles with addiction, battles with a multitude of unforeseen life circumstances that are completely out of our control. It’s not only the world around us that feels out of control, it’s our own daily, personal lives. Have you ever noticed that sometimes life can be flowing along nicely, with everything seemingly “under control,” and then in an instant, the illusion of control is exposed for just that - an illusion?! Some seasons just bring that more clearly into focus, and for me, and so many of my loved ones, this is one of those seasons! That's what makes the scripture in this episode so remarkable and comforting! I hope you'll listen in. Exodus 14.14 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2014%3A14&version=NIV] Questions from today's episode: What season am I in today: one where everything seems under control? Or one in which I am painfully aware of my lack of control? Where am I in the trust cycle? Have I taken up my weapons? Am I overwhelmed, fearful and panicky? Or, have I chosen to lay down my weapons, be still, and trust God to fight for me? Is there an invitation or a comfort for me in this scripture today?

Episode 108 - Dwell in the Shelter

I think I’ve mentioned here and there over the years that I like to choose a word each year to represent where I see God at work in my heart as I step into a new year. In 2024, I chose the word Dwell. "Sitting quietly in the presence of God and my own soul" is one of the foundational purposes of this podcast, and spending an entire year dwelling on the word Dwell helped draw me back, and draw me deeper, into that practice. Throughout the year, I spent time searching the scriptures for verses with the word dwell in them. What I ended up discovering was this beautiful thread throughout scripture, which I believe is God’s foundational purpose for humanity. Listen in as I share some of what I found! Read Psalm 91:1-2 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2091%3A1-2&version=NIV] Question from today's episode: As you sit quietly in the presence of the Most High, ask Him to gently reveal to you any false shelters in which you are trusting for refuge today, anywhere you seek rest outside His shadow. If anything comes to mind, simply acknowledge and confess it, then walk away, allowing Him to lead you to His dwelling place instead. Podcast music written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance What I'm listening [https://open.spotify.com/track/2gWojyoJYNmJ2MI7UVo6Pz?si=fe696d046d9c460e] to right now

Episode 107 - Glory Like Water

I don’t have extensive experience on the sea, but I’ve spent a bit of time in and around the ocean and other large bodies of water; enough to know what I bet you know too: it doesn’t take much time out on a large body of water to be impressed by the immensity of it. When you’re out in the middle of the water on a vessel that seems large from land, you suddenly feel very small. Imagine being surrounded in that same way, by an overwhelming knowledge of the glory of the Lord! Listen in! Habakkuk 2:14 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk%202%3A14&version=NIV] Do I have a solid grasp of the reality that a day is coming in which the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, so much so that my heart can hold onto that hope, even in difficult times? Do I have a solid grasp of the reality that only the work that I do toward that end will endure beyond my lifetime? Is there a gentle invitation to my soul through this verse today? How will I respond?