Listening Practices Archives | Living Faith at Home: Recent Episodes
Reade and Jennifer Holtslander
“Gales of stress threaten to bend us to the ground” (from Psalm 119:137-44 in “We Love Your Invitations”). We sure do need support to come back to balance! The Psalms, Listening Practices, and conversations are a consistent way to regulate our minds. Engage with this Listening Practice today by letting us know what stands out […]
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“We are treasure hunters who find a cave of gold in your instructions,” is one of the lines from Psalm 119:161-168. What treasure are you seeking? And have you opened up your treasure map? You are invited to the pathway of relationship with God who is kind and generous. Around every curve on this pathway […]
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Are you exhausted? Frustrated? Do you want something different? Psalm 119:81-88 invites us into a conversation about our frustration. As people of faith in a topsy-turvy world, these are the honest feelings that can bubble up within us. When we acknowledge the way things are for us in this moment, we can find the comfort […]
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“Dragged down and dusted,” starts Part D of Psalm 119:25-32. Have you ever felt discouraged? This section of the longest Psalm paints a picture of emotions of discouragement and dismay. We can acknowledge our emotions. And we can accept the invitations that God offers us today through this Psalm. Maybe you are invited to stop […]
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Part C of “We Love Your Invitations” is based on Psalm 119:17-24. The highway of our lives is busy. The cry of our hearts is for time and a blanket of comfort for our griefs. This section of Psalm 119 offers us a relationship with God and with a community as the medicine for our […]
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Listen along with us to Part B of Psalm 119:9-16, as paraphrased by Jennifer in her book “We Love Your Invitations.” Psalm 119 is an acrostic Psalm and reminds us of the joy of Alphabet Books for early learners. Acrostics jog our memories. Acrostics help us to hold God’s word in our hearts as we […]
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Psalm 119:1-8 is the beginning of an alphabet Psalm that celebrates God’s love for us and God’s invitations to be in a life of relationship. Using the paraphrase from our book, “We Love Your Invitations,” we model a process of listening to God and join in a simple Listening Practice. Through conversation, relationship, and reflection, […]
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As we listen to Psalm 118:15-29, we strengthen our ability to hear God’s voice. The final half of Psalm 118 repeats the phrase, “God’s love continues forever.” We need that reassurance. As we keep on exploring the words that stand out to us, we enter a conversation with one another and with God. Psalm 118:15-29 […]
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How will listening to Psalm 118:1-14 impact your relationship with God? We could make up a six point list about what listening to this Psalm will draw to your attention. Or we could try to assure you of something that we can’t actually promise in the short term. Instead we invite you to listen to […]
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Listen with us to Psalm 117! It is the shortest Psalm and it is still chock-a-block full of the opportunity to hear God’s words to us. As you listen to Psalm 117, what words or phrases do you notice yourself drawn to? Is there an invitation to some action that stands out to you? By […]
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When we listen to Psalm 116, we are assured that God listens to our cry for help. This Psalm begins with, “I love the Lord because God listens to my cry for help.” As we work our way through this prayer-poem, we hear the inner thoughts of the writer. From a place of deep honesty, […]
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Psalm 115 begins with “The glory belongs to you, God, because of your love and loyalty.” All the rest of the way through, Psalm 115 calls us to attend to God’s love and loyalty at work in our lives. God’s blessing, God’s help, and God’s protection are the bedrock of our relationship of trust and […]
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The poetic imagery of Psalm 114 makes mountains, rivers, and hills skip and dance. While the playful imagery of baby goats and lambs makes for delightful watching, it also sets up a lively picture of action and movement. A situation that seemed as immovable as a mountain, shifted and changed in a single night for […]
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Psalm 113 is the first Psalm of Hallel. This series of psalms is teaches us to interact with God with etiquette and intimacy. It is an invitation to praise God and to praise God’s name. The psalms of Hallel (Psalm 113 to 118) are often recited as part of important Hebrew celebrations. They retell classic stories […]
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Psalm 112 sings the praises of a kind and generous God. A God who provides, blesses, and gives steadiness in the midst of relationship. God loves us and reaches out with mercy and generosity to bless us. God speaks to us with kindness and helps us as we choose the actions of confident and beloved […]
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Each day we can listen for the voice of God to speak to us, to comfort us, to lead us, and to invite us into a “next step”. This short Psalm and the process of practicing listening today gives each person the opportunity to hear God speak love, and to offer a next step forward. […]
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None of us are monarchs or likely to be monarchs, yet we can listen and note where God speaks to us in these words from Psalm 110. Psalm 110 is about God appointing a King. Perhaps the imagery of the freshness of a new baby catches your attention. Or maybe it is the idea of […]
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Psalm 109 is a prayer poem of Lament about our enemy’s Lament. As we finish reading the last half of Psalm 109 and talk together with one another and God about what we are noticing, we invite you to enter the conversation with us. On the journey of life, challenging relationships can eat up so […]
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Listening to Psalm 109:1-15 gives us an example of how to pray when we are afraid others hate us. There are many situations where we feel pain and experience suffering. Sometimes we lament because of the way that our relationships are with other people. Sometimes we even feel like others are praying against us. In […]
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Join us in listening to Psalm 108 as we practice listening to God and to one another. Addressed directly to the Divine, Psalm 108 is a great example of expressing this moment’s experiences in prayer, while listening for the longer arc of our story at the same time. Do you have spaces in your life […]
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Psalm 107:23-43 encourages us to pay attention to the particular details of our lives and to give thanks for the love and the miracles. What are you noticing in your everyday life that you are glad about? As we tell and retell our stories of God at work in our lives, we can strengthen our […]
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Building upon our previous listening experiences, we continue to practice listening for the voice of God. This involves paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and experiences and then talking together. In this conversation, we explore what we notice in the first half of one of Reade’s favourite Psalms. It has several great story lines that […]
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Let’s listen to Psalm 106:24-48 together. This can help us settle down our activated nervous systems. Listening to God, to ourselves, and to one another as we read the last half of Psalm 106 is a practice for regulating our minds. Listen along with us to find deep connection to the Divine, to seek out […]
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Meditation and dialogue using the first half of Psalm 106 brings a space of attention and remembering into our days. What do you notice as you listen to this Psalm being read? What does the Life-Giving Spirit invite you towards as you listen and reflect? Leave us a quick comment to let us know that […]
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Listening to the final section of Psalm 105 stirs our sacred imaginations to experience joy at the thought of freedom after slavery. It also invites gratitude for the many ways that the Divine Family initiate in our lives and provide for us. Do you want to hear God speak to you? There are many practices […]
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Are you looking for a way to pause and listen to your life and hear the voice of God? We pause to listen using the centre section of Psalm 105 which retells the story of the Hebrew people and their years in Egypt. There are so many things that can come to our attention in […]
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Remember! Remember to remember! Psalm 105:1-15 retells the story of the Hebrew people and their experience of relationship with God. This first section of Psalm 105 recounts early Hebrew history prior to slavery in Egypt. As we listen together to what God might be saying to us through this practice, what do you notice? We […]
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Listening Practice with the last half of Psalm 104 brings together the natural world, our experiences of life, and God’s involvement with the created world and in our experiences. Life has so many changes and in the midst of them all, God is with us! As we listen to this Psalm we attend to the […]
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There are so many details to delight in as we explore our everyday lives and as we practice listening to Psalm 104:1-18. The practice of listening to the Psalms helps us to attend to those details. Practicing listening to God through the Psalms helps us to calm our spirits down as we pay attention to all the little […]
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In Psalm 103, the writer of this prayer-poem repeats the invitation to say “thank you” to God again and again. When you look back over the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last month, can you see any experiences of God’s kindness to you?If we practice saying, “thank you, God,” we can find […]
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How do you share the story of your life, or the experiences of your faith relationship, with the people around you? Psalm 102:18-28 tells the story of God at work in the story of people’s lives over the long haul, and expresses the vision of a future where the next generations to come will also […]
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We listen together to the first half of Psalm 102 (verses 1-17), and as we listen, we become aware of the world around us, and the experiences of grief in our lives. We are invited to keep on calling out to God, to keep on leaning in to relationship with God. What are you aware […]
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What we notice through Listening Practices of the Psalms helps us to understand ourselves better, and helps us to become aware of how we live out what we believe to be true about God. As we braid together the threads of the stories our lives and our lived faith with the words of Psalm 101, […]
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We are listening to the voice of God and to what matters most to us as we join in a Listening Practice with Psalm 100. Read. Listen. Dialogue. Repeat. Would you believe what a difference this kind of practice can make to our everyday lives? Today, as we explore Psalm 100, we notice the ways […]
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Pause with us for an opportunity to feed your soul! As we listen to Psalm 99 and share in conversation about what we notice, our relationship with God grows. This Psalm is full of references to the natural world. Do you hear an invitation to join in saying “thank you” to God for something today? […]
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What new thing are you being invited to in your relationship with God? As we listen our way through the Psalms, we grow our relationship with God and with one another. Psalm 98 is a prayer-poem full of metaphor, music, and invitations. What do you notice as you listen along?
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Psalm 97 talks of God’s goodness and power while asking us to turn to God and do right so we can be blessed. Is that what you hear? Is that what you experience? Sometimes the Psalms push us in directions we’re uncomfortable with.
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Psalm 96 tells us to tell others of God’s goodness and love and to let the natural world speak out about God’s grace. What do you hear as you listen to this happy Psalm? Is God saying to you what the Psalm is saying? Or is God speaking other words in the midst of your […]
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What does it mean for God to be engaged in the suffering of our everyday lives? As we encounter the pain and suffering of our personal experiences, and of the world at large, we continue to grapple with trying to hear what God is saying to us. Psalm 94 is a conversation partner in the […]
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Here is a new Faith at Home Listening Practice using Psalm 93. The waves of our life circumstances sometimes seem to rise up higher and higher. Psalm 93 helps us to enter a space of remembering that the Creator can create a strong, sturdy foundation for us even when the waves buffet against us. Let […]
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This Listening Practice using Psalm 92 paints a picture of trees, strongly rooted, and bearing fruit even in their old age. As we listen to the words of this Psalm, we are listening for the voice of the Divine, and for what matters most to us, today. May we be rooted in a relationship with […]
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Do you feel safe and protected? Psalm 91 talks about safety and protection. What does that mean in the world you live in now? Psalm 91 says that God will save us. What do you notice? What is God calling you to?
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When we read the Psalms and listen meditatively we can begin to hear God speaking to us. Join us as we listen to Psalm 90.
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Psalm 89:38-52 wraps up our final Listening Practice from this Psalm of 52 verses. Do you ever feel like crying because you are afraid that God has forgotten you? Over the long haul, the practice of listening to the Psalms, and through Psalms to God, and to ourselves, helps us to become better at hearing […]
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What do you do with the words of they Psalms when they speak to our deepest fear that God is going to be angry with us for ever? When they stir up the trauma of cut off relationships? As we practice listening using the words of Psalm 89:19-37, we notice the fear of broken relationship. […]
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Are the waves in your life so big they are shaking you to your core? Do you feel like the big picture is taking your breath away? As we listen together to the first 18 verses of Psalm 89, we notice the bigness of the world and the specific-ness of God’s love. Sometimes the rocking […]
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This Psalm 88 Listening Practice takes us into the heart of lament. If we read the Psalms just based on what we like, or what we want to feel, we’d avoid this Psalm nine times out of ten. And yet, there are days when we feel the deep pain of sorrow. There are days were […]
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As we practice listening using Psalm 87, we hear a lot of names of far-off locations. The Psalmist celebrates being “one of the beautiful people.” Yet, we hear the Divine’s love for us, even though we aren’t part of the named group. As you listen, what do you hear today? Share with us in the […]
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Today’s Listening Practice with Psalm 86 reminds us that God is kind, faithful and forgiving. Even when we feel like things aren’t going our way, we can trust that there will be evidence of God’s favour. We can ask for relationship, give and take, with God. This video shares one of our prayer practices. Engaging […]
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When we pause to listen to ourselves and God using Psalm 85, we notice the fear that God might be angry and the scattering pull of distracting thoughts. The process of time out to listen, to slow down our breathing and focus (and re-focus and re-focus again) is a great spiritual practice for everyday life. […]
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As we listen today, we are invited to travel with the Divine and find ourselves “at home,” with God wherever we are. This Faith at Home Listening Practice is a form of prayer using Psalm 84. Better is one day in God’s presence than a thousand elsewhere. This prayer practice (and the practices for the […]
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Pausing in the midst of our circumstances, we can listen together for what the Divine might be speaking to us. A Listening Practice creates a safe container for facing our changing experiences and uncertainty, and can help us to call out to God even when our faces are covered in shame. This Psalm 83 Listening […]
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Today we are crying out for the Divine to exalt those who have been downtrodden for so long. Psalm 75 joins with the outpourings of our hearts and reminds us that when we dissolve in fear, the Divine Family will be there. When those who have been pushed down, are finally raised up, the Divine […]
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What are the pathways that you have created in your life? What are the pathways that you have created in your brain? Listening to our lives and to the Divine Family is a practice that we come back to again and again (and again!) In this short Psalm 70, we are encouraged to notice and […]
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You might be feeling the need for a refuge. Psalm after Psalm expresses big feelings that don’t easily melt away. When held in the loving, compassionate presence of the Divine, those feelings don’t need to be run from. Instead we can let them be flags to us that help us to breathe in the moment […]
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Can you hear the Divine Family saying, “I’ll save you!” and does their promise make your bones laugh? The imagery and words from the first half of Psalm 35 might speak you in many different ways. What does the Life Giving Spirit draw to your awareness today? Share in the comments or send us a […]
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When you approach the Divine Family, how do you think that they view you? Through this Listening Practice with Psalm 30, we can approach the Divine Family face to face and be loved! For more interaction and access to the whole video vault, come join us on Patreon.
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As we pause today to listen to Psalm 28, we might feel discouraged or filled with joy. Whatever our feelings might be, wherever we are in the cycle of life, the Divine Family hears us praying and invites us to bring our whole selves into their presence.
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Psalm 19 opens up so many metaphors for what the word of God can be like in our lives. God can speak to us through nature, through written words, through dialogue, and through a still, small voice straight to our hearts. Listen along with us to Psalm 19, and let us know what you notice. […]
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Faith at Home Listening Practice, Psalm 2. If you wish, you can let us know the words or phrases that stand out to you. Maybe there is an invitation that calls to you today? Come share in conversation, photographs and snippets of life together on Instagram with @jenniferholtslander, as we listen together to our lives […]
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