1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Life audio. The way you see God might be quietly 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: shaping every decision you make, and the way you understand 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: time itself might be either exhausting you or setting you free. 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,319 Speaker 1: And without realizing it, you might be living out of 5 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: a handful of core paradigms that are determining the tone 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: of your relationships, your leadership, your work, and maybe even 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: your rest. Every once in a while, I like to 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: stop and ask what beliefs and perceptions am I actually 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: living from right now? Hi, friends, I'm gem Faddling, and 10 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: this is the Unhurried Living podcast where we inspire you 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. Today I 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: want to share a few of my own central paradigms, 13 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: not because they're final or exhaustive, but because they're shaping 14 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: how I see God, myself and other people in my 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: current season. After a word from our sponsor, will dive 16 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: into our conversation for today. You're listening to this episode, 17 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: I'd love for you to follow us, and if you're 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: watching on YouTube, please subscribe. It's free and it helps 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: Unhurried Living be discovered by more people. Thanks so much. Now, 20 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: I've made it a lifelong practice to reflect and gather 21 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: up what God has been teaching me in recent seasons. 22 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: In many ways, that's what my books What does Your 23 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: Soul of and Hold That Thought are their collections of 24 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: lessons learned slowly, sometimes painfully, over the course of my life. 25 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: A while back, I journaled what I saw as a 26 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: few central paradigms. These are the truths that feel foundational. 27 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: They inform how I view God, how I view myself, 28 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: and even others. This isn't everything that matters to me, 29 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: but it is what feels alive in this current season. 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: So let me walk you through a few of them. First, 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: one is just simply the center of Christianity. God is Love. 32 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: One John four sixteen says those very words. God is love, 33 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: and we say it so easily, but if it's true, 34 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: it changes everything. God is love that means something acts 35 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: seventeen twenty eight also reminds us in Him we live 36 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: and move and have our being. God is not elsewhere. 37 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: God is not distant from your actual life. The profound 38 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: simplicity of this reality can be life changing. If God 39 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: is love, and if God is here, then I am 40 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: living inside Love itself. This can shift how I pray, 41 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: how I read scripture, how I connect with other people 42 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: and how I live the small and the large moments 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: of my own life. So instead of asking why is 44 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: God doing this to me as though he were playing 45 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: a game of chess with my life, I'm learning to 46 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: ask other questions like how is love with me here 47 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,399 Speaker 1: right in the middle of my circumstance. That's a very 48 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: different paradigm. Second, God is expansive. God is not small 49 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: or fragile or threatened by complexity. Colossians too says in Christ, 50 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, 51 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. God's 52 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,839 Speaker 1: life is expansive, and I am invited into that fullness. 53 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: This means I don't have to shrink the good news 54 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: to my own narrow thinking. I also don't have to 55 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: defend God as though God needs my protection. The more 56 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: I mature, the more I see that love widens me, 57 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: My heart enlarges, my capacity increases, and I move away 58 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: from binary thinking, which leads me to my next paradigm, 59 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: the third one. I can engage this way of love. 60 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: Viewing life as a zero sum game with winners and 61 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: losers is the lowest form of relational thinking. Either or 62 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: and us versus them. Thinking is too small for the 63 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: Kingdom of God. These days, social media and media in 64 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: general is it's all targeting our limbics system in order 65 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: to inflame us because fear and anger sells. Ad time, 66 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,679 Speaker 1: I refuse to be a pawn in this vicious game. 67 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: Love actually asks a different question, what is the third way? 68 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: I've found? The third way tends to lead with love. 69 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: First Corinthians says love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, 70 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: and always perseveres. The way of love leads to higher character, 71 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: and higher character leads to higher relating, and higher relating 72 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: leads to a different way of living and working. If 73 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: I'm reacting out of fear, I'm usually living beneath my calling. 74 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: If I'm responding from love, I'm participating in something much larger, 75 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 1: the spaciousness of the Kingdom of God. Fourth, character is vital. 76 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: Our leadership comes from within. Who I'm becoming matters more 77 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: than what I'm achieving. That's not something our hurried culture 78 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 1: tends to reinforce. We celebrate outcomes, performance or charisma. But 79 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: Dallas Willard once wrote, all the church needs to fulfill 80 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: Christ's purposes on earth is the quality of life he 81 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: makes real in the life of his disciples. This is 82 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 1: a bold statement. The quality of our lives can make 83 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: a huge difference. Building character is admittedly slow work, It's hidden, 84 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: and it often goes unnoticed. But how many of us 85 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: have the determination and patience to engage this long, slow 86 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: and yet so rewarding process. If you are a regular here, 87 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: and even if you're new, I actually believe you to 88 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: be this kind of person. You aren't willing to settle 89 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,679 Speaker 1: for just getting by in this life. You want to grow, 90 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: you want to mature, and you want to thrive, and 91 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: you also want to help other people do the same. 92 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: I've come to see that tending the soul is not optional. 93 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 1: It's foundational, and it leads to true influence. Number five. 94 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: God's ways span cultures. God is both personal and transcendent. 95 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 1: God meets me personally, and I assume he does the 96 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: same with all other eight billion people on the planet. 97 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: God is not bound by culture. God meets me a 98 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: fairly comfortable North American woman in the same spirit with 99 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:47,040 Speaker 1: which he meets a woman living in poverty in rural Ethiopia. 100 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: God knows how to reach each one of us within 101 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: our own context. If I share a gospel that only 102 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: works for some, it's not good news. For the kingdom 103 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: to be kingdom truth, it must be true for everyone. 104 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: This keeps me humble. It keeps me from imagining that 105 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: my context is the center of the story. God is 106 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: expansive and capable. Number six. My view of time actually matters, 107 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: and time is not my enemy. It's also not my boss. 108 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: I have agency, and yes, my circumstances differ from others. 109 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: Some people have fewer options. I understand that, but most 110 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: of us, in my regular, particular North American context, if 111 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: you're listening from here, we have at least some freedom 112 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: in how we use our time. If we have time 113 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: to binge watch a show over a weekend, then we 114 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: have time to make some choices. An expansive view of 115 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: time is a great source of freedom. God has not 116 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: given us this precious life to live and then said 117 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: something like, but I've made it so that you will 118 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: always be stressed and behind and never cut up. That 119 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: would be cruel. It doesn't make any sense. It's actually 120 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: we who create pressure for ourselves by the narratives we 121 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: craft about our circumstances. And you know I'm not talking 122 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: about those times when we're truly pressed by health issues 123 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: or other traumatic experience. I'm not addressing those in this statement. 124 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: I'm talking about our regular day to day existence. We 125 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: can make choices about how we think about time so 126 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: that we don't add undue pressure to our days. Time 127 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: is a resource, it's not a tyrant. You do have 128 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: time for everything that actually truly matters, and this might 129 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: take some reflecting, discerning, processing, and even pruning, but you 130 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 1: likely have the freedom to make this shift. When I 131 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: let time dominate me, I become reactive. When I steward time, 132 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: I become more intentional, and that leads naturally to my 133 00:08:54,160 --> 00:09:00,719 Speaker 1: final paradigm. Number seven. Presence is primary moment is where 134 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 1: everything happens. I live my life linearly. I remember the past, 135 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: I anticipate the future, and sometimes that pulls me into 136 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: regret or anxiety. But grace is always right here and 137 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: right now, because God is always right here and right 138 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: now with me. A presence is not passivity. It's participation, 139 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: and it's learning to notice, to breathe, to respond rather 140 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: than simply react. In a driven and distracted culture, presence 141 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: is a radical spiritual practice. This is why we teach 142 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: the practice of silence and solitude, or what we call 143 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: unhurried time with God. Practicing a length of time to 144 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: be with God in a receptive, listening posture can make 145 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: all the difference. The shift happens slowly over time, but 146 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: with regular practice, the shift will occur. So after all 147 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: these seven ideas here, I'm going to give you just 148 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: three action steps. Pick one or come up with your 149 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: because you might be listening and saying to yourself this 150 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: sounds really great, but what can I do, jem, Well, 151 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: here's some ideas? How about this? First, name your own 152 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: current paradigms like I just did, set aside thirty minutes 153 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: and ask yourself what truths am I actually living from 154 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: right now? Not what do I say I believe, but 155 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: what assumptions are actually shaping my reactions and my behaviors. 156 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: Write them down, take them in, and make choices that 157 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: move you toward the life you actually desire. Number two, 158 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: examine the fruit of this list for each paradigm. Ask 159 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: is this producing love? Is it producing peace? Is my 160 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,319 Speaker 1: soul enlarging? Use your answers to these questions to make 161 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: the necessary pivot toward your new pattern. And then third, 162 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: just practice one shift. Choose one area. Maybe it's your 163 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: view of time, or your view of God, or the 164 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: practice of presence. You could ask, what would it look 165 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: like to live one week as if this paradigm were 166 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: actually true? Experiment in practice, Remember nothing important changes quickly. 167 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: As you've heard a few of my own central paradigms, 168 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: you might notice yours bubbling under the surface. Right now, 169 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: you know what is God deepening within you this season? 170 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: What truths are becoming non negotiable. The older I get, 171 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: the less interested I am in novelty, and the more 172 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 1: interested I am in real, lasting kingdom ways. I am 173 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: doubling down on the simplicity of love, love, presence, character fullness. 174 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 1: These aren't flashy, but they are formative. Maybe it's time 175 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: to pause and gather your own lessons at the feet 176 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: of Jesus. You may discover that what has been quietly 177 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: shaping you is exactly what someone else needs to hear. 178 00:11:55,480 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: Blessings to you as you make your way. Thank you 179 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: for joining me on the Unhurried Living podcast. You can 180 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,320 Speaker 1: download free resources and learn more about us at Unhurried 181 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: Living dot com, and please subscribe and share this podcast 182 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: with your friends and colleagues. We'd also like to thank 183 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: our partner, Life Audio. Check out their other faith centered 184 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: podcasts at life audio dot com. Blessings to you as 185 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: you make your way.